A study of xenobiotic-metabolizing enzyme activity of the olfactory and respiratory epithelium in the pig was undertaken. The results indicated that porcine olfactory mucosa contains all the components of the P450 system. 2. Monooxygenase activities were much higher in olfactory than in respiratory microsomes, and the olfactory activities dependent on CYP2A were higher than those in the liver. By contrast, the olfactory monooxygenases associated with CYP2E1 were poorly or not detected, whereas CYP2G1 and a protein immunorelated to CYP1A2 were expressed in the olfactory epithelium. 3. The activities of several non oxidative enzymes (glutathione S-transferase, UDP-glucuronyl transferase, epoxide hydrolase, DT-diaphorase, benzaldehyde and propionaldehyde dehydrogenases, and various esterases) were also determined in porcine tissues and were found to be higher in the olfactory than in the respiratory mucosa, but lower or similar to those in liver. 4. An unexpected finding was a higher activity of olfactory UDP-GT compared with that of liver when 1-naphtol but not p-hydroxybiphenyl (a good substrate for a specific olfactory UDP-GT(olf) in bovine and rat) was used as substrate, suggesting a porcine specific expression of UDP-GT isoforms. 5. The results taken together indicate that the olfactory epithelium of mammals has a similar cytochrome P450 profile with the CYP2A and CYP2G1 as dominant isoforms, whereas the olfactory non-oxidative enzymes appear qualitatively and quantitatively expressed to different extents.
