Biochemical studies of isolated hamster tracheal epithelium

The epithelial lining of respiratory air passageways is a primary target tissue for toxicity and carcinogenesis in man and in animal models of human disease. The importance of this target tissue was the basis for development of methods to study its biochemistry, and with this information to distinguish the unique properties of this tissue from properties common to all cell types. Biochemical methods employed labeling of macromolecules in isolated hamster treacheas during brief (less than 4 hr) incubation in vitro. Studies of RNA metabolism in isolated tracheas demonstrated a pattern of maturation of ribosomal RNA like that shown for other cell types. Alterations in RNA metabolism were observed in isolated tracheas obtained from vitamin A-deficient hamsters and hamsters previously treated by intratracheal administration of benzo[a]pyrene (BP) plus ferric oxide (Fe2O3) in vivo. Studies with toyocamycin, actinomycin D, and alpha-amanitin, all inhibitors of RNA metabolism, were performed to characterize the class of RNA molecules with a decreased proportion of labeling in tracheas from vitamin A deficient hamsters. In another series of experiments, BP was shown to bind to DNA in epithelial cells of isolated tracheas. The quantity of BP binding was increased by prior intratracheal treatment of hamsters with BP plus Fe2O3 in vivo, this induced binding was inhibited by addition of 7,8-benzoflavone to the incubation medium. Increased BP binding was also observed in isolated tracheas from hamsters believed to be in states of increased susceptibility to respiratory carcinogenesis in vivo. The results show that biochemical studies are feasible with this tissue. Furthermore, a number of questions of importance with regard to this target epithelium are best studied directly in its constituent cells.