Effect of animal bedding on rat liver endosome acidification

Animal beddings, such as pine products, and environmental factors are known to induce liver drug-metabolizing cytochrome P450 enzymes. We observed that a change to pine-based rat bedding altered baseline and cAMP-stimulated rates of acidification in rat liver endosomes, apparently by decreasing ATP-dependent proton transport in the presence and absence of chloride. Although cAMP altered phosphorylation of protein kinase B and extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK 1,2) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases, changes in housing conditions did not affect baseline or cAMP-stimulated values of these or other selected signaling molecules. We conclude that compounds in rat bedding may alter not only drug metabolism, but also aspects of endocytosis.