Induction and properties of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase in bovine pancreatic ducts

Inducibility and characteristics of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) in cultured bovine pancreatic ducts were studied by the fluorometric method. AHH was present and inducible in all the pancreatic ducts studied when they were exposed to 20 microgram benz[a]anthracene (BA)/ml medium. AHH activity in the control tissue ranged from 1.0 to 3.0 U/mg DNA, whereas the activity in the BA-treated tissue was 4.2--28.5 U/mg DNA, which resulted in the induction of 5- to 18-fold activity. At 12 hours of BA exposure, AHH activity in the treated tissue was 12-fold that in the control tissue and continued to increase to 15-, 19-, and 31-fold that in the control tissue at 24, 48, and 72 hours, respectively. The BA-induced AHH activity had a broad pH optimum between 7.1 and 7.7, and the maximum activity was found at pH 7.4. The AHH activity was linear with respect to the incubation time up to 30 minutes. The effect of the benzo[a]pyrene concentration on AHH activity was studied on the BA-induced enzyme. The apparent Michaelis constant for the substrate was 0.5 microM, and the maximum velocity was 8.6 U/mg DNA. BA-induced AHH activity was inhibited 65% by 100 microM 7,8-benzoflavone, whereas the control enzyme activity was stimulated 100% by the same concentration of 7,8-benzoflavone.