Sulfonamide acetylation in isolated rat liver cells

Primary suspension of isolated liver cells, prepared from rat livers perfused with Ca++ free buffer and 0.05% collagenase, were used for studies of sulfadimidine uptake and metabolism at various temperatures (29 degrees -41 degrees) and pH (6.4 - 7.8). The intracellular: extracellular ratio for sulfanilamide was found to be insensitive to both temperature and pH variations, while the corresponding ratio for sulfadimidine was pH dependent but insensitive to temperature variation. Decreasing pH increased the cell content of sulfadimidine. Sulfanilamide was metabolized by acetylation only, while sulfadimidine gave rise to several metabolites. The rate of sulfanilamide acetylation in primary cell suspensions was of the same order of magnitude as the acetylation rate of sulfanilamide published previously for the intact organ. Sulfanilamide was acetylated at the highest rate in the pH-region from 7.0 to 7.5, while sulfadimidine was metabolized most rapidly between pH 6.7 and 7.3. At pH 7.5 sulfadimidine was metabolized at a rate only 35% of the rate at pH 7.3. The acetylation rate of both drugs increased with increasing temperature, approximately 5% per degree celcius, and exhibited a Q10 of 1.5.