[Benzopyrene metabolism in cultured liver cells of human embryo]

The hepatic cells of human embryos cultivated as a monolayer retain their ability to metabolize the carcinogenic hydrocarbon benz (a) pyrene (BP). The intensity of BP metabolism is higher in the "young" cultures of hepatic cells than in fibroblast cultures obtained from the same embryo. At later terms the former becomes equal for both tissues as a result of a decreased metabolic activity of hepatic cells.