Cell-specific metabolic activation of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene in rat testis.

The binding of metabolites of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) to protein in rat testis seminiferous tubules was studied. Treatment of cultured seminiferous tubule segments with DMBA resulted in very little binding to protein, suggesting that the seminiferous epithelium from rat testis lacks the cytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenase(s) required for DMBA metabolism. In contrast, Leydig cells from rat testis contain monooxygenase systems which catalyze the metabolism of PAH, such as DMBA. This metabolic activation of DMBA was localized in both mitochondria and microsomes derived from Leydig cells and was decreased by inhibitors of the cytochrome P-450 system and by free radical scavengers, suggesting that the metabolism involved both cytochrome P-450 and free radical-dependent pathways. In the presence of whole Leydig cells or microsomes prepared from Leydig cells, the covalent binding of DMBA metabolites to protein of rat testis seminiferous tubules was increased 5- and 13-fold, respectively. These results suggest that DMBA is metabolized primarily in rat testis Leydig cells and that part of the produced metabolites find their way to the seminiferous epithelium, where they undergo further metabolism producing reactive metabolites, possibly cation radicals and diolepoxides, which interfere with the functions of spermatogonia and spermatocytes by modifying key proteins covalently.