Recently, biochemical analysis using hemoglobin adduct is frequently performed to evaluate the exposure to chemical carcinogens. However, data on the effect of co-exposure with other chemicals on hemoglobin adduct formation are seldom provided. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of pretreatment of ethanol(EtOH) and pheno-barbital(PB), which are known to affect metabolism of xenobiotics, on the formation of hemoglobin adducts in the rats(Sprague-Dawley) administered benzidine(BZ). The expe-rimental rats were divided into control, EtOH, and PB groups. Rats were pretreated with EtOH or PB 24 hours before the oral administration of BZ. Blood sampling was taken before the administration of the chemicals and 0.5, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 114 hours after the administration of the BZ in 5rats each. The blood was separated into hemoglobin and plasma immediately after taking the blood samples, and the adducts were undergone basic hydrolysis to convert them into aromatic amines. Hydrolyzed BZ, monoacetylbenzidine(MABZ), and 4-aminobiphenyl(4ABP) were separated by reversed-phase liquid chromatography without derivatization, and quantitative analyses of them were performed by a highperformance liquid chromatograph equipped with electro-chemical detector. The quantitative amount of the metabo-ltes was expressed by hemoglobin binding index(HBI).
BZ-,MABZ-, and 4ABP-HBI of EtOH and PB groups were increased more than those of control group. These results are attributable to the fact that EtOH and PB induced N-hydroxylation related to the hemoglobin adduct formation. The ratio of N-acetylation (viz, MABZ-HBI/BZ-HBI) showed no significant difference between EtOH group and control group. It means that EtOH increased N-hydroxylation and N-acetylation in a similar degree. The N-acetylation ratio of PB group was relatively lower than control group because the PB increased N-hydroxylation induction. The N-acetylation ratios of all groups were higher than 1 during the entire experi-mental period. This result suggests that the effects of EtOH or PB need to be considered in the biochemical monitoring for the assessment of intermittent exposure of benzidine.
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