Human hair follicles and cultured hair follicle keratinocytes as indicators for individual differences in carcinogen metabolism

Abstract

Benzo(a)pyrene (BP)-metabolism in freshly isolated human hair follicles, cultured hair follicle keratinocytes and cells cultured from human bronchial epithelium was analysed by high performance liquid chromatography. All three types of tissues resulted in quantitatively comparable amounts of the most important organic solvent-soluble metabolites: 9,10-dihydrodiol-BP, 7,8-dihydrodiol-BP, quinones, and phenols. Besides these metabolites two early eluting compounds were detected: one possibly is BP-3-yl-hydrogen sulfate, the other probably consists of one or more tetrols. Water-soluble metabolites were quantitatively unimportant in both types of cultured cells and appeared to be primarily glucuronide and sulfate conjugates with the monohydroxides and the 7,8-dihydrodiol of BP. This metabolic pattern is compared to that of monocytes and lymphocytes which have been used frequently in population studies and with data from other types of human epithelial cells. It is concluded that human hair follicles and cultured keratinocytes from these organs are useful for detection of individual differences in carcinogen metabolism.

Inducibility of arylhydrocarbon-hydroxylase activity in human hair follicles by topical application of liquor carbonis detergens (coal tar)

“…It has been shown that human hair follicles metabolize benzo[a]pyrene m a similar way to human bronchial epithelial cells (Hukkelhoven, Dijkstra & Vermorken, 1983). Therefore hair bulbs are a very suitable tissue to investigate whether the AHH-controlling gene is of significance in producing human cancer.…”

“…H.Merk et al liquid chromatography (Vermorken et al, I979a,b;Hukkelhoven, Dijkstra & Vermorken, 1983). However, in cultured human hair follicles no AHH inducibility was detected (Hukkelhoven et al, 1981a).…”