Depression of hepatic drug metabolism in endotoxin-treated and sarcoma-bearing mice.

The effect of a single dose of bacterial endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) was compared with that of tumor implantation in mice on the activity of several hepatic cytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenases. These included ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase, p-nitrophenol hydroxylase, aminopyrine N-demethylase, pentoxyresorufin O-depentylase, ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase and testosterone hydroxylase. For this purpose, mice were treated i.p. with 5 micrograms of LPS or implanted in the right paw with S 180 sarcoma. A comparable depression (30-50%) of total microsomal P-450 content as well as of the different P-450 monooxygenase activities tested was observed in LPS-treated mice (24 h after LPS) and in tumor bearing mice (12 days after implantation). The lack of differences in the pattern of depression of microsomal enzymes between LPS-treated and tumor-bearing mice suggests that a common mechanisms might be involved in the depression of P-450 by LPS or S-180 implantation.