Objective: To explore the effect of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) on the expression and the activities of cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) of porcine aortic endothelial cells.
Methods: Porcine aortic endothelial cells were cultured in vitro, and treated with different concentrations of BaP (0, 0.5, 1.0, 5.0, 10.0 micro mol/L) for 24 hours, CYP1A1 expression was determined by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. At the same time, the ethoxyresorufin-o-deethylase (EROD) activities were measured by spectrofluorometer.
Results: By Western blot, the expression of CYP1A1 of control cells was not found, but the expression of CYP1A1 of cells treated with BaP was found; By immunohistochemistry, only part of endothelial cells treated with BaP had positive expression of CYP1A1. The peak activities of EROD induced by BaP was at the concentration of 0.5 - 1.0 micro mol/L.
Conclusion: BaP could induce part of endothelial cells to synthesize CYP1A1. BaP of 0.5 - 1.0 micro mol/L could induce peak activities of EROD.