Properties and response smoking of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) activity in various human tissues are reviewed. In the placenta, induction of AHH by smoking can be demonstrated unequivocally. AHH activity in lung samples is variable, but the relation to current or past smoking is unclear. The effect of cigarette smoking can be readily shown in the rate of antipyrine elimination, although there is no change in AHH activity in liver biopsy samples. The reason for this discrepancy is not known. In peripheral lymphocytes a sort of “memory-effect” of cigarette smoking is retained even after culturing, the nature of this phenomenon remaining unclear. Furthermore, there seem to be many factors affecting AHH induction in peripheral lymphocytes in culture. These data suggest that regulation of AHH activity and induction is tissue-specific, i.e. no systemic regulation is discernible. It is also possible that the P-450 isozyme composition in some tissues masks the induction.
Reasons for discrepancies between animal and human data are not clear; however, genuine biological differences and technical difficulties in human studies can be postulated.
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