Abstract
Summary
The effect of three carcinogens, streptozotocin, methylnitrosourea, and hydrazine, on guanylate cyclase activity in a variety of human tissues obtained from autopsy specimens 1 to 12 hr after death was examined. Streptozotocin and methylnitrosourea produced two- to sixfold increases in guanylate cyclase activity in lung, liver, colon, kidney, stomach, duodenum, heart, and pancreas. Hydrazine, increased guanylate cyclase activity 21-fold in lung, 52-fold in pancreas, 35-fold in kidney, 24-fold in heart, and 9-fold in liver. The data in this report may help explain the tumor-inducing capacity of these three carcinogens.
The authors thank the following for their helpful assistance in obtaining tissue for the study: Drs. Everett V. Sugarbaker, George Irvin, III, Raymond Schaerf, Ronald K. Wright, Elidio C. Fernandez, and Taryn Price. We also thank Dr. Barbara Levey for critical review of this manuscript.
These studies were supported in part by NIH Grant No. HL 13715-06, and by a grant from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
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