Intracellular Distribution of Vitamin B6 in Rat and Mouse Livers and Induced Rat Liver Tumors.

Abstract

SummaryThe intracellular distribution of vitamin B6 in rat liver tumors induced by 4-dimethylaminoazobenzene and in the livers of rats and mice before and after administration of the azo dye was determined after differential centrifugation of the tissue homogen-ates in hypertonic sucrose solution.In all cases vitamin B6 was concentrated in the washed large granules or mitochondria (28 to 45% of total) and in the supernatant fluids (45 to 64% of total). The washed nuclear fractions contained 3 to 11% of the total vitamin B6 present. The unwashed small granules or microsomes contained 4 to 8% of the total vitamin B6 in the case of normal rat liver one washing reduced the level to about 1 1/2%.The ingestion of the azo dye reduced the levels of the vitamin in the large granule and supernatant fluid fractions of the livers in each species. The decrease in protein content of the large granules paralleled the decrease in vitamin B6 content. The large granule and supernatant fluid fractions of the liver tumors co...