Influence of pretreatment with tobacco smoke condensate or 3-methylcholanthrene on [14C] benzo (A) pyrene metabolism in the isolated perfused rabbit lung

Pretreatment 24 h before sacrifice with i.p. tobacco smoke condensate (TSC) or 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC) increased the rate of disappearance of [¹⁴C]benzo(a)pyrene (BP) from an isolated perfused rabbit lung model. Both pretreatments significantly increased the amount of most metabolites formed. This study indicates that rabbits tend to resemble rats, mice and hamsters in that increased rates of pulmonary BP metabolism are a consequence of exposure to TSC.