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

Abstract

The intracellular distribution of vitamin B6 in rat liver tumors induced by 4-dimethylaminoazobenzene and in the livers of rats and mice before and after the admn. of the azo dye was detd. after differential centrifugation of the tissue homogenates in hypertonic sucrose soln. In all cases vitamin B6 was concd. in the washed large granules or mitochondria (28 to 45% of total) and in the supernatant fluids (45-64% of total). The washed nuclear fractions contained 3-11% of the total vitamin B6 present. The unwashed small granules or microsomes contained 4-8% of the total vitamin B6; in the case of normal rat liver, one washing reduced the level to about 1.5%. 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 large-granule and supernatant fluid fractions of the liver tumors contained even less vitamin B6 than was found in the corresponding fractions from the livers of rats fed the dye.