Metabolism of doxorubicin, daunorubicin and epirubicin in human and rat hepatoma cells

Abstract The metabolism of three anthracyclines, namely daunorubicin, doxorubicin and epirubicin, was studied in two human (HepG 2 and HBG 2 ) and one rat (FAO) hepatoma cell lines. Both species and substrate differences in anthracycline metabolism were retained by these hepatoma cell lines with regard to the aldoketoreductase pathway. However, glucuronidation of epirubicin normally found in vivo and in human hepatocyte cultures was not recovered in human hepatoma cells, further indicating that these cells express only some of the liver functions. Nevertheless, these cell lines could be a suitable model to investigate the still poorly understood aldoketoreductase activity.