The use of Immortalized Mouse L1210/OAP Cells Established in Culture to Study the Major Class 1 Aldehyde Dehydrogenase-Catalyzed Oxidation of Aldehydes in Intact Cells

Abstract

NAD(P)-linked aldehyde dehydrogenases are a group of enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of a wide variety of aldehydes to their corresponding acids (Sladek et al., 1989; Goedde and Agarwal, 1990). Based on their primary structure, and/or subcellular distribution and kinetic, physical and immunological properties, these enzymes have been divided into three classes, viz., 1,2, and 3 (Lindahl and Hempel, 1991). The major class 2 enzyme has been studied quite extensively both in vivo and in cell-free experiments, in large part because of its importance in ethanol metabolism. More recently, class 3 aldehyde dehydrogenases have, because of their association with tumorigenesis, also been the subject of extensive investigation both in vivo and in cell-free experiments. In contrast, class 1 aldehyde dehydrogenases have not been as extensively studied, especially ex or in vivo. This is probably because their importance in catalyzing the oxidation of several biologically and/or pharmacologically important aldehydes, e.g., aldophosphamide, has only recently been recognized (Sladek et al., 1989).