Effect of chloroquine administration on the in vitro conjugation of oestradiol-17 beta by rat liver.
The conjugation of oestradiol-17 beta was studied in control and chloroquine-treated rats. Liver homogenates were incubated with [14C]oestradiol-17 beta and cofactors for 4 h at 37 degrees C and free radioactivity was extracted before and after hot acid hydrolysis. The extent of conjugation was estimated from the ratio of free radioactivity to free plus conjugated radioactivity. The method was authenticated by the negligibly low conjugation obtained for either heat-denatured homogenates or water blank. Each experiment was corrected for its own recovery. The effects of both single and multiple intramuscular injections of chloroquine phosphate to rats on the in vitro conjugation of oestradiol-17 beta were studied separately. It was observed that both procedures significantly potentiated conjugation.