O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase in human fetal tissues: fetal and maternal factors.

O6-Methylguanine methyltransferase (O6-MT) was measured and compared in extracts of 7 human fetal tissues obtained from 21 different fetal specimens as a function of fetal age and race and of maternal smoking and drug usage. Liver exhibited the highest activity followed by kidney, lung, small intestine, large intestine, skin, and brain. Each fetal organ homogenate exhibited a 3- to 5-fold level of interindividual variation of O6-MT. There did not appear to be any significant differences of O6-MT as a function of fetal race and age and in the tissues obtained from mothers who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy. The fetal tissues obtained from an individual using phenobarbital exhibited 4-fold increases in O6-MT activity. The tissues obtained from another individual on kidney dialysis were 2- to 3-fold higher than the normal population. These data suggest a possible enhancement of human fetal O6-MT by certain xenobiotics, with little if any modulation by racial factors and maternal smoking habits.