Stereoselective phosphonylation of human serum proteins by soman

Phosphonylation has been reported as part of the degradation of soman in human serum. The concentration of phosphonylation sites can be quantified by comparing the degradation in serum, preincubated with soman (all sites occupied), with the degradation in serum not preincubated. The mean value of 73 nM of phosphonylation sites is in agreement with the concentration of active sites of butyrylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8.), which is known to be phosphonylated by soman. Hence, it is concluded that butyrylcholinesterase accounts for all the phosphonylation sites present in human serum. The stereoselectivity of the reaction was investigated by using epimeric pairs of soman, in casu C(+)P(+/-)- and C(-)P(+/-)-soman. In a first approach enzymatic hydrolysis was blocked and the ratios of phosphonylation rate constants, C(+)P(+)/C(+)P(-) and C(-)P(+)/C(-)P(-), were determined to be 0.15 and 0.31, respectively. In a second approach, in untreated serum, the bimolecular phosphonylation rate constants of C(+)P(-)- and C(-)P(-)-soman were determined, neglecting their small hydrolysis rate and taking advantage of the fast enzymatically catalysed disappearance of their respective P(+)-epimeric counterparts. Values for C(+)P(-)- and C(-)P(-)-soman are 3.6 X 10(7) and 0.6 X 10(7) M-1.min-1, respectively. Using a combination of both approaches, a relative ranking of phosphonylation rates of the four isomers was found to be C(+)P(-) much greater than C(+)P(+) approximately equal to C(-)P(-) greater than C(-)P(+).     

Mice treated with a nontoxic dose of chlorpyrifos oxon have diethoxyphosphotyrosine labeled proteins in blood up to 4 days post exposure, detected by mass spectrometry

Inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activity is an established biomarker of exposure to organophosphorus poisons (OP). Inhibition of activity is due to covalent binding of the OP to the active site serine. Mass spectrometry has made it possible to monitor OP exposure by analyzing OP adducts on tyrosine in proteins that have no active site serine. Our goal was to test the hypothesis that OP-tyrosine may serve as a biomarker of OP exposure in mice. A MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry strategy to analyze diethoxyphosphate-tyrosine of m/z 318 was developed. The adduct was synthesized by incubating l-tyrosine with chlorpyrifos oxon at pH 8.1. The adduct eluted from a reverse phase HPLC column with 22-23% acetonitrile. The fragmentation spectrum of the m/z 318 precursor ion confirmed its identity as diethoxyphosphate-tyrosine. Diethoxyphosphate-tyrosine was isolated from chlorpyrifos oxon treated mouse albumin after digesting the protein with pronase. Mice (n=3 per group) were treated with a nontoxic dose of chlorpyrifos oxon (3 mg/kg) and a toxic dose (10 mg/kg transdermally). The pronase digested plasma yielded diethoxyphosphate-tyrosine up to 120 h after treatment with 3 mg/kg chlorpyrifos oxon and up to 144 h after 10 mg/kg. In contrast plasma AChE activity returned to normal after 24-72 h. In conclusion MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry can be used to diagnose exposure to chlorpyrifos oxon days after AChE inhibition assays are uninformative.     

Five tyrosines and two serines in human albumin are labeled by the organophosphorus agent FP-biotin

Tyrosine 411 of human albumin is an established site for covalent attachment of 10-fluoroethoxyphosphinyl- N-biotinamidopentyldecanamide (FP-biotin), diisopropylfluorophosphate, chlorpyrifos oxon, soman, sarin, and dichlorvos. This work investigated the hypothesis that other residues in albumin could be modified by organophosphorus agents (OP). Human plasma was aggressively treated with FP-biotin; plasma proteins were separated into high and low abundant portions using a proteome partitioning antibody kit, and the proteins were digested with trypsin. The FP-biotinylated tryptic peptides were isolated by binding to monomeric avidin beads. The major sites of covalent attachment identified by mass spectrometry were Y138, Y148, Y401, Y411, Y452, S232, and S287 of human albumin. Prolonged treatment of pure human albumin with chlorpyrifos oxon labeled Y138, Y150, Y161, Y401, Y411, and Y452. To identify the most reactive residue, albumin was treated for 2 h with DFP, FP-biotin, chlorpyrifos oxon, or soman, digested with trypsin or pepsin, and analyzed by mass spectrometry. The most reactive residue was always Tyr 411. Diethoxyphosphate-labeled Tyr 411 was stable for months at pH 7.4. These results will be useful in the development of specific antibodies to detect OP exposure and to engineer albumin for use as an OP scavenger.     

Development of an immunochemical detection method for atrazine-induced albumin adducts

Atrazine (2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine) is one of the most commonly used herbicides in the United States. Exposures in rodent models have led to a host of biological effects, most notably the suppression of luteinizing hormone surge. Previously, we have reported that diaminochlorotriazine (DACT), an atrazine metabolite, forms a covalent adduct with rat hemoglobin at Cys-125. In the present study, we investigated the formation of a similar covalent adduct at Cys-34 of rat and human albumins following atrazine exposure using MALDI-TOF/TOF MS and adduct-specific immunochemical detection. Using mass spectrometry, a covalent adduct with a mass of 110 Da was located on Cys-34 of albumin from rats exposed to 20, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg atrazine as well as rat and human albumins exposed in vitro to 90 microg/mL DACT. On the basis of the formation of the adduct in vitro, the adduct structure is a dechlorinated diaminochlorotriazine. To further study this unique protein adduction, we collaborated with Strategic Biosolutions Inc. to generate a polyclonal antibody specific for the DACT adduct and report its use for immunochemical detection. We detected adduct formation in purified serum albumin samples from rats given 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg atrazine as well as rat and human albumins exposed in vitro to 90 microg/mL DACT by using immunochemical analysis. No adducts were detected in control animals or in the in vitro controls using our immunochemical detection method. In summary, these data report the development of a novel immunochemical detection system that could provide a rapid screening methodology for the detection of atrazine in exposed human populations.     

Phosphonylation of purified human, canine and porcine cholinesterase by soman. Stereoselective aspects

Cholinesterases (EC 3.1.1.8, acylcholine acylhydrolase) from the sera of man, dog and pig were purified 400-600-fold using a combination of ion-exchange and affinity chromatography. In a first approach, phosphonylation by soman was studied by using the half-resolved epimers C(+)P(+/-)-soman and C(-)P(+/-)-soman. The degradation of soman at the nanomolar level was followed in time by determining the remaining soman by capillary gas chromatography with NP detection. In the three sera investigated the P-(-)-epimer phosphonylates at a higher rate than its corresponding P(+)-counterpart and the stereoselectivity is greater for the C(+)-epimers than for the C(-)-epimers. Individual soman isomers were isolated from C(+)- and C(-)-epimers and quantified by gas chromatography. Second-order rate constants were determined for the phosphonylation of purified cholinesterase by isolated soman isomers. The C(+)P(-)-isomer has the highest phosphonylation rate for the three species; the other toxic isomer, C(-)P(-), has a five to ten-fold lower rate. The overall stereoselectivity is more marked in human cholinesterase than in canine. Porcine serum cholinesterase is phosphonylated by the P(-)-isomers at a slightly higher rate than the human enzyme.     

Protein covalent binding of maxipost through a cytochrome P450-mediated ortho-quinone methide intermediate in rats.

(3S)-(+)-(5-Chloro-2-methoxyphenyl)-1,3-dihydro-3-fluoro-6-(trifluoromethyl)-2H-indole-2-one) (MaxiPost, BMS-204352) is a potent and specific opener for maxi-K channels and has potential to prevent and treat ischemic stroke. Following single intravenous doses of [14C]BMS-204352 to rats, only 10 to 12% of radioactivity was extractable from plasma with organic solvents. The unextractable radioactivity remained associated with the proteins (mostly albumin) after SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis or dialysis. Following acid hydrolysis in 6 M HCl for 24 h at 110 degrees C from plasma proteins collected from nine rats dosed with [14C]BMS-204352, one major radioactive product was isolated and identified as a lysine-adduct of des-fluoro des-O-methyl BMS-204352 by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and NMR analyses as well as by comparison with the synthetic analog, lysine-adduct of des-fluoro BMS-204352 (BMS-349821). The covalent binding of BMS-204352 results from the displacement of the ring-fluorine atom of des-O-methyl BMS-204352 with the epsilon-amino group of a lysine residue. Microsomal incubations of [14C]BMS-204352 resulted in low levels of covalent binding of radioactivity to proteins. This in vitro covalent binding required cytochrome P450-reductase cofactor NADPH and was attenuated by glutathione. P4503A inhibitors ketoconazole and troleadomycin selectively prevented the covalent binding in vitro. Based on these observations, a two-step bioactivation process for the protein covalent binding of BMS-204352 was postulated: 1) P4503A-mediated O-demethylation leading to spontaneous release of HF and the formation of an ortho-quinone methide reactive metabolite and 2) nucleophilic addition of the epsilon-amino group of protein lysine residue(s) in protein to form des-fluoro des-O-methyl BMS-204352 lysine adduct.     

Effect of glutathione on the covalent binding of the 13C-labeled skin sensitizer 5-chloro-2-methylisothiazol-3-one to human serum albumin: identification of adducts by nuclear magnetic resonance, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry, and nanoelectrospray tandem mass spectrometry

The covalent binding of 4-[(13)C]- and 5-[(13)C]-5-chloro-2-methylisothiazol-3-one (MCI) toward human serum albumin (HSA) was followed by (13)C and (1)H[(13)C] NMR spectroscopy. MCI was found to react with histidine through an addition-elimination at position 5, leading to stable substitution adducts, and with lysine to form open adducts of the thioamide or amide type. No other modification could be detected on either cysteine or tyrosine. In the presence of glutathione (GSH), we observed an increased covalent binding to lysine residues. This could be explained by the rapid reaction of GSH with MCI to form a chlorothioacyl intermediate very reactive toward primary amino groups of lysine residues. To further confirm these observations and map covalent binding sites, HSA samples modified by MCI with or without GSH were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry of tryptic digests and electrospray tandem mass spectrometry of modified peptides purified by reverse phase HPLC. About 80% of the HSA sequence was mapped, and several modified peptides were identified. When HSA was incubated with MCI without GSH, three peptides modified at histidine residues were characterized while when HSA was incubated in the presence of GSH, five peptides modified at histidine and lysine residues were identified. These experiments confirmed that modifications on lysine residues were of the amide and thioamide types. Observed modifications were in accordance with mass increases corresponding to structures identified by NMR, and an extra adduct corresponding to a double modification of His 338 was observed. Comparison of HSA-MCI and HSA-MCI-GSH samples confirmed that the presence of GSH increased the modification of lysine residues.     

Reactions of benzene oxide with thiols including glutathione

S-Phenylmercapturic acid is a minor metabolite of benzene used as a biomarker for human benzene exposures. The reaction of intracellular glutathione with benzene oxide-oxepin, the initial metabolite of benzene, is presumed to give 1-(S-glutathionyl)-cyclohexa-3,5-dien-2-ol, which undergoes dehydration to S-phenylglutathione, the precursor of S-phenylmercapturic acid. To validate the proposed route to S-phenylglutathione, reactions of benzene oxide-oxepin with glutathione and other sulfur nucleophiles have been studied. The reaction of benzene oxide with an excess of aqueous sodium sulfide, followed by acetylation, gave bis-(6-trans-5-acetoxycyclohexa-1,3-dienyl)sulfide, the structure of which was proved by X-ray crystallography. Reactions of benzene oxide-oxepin in a 95:5 (v/v) mixture of phosphate buffer in D2O with (CD3)2SO were monitored by 1H NMR spectroscopy. In the absence of glutathione, the half-life of benzene oxide-oxepin was ca. 34 min at 25 degrees C and pD 7.0. The half-life was not affected in the range of 2-15 mM glutathione in the presence and absence of a commercial sample of human glutathione S-transferase (at pH 7.0, 8.0, 8.5, or 10.0). The adduct 1-(S-glutathionyl)-cyclohexa-3,5-diene-2-ol was identified in these reaction mixtures, especially at higher pH, by mass spectrometry and by its acid-catalyzed decomposition to S-phenylglutathione. Incubation of benzene oxide with N-acetyl-L-cysteine at 37 degrees C and pH 10.0 and subsequent mass spectrometric analysis of the mixture showed formation of pre-S-phenylmercapturic acid and the dehydration product, S-phenylmercapturic acid. The data validate the premise that benzene oxide-oxepin can be captured by glutathione to give (1R,2R)- and/or (1S,2S)-1-(S-glutathionyl)-cyclohexa-3,5-dien-2-ol, which dehydrate to S-phenylglutathione. The capture is a relatively inefficient process at pH 7 that is accelerated at higher pH. These studies account for the observation that the metabolism of benzene is dominated by the formation of phenol. The pathway leading to S-phenylmercapturic acid is necessarily minor on account of the low efficiency of benzene oxide capture by glutathione at pH 7 vs spontaneous rearrangement to phenol.     

Stereoselective degradation of the fenoprofen acyl glucuronide enantiomers and irreversible binding to plasma protein.

Stereoselective degradation of fenoprofen (FEN) glucuronides and irreversible binding of FEN enantiomers to human serum albumin via their glucuronides were studied. At different pH values, 37 degrees C, and in the absence of albumin, degradation half-lives were diastereomeric, resulting mainly from a combination of hydrolysis and acyl migration. Lower pH enhanced FEN glucuronide stability and reduced the extent of irreversible binding. The degradation rate of R-FEN glucuronide was greater than that of the S-glucuronide (S-FEN). When human serum albumin was added to the medium, stability was decreased as compared to protein-free buffer. FEN glucuronides were readily hydrolyzed to parent drug, indicating an esterase-like activity of the albumin molecule. In vitro irreversible binding was higher for R-FEN (1.22% +/- 0.36) than for S-FEN glucuronide (0.76% +/- 0.12), when a 0.1 mM concentration of each conjugate enantiomer was incubated under physiological conditions (pH 7.4, 37 degrees C). Incubation with unconjugated FEN did not lead to measurable irreversible binding. Analysis of plasma samples from a clinical study showed that enantioselective irreversible binding of FEN to plasma proteins also occurs in vivo. After administration of a single 600-mg dose of racemic FEN to six healthy volunteers, covalent binding of R- and S-FEN to plasma proteins was measured in all subjects. The percentage of S-FEN protein adduct was greater than that of its R-enantiomer adduct. Total amounts of FEN irreversibly bound to plasma protein in vivo were also very low (1.02 +/- 0.32 and 3.23 +/- 0.85 mol/mol protein x 10(-4) for R- and S-FEN, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Covalent binding of 2-phenylpropionyl-S-acyl-CoA thioester to tissue proteins in vitro.

In this study, we investigated the possible involvement of acyl-CoA, reactive intermediary metabolites of 2-arylpropionic acids (profens), in protein adduct formation in rat liver homogenate and in human serum albumin (HSA) in buffer. (RS)-[1-14C]-2-Phenylpropionic acid (14C-2-PPA, 1 mM) was incubated with rat liver homogenate (1.5 mg/ml) in the presence of cofactors of acyl-CoA formation (Mg2+, ATP, and CoA). Aliquots of the incubation mixture were analyzed for covalent binding and acyl-CoA formation over a 3-h period. High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of the products from such incubations showed the presence of 2-phenylpropionyl-S-acyl-CoA (2-PPA-CoA), which was confirmed by coelution with authentic 2-PPA-CoA, as well as by mass spectrometry. In the same incubations, 2-PPA was shown to bind covalently to hepatic proteins in a time- and ATP-dependent fashion. Inhibition of 2-PPA-CoA formation by acyl-CoA synthetase inhibitors, such as palmitic acid, lauric acid, octanoic acid, and ibuprofen, markedly decreased the extent of covalent binding of 2-PPA to hepatic proteins. Results from these in vitro studies strongly suggest that acyl-CoA thioester derivatives are chemically reactive and are able to bind covalently to tissue proteins in vitro, and, therefore, may contribute significantly to covalent adduct formation of profen drugs in vivo.     

Site-specific arylation of rat glutathione s-transferase A1 and A2 by bromobenzene metabolites in vivo

The hepatotoxicity of bromobenzene (BB) derives from its reactive metabolites (epoxides and quinones), which arylate cellular proteins. Application of proteomic methods to liver proteins from rats treated with a hepatotoxic dose of [14C]-BB has identified more than 40 target proteins, but no adducted peptides have yet been observed. Because such proteins are known to contain bromophenyl- and bromodihydroxyphenyl derivatives of cysteine, histidine, and lysine, the failure to observe modified peptides has been attributed to the low level of total covalent binding and to the "dilution" effect of multiple metabolites reacting at multiple sites on multiple proteins. In this work glutathione S-transferase (GST), a well-known and abundant BB-target protein, was isolated from liver cytosol of rats treated with 14C-BB by use of a glutathione (GSH)-agarose affinity column and further resolved by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) into subunits M1, M2, A1, A2 and A3. The subunits were identified by a combination of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), whole-molecule mass spectrometry, and peptide mass mapping and found to contain radioactivity corresponding to 0.01-0.05 adduct per molecule of protein. Examination of tryptic digests of these subunits by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) failed to reveal any apparent adducted peptides despite observed sequence coverages up to 87%. However, use of HPLC-linear ion-trap quadrupole Fourier transform mass spectrometry (LTQ-FTMS) to search for predicted modified tryptic peptides revealed peaks corresponding, with a high degree of mass accuracy, to a bromobenzoquinone adduct of peptide 89-119 in both GSTA1 and A2. The identity of these adducts and their location at Cys-111 was confirmed by tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS). No evidence for the presence of any putative BB-adducts in GST M1, M2, or A3 was obtained. This work highlights the challenges involved in the unambiguous identification of reactive metabolite adducts formed in vivo.     

Aryl acylamidase of monkey brain and liver: response to inhibitors and relationship to acetylcholinesterase.

The serotonin sensitive aryl acylamidase (aryl acylamide amidohydrolase EC 3.5.1.13) of monkey brain was compared with the liver enzyme. Although the two enzymes showed some similarities in their properties such as pH optima, the effect of metal ions and thiol agents, they significantly differed in their mol. wt and response to inhibitors. The liver enzyme had a higher mol. wt as observed by gel filtration on Sepharose 6B and a greater heat stability. The brain enzyme was inhibited specifically by the amines serotonin and tryptamine as well as by acetylcholine and its analogues and homologues in a non-competitive manner. The liver enzyme was unaffected by the above mentioned amines or acetylcholine but it was non-competitively inhibited by indole-3-acetic acid and indole-3-propionic acid both compounds having no effect on the brain enzyme. Eserine, a strong competitive inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, at 10^?7M inhibited the brain aryl acylamidase to 75 per cent leaving the liver enzyme unaffected. Eserine inhibition of the brain enzyme was non-competitive. From Dixon plots serotonin, acetylcholine and eserine were shown to act at the same site on brain aryl acylamidase. The inhibition of the brain enzyme by eserine and acetylcholine, the elution of both aryl acylamidase and acetylcholinesterase activities in the same fractions during gel filtration and the regional distribution of aryl acylamidase in the brain suggested the association of aryl acylamidase with acetylcholinesterase in the brain though not in the liver.     

Reaction of glyoxal with 2'-deoxyguanosine, 2'-deoxyadenosine, 2'-deoxycytidine, cytidine, thymidine, and calf thymus DNA: identification of DNA adducts

Glyoxal (ethanedial) is an increasingly used industrial chemical that has been found to be mutagenic in bacteria and mammalian cells. In this study, the reactions of glyoxal with 2'-deoxyguanosine, 2'-deoxyadenosine, 2'-deoxycytidine, cytidine, thymidine, and calf thymus DNA have been studied in aqueous buffered solutions. The nucleoside adducts were isolated by reversed-phase liquid chromatography and characterized by their UV absorbance and 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric features. The reaction with 2'-deoxyguanosine gave one adduct, the previously known 3-(2'-deoxy-beta-D-erythro-pentofuranosyl)-5,6,7-trihydro-6,7-dihydroxyimidazo[1,2-a]purine-9-one adduct. The reaction of 2'-deoxyadenosine with glyoxal resulted in the formation of a previously not reported N6-(hydroxyacetyl)-2'-deoxyadenosine adduct. In the reaction of glyoxal with 2'-deoxycytidine and cytidine at neutral conditions and 37 degrees C, 5-hydroxyacetyl pyrimidine derivatives were obtained. When the cytidine reaction was performed at pH 4.5 and 50 degrees C, the 5-hydroxyacetyl derivative of uridine was formed through deamination of cytidine-glyoxal. Adducts in the thymidine reaction could not be detected. In the reaction of glyoxal with calf thymus DNA, the 2'-deoxyguanosine-glyoxal and 2'-deoxyadenosine-glyoxal adducts were obtained, the former being the major adduct.     

Identification of a novel hemoglobin adduct in Sprague Dawley rats exposed to atrazine

Atrazine (2-chloro-4-[ethylamino]-6-[isopropylamino]-1,3,5-triazine) is one of the most commonly used herbicides in North America and is frequently detected in ground and surface waters. This research investigated possible covalent modifications of hemoglobin following in vivo exposures to atrazine in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats and in vitro incubations with diaminochlorotriazine. SD rats were exposed to 0, 10, 30, 100, and 300 (mg atrazine/kg)/day for 3 days via oral gavages, and blood was drawn at 0 h, 24 h, 72 h, 20 days, 1 month, and 2 months for globin analysis. Globin was purified from red blood cells, separated with high-performance liquid chromatography, and analyzed with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). An additional beta globin peak was seen in exposed animals during the HPLC and MALDI-TOF MS analysis with a mass 110 Da greater than the normal beta subunits. Tryptic digests of this beta peak contained a peptide of 1449.9 m/z that corresponded to a modified peptide of amino acids 121-132. Mass spectrometry sequencing of this peptide indicated a 110 Da addition to Cys-125 of the major beta globin chain, which corresponds to a nucleophilic substitution reaction with a diaminochlorotriazine. In vitro incubations of SD globin and diaminochlorotriazine also resulted in a peptide of 1449.6 m/z that was identical in sequence to the modified peptide seen in the in vivo digest, confirming the nucleophilic substitution mechanism of adduct formation. Exposures of SD rats to atrazine results in formation of an adduct that is easily detected and provides an analytical model for detection of triazine adducts in other macromolecules with sulfhydryl functional groups.     

Metabolic activation of troglitazone: identification of a reactive metabolite and mechanisms involved.

Troglitazone (TGZ), the first glitazone used for the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus and removed from the market for liver toxicity, was shown to bind covalently to microsomal protein and glutathione (GSH) following activation by cytochrome P450 (P450). The covalent binding of (14)C-TGZ in dexamethasone-induced rat liver microsomes was NADPH-dependent and required the active form of P450; it was completely inhibited by ketoconazole (10 microM) and GSH (4 mM). The covalent binding in P450 3A4 Supersomes (9.2 nmol of TGZ Eq/nmol P450) was greater than that with P450 1A2 (0.7), 2C8 (3.7), 2C19 (1.4), 2E1 (0.6), and 2D6 (1.1) and 3A5 (3.0). The covalent binding in liver microsomes from rats pretreated with dexamethasone (5.3 nmol of TGZ Eq bound/nmol P450) was greater than that from rats pretreated with vehicle (3.5), beta-naphthoflavone (0.4), phenobarbital (1.1), or pyridine (2.5). A TGZ-GSH adduct was detected by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and radioactivity detection with a deprotonated quasi-molecular ion [M-H](-) at m/z 745, with fragment ions at m/z 438 (deprotonated TGZ moiety), and at m/z 306 (deprotonated GSH moiety). The TGZ-GSH adduct was determined to be 5-glutathionyl-5-[4-(6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-ylmethoxy)benzyl]-thiazolidine-2,4-dione based on collision-induced dissociation fragmentation, and one- and two-dimensional NMR analysis of the isolated adduct. The synthetic 5-hydroxy TGZ and the benzylidene derivative of TGZ did not react with GSH or GSH ethyl ester. The mechanisms for metabolic activation of TGZ may involve an ultimate reactive sulfonium ion which could be formed from an initial sulfoxide followed by a formal Pummerer rearrangement, or a C5 thiazolidinedione radical or a sulfur cation radical.     

First isolation of a symmetrical glycosylated methylene bisflavonoid

Blutaparon portulacoides (St. Hil.) Mears (= Philoxerus portulacoides St. Hil.) (Amaranthaceae) is a species occurring in the Brazilian coast in two botanical varieties. The chemical study of an ethanolic extract led to the isolation of spinacetin 3- O-robinobioside as well as an unique glycosylated pseudo-dimeric flavonoid identified as 8,8"-methylene bis(spinacetin 3- O-robinobioside) mainly by NMR analyses (1H, 1H- 1H COSY, 13C, HMQC, HMBC) and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.     

Phosphylated tyrosine in albumin as a biomarker of exposure to organophosphorus nerve agents

The organophosphorus nerve agents sarin, soman, cyclosarin and tabun phosphylate a tyrosine residue on albumin in human blood. These adducts may offer relatively long-lived biological markers of nerve agent exposure that do not ‘age’ rapidly, and which are not degraded by therapy with oximes. Sensitive methods for the detection of these adducts have been developed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Adducts of all four nerve agents were detected in the blood of exposed guinea pigs being used in studies to improve medical countermeasures. The tyrosine adducts with soman and tabun were detected in guinea pigs receiving therapy 7 days following subcutaneous administration of five times the LD₅₀ dose of the respective nerve agent. VX also forms a tyrosine adduct in human blood in vitro but only at high concentrations.     

Apparent intramolecular acyl migration of zomepirac glucuronide

For the antiinflammatory drug zomepirac (Z), 5-(4-chlorobenzoyl)-1,4-dimethyl-1H-pyrrole-2 acetic acid, the glucuronic acid conjugate (ZG) is the major metabolite. During analytical development ZG was found to be unstable at physiological pH, leading to four compounds other than Z. ZG and the other fractions were purified from urine by preparative HPLC and the structure of ZG was confirmed by elemental analysis and by NMR and mass spectrometry. Fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry was used to analyze the unstable, underivatized acyl glucuronides. ZG was cleaved by beta-glucuronidase but the other fractions were not. The stability of ZG was determined over a pH range of 1-8; the half-life was 27 min at pH 7.4 and 37 degrees C in water; maximum stability was found at pH 2. Intramolecular acyl migration of the glucuronide is postulated, as four of the isolated fractions formed from ZG yielded a mass-spectral parent ion corresponding to ZG+ H. The importance of sample handling prior to analysis to avoid acyl migration is emphasized.     

The Effect of the Calcium Antagonist Nimodipine on the Detoxification of Soman in Anaesthetized Rabbits

The effect of nimodipine, a vasoactive calcium antagonist, on the disappearance of soman from blood was studied in anaesthetized rabbits intoxicated with soman (10.8 μg kg^?1 i.v.). Blood samples from the left heart ventricle and femoral artery were used to investigate soman detoxification. The concentrations of the soman isomers C + P - and C - P - in blood samples were determined by gas chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry. During the sampling, 15–300 s after soman injection, the soman concentration in control animals decreased from 50 to 0.029 ng mL^?1; in animals pre-treated with nimodipine (10 mg kg^?1) it decreased from 15 to 0.033 ng mL^?1. In animals pre-treated with nimodipine the soman concentration was significantly reduced during the first minute of sampling. No differences were detected between soman concentrations in samples from the heart and femoral artery. Acetylcholinesterase inhibition was also used as an indicator of soman activity; there was no difference between the activity of this enzyme in different peripheral organs of control and nimodipine-treated animals. Nimodipine reduces the initial concentration of soman in the blood, which might be of significance in the treatment of soman intoxication.     

Detection of 3'-hydroxy-1,N6-benzetheno-2'-deoxyadenosine 3'-phosphate by 32P postlabeling of DNA reacted with p-benzoquinone.

2'-Deoxyadenosine 3'-phosphate was reacted with a mixture of p-benzoquinone (p-BQ) and hydroquinone in aqueous medium at pH 6, and the main product was isolated and characterized by 1H NMR spectroscopy, liquid secondary ion mass spectroscopy (LSIMS), and high-resolution direct chemical ionization mass spectroscopy (HRDCIMS). The structure of this covalent adduct was assigned as 3'-hydroxy-1,N6-benzetheno-2'-deoxyadenosine 3'-phosphate. Reaction of DNA with p-BQ produced three major adducts as detected by 32P postlabeling; the relative abundance was 1.1%, 22.4%, and 72.4%. Cochromatography of 32P-postlabeled 3'-hydroxy-1,N6-benzetheno-2'-deoxyadenosine 3',5'-bisphosphate with the 32P-postlabeled DNA-p-BQ reaction mixture established this compound, adduct 3, as the second most abundant product of the reaction.