Persistence of benzo(a)pyrene metabolite:DNA adducts in lung and liver of mice

The persistence of benzo(a)pyrene (BP) metabolite:DNA adducts has been studied in lung and liver of A/HeJ and C57BL/6J mice after a dose of BP (6 mg/mouse) which induces pulmonary adenomas in A/HeJ mice but not in C57BL/6J mice. BP is not a hepatic carcinogen in either strain. Following p.o. administration of [3H]BP, animals were killed at times ranging from 10 hr to 28 days, and BP metabolite:DNA adducts were analyzed by high-pressure liquid chromatography. The major adduct identified in each tissue was the (+)-7 beta-8 alpha-dihydroxy-9 alpha,10 alpha-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene:deoxyguanosine adduct. A 7 beta, 8 alpha-dihydroxy-9 beta,10 beta,epoxy-7,8,9, 10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene:deoxyguanosine adduct, a (-)-7 beta, 8 alpha-dihydroxy-9 alpha, 10 alpha-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene:deoxyguanosine adduct, and an unidentified adduct were also observed. The disappearance of (+)-7 beta,8 alpha-dihydroxy-9 alpha,10 alpha-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-BP adduct in A/HeJ mice followed first-order kinetics over the time period examined, with a half-life of 18 and 9 days in lung and liver, respectively. The decay of this adduct in C57BL/6J mice was biphasic in both tissues. Our data on cell turnover suggest that there is active removal of adducts in liver, but that normal DNA turnover can account for the partial or possibly total observed disappearance of adducts in lung. These results suggest that the tissue specificity for BP-induced neoplasia in A/HeJ mice may be related to the relative persistence of adducts and high cell turnover rates in lung. In contrast, the results on formation and persistence of adducts and cell turnover do not provide an explanation for the strain difference in susceptibility to BP-induced pulmonary adenomas. It was also shown that the rates of removal of BP metabolite:DNA adducts in A/HeJ mice are not significantly different at a 500-fold lower BP dose.     

Breakage of a DNA-protein complex induced by 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide, 4-nitropyridine 1-oxide, and their derivatives in cultured mouse fibroblasts.

The effects of a number of 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide and 4-nitropyridine 1-oxide derivatives, with varying carcinogenic potencies, on the scission of proteins linking DNA were studied in cultured mouse fibroblasts, strain L-P-3. With twenty-two 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide derivatives and twelve-4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide derivatives tested, an excellent correlation was found between the scission effect of each compound and its carcinogenicity. All carcinogens, whether strong or weak, showed positive results in the scission test. Strong carcinogens such as 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide, 2-methyl-4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide, 6-methyl-4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide, 6-chloro-4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide,and 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide induced the scission at a low concentration of 1 x 10-5 M, while weak carcinogens such as 3-methyl-4-nitroquinoline 2-oxide, 6-n-butyl-4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide, 6-tert-butyl-4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide, 6-n-hexyl-4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide, and 6-carboxy-4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide only produced the same effect a dose levels higher than 5 x10-5 M. On the other hand, some noncarcinogenic derivatives such as 8-nitroquinoline 1-oxide, 4-hydoxy-quinoline 1-oxide, 4-aminoquinoline 1-oxide, and 6-nitroquinoline could not induce the scission, while other noncarcinogens such as 3-nitroquinoline 1-oxide, 5-nitroquinoline 1-oxide, and 5-nitroquinoline did induce scission at concentrations higher than 1 x 10-4 M. Throughout these tests the effective concentrations of active compounds were generally much lower than the concentration at which the compounds were cytotoxic. The implication of the results and the feasibility of the present method of analysis as a screening procedure for potential carcinogens and muagens are discussed.     

Effects of route of administration on tissue distribution of DNA adducts in mice: comparison of 7H-dibenzo(c,g)carbazole, benzo(a)pyrene, and 2-acetylaminofluorene

The environmental pollutant 7H-dibenzo(c,g)carbazole (DBC) has been shown to be a potent carcinogen in various mouse tissues, but displays an unusual degree of hepatocarcinogenicity. We have previously reported that in accord with this activity, mouse liver is the target organ for DBC-DNA binding, with total levels being up to 2700 times greater than in extrahepatic tissues after s.c. administration. To elaborate on this finding, we have directly compared the tissue distribution of DNA damage by three diverse aromatic carcinogens, DBC, benzo(a)pyrene (BP), and 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF). Following a single topical, p.o., or s.c. administration of 80 mumol/kg of test compound to male BALB/c mice, a 32P-postlabeling assay showed the total number of DBC adducts in liver DNA to be 11-138 times that in kidney, lung, or skin DNA. The degree of hepatic adduction varied as a function of the route of administration, with the highest occurring after topical application and the lowest after s.c. injection. The tissue preference for AAF and BP adducts varied with the route of administration and was much less than for DBC adducts, except that topical application of BP gave DNA adduct levels in skin that were 91-218 times greater than in other tissues. For a given tissue and route of administration, DNA adduction by DBC was 1.7- to 950-fold greater than that by BP and AAF, except in skin where the level of DNA adducts from BP was 3 to 4 times that from DBC. We conclude that (a) DBC exhibits an exceptional and unique preference for liver DNA adduction after different routes of administration; (b) DBC is more potent overall than BP or AAF in causing tissue DNA damage; and (c) for each of the three carcinogens, the route of exposure is a much less important factor than the nature of the carcinogen in determining the tissue distribution of covalent DNA damage.     

Mutation spectra of the two guanine adducts of the carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide in Escherichia coli. Influence of neighbouring base sequence on mutagenesis.

When the chemical carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide binds to DNA in vitro, two major adducts are formed, both at guanine residues, but at different positions, i.e. the C8 or the N2 position. Well-defined adducts (either C8 or N2 guanine adducts) can be formed in vitro by reacting DNA with 4-actoxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide (Ac-4HAQO) under different reaction conditions. Forward mutations induced by each of both main 4NQO adducts in the tetracycline resistance gene of pBR322 were determined. In total, 30 independent 4NQO-induced mutations were characterized, showing mainly base-pair substitution mutations and some frameshift mutations. We have observed that the 5' neighbouring base influences the specificity of dGuo-N2-AQO induced base-pair substitutions mutagenesis; a similar effect does not occur with dGuo-C8-AQO. This study reveals the importance of the N2 guanine adduct in the mutagenesis induced by 4NQO in vivo.     

In vivo studies on age dependency of DNA repair with age in mouse skin

Since the capacity for DNA repair relative to other cellular processes is an important parameter relevant to mutagenesis, carcinogenesis, and also aging, its assessment should preferably be carried out in intact animals. For this reason we developed an autoradiographic technique for measuring DNA repair directly in vivo. By this method unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) can be detected quantitatively as silver grains over epithelial cells of mouse skin after treatment with chemical carcinogens or ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Possible age-related change in UDS response was examined by this skin technique using 2- and 18-mo-old mice. Similar dose-dependent induction of UDS was observed in mice of both ages after treatment with 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide. The dose-response curves for young and aged animals after UV irradiation also showed similar increases to a plateau level at low doses, but their responses to high doses were very different. In aged mice the UDS level decreased markedly with increase in dose, whereas in young mice it remained at the same plateau level. This suggests that, in aged animals, high doses of UV irradiation cause deterioration of DNA repair systems, and that aged animals cannot repair extensive UV-induced DNA damage efficiently.     

Effect of aspirin and indomethacin on the formation of benzo(a)pyrene-induced pulmonary adenomas and DNA adducts in A/HeJ mice

Previous results in various in vitro systems suggest that prostaglandin endoperoxide synthetase (PES) could serve as either an alternative or an additional enzyme to the cytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenases for the formation of mutagenic, cell-transforming, and DNA-binding metabolites of carcinogens. To test this hypothesis in vivo, we examined the effect of PES inhibitors on benzo(a)pyrene (BP)-induced pulmonary adenoma and BP metabolite:DNA adduct formation in A/HeJ mice. Animals were treated with a dosage regimen of aspirin which inhibited PES but had no effect on the cytochrome P-450-dependent oxidation of 7,8-dihydrodihydroxybenzo(a)pyrene. Aspirin did not significantly alter the number of pulmonary adenomas per mouse at either dose of BP (6.0 and 3.0 mg per mouse, administered twice, 2 weeks apart). In addition, aspirin treatment did not depress the in vivo formation of BP metabolite:DNA adducts in lung or liver at either dose of BP (6.0 and 0.06 mg/mouse). The lower dose of BP was used in the adduct study to assess the effect of aspirin at a more environmental exposure level of BP. Treatment with indomethacin, another PES inhibitor, also did not reduce the pulmonary BP metabolite:DNA adduct levels. The failure of PES inhibitors to reduce the number of pulmonary adenomas and BP metabolite:DNA adduct levels suggests that cooxidation of BP during prostaglandin biosynthesis may not play a significant role in BP-induced pulmonary adenomas.     

DNA damage and its repair in human normal or xeroderma pigmentosum fibroblasts treated with 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide or its 3-methyl derivative

Normal human or excision deficient xeroderma pigmen-tosum (XP)fibroblasts were exposed to either the potent carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline1-oxide (4NQO) or the weaker acting 3 methyl derivative of thiscompound. The inhibition of cell growth, DNA damage and DNArepair were then monitored in these cells. The data indicatethat the modification of 4NQO by methylation actually changesthe type and amount of DNA damage induced by this carcinogen.More specifically, the methylation of 4NQO at the three positionprevented the formation of 4NQO induced DNA adducts manifestingthemselves as alkaline stable lesions whose repair was cytosinearabinoside inhibitable in normal cells, but defective in excisiondeficient XP cells. Alkaline labile lesions induced by 4NQOwhich are repairable in the above XP cells were still inducedby the 3 methyl derivative but a lower frequency on an equimolarbasis.     

Kinetics of DNA adduct formation and removal in mouse hepatocytes following in vivo exposure to 5,9-dimethyldibenzo[c,g]carbazole

5,9-Dimethyldibenzo[c,g]carbazole (DMDBC), a potent mouse hepatocarcinogen, has been shown to induce a non-linear increase in mutant frequency in the liver of the transgenic MutaMouse. To gain insight into the mechanisms underlying the mutagenicity of DMDBC in vivo, DNA damage formation and removal were monitored in mouse hepatocytes over 4-144 h after a single skin application of 10 or 90 mg/kg DMDBC. DNA adducts were measured by (32)P-post-labeling. DNA repair was assessed by: (i) the unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) assay, which measures [(3)H]thymidine incorporation into hepatocyte DNA undergoing excision repair; (ii) the Comet assay, which detects DNA strand breaks transiently produced between the incision and rejoining steps of the excision repair process. A plateau of approximately 400 DNA adducts/10(8) nucleotides was reached 24 h after treatment with 10 mg/kg and remained unchanged until 144 h. UDS activity was significantly induced at 15 and 24 h, while no DNA strand breaks were observed at any sampling time. These results suggest that DNA repair mechanisms were efficiently induced and the formation of a high degree of DNA damage was avoided at this dose level. Following exposure to 90 mg/kg DMDBC, the number of DNA adducts increased sharply to a maximum at 24 h ( approximately 8000/10(8) nucleotides) and then declined to approximately 500/10(8) nucleotides at 144 h. UDS activity was markedly induced from 15 to 72 h. Low levels of DNA strand breaks were observed at 24 and 48 h. The formation of large numbers of DNA adducts and the emergence of DNA strand breaks despite a strong initial induction of UDS activity suggested that DNA repair mechanisms were saturated at this dose level. This phenomenon could partly account for the non-linear induction of gene mutations previously reported in the liver of the transgenic MutaMouse.     

Separation and identification of N4-(guanosin-7-yl)-4-aminoquinoline 1-oxide, a novel nucleic acid adduct of carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide

A novel nucleic acid adduct of the carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide, N4-(guanosin-7-yl)-4-aminoquinoline 1-oxide, was separated and identified after RNA was treated with activated 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide. This is the first report of a 7-arylaminated guanine adduct produced by arylaminating carcinogens.     

Similarity of the mechanism of chemical carcinogen-initiated teratogenesis and carcinogenesis in mice.

A maximum tolerated dose (15 mug/g) of the carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO) induced neither fetal deaths nor malformations when given to pregnant ICR/Jcl mice at the sensitive stages (Days 9 to 11) for the induction of malformations, although these embryotoxicities were detected with urethan and X-ray. This may not be due to the lack of teratogenic actions of 4NQO, but to the difficulty this compound has in reaching the embryo, because direct injection of 4NQO into the amniotic cavity of the Day-11 embryo, so that exposure was more direct, induced a high incidence of malformations. Similarity of the mechanism of chemical carcinogen-initiated teratogenesis and carcinogenesis was also suggested by the following findings. Urethan-initiated teratogenesis was almost completely inhibited by posttreatment with caffeine during the period of 0 to 24 and 24 to 48 hr after urethan treatment, whereas it was not inhibited during the 48- to 72-hr post-urethan and the 6- to 30-hr pre-urethan period. The results are similar to those of 4NQO-initiated transformation in cultured mouse embryo cells and 4NQO- and urethan-initiated lung tumorigenesis in mice. Cells carrying preteratogenic or pretumorigenic damage produced by some chemical carcinogens may be extremely sensitive to caffeine treatment during and/or after the postcarcinogen DNA replication period, thus resulting in decrease of malformations and tumors. The process may be related to error-prone DNA repair, because caffeine is known to inhibit the postreplication repair in cultured mouse cells.     

A test for mutation theory of cancer: carcinogenesis by misrepair of DNA damaged by 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide.

Evidence for a mutation theory of cancer is presented by reviewing the experimental work on 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO) carcinogenesis. 4NQO almost completely mimics u.v. light and produces 4NQO-purine adducts on DNA. When 4NQO-treated cells are held in liquid medium under appropriate conditions, the 4NQO adducts disappear from DNA, in parallel to decrease of premutational damage in Escherichia coli, or pretransformational damage in cultured mouse cells. Post-treatment with caffeine greatly diminishes the yields by 4NQO of mutants in E. coli, malignant transformants in cultured mouse cells and tumour nodules in the lung of mice. Potentially tumourigenized stem cells in the lung remain sensitive to selective killing by caffeine for at least 5 days after 4NQO treatment, in spite of their DNA being apparently replicated, an indication that carcinogen-damaged DNA in the stem cell can be transmitted to its successive daughter stem cells for many generations. This peculiar characteristic is discussed as a possible lead to the crux of the mutation theory of cancer in vivo, and a model for carcinogenesis is proposed.     

Genotoxicity of 1- and 2-nitropropane in the rat

2-Nitropropane (2-NP) is a rat liver carcinogen, whilst the 1-isomer is non-carcinogenic in rodents. Although DNA repair tests in the rat liver discriminated clearly between the carcinogenic and the non-carcinogenic isomer, uniformly negative results have been published for the mouse bone marrow micronucleus test (BMMN test) with both isomers. Therefore, the latter assay did not discriminate between the carcinogenic and the non-carcinogenic isomer. To investigate whether this is due to endpoint specificity or organospecificity of 2-NP, studies were carried out in the rat in which micronucleus induction (bone marrow and liver) and unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) induction (liver) were measured after oral treatment with either nitropropane isomer. 2-NP induced UDS in the liver whilst the 1-isomer was negative, thus confirming the published studies. In the BMMN test, occasional small increases in the incidence of micronuclei were found for both compounds, but results were interpreted as negative after considering the control background data and the lack of reproducibility. By contrast, the liver micronucleus test revealed a clastogenic effect of 2-NP in the liver. This indicates that 2-NP induces chromosome aberrations as well as DNA repair in vivo, but it seems to act organospecifically. For 1-NP a slightly increased incidence of micronuclei was found in the liver, which was accompanied by a markedly increased mitotic index. It therefore remains questionable as to whether this increased micronucleus frequency for 1-NP is an indicator of a clastogenic effect, or whether it is caused by an increased cell proliferation induced by 1-NP. Consequently, it is too early to conclude whether the liver micronucleus assay is able to discriminate between the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic isomer. However, the results provide further evidence that bone marrow assays are insufficient for the detection of all genotoxic carcinogens in vivo. This indicates the need for analysing a second tissue, particularly when negative bone marrow results have been obtained with in vitro genotoxins.     

The reaction of acetyl-4-hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide with DNA: quantitation of single-strand break formation and hyper-reactivity of DNA termini.

Monoacetyl-hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide (Ac-HAQO) is a model of the ultimate form of the carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide and so it is useful to characterize its reactions with DNA. We find that Ac-HAQO produces one single-strand break (SSB) for every 60 adducts formed in a reaction with supercoiled DNA. The SSBs do not appear to be formed by a free radical reaction and they are distributed throughout the DNA molecule without regard to nucleotide specificity. Unique DNA fragments were reacted with Ac-HAQO. These substrates could not be degraded by the 3'-5' exonuclease action of T4 DNA polymerase unless they were first cleaved by a restriction endonuclease. This indicated that the ends of all the DNA molecules were blocked by adduct formation in spite of the low overall frequency of adducts per DNA molecule.     

Susceptibility to aflatoxin B1-induced carcinogenesis correlates with tissue-specific differences in DNA repair activity in mouse and in rat

To investigate the mechanisms responsible for species- and tissue-specific differences in susceptibility to aflatoxin B(1) (AFB(1))-induced carcinogenesis, DNA repair activities of nuclear extracts from whole mouse lung and liver and rat liver were compared, and the ability of in vivo treatment of mice with AFB(1) to alter repair of AFB(1)-DNA damage was determined. Plasmid DNA containing AFB(1)-N(7)-guanine or AFB(1)-formamidopyrimidine adducts were used as substrates for the in vitro determination of DNA repair synthesis activity, detected as incorporation of radiolabeled nucleotides. Liver extracts from CD-1 mice repaired AFB(1)-N(7)-guanine and AFB(1)-formamidopyrimidine adducts 5- and 30-fold more effectively than did mouse lung, and approximately 6- and 4-fold more effectively than did liver extracts from Sprague-Dawley rats. The susceptibility of mouse lung and rat liver to AFB(1)-induced carcinogenesis correlated with lower DNA repair activity of these tissues relative to mouse liver. Lung extracts prepared from mice treated with a single tumorigenic dose of 50 mg/kg AFB(1) i.p. and euthanized 2 hours post-dosing showed minimal incision and repair synthesis activities relative to extracts from vehicle-treated mice. Conversely, repair activity towards AFB(1)-N(7)-guanine damage was approximately 3.5-fold higher in liver of AFB(1)-treated mice relative to control. This is the first study to show that in vivo treatment with AFB(1) can lead to a tissue-specific induction in DNA repair. The results suggest that lower DNA repair activity, sensitivity of mouse lung to inhibition by AFB(1), and selective induction of repair in liver contribute to the susceptibility of mice to AFB(1)-induced lung tumorigenesis relative to hepatocarcinogenesis.     

One-electron oxidation is not a major route of metabolic activation and DNA binding for the carcinogen 7H-dibenzo[c,g]carbazole in vitro and in mouse liver and lung

7H-Dibenzo[c,g]carbazole (DBC) is a potent multi-site, multi-species carcinogen present in a variety of complex mixtures derived from the incomplete combustion of organic matter. Like many carcinogens, DBC requires metabolic activation to an electrophilic species to exert its mutagenic and carcinogenic effects. One-electron oxidation, leading to the formation of radical cation intermediates, has been proposed as a mechanism of metabolic activation for DBC in vitro resulting in unstable DNA adducts. The purpose of this research was to determine whether one-electron oxidation is a mechanism of activation and DNA binding for DBC in vivo. Specific depurinating DBC-DNA adducts formed by one-electron oxidation were analyzed in mouse liver at 4 h following a single i.p. dose of 40 mg/kg of 11 microCi [(14)C]DBC. In addition to five previously published adduct standards, two newly identified adduct standards were characterized by mass spectrometry and NMR, namely DBC-6-N7-Ade and DBC-6-N1-Ade; however, neither was observed in mouse liver. Only the DBC-5-N7-Gua adduct was observed in mouse liver extracts at a level of 6.5 +/- 1. 8 adducts/10(6) nucleotides. In addition, the formation of AP sites and stable DBC-DNA adducts was analyzed in mouse liver and lung at 4, 12 and 24 h following a single i.p. dose of 0.4, 4 or 40 mg/kg DBC (n = 3/group). There was a distinct time- and dose-response of stable DBC-DNA adducts detected by (32)P-post-labeling. There was not a clear dose-response for formation of AP sites; however, a significant increase over control levels was observed at the 4 and 40 mg/kg dose groups at 4 and 12 h post dosing, respectively. Quantitative comparisons indicate that the depurinating DBC-5-N7-Gua adduct constitutes approximately 0.4% of total adducts measured whereas the stable adducts detected by (32)P-post-labeling constitute 99.6% of total adducts measured following a 40 mg/kg dose and a 4 h time-point. The data indicate that one-electron oxidation does occur in mouse liver in vivo. However, one-electron oxidation is a minor mechanism of activation in that the percentage of total adducts formed through this route constitutes a minor percentage of the total adducts formed.     

Wide-range linear dose-response curve for DNA binding of orally administered benzo(a)pyrene in mice

The binding of p.o. benzo(a)pyrene (BP) to the DNA of mice was investigated. With a single dose of 1 microgram, levels of DNA binding were highest in the liver, followed by the intestine, colon, and stomach. In all organs, the majority of DNA-associated radioactivity was in the form of adducts which did not release ethyl acetate-soluble BP tetrols on acid hydrolysis. In both stomach and liver, the formation of acid-hydrolyzable and non-acid-hydrolyzable BP-DNA adducts was linearly related to dose, over a carcinogen dosage range of 10(-8) to 10(-3) g (liver) or 10(-7) to 10(-3) g (stomach). Repair or removal via cell turnover of liver BP-DNA adducts over a period of 7 days proceeded with the same efficiency when the dose of the administered carcinogen was varied over a range of 100,000-fold. These results suggest that in vivo the initial interaction between DNA and ingested BP takes place in the same manner both at high doses typical of laboratory carcinogenesis experiments and at low doses typical of human exposure.     

Adducts from in vivo action of the carcinogen 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide in rats and from in vitro reaction of 4-acetoxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide with DNA and polynucleotides

In vivo 4-hydroxyamino[2-3H]quinoline 1-oxide-modified DNA and in vitro 4-acetoxyamino[2-3H]quinoline 1-oxide-modified DNA were enzymatically hydrolyzed, and the hydrolysates were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The two patterns were compared, and we showed that all of the high-performance liquid chromatography peaks which were recovered from in vivo-modified DNA were present in the hydrolysate of in vitro-modified DNA. Therefore, we used the in vitro 4-acetoxyamino[2-3H]quinoline 1-oxide-modified DNA to investigate the quinoline-purine adducts which are characteristics of the mode of action of the carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide. By comparison with the enzymatic hydrolysates of 4-acetoxyamino[2-3H]quinoline 1-oxide-modified covalent poly(deoxyadenylate-deoxythymidylate) X poly(deoxyadenylate-deoxythymidylate) and covalent poly(deoxyguanylate-deoxycytidylate) X poly(deoxyguanylate-deoxycytidylate) three nitroquinoline adducts were enumerated on the modified DNA. One of them was previously characterized as a C8-guanyl adduct. We proved that the two other are a guanine and an adenine adduct, respectively. A quinoline derivative was identified in the hydrolysates of the in vivo- and in vitro-modified DNAs as 4-aminoquinoline 1-oxide, the origin of which was postulated to be a degradation compound of one (or more) adduct(s). Moreover, the presence of two degradation compounds of the C8-guanyl adduct was shown in mild alkaline conditions. We suspected an imidazole ring-opened form.     

Immunohistochemical detection of 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide-DNA adducts in mouse tissues in vivo

4-Hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide (4HAQO)-DNA adducts were immunohistochemically demonstrated in the nuclei of various organs of mice with the use of an antibody directed against 4HAQO-modified DNA. Specificity of the immunostaining was confirmed by several tests, including preincubation of the antibody with 4HAQO-modified DNA or related molecules and digestion of the sections with DNase. 4HAQO dissolved in isotonic solution and injected sc into an isolated portion of the mouse skin clamped off with ring-shaped forceps resulted in dose-dependent generation of DNA adducts in the nuclei of epithelial cells, fibroblasts, and panniculus carnosus cells. Nuclear staining was absent in animals given injections of isotonic solution only, and the intensity of staining correlated well with the level of unscheduled DNA synthesis demonstrated autoradiographically. 4HAQO-DNA adducts were observed in all target organs of 4HAQO tumorigenesis (i.e., lung, trachea, pancreas, uterus, vagina, skin, and colon) after injection of the carcinogen. Nuclear staining was absent or low in nontarget organs, including the liver and brain. Considerable variation was found in staining levels between cell types and different anatomic locations of cells within each target organ. The intensity of immunohistochemical staining correlated well with numbers of 4HAQO-DNA adducts measured by the radiolabeling technique.     

Species and organ differences in DNA adduct formation and repair after treatment with 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide

4-Hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide (4HAQO) demonstrates obvious organotropic and species specificity in its carcinogenesis and the present investigation concerns 4HAQO DNA adduct formation and repair as studied in various organs of four animal species (rats, mice, guinea pigs and hamsters). Three hours after an iv injection of 10 mg per kg body weight of tritium-labeled 4HAQO, the major organs were removed and used for assessment of label incorporation in the DNA. The results showed that the DNA binding levels generally correlated well with the reported species and organ specificity of 4HAQO tumorigenesis. For example, rats showed highest DNA binding in the pancreas and kidney, major target organs. The levels of DNA binding in the liver were invariably low in all 4 animal species, in agreement with the lack of hepatocarcinogenicity associated with 4HAQO exposure. A clear relationship between DNA adduct formation and carcinogen dose was also found after treatment of mice with 4HAQO at doses of 1, 5, 10 and 20 mg per kg body weight in all tissues (pancreas, kidney and lung) except for the liver. Comparison of DNA repair processes in rats, a highly susceptible species, and hamsters, a resistant species in terms of 4HAQO carcinogenicity, revealed highest formation and slowest removal of adducts in the target organs of the rat. In the hamster organs and the rat lung and liver, DNA adduct formation was generally low and in the case of elevation in the initial phase, quickly removed.     

A comparison of covalent DNA binding of benzo[a]pyrene and 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene in respiratory tissues from human, rat and mouse

In vivo and in vitro covalent DNA binding was investigated in an attempt to explain the higher susceptibility of A/J mouse lung and Fischer-344 rat trachea to 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) as compared to benzo[a]pyrene (BP), and to evaluate the relative susceptibility of the human respiratory tract to these compounds. After in vivo administration of either BP or DMBA to A/J mice covalent DNA binding was higher in the liver than in the lungs. Forty-eight hours after administration, but not before, binding of DMBA was higher than that of BP in both organs. In vitro studies using cultured explants of both human and A/J mouse peripheral lung, as well as human bronchus and Fischer-344 rat trachea, revealed that covalent DNA binding of DMBA to mouse lung and rat trachea were similar and that both were significantly higher than that of BP to these organs. Binding of BP and DMBA was similar in both human tissues and did not differ from BP binding in the animal tissues. Enzymatic hydrolysis and HPLC separation of the DNA-hydrocarbon adducts revealed that patterns of adducts in human and mouse peripheral lung were similar and qualitatively resembled known patterns in other target and non-target tissues. It is concluded that the higher susceptibility of the mouse lung and rat trachea to DMBA as compared to BP may be related to the higher covalent DNA binding of the former and that the relative carcinogenic risk of the human respiratory tract after exposure to DMBA may be the same as that after BP exposure.