Carcinogenic aristolochic acids upon activation by DT-diaphorase form adducts found in DNA of patients with Chinese herbs nephropathy

Aristolochic acid (AA), a naturally occurring nephrotoxin and rodent carcinogen, has recently been associated with the development of urothelial cancer in humans. Understanding which enzymes are involved in AA activation and/or detoxication is important in the assessment of an individual susceptibility to this natural carcinogen. We examined the ability of enzymes of rat renal and hepatic cytosolic fractions to activate AA to metabolites forming DNA adducts by the nuclease P1-enhanced version of the (32)P-postlabeling assay. Cytosolic fractions of both these organs generated AA-DNA adduct patterns reproducing those found in renal tissues from humans exposed to AA. 7-(Deoxyadenosin-N(6)-yl)aristolactam I, 7-(deoxyguanosin-N(2)-yl)aristolactam I and 7-(deoxyadenosin-N(6)-yl)aristolactam II were identified as AA-DNA adducts formed from AAI and 7-(deoxyguanosin-N(2)-yl)aristolactam II and 7-(deoxyadenosin-N(6)-yl)aristolactam II were generated from AAII by hepatic cytosol. Qualitatively the same AA-DNA adduct patterns were observed, although at lower levels, upon incubation of AAs with renal cytosol. To define the role of cytosolic reductases in the reductive activation of AA, we investigated the modulation of AA-DNA adduct formation by cofactors, specific inducers or selective inhibitors of the cytosolic reductases, DT-diaphorase, xanthine oxidase (XO) and aldehyde oxidase. The role of the enzymes in AA activation was also investigated by correlating the DT-diaphorase- and XO-dependent catalytic activities in cytosolic sample with the levels of AA-DNA adducts formed by the same cytosolic sample. On the basis of these studies, we attribute most of the cytosolic activation of AA to DT-diaphorase, although a role of cytosolic XO cannot be ruled out. With purified DT-diaphorase, the participation of this enzyme in the formation of AA-DNA adducts was confirmed. The binding orientation of AAI in the active site of DT-diaphorase was predicted by computer modeling based on published X-ray structures. The results presented here are the first report demonstrating a reductive activation of carcinogenic AAs by DT-diaphorase.     

Human hepatic and renal microsomes, cytochromes P450 1A1/2, NADPH:cytochrome P450 reductase and prostaglandin H synthase mediate the formation of aristolochic acid-DNA adducts found in patients with urothelial cancer

Aristolochic acid (AA), a naturally occurring nephrotoxin and carcinogen, has been associated with the development of urothelial cancer in humans. Understanding which human enzymes are involved in AA activation and/or detoxication is important in the assessment of an individual's susceptibility to this plant carcinogen. Using the (32)P postlabeling assay, we examined the ability of microsomal samples from 8 human livers and from 1 human kidney to activate AAI, the major component of the plant extract AA, to metabolites forming adducts in DNA. Microsomes of both organs generated DNA adduct patterns reproducing those found in renal tissues from humans exposed to AA. 7-(deoxyadenosin-N(6)-yl)aristolactam I, 7-(deoxyguanosin-N(2)-yl)aristolactam I and 7-(deoxyadenosin-N(6)-yl)aristolactam II were identified as AA-DNA adducts formed from AAI by all human hepatic and renal microsomes. To define the role of human microsomal enzymes in the activation of AAI, we investigated the modulation of AAI-DNA adduct formation by cofactors and selective inhibitors of microsomal reductases, cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, NADPH:CYP reductase and NADH:cytochrome b(5) reductase. We also determined whether the activities of CYP and NADPH:CYP reductase in different human hepatic microsomal samples correlated with the levels of AAI-DNA adducts formed by the same microsomal samples. On the basis of these studies, we attribute most of the activation of AAI in human hepatic microsomes to CYP1A2. In contrast to human hepatic microsomes, in human renal microsomes NADPH:CYP reductase is more effective in AAI activation. In addition, prostaglandin H synthase is another enzyme activating AAI in renal microsomes. The results demonstrate for the first time the potential of microsomal enzymes in human liver and kidney to activate AAI by nitroreduction.     

The binding of aristolochic acid I to the active site of human cytochromes P450 1A1 and 1A2 explains their potential to reductively activate this human carcinogen

Aristolochic acid (AA), a naturally occurring nephrotoxin and carcinogen, has been associated with the development of urothelial cancer in humans. Using the 32P-postlabeling assay we showed that AAI is activated by human recombinant cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A1, CYP1A2 and NADPH:CYP reductase to species generating DNA adduct patterns reproducing those found in renal tissues from humans exposed to AA. 7-(Deoxyadenosin-N6-yl)aristolactam I, 7-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)aristolactam I and 7-(deoxyadenosin-N6-yl)aristolactam II were identified as AA-DNA adducts formed from AAI by the enzymes. The formation of these AA-derived DNA adducts indicates that all the human enzymes reduce the nitro group of AAI to the putative reactive cyclic nitrenium ion responsible for adduct formation. The concentrations of AAI required for its half-maximum DNA binding were 38, 65 and 126 microM AAI for reductive activation by human CYP1A2, CYP1A1 and NADPH:CYP reductase, respectively. CYP1A1 and 1A2 homology modeling followed by docking of AAI to the CYP1A1 and 1A2 active centers was utilized to explain the potential of these enzymes to reduce AAI. Models of human CYP1A1 and 1A2 were constructed on the basis of the crystallographic structure of truncated mammalian CYP enzymes, CYP2B4, 2C5, 2C8, 2C9 and 3A4. The in silico docking of AAI to the active sites of CYP1A1 and 1A2 indicates that AAI binds as an axial ligand of the heme iron and that the nitro group of AAI is in close vicinity to the heme iron of CYP1A2 in an orientation allowing the efficient reduction of this group observed experimentally. The orientation of AAI in the active centre of CYP1A1 however causes an interaction of the heme iron with both the nitro- and the carboxylic groups of AAI. This observation explains the lower reductive potential of CYP1A1 for AAI than CYP1A2, detected experimentally.     

Environmental pollutant and potent mutagen 3-nitrobenzanthrone forms DNA adducts after reduction by NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase and conjugation by acetyltransferases and sulfotransferases in human hepatic cytosols

3-Nitrobenzanthrone (3-nitro-7H-benz[de]anthracen-7-one, 3-NBA) is a potent mutagen and suspected human carcinogen identified in diesel exhaust and air pollution. We compared the ability of human hepatic cytosolic samples to catalyze DNA adduct formation by 3-NBA. Using the (32)P-postlabeling method, we found that 12/12 hepatic cytosols activated 3-NBA to form multiple DNA adducts similar to those formed in vivo in rodents. By comparing 3-NBA-DNA adduct formation in the presence of cofactors of NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) and xanthine oxidase, most of the reductive activation of 3-NBA in human hepatic cytosols was attributed to NQO1. Inhibition of adduct formation by dicoumarol, an NQO1 inhibitor, supported this finding and was confirmed with human recombinant NQO1. When cofactors of N,O-acetyltransferases (NAT) and sulfotransferases (SULT) were added to cytosolic samples, 3-NBA-DNA adduct formation increased 10- to 35-fold. Using human recombinant NQO1 and NATs or SULTs, we found that mainly NAT2, followed by SULT1A2, NAT1, and, to a lesser extent, SULT1A1 activate 3-NBA. We also evaluated the role of hepatic NADPH:cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase (POR) in the activation of 3-NBA in vivo by treating hepatic POR-null mice and wild-type littermates i.p. with 0.2 or 2 mg/kg body weight of 3-NBA. No difference in DNA binding was found in any tissue examined (liver, lung, kidney, bladder, and colon) between null and wild-type mice, indicating that 3-NBA is predominantly activated by cytosolic nitroreductases rather than microsomal POR. Collectively, these results show the role of human hepatic NQO1 to reduce 3-NBA to species being further activated by NATs and SULTs.     

32P-post-labelling analysis of DNA adducts formed by aristolochic acid in tissues from patients with Chinese herbs nephropathy

Recently, we reported that aristolochic acid (AA) a naturally occurring nephrotoxin and carcinogen is implicated in a unique type of renal fibrosis, designated Chinese herbs nephropathy (CHN). Indeed, we identified the principal aristolochic acid-DNA adduct in the kidney of five such patients. We now extend these observations and demonstrate the presence of additional AA-DNA adducts by the 32P-post-labelling method not only in the kidneys, but also in a ureter obtained after renal transplantation. Using the nuclease P1 version of the assay not only the major DNA adduct of aristolochic acid, 7-(deoxyadenosin-N6-yl)- aristolactam I (dA-AAI), but also the minor adducts, 7-(deoxyguanosin- N2-yl)-aristolactam I (dG-AAI) and 7-(deoxyadenosin-N6-yl)-aristolactam II (dA-AAII) were detected, and identified by cochromatographic analyses with TLC and HPLC. Quantitative analyses of six kidneys revealed relative adduct levels from 0.7 to 5.3/10(7) for dA-AAI, from 0.02 to 0.12/10(7) for dG-AAI and 0.06 to 0.24/ 10(7) nucleotides for dA-AAII. The detection of the dA-AAII adduct is consistent with the occurrence of aristolochic acid II (AAII) in the herb powder imported under the name of Stephania tetrandra and confirms that the patients had indeed ingested the natural mixture of AAI and AAII. 32P-post- labelling analyses of further biopsy samples of one patient showed the known adduct pattern of AA exposure not only in the kidney, but also in the ureter, whereas in skin and muscle tissue no adduct spots were detectable. In an attempt to explain the higher level of the dA-AAI adduct compared to the dG-AAI adduct level in renal tissue even 44 months after the end of regimen, the persistence of these two purine adducts was investigated in the kidney of rats given a single oral dose of pure AAI. In contrast to the dG-AAI adduct, the dA-AAI adduct exhibited a lifelong persistence in the kidney of rats. Our data demonstrate that AA forms DNA adducts in human tissue by the same activation mechanism(s) reported from animal studies. Thus, the carcinogenic/mutagenic activity of AA observed in animals could also be responsible for the urothelial cancers observed in two of the CHN patients.      

Characterization of DNA adducts formed by aristolochic acids in the target organ (forestomach) of rats by 32P-postlabelling analysis using different chromatographic procedures

We report the analysis of DNA adducts in the target organ (forestomach)of male Sprague–Dawley rats treated orally with two doses(10 mg/kg body wt) per week for 2 weeks of either aristolochicacid I (AAI), aristolochic acid II (AAII) or the plant extractaristolochic acid (AA). DNA adducts were detected and quantitatedusing the nuclease P1-enhanced version of the ³²P-postlabellingassay. For identification of adducts, reference compounds wereprepared by reaction of enzymatically activated AAI and AAIIwith 3'-purine phosphonucleosides and analysed by the ⁿ-butanolenrichment procedure. These reference compounds were assignedto the previously characterized DNA adducts of AAI [7-(deoxy-guanosin-N²-yl)-aristolactamI = dG-AAI, 7-(deoxyadenosin-N⁶-yl) I = dA-AAI] and AAII [7-(deoxyadenosin-N⁶-yl)-aristolactamII = dA-AAII]. Cross referencing of the carcinogen-modifiednucleoside bisphosphates obtained from forestomach DNA withthe synthetic standard compounds by ion-exchange chromatographyand reversed-phase HPLC demonstrated that the major DNA adductsformed by AAI and AA were identical to dG-AAI and dA-AAI. Likewise,forestomach DNA isolated from AAII-treated rats showed two purinederived adduct spots, the major one being dA-AAII, the minorone being tentatively identified as 7-(deoxyguanosin-N²-yl)-aristolactamII. A minor adduct detected in forestomach DNA of rats treatedwith AAI was found to be chromatographically indistinguishablefrom the adduct identified as dA-AAII, indicating a possibledemethoxylation reaction of AAI. Quantitation of DNA adductsrevealed that in in vitro reactions with 3'-phosphonucleosidesthe adduct levels were approximately one order higher for bothAAI and AAII-derived adducts than in forestomach DNA modifiedwith AAI or AAII in vivo. In vitro as well as in vivo adductionby AAI was more efficient than adduction by AAII. The patternof adduct spots obtained from forestomach DNA of rats treatedwith the plant extract AA reflected the composition of the extractdetermined by HPLC analysis. Irrespective of the aristolochicacid used to induce DNA adducts, deoxyadenosine is the majortarget of modification, pointing to the general importance ofdeoxyadenosine adducts for chemical carcinogenesis of thesenaturally occurring products. This study shows that the combinationof two independent chromatographic systems considerably enhancesthe fidelity of identification of DNA adducts with the ³²P-posthbellingassay.     

Detection and quantitation of dG-AAI and dA-AAI adducts by 32P-postlabeling methods in urothelium and exfoliated cells in urine of rats treated with aristolochic acid I.

Analysis of aristolochic acid I (AAI)-DNA adducts in exfoliated cells in urine, urothelium and entire urinary bladder were studied after oral administration of five daily doses (10 mg/kg body wt) AAI for 3 months to rats. The two major adducts excreted in urine are presumably identical to the two main adducts formed in vitro and in vivo in different organs in the rat, which have previously been characterized in vitro as 7(-deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-aristolactam I and 7(-deoxyadenosin-N6-yl)-aristolactam I. Urine samples were collected on dry-ice, subsequently pooled and purified according to the protocol of Kadlubar and co-workers. DNA was isolated, digested and AAI-DNA adducts of exfoliated cells in urine and urothelium of rats were detected and quantitated by enhancement methods of the 32P-postlabeling assay, namely nuclease P1 enrichment or butanol extraction. Autoradiograms indicated that adduct patterns in DNA derived from exfoliated cells in urine were very similar to those obtained from DNA isolated from tissues. Quantitative analysis of adducts revealed adduct levels declining for both adducts from DNA isolated from urothelium to DNA isolated from the entire urinary bladder to DNA isolated from exfoliated cells in urine. In general, count rates of two predominant AAI adducts were enhanced by butanol extraction approximately 3- to 8-fold when compared with the nuclease P1 digestion technique. The identity of the two major adducts was confirmed by co-chromatography with eluted spots from in vivo adducts by comparing mobilities on poly-(ethyleneimine)-cellulose plates. Microbiological investigations of the urine revealed no gross contamination with bacteria, so that the isolated DNA supposedly originated from exfoliated urothelial cells. This study indicates that 32P-postlabeling analysis can be used to monitor non-invasively the formation of carcinogen-DNA adducts in animals or humans exposed to carcinogens.     

Identification of three major DNA adducts formed by the carcinogenic air pollutant 3-nitrobenzanthrone in rat lung at the C8 and N2 position of guanine and at the N6 position of adenine

3-Nitrobenzanthrone (3-NBA) is a potent mutagen and potential human carcinogen identified in diesel exhaust and ambient air particulate matter. Previously, we detected the formation of 3-NBA-derived DNA adducts in rodent tissues by 32P-postlabeling, all of which are derived from reductive metabolites of 3-NBA bound to purine bases, but structural identification of these adducts has not yet been reported. We have now prepared 3-NBA-derived DNA adduct standards for 32P-postlabeling by reacting N-acetoxy-3-aminobenzanthrone (N-Aco-ABA) with purine nucleotides. Three deoxyguanosine (dG) adducts have been characterised as N-(2'-deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-3-aminobenzanthrone-3'-phosphate (dG3'p-C8-N-ABA), 2-(2'-deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-3-aminobenzanthrone-3'-phosphate (dG3'p-N2-ABA) and 2-(2'-deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-3-aminobenzanthrone-3'-phosphate (dG3'p-C8-C2-ABA), and a deoxyadenosine (dA) adduct was characterised as 2-(2'-deoxyadenosin-N6-yl)-3-aminobenzanthrone-3'-phosphate (dA3'p-N6-ABA). 3-NBA-derived DNA adducts formed experimentally in vivo and in vitro were compared with the chemically synthesised adducts. The major 3-NBA-derived DNA adduct formed in rat lung cochromatographed with dG3'p-N2-ABA in two independent systems (thin layer and high-performance liquid chromatography). This is also the major adduct formed in tissue of rats or mice treated with 3-aminobenzanthrone (3-ABA), the major human metabolite of 3-NBA. Similarly, dG3'p-C8-N-ABA and dA3'p-N6-ABA cochromatographed with two other adducts formed in various organs of rats or mice treated either with 3-NBA or 3-ABA, whereas dG3'p-C8-C2-ABA did not cochromatograph with any of the adducts found in vivo. Utilizing different enzymatic systems in vitro, including human hepatic microsomes and cytosols, and purified and recombinant enzymes, we found that a variety of enzymes [NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase, xanthine oxidase, NADPH:cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase, cytochrome P450s 1A1 and 1A2, N,O-acetyltransferases 1 and 2, sulfotransferases 1A1 and 1A2, and myeloperoxidase] are able to catalyse the formation of 2-(2'-deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-3-aminobenzanthrone, N-(2'-deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-3-aminobenzanthrone and 2-(2'-deoxyadenosin-N6-yl)-3-aminobenzanthrone in DNA, after incubation with 3-NBA and/or 3-ABA.     

Translesional synthesis on DNA templates containing site-specifically placed deoxyadenosine and deoxyguanosine adducts formed by the plant carcinogen aristolochic acid

Synthetic oligonucleotides (18-mers) containing either a singledeoxyadenosine residue or a single deoxyguanosine residue weretreated with aristolochic acid I (AAI) or aristolochic acidII (AAII), the main components of theplant carcinogen aristolochicacid (AA). These reactions resulted in the formation of site-specificallyadducted oligonucleotides containing the two known AAI—DNAadducts (dA—AAI, dG—AAI) or the two known AAII—DNAadducts (dA—AAII, dG—AAII) at position 15 from the3'end. Using HPLC chromatography, the oligonucleotides werepurified and subsequently shown to contain the adducts of interestby ³²P-postlabelling. The adducted oligonucleotides were usedas templates in primer (11-mer) extension reactions catalysedby modified bacteriophage T7 DNA polymerase (Sequenase). Regardlessof the type of DNA adduct examined, DNA synthesis was blockedpredominantly (80–90%) at the nucleotide 3' to each adduct,although primer extension to the full length of the templatewas noted with unmodified control templates. However, 15 nucleotideproducts, indicating blocking of DNA synthesis after incorporationof a nucleotide opposite the adduct and translesional synthesisproducts were formed in all cases in different amounts, dependingon the adduct structure. When a 14-mer primer together withhigh dNTP concentrations was used to examine nucleotide incorporationdirectly across from the four different purine adducts we foundthat the deoxyadenosine adducts (dA–AAI and dA–AAII)allowed incorporation of dAMP and dTMP equally well, whereasthe deoxyguanosine adducts (dG–AAI and dG–AAII)allowed preferential incorporation of dCMP. Molecular dynamicsimulations showed that the aristolactam moiety of all adductsexhibit a strong stacking, with the adenine residue at the 3'end of the 14-mer primer. These studies demonstrate that allAA purine adducts provide severe blocks to DNA replication andthat the guanine adducts may not be very efficient mutageniclesions. In contrast, the translesional bypass past adenineadducts of the aristolochic acids suggests a mutagenic potentialresulting from dAMP incorporation by polymerase. AT     

Exceptionally long‐term persistence of DNA adducts formed by carcinogenic aristolochic acid I in renal tissue from patients with aristolochic acid nephropathy

Aristolochic acid (AA) causes aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN), first described in women in Belgium accidently prescribed Aristolochia fangchi in a slimming treatment, and also Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN), through probable dietary contamination with Aristolochia clematitis seeds. Both nephropathies have a high risk of urothelial cancer, with AA being the causative agent. In tissues of AAN and BEN patients, a distinct DNA adduct, 7‐(deoxyadenosin‐N⁶‐yl)‐aristolactam I (dA‐AAI), has been detected. DNA adducts can be removed through DNA repair, they can result in mutations through erroneous DNA replication or they can cause cell death. The dA‐AAI adduct induces AT to TA transversions in the tumor‐suppressor TP53 gene in experimental systems, matching TP53 mutations observed in urothelial tumors from AAN cancer cases. Using thin‐layer chromatography ³²P‐postlabeling and mass spectrometric analysis we report the detection of dA‐AAI in renal DNA from 11 Belgian AAN patients over 20 years after exposure to AA had ceased. Our results showed that dA‐AAI is an established biomarker of AA exposure, and that this biomarker can be demonstrated to be persistent decades after a distinct AA exposure. Further, the persistence of dA‐AAI adducts appears to be a critical determinant for the AA mutational fingerprint frequently found in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes recently identified by whole genome sequencing of AA‐associated urothelial tumors. The potential for exposure to AA worldwide is high; the unprecedented long‐term persistence of dA‐AAI provides a useful long‐term biomarker of exposure and attests to the role of AA in human urothelial malignancy.     

Using polymerase arrest to detect DNA binding specificity of aristolochic acid in the mouse H-ras gene

The distribution of DNA adducts formed by the two main components, aristolochic acid I (AAI) and aristolochic acid II (AAII), of the carcinogenic plant extract aristolochic acid (AA) was examined in a plasmid containing exon 2 of the mouse c-H-ras gene by a polymerase arrest assay. AAI and AAII were reacted with plasmid DNA by reductive activation and the resulting DNA adducts were identified as the previously characterized adenine adducts (dA-AAI and dA-AAII) and guanine adducts (dG-AAI and dG-AAII) by the (32)P-post-labeling method. In addition, a structurally unknown adduct was detected in AAII-modified DNA and shown to be derived from reaction with cytosine (dC-AAII). Sites at which DNA polymerase progress along the template was blocked were assumed to be at the nucleotide 3' to the adduct. Polymerase arrest spectra showed a preference for reaction with purine bases in the mouse H-ras gene for both activated compounds, consistent with previous results that purine adducts are the principal reaction products of AAI and AAII with DNA. Despite the structural similarities among AAI-DNA and AAII-DNA adducts, however, the polymerase arrest spectra produced by the AAs were different. According to the (32)P-post-labeling analyses reductively activated AAI showed a strong preference for reacting with guanine residues in plasmid DNA, however, the polymerase arrest assay revealed arrest sites preferentially at adenine residues. In contrast, activated AAII reacted preferentially with adenine rather than guanine residues and to a lesser extent with cytosine but DNA polymerase was arrested at guanine as well as adenine and cytosine residues with nearly the same average relative intensity. Thus, the polymerase arrest spectra obtained with the AA-adducted ras sequence do not reflect the DNA adduct distribution in plasmid DNA as determined by (32)P-post-labeling. Arrest sites of DNA polymerase associated with cytosine residues confirmed the presence of a cytosine adduct in DNA modified by AAII. For both compounds adduct distribution was not random; instead, regions with adduct hot spots and cold spots were observed. Results from nearest neighbor binding analysis indicated that flanking pyrimidines displayed the greatest effect on polymerase arrest and therefore on DNA binding by AA.     

Comparison of DNA adduct formation by aristolochic acids in various in vitro activation systems by 32P-post-labelling: evidence for reductive activation by peroxidases

Aristolochic acid I (AAI) and aristolochic acid II (AAII), the two major components of the carcinogenic plant extract aristolochic acid (AA), are known to be mutagenic and to form DNA adducts in vivo. According to the structures of the major DNA adducts identified in animals and humans, nitroreduction is the crucial pathway in the metabolic activation of these naturally occurring nitroarenes to their ultimate carcinogenic species. Using the nuclease P1-enhanced version of the 32P-post-labelling assay we investigated the formation of DNA adducts by AAI and AAII in different in vitro activation systems in order to determine the most suitable in vitro system mimicking target tissue activation. Although DNA adducts resulting from oxidative activation of AAs have not yet been identified both reductive and oxidative in vitro systems were employed. In vitro incubations were conducted under standardized conditions (0.3 mM AAs; 4 mM dNp as calf thymus DNA) using rat liver microsomes, xanthine oxidase (a mammalian nitroreductase), horseradish peroxidase, lactoperoxidase and chemical reduction by zinc. Enzymatic incubations were performed under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. A combination of two independent chromatographic systems (ion-exchange chromatography and reversed-phase HPLC) with reference compounds was used for the identification of DNA adducts detected by the 32P-post-labelling assay. The two known major adducts of AAI or AAII found in vivo were generated by all in vitro systems except for incubations with AAII and horseradish peroxidase where two unknown adducts predominated. Irrespective of the in vitro activation system used, the majority of adduct spots obtained were identified as the previously characterized four AA-DNA adducts: dA-AAI, dA-AAII, dG-AAI and dG-AAII. This indicates that both reductive and peroxidative activation of AAI or AAII resulted in chromatographically indistinguishable DNA adducts. Thus, peroxidase mediated activation of AAs led to the formation of the same adducts that had been observed in vivo and upon reductive activation in several in vitro systems. Quantitative analyses of individual adducts formed in the various in vitro systems revealed relative adduct labelling (RAL) values over a 100,000-fold range from 4 in 10(3) for activation of AAII to deoxyadenosine adducts by zinc to only 3 in 10(8) for activation of AAII by lactoperoxidase. The extent of DNA modification by AAI was higher than by AAII in all enzymatic in vitro systems. Only activation by zinc resulted in higher total binding to exogenous DNA by AAII than by AAI. Aerobic incubations with rat liver microsomes generated AAI- and AAII-DNA adduct profiles reproducing profiles in target tissue (forestomach) of rats, thus providing the most appropriate activation among the in vitro systems tested.      

Resveratrol modulates human mammary epithelial cell O-acetyltransferase,sulfotransferase, and kinase activation of the heterocyclic amine carcinogen N-hydroxy-PhIP

Resveratrol (trans-3,4',5-trihydroxystilbene) is a natural antioxidant found in plants, such as grapes, that studies suggest has cancer chemopreventive activity. We investigated the effects of resveratrol on DNA binding via esterification reactions with 2-hydroxyamino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (N-OH-PhIP) - a metabolite of a mammary gland carcinogen present in cooked meats. Treatment of primary cultures of human mammary epithelial cells with 50 microM resveratrol led to a decrease in PhIP-DNA adducts ranging from 31 to 69%. Using substrate-specific assays and mammary gland tissue cytosols, resveratrol inhibited PhIP-DNA adduct formation by O-acetyltransferase and sulfotransferase catalysis. Cytosols from tumor tissue and breast reduction tissue were similarly affected. Resveratrol also suppressed O-acetyltransferase and sulfotransferase activities from the breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and ZR-75-1. It was also observed that resveratrol stimulated ATP-dependent cytosolic activation of N-OH-PhIP in all human samples but not in mouse liver samples. In addition to resveratol's other preventive effects, the present data suggest that O-acetyltransferases and sulfotransferases may represent anti-oncogenic targets for resveratrol.     

Acetyl transferase-mediated metabolic activation of N-hydroxy-4-aminobiphenyl by human uroepithelial cells.

Metabolism and nucleic acid binding of N-hydroxy-4-aminobiphenyl (N-OH-ABP), a proximate carcinogenic metabolite of the human bladder carcinogen 4-aminobiphenyl (ABP), was investigated using cultured normal human uroepithelial cells (HUC). HPLC and TLC of the ethyl acetate extract of the media from cultured HUC after 4 h exposure to N-OH-ABP revealed the formation of two major metabolites, ABP and 4-acetylaminobiphenyl (AABP), suggesting the presence of N-acetyl transferase(s) in HUC. This was further confirmed by the formation of AABP, during the incubation of ABP with acetyl coenzyme A (AcCoA) and HUC cytosol. To test whether these enzymes also catalyze the AcCoA-dependent O-acetylation, we examined the metabolic activation of N-OH-ABP using cytosolic preparations. Cytosol from HUC catalyzed AcCoA-dependent binding of [3H]N-OH-ABP to RNA; the amount of binding was 757 pmol/mg RNA/mg protein. Binding with DNA was quantitatively similar to RNA. HPLC and TLC analyses of the enzymatic hydrolysate of [3H]N-OH-ABP-bound DNA revealed the major adduct to be N-(deoxyguanosine-8-yl)-4-aminobiphenyl, based on mobility of the radioactivity in comparison with the authentic synthetic standard. 32P-Post-labeling analysis of the DNA from the cytosol-mediated binding of N-OH-ABP revealed four radioactive spots. In contrast, post-labeling analysis of the DNA from intact HUC exposed to N-OH-ABP showed five adducts, including two of the adducts observed with HUC cytosols, suggesting the possible involvement of additional activation pathway(s) in intact HUC. These results suggest that bioactivation of N-OH-ABP could occur within the HUC, the target organ for ABP, and that cytosolic acetyl transferase(s) may play a critical role in susceptibility to arylamine-induced bladder carcinogenesis.     

Aristolochic acid binds covalently to the exocyclic amino group of purine nucleotides in DNA

The plant extract aristolochic acid (AA) has been used as a herbal drug in many cultures since antiquity. In 1982 AA was shown to be mutagenic and a strong carcinogen in Wistar rats. The crude mixture consists of five nitrophenanthrene carboxylic acid derivatives with aristolochic acid I [AA I; 8-methoxy-6-nitro-phenanthro-(3,4-d)-1,3-dioxolo-5-carboxyli c acid] being the major component. The isolated compound has been found to be mutagenic in the Ames assay. The major metabolite of AA I formed under anaerobic conditions in vitro and excreted in vivo in several species including man, is the reduction product aristolactam I. Using the 32P-postlabeling assay, we could show that AA I forms covalent DNA adducts upon metabolic activation in vitro and in vivo in different organs in the rat. Xanthine oxidase, a mammalian nitroreductase, has served as a sufficient model system mimicking the reductive route of in vivo activation of carcinogenic nitroarenes. This paper reports on two major fluorescent adducts of AA I formed by in vitro reaction of AA I with xanthine oxidase and deoxyguanosine or deoxyadenosine. After isolation and purification by preparative HPLC the adducts were characterized by 1H-NMR, FAB mass, UV/Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. Their structures were elucidated as 7-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-aristolactam I and 7-(deoxyadenosin-N6-yl)-aristolactam I. These findings are in marked contrast to the results reported for other nitroaromatic carcinogens, where C8-modified deoxyguanosine adducts predominate and N2-substituted deoxyguanosine derivatives are found as minor reaction products. Our results suggest a cyclic N-acylnitrenium ion with delocalized positive charge as the ultimate carcinogenic species, binding preferentially to the exocyclic amino group of purine nucleotides in DNA.     

Formation of DNA adducts in vitro and in Salmonella typhimurium upon metabolic reduction of the environmental mutagen 1-nitropyrene

The polycyclic nitroaromatic hydrocarbon 1-nitropyrene is an environmental pollutant, a potent bacterial mutagen, and a carcinogen. Xanthine oxidase, a mammalian nitroreductase, catalyzed the in vitro metabolic activation of this compound to DNA-bound adducts. Maximum adduct formation occurred at pH 5.5 to 6.0 and was increased by the addition of catalase to the incubation medium. DNA binding from 1-nitropyrene was inhibited by hydrogen peroxide, L-ascorbate, and glutathione. Enzymatic hydrolysis of the modified DNA and subsequent analysis by high-pressure liquid chromatography indicated the presence of one major and two minor adducts. The major adduct was characterized by mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy as N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-1-aminopyrene. The minor adducts appear to be decomposition products of the major adduct. When Salmonella typhimurium TA1538 was incubated with 1-nitropyrene, a strong correlation was found between the extent of DNA binding and the frequency of induced histidine reversions. Analysis of the bacterial DNA indicated one major adduct which had chromatographic properties and pKaS identical to those of N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-1-aminopyrene. These data indicate that N-hydroxy-1-aminopyrene is probably the mutagenic and DNA-binding species formed during the metabolic reduction of 1-nitropyrene.     

Identification of a genotoxic mechanism for 2-nitroanisole carcinogenicity and of its carcinogenic potential for humans

2-Nitroanisole (2-NA) is an important industrial pollutant and a potent bladder carcinogen for rodents. The mechanism of its carcinogenicity was investigated in this study. Here we have used two independent methods, (32)P-post-labeling and (3)H-labeled 2-NA, to show that 2-NA binds covalently to DNA in vitro after reductive activation by human hepatic cytosol and xanthine oxidase (XO). We also investigated the capacity of 2-NA to form DNA adducts in vivo. Male Wistar rats were treated i.p. with 2-NA (0.15 mg/kg body wt daily for 5 days) and DNA from several organs was analyzed by (32)P-post-labeling. Two 2-NA-specific DNA adducts, identical to those found in DNA incubated with 2-NA and human hepatic cytosol or XO in vitro, were detected in the urinary bladder (3.4 adducts/10(7) nt), the target organ, and, to a lesser extent, in liver, kidney and spleen. The two DNA adducts found in rat tissues in vivo were identified as deoxyguanosine adducts derived from a 2-NA reductive metabolite, N-(2-methoxyphenyl)hydroxylamine. This reactive metabolite of 2-NA was identified in incubations with human hepatic cytosol, besides 2-methoxyaniline (o-anisidine). The results of our study, the first report on the potential of human cytosolic enzymes to contribute to the activation of 2-NA by nitroreduction, strongly suggest a carcinogenic potency of this rodent carcinogen for humans.     

Multidrug resistance protein and glutathione S-transferase P1-1 act in synergy to confer protection from 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide toxicity

Model cell lines developed from MCF7 breast carcinoma cells were used to examine the roles of glutathione S-transferase P1-1 (GSTP1-1) and multidrug resistance protein (MRP) in the protection of cells from 4- nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO) toxicities. Increased expression of GSTP1- 1 alone in MCF7 cells results in limited protection from the formation of 4NQO-derived covalent adducts of nucleic acids but affords no protection from 4NQO-mediated cytotoxicity. Increased expression of MRP alone conferred modest protection while co-expression of GSTP1-1 with MRP produced high-level protection from both 4NQO-derived adduct formation and 4NQO cytotoxicity. This synergistic resistance to 4NQO toxicities (both nucleic acid adduct formation and cytotoxicity) is associated with a GSTP1-1-dependent increase in 4NQO-glutathione (QO- SG) conjugate formation and a MRP-dependent increase in QO-SG efflux. These data indicate that MRP is an important export transporter for the glutathione conjugate of the carcinogen, 4NQO. Moreover, this MRP- dependent efflux activity is necessary to achieve the full protection from 4NQO toxicity-protection that is potentiated by GSTP1-1-mediated QO-SG formation.      

Formation of C8-modified deoxyguanosine and C8-modified deoxyadenosine as major DNA adducts from 2-nitropyrene metabolism mediated by rat and mouse liver microsomes and cytosols

2-Nitropyrene, the geometric isomer of the most studied nitropolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (nitro-PAH), 1-nitropyrene, is an environmental contaminant detected in ambient air and a potent direct-acting mutagen. Its metabolic activation leading to the formation of DNA adducts was studied. The activated metabolite, N-hydroxy-2-aminopyrene, was prepared and reacted with calf thymus DNA. Upon enzymatic hydrolysis of the DNA, the resulting nucleosides were separated by HPLC, and the adducts were characterized by mass and proton NMR spectral analysis. Both N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminopyrene and N-(deoxyadenosin-8-yl)-2-aminopyrene, in a 5:2 ratio, were identified. These adducts were then utilized as standards to identify the DNA adducts formed from reaction of [3H]2-nitropyrene with DNA mediated by liver microsomes and cytosols of mouse and rat. In all cases, both adducts were formed. The quantities of the two adducts formed in each system were: mouse liver microsomes (11.3 pmol [3H]2-nitropyrene/mg DNA), rat liver microsomes (23), mouse liver cytosol (11.4) and rat liver cytosol (5.1). Thus, these adducts were formed in highest yield from rat liver microsomes and the lowest from rat liver cytosol. The deoxyguanosine/deoxyadenosine adduct ratio was higher from rat and mouse liver microsomes (7.8:9.2) than from rat and mouse liver cytosols (2.5:3.1). Our results represent the first direct demonstration of a C8-deoxyadenosine adduct being formed as a major product from the reaction of a nitro-PAH metabolite with DNA.     

Formation and removal of specific acetylaminofluorene-DNA adducts in mouse and human cells measured by radioimmunoassay.

Rabbit antiserum prepared against N-(guanosin-8-yl)-acetylaminofluorene was utilized in radioimmunoassay to detect formation and removal of C-8 adducts from the DNA of cultured cells exposed to N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminoflorene. The assay was able to quantitate both acetylated and deacetylated C-8 adducts between 0.5 and 5 pmol while the N2 adduct, 3-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)acetylaminofluorene, was not detected below 160 pmol. By varying the proportions of acetylated and deacetylated C-8 adducts in the radioimmunoassay, a series of standard curves were developed from which the relative proportion of each adduct could be determined in unknown mixtures. DNA from mouse epidermal cells and human skin fibroblasts exposed to N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminofluorene in culture contained only 3 and 5% respectively, of the C-8 adduct in the acetylated form. Quantitation by radioimmunoassay of total C-8 adducts bound to DNA yielded values approximately 25% lower than total carcinogen binding determined by radiolabeling. When removal of C-8 adducts was followed over a 23-hr, carcinogen-free culture period, mouse and human cells removed 40 and 50%, respectively, of bound acetylated and deacetylated C-8 adducts. These studies demonstrate the versatility of radioimmunoassay as a molecular probe for studies of chemical carcinogens.