Age- and sex-related differences in activation of the carcinogen 7-hydroxymethyl-12-methylbenz[a]anthracene to an electrophilic sulfuric acid ester metabolite in rats. Possible involvement of hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase activity

Function and organization of the human cytosolic sulfotransferase (SULT) family

The sulfuryl transfer reaction is of fundamental biological importance. One of the most important manifestations of this process are the reactions catalyzed by members of the cytosolic sulfotransferase (SULT) superfamily. These enzymes transfer the sulfuryl moiety from the universal donor PAPS (3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate) to a wide variety of substrates with hydroxyl- or amino-groups. Normally a detoxification reaction this facilitates the elimination of a multitude of xenobiotics, although for some molecules sulfation is a bioactivation step. In addition, sulfation plays a key role in endocrine and other signalling pathways since many steroids, sterols, thyroid hormones and catecholamines exist primarily as sulfate conjugates in humans. This article summarizes much of our current knowledge of the organization and function of the human cytosolic sulfotransferases and highlights some of the important interspecies differences that have implications for, among other things, drug development and chemical safety analysis.

Structure, function and carcinogenicity of metabolites of methylated and non-methylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: a comprehensive review

The Unified Theory of PAH Carcinogenicity accommodates the activities of methylated and non-methylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and states that substitution of methyl groups on meso-methyl substituted PAHs with hydroxy, acetoxy, chloride, bromide or sulfuric acid ester groups imparts potent cancer producing properties. It incorporates specific predictions from past researchers on the mechanism of carcinogenesis by methyl-substituted hydrocarbons, including (1) requirement for metabolism to an ArCH2X type structure where X is a good leaving group and (2) biological substitution of a meso-methyl group at the most reactive center in non-methylated hydrocarbons. The Theory incorporates strong inferences of Fieser: (1) The mechanism of carcinogenesis involves a specific metabolic substitution of a hydrocarbon at its most reactive center and (2) Metabolic elimination of a carcinogen is a detoxifying process competitive with that of carcinogenesis and occurring by a different mechanism. According to this outlook, chemical or biochemical substitution of a methyl group at the reactive meso-position of non-methylated hydrocarbons is the first step in the mechanism of carcinogenesis for most, if not all, PAHs and the most potent metabolites of PAHs are to be found among the meso methyl-substituted hydrocarbons. Some PAHs and their known or potential metabolites and closely related compounds have been tested in rats for production of sarcomas at the site of subcutaneous injection and the results strongly support the specific predictions of the Unified Theory.

Disposition of acetaminophen and indocyanine green in cystic fibrosis-knockout mice

Drug treatment poses a therapeutic challenge in cystic fibrosis (CF) because the disposition of a number of drugs is altered in CF. Enhanced clearance of acetaminophen (APAP) and indocyanine green (ICG) have previously been reported in CF patients. The objective of the current study was to investigate if the CF-knockout mouse model (cftr(m1UNC)) shows altered pharmacokinetics similar to those seen in CF patients using the 2 model compounds APAP and ICG. Clearance (CL/F) of APAP and renal (CLR) and formation (CLf) clearance of acetaminophen glucuronide (AG) and acetaminophen sulfate (AS) were determined in CF-knockout mice following administration of APAP (50 mg/kg, intraperitoneal). CLR of AS was 19.5 and 12.9 (mL/min per kg) and CLf of AS was 10.4 and 6.7 mL/min per kg for homozygous and heterozygous males, respectively, which was significantly different between groups. CLR of AG was 6.3 and 4.8 mL/min per kg and CLf of AG was 9.6 and 8.9 mL/min per kg for homozygous and heterozygous males, respectively, although not reaching statistical significance. No significant differences were noted in either ClR or CLf of AG and AS in female CF mice. Plasma concentrations of ICG (10 mg/kg, intravenous) were determined over 0 to 15 minutes. Homozygous females showed a higher apparent volume of distribution (96 mL/kg) relative to heterozygous females (72 mL/kg). Similar to CF patients, a trend toward a lower Cmax was noted in homozygous male and female mice. However, contrary to human data, no significant differences in CL of ICG were noted. These results suggest that the CF-knockout mice have potential as a model for studying altered drug disposition in CF patients.

Effect of partial hepatectomy on the expression of seven rat sulphotransferase mRNAs

1. The effect of partial hepatectomy on the expression of sulphotransferase (SULT) mRNA was studied. SULTs fall into two distinct classes based on substrate preference: phenol SULT1 family (SULT1A1, SULT1B1, SULT1C1 and SULT1E2) and hydroxysteroid SULT2 family (SULT20/21, SULT40/41 and SULT60). 2. Hepatic expression of SULT mRNA was analysed in the sham-hepatectomised rat (sham) and in the partially hepatectomised (PH) rat at various times after PH. Northern-blot analysis with [alpha-32P]dATP-labelled oligonucleotide probes specific for individual SULT mRNAs was used to monitor hepatic SULT mRNA expression. In general, SULT mRNAs underwent a decrease in expression after PH and the magnitude of decrease was dependent on the SULT isoform. 3. The decrease in SULT mRNA expression was resolved and even induced (SULT40/41 in the female rat) by 10-30 days after PH. Of the phenol SULT isoforms, both SULT1C1 and SULT1E2 mRNAs were significantly decreased by 18-24 h after PH in the male rat. The other phenol SULTs (SULT1A1 and SULT1B1) tended to decrease in the male rat after PH, but the decreases were not statistically significant. Expression of SULT20/21 mRNA was decreased in the female rat (80% at 24 h) and fully recovered by 10 days. SULT40/41 mRNA tended to decrease after PH; however, the decrease was not statistically significant. SULT 60 mRNA was decreased from 24 to 96 h after PH. 4. Thus, during the period of rapid liver growth that occurs after partial hepatectomy, SULT mRNA expression is decreased. The phenomenon of decreased SULT mRNA expression is similar to other states of rapid liver growth (e.g. cancer tissue and young animals) in which expression of SULT enzymes is characteristically low.

Bioactivation of benzylic and allylic alcohols via sulfo-conjugation

Although sulfo-conjugation, in general, has been regarded as a detoxification process in the xenobiotic metabolism, there is a substantial body of data supporting that the same reaction can also lead to activation of certain types of chemical carcinogens and mutagens. Examples include some aromatic amines and amides, alkenylbenzenes, methyl-substituted polyaromatic hydrocarbons, nitrotoluenes and nitrosamines. The N- or O-hydroxy derivatives of these compounds undergo sulfonation to form extremely reactive sulfuric acid esters that can play a role as ultimate carcinogenic/mutagenic metabolites. Previous studies from several laboratories have shown that hydroxymethyl polyarenes, such as hydroxymethylbenz[a]anthracenes, 6-hydroxymethylbenzo[a]pyrene, and 1-hydroxymethylpyrene, are activated to reactive benzylic sulfuric acid esters, preferentially by rat hepatic hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase. Some aromatic hydrocarbons bearing the secondary benzylic hydroxy functionality can also yield electrophilic sulfate esters in the presence of hepatic sulfotransferase activity. Thus, benzylic mono- and dihydroxy derivatives of cyclopenta[cd]pyrene form mutagenic and DNA binding species when incubated with rat liver cytosol and the sulfo-group donor, 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate. 1-Hydroxy-3-methylcholanthrene that also possesses the cyclopenta-fused ring system appears to be metabolically activated through sulfo-conjugation. Likewise, benzo[a]pyrene tetraol might be activated through sulfuric acid esterification at one of two benzylic hydroxyl groups. Methylene-bridged polyarenols represent another potential group of cyclic secondary benzylic alcohols that can be activated by sulfotransferases. Certain non-polycyclic aromatic type benzylic alcohols have also been proposed to undergo sulfotransferase-mediated activation. Besides benzylic sulfonation, sulfuric acid esterification of certain allylic alcohols can produce reactive species.

Animal models of breast cancer: experimental design and their use in nutrition and psychosocial research

This is the second Special Issue addressing the diversity and use of animal models of breast cancer. The previous issue (Breast Cancer Res Treat 39:1-135, 1996), dealt with a variety of topics such as the characteristics of chemically- and virally-induced rodent models, immunobiologies of immunedeficient mice, transgenic mouse models, and models of metastasis. In the first part of this second Special Issue, the articles address animal models for studying life-style factors, including psychosocial, exercise, and nutritional research in breast cancer. In the second section, there is emphasis on the controversial area of dietary fat, with other authors addressing caloric restriction and dietary isoflavonoids, retinoids, and monoterpenes in the third part. In the final section, a series of authors provide suggestions for approaching various issues involving experimental design, including nutritional studies, drug screening models, statistical considerations, quantitation of tumor growth kinetics, and animal husbandry. These articles, and some additional issues raised during the previous Special Issue, are briefly discussed in this overview. They include a further evaluation of the relative merits of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene and N-nitroso-N-methylurea as carcinogens, and of the use of the AIN76 and AIN93 semipurified diets in studies of mammary carcinogenesis.

Aryl sulfotransferase IV deficiency in rat liver carcinogenesis initiated with diethylnitrosamine and promoted with N-2-fluorenylacetamide or its C-9-oxidized metabolites

Down regulation of aryl sulfotransferase IV (AST IV) in promotion/progression of liver carcinogenesis by N-2-fluorenylacetamide (2-FAA) has been established. This study examined whether the C-9 oxidized metabolites of 2-FAA, which have recently been shown to promote diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-initiated liver carcinogenesis in male Sprague-Dawley rats, effect the above change. Hence, in DEN-initiated rats, the effects of promoting regimens of 9-OH-2-FAA or 9-oxo-2-FAA, 15 oral doses at 50 and 100 mumol/kg of body weight, were compared to those of 2-FAA at 50 mumol/kg of body weight and of the vehicle on the activity of N-hydroxy(OH)-2-FAA sulfotransferase (ST), an isozyme of AST IV and AST IV expression and distribution. Relative to the vehicle, treatment with the fluorenyl compounds led to decreased levels in hepatic N-OH-2-FAA ST activity and development of hepatic nodules and tumors which had still lower levels of the ST activity than the respective remnant livers. At approximately 8 months after treatment with the C-9-oxidized compounds at doses twice that of 2-FAA, the extents of decreases in the hepatic N-OH-2-FAA ST activity and cytosolic AST IV protein in tumors were comparable to those with 2-FAA. Immunocytochemical analysis showed close association of AST IV deficiency with neoplastic liver lesions. In comparison to N-OH-2-FAA, 9-OH-2-FAA had only low and 9-oxo-2-FAA lacked sulfate acceptor activity in the presence of male rat liver cytosol or AST IV. At 3.3-fold greater concentration than N-OH-2-FAA, 9-oxo-2-FAA inhibited (27%) the sulfate acceptor activity of N-OH-2-FAA in the presence of AST IV, which suggested interference by 9-oxo-2-FAA at the active site. Although the C-9-oxidized compounds do not appear to be substrates for N-OH-2-FAA ST, their ability to cause a decrease in N-OH-2-FAA ST activity and protein similar to that of 2-FAA supports their role in hepatocarcinogenesis. Whereas 9-OH-2-FAA had a 3.9-fold greater sulfate acceptor activity in the presence of female than male rat liver cytosol and inhibited dehydroepiandrosterone ST activity of female rat liver, N-OH-2-FAA and 9-oxo-2-FAA inhibited estrone ST activity of male rat liver, suggesting that the C-9-oxidized compounds as well as N-OH-2-FAA are substrates for STs other than AST IV.

Targeted overexpression of androgen receptor with a liver-specific promoter in transgenic mice

The rodent liver displays marked age- and sex-dependent changes in androgen sensitivity due to the sexually dimorphic and temporally programmed expression of the androgen receptor (AR) gene. We have altered this normal phenotype by constitutive overexpression of the rat AR transgene in the mouse liver by targeting it via the human phenylalanine hydroxylase (hPAH) gene promoter. These transgenic animals in their heterozygous state produce an approximately 30-fold higher level of the AR in the liver as compared with the nontransgenic control. Androgen inactivation via sulfonation of the hormone by dehydroepiandrosterone sulfotransferase (DST), an androgen-repressible enzyme, also contributes to the age- and sex-dependent regulation of hepatic androgen sensitivity. DST has a broad range of substrate specificity and is responsible for the age- and sex-specific activation of certain polycyclic aromatic hepatocarcinogens as well, by converting them to electrophilic sulfonated derivatives. In the transgenic female, the hepatic expression of DST was approximately 4-fold lower than in normal females, a level comparable to that in normal males. The hPAH-AR mice will serve as a valuable model for studying the sex- and age-invariant expression of liver-specific genes, particularly those involved in the activation of environmental hepatocarcinogens such as the aromatic hydrocarbons.

Human dehydroepiandrosterone sulfotransferase. Purification, molecular cloning, and characterization

Human tissues possess at least four distinct forms of cytosolic ST, three of which are involved in the sulfation of steroids. DHEA-ST is responsible for the majority of hydroxysteroid and bile acid sulfation in human tissues and abundant levels of the enzyme are present in human liver and adrenal tissues. In the adult human adrenal, DHEA-ST has been localized immunologically to the zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex. No age- or gender-related differences in the expression of DHEA-ST activity in adult human liver cytosols have been reported. The cDNA encoding DHEA-ST has been isolated from a human liver cDNA library and expressed in both mammalian COS cells and E. coli. Purification and molecular characterization studies suggest a single form of DHEA-ST in human tissues. The properties of DHEA-ST expressed in either mammalian or bacterial cells are very similar to those of the native enzyme. DHEA-ST can also bioactivate a number of procarcinogens to reactive electrophilic forms. Hydroxymethyl PAHs are sulfated and bioactivated at a relatively rapid rate by DHEA-ST, whereas 1'-hydroxysafrole and N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene are bioactivated to a lesser extent.

Stable heterologous expression of hydroxysteroid sulphotransferase in Chinese hamster V79 cells and their use for toxicological investigations

Various benzylic alcohols are metabolically activated to electrophilic, potentially mutagenic and carcinogenic sulphuric acid esters. The involved sulphotransferases are not expressed in the cell lines in culture which are commonly used for mutagenicity testing. The liver of adult female rats is very efficient in the bioactivation of 1-hydroxymethylpyrene. The major enzyme involved was purified and identified as hydroxysteroid sulphotransferase a. Its cDNA was stably expressed in Chinese hamster V79 cells, which are particularly suited for the quantitative detection of various types of mutations and other genotoxic and cytotoxic effects. The mRNA, protein and enzyme activity levels in the constructed cell lines (V79rSTa-1 and V79rSTa-2) were measured, and the cells were also used in mutagenicity and cytotoxicity investigations with benzylic alcohols. 1-Hydroxymethylpyrene, 9-hydroxymethylanthracene and 6-hydroxymethylbenzo[a]pyrene showed enhanced cytotoxicity in V79rSTa-1 and V79rSTa-2 cells, as compared with sulphotransferase-deficient control cells. In addition, 1-hydroxymethylpyrene induced sister chromatid exchanges, and 6-hydroxymethylbenzo[a]pyrene induced gene mutations in V79rSTa-1 cells. We intend carrying out more investigations with other chemicals on these cell lines. Their advantages, as compared with systems with external metabolising systems, include the formation of the active metabolites within the target cell, as in ST-proficient cells in vivo, eliminating the problems which may result from restricted intercellular transport of reactive and ionized sulphuric acid conjugates. Furthermore, cells expressing other sulphotransferases, including human enzymes, may be constructed and used for comparative investigations.

Roles of electrophilic sulfuric acid ester metabolites in mutagenesis and carcinogenesis by some polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons

Hydroxylation of meso-methyl groups with subsequent formation of reactive benzylic esters bearing a good leaving group (e.g. sulfate) was proposed as a possible biochemical mechanism of activation and tumorigenicity of methyl-substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In support of this postulation, recent studies have demonstrated the formation by rodent hepatic sulfotransferase activity of electrophilic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic sulfuric acid esters of several hydroxymethyl aromatic hydrocarbons including hydroxymethyl derivatives of benz[a]anthracene, 6-hydroxymethylbenzo[a]pyrene, 5-hydroxymethylchrysene, 9-hydroxymethyl-10-methylanthracene, and 1-hydroxymethylpyrene. Besides these hydroxymethyl PAHs containing a primary benzylic alcoholic group, some aromatic hydrocarbons with secondary benzylic hydroxyl functional group(s) are also metabolically activated through sulfuric acid esterification.

Molecular cloning and functions of rat liver hydroxysteroid sulfotransferases catalysing covalent binding of carcinogenic polycyclic arylmethanols to DNA

Three sulfotransferases (STs) catalysing the metabolic activation of potent carcinogenic polycyclic arylmethanols were purified from female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat liver cytosol without loss of their enzyme activities in the presence of Tween 20 used for preventing the enzymes from aggregation during purification and identified as hydroxysteroid sulfotransferases (HSTs). All the purified HSTs, STa, STb, and STc, with different electric charges had an apparently equal size of subunit (30.5 kDa) and cross-reacted with polyclonal antibody raised against STa. Our study on molecular cloning of cDNA libraries from two female SD rat livers indicated that both contained cDNA inserts coding for 5 different HST subunits, consisting of 284-285 amino acid residues (M(r), 33,084-33,535) and sharing strong amino acid sequence identity (> 83%). Of the 5 HST subunits, two had an identical amino acid sequence except for only one amino acid residue, and the other two contained only 6 amino acid substitutions in their sequences.

Biochemistry of cytosolic sulfotransferases involved in bioactivation

Numerous studies have indicated that two classes of cytosolic STs are involved in the bioactivation of procarcinogens and drugs to reactive electrophiles, especially in rodent tissues. These two classes of STs are the hydroxysteroid STs, which are involved in the conjugation of hydroxymethyl PAHs, and the phenol STs involved in the sulfation of alkenylbenzenes and N-hydroxyarylamines. Purification studies of rat liver STs have clearly indicated that specific isoforms of hydroxysteroid and phenol STs are capable of sulfating procarcinogens in vitro. Rat liver STa and BAST I are structurally similar hydroxysteroid STs, which have been shown to sulfate and bioactive HMBA. Molecular cloning studies of the rat hydroxysteroid STs indicate that these enzymes are probably part of a family of closely related genes. The single human hydroxysteroid ST that has been characterized is very similar to the rat enzymes, but its role in the bioactivation of hydroxymethyl PAHs has not been established. Phenol STs have been demonstrated to have an important role in the bioactivation of alkenylbenzenes and N-hydroxyarylamines. Purification of rat phenol STs has identified several different forms, but only some appear to be involved in bioactivation of procarcinogens. Four isoforms (HAST I and II, AST III and IV) are apparently responsible for the majority of N-hydroxyarylamine sulfation. The relationship between these enzymes has not been established but they may represent similar enzymes. Different isoforms of rat phenol ST are also involved in the bioactivation of procarcinogens and drugs. However, the role of these phenol STs, PST-1, Mx-ST, and paracetamol ST, in carcinogenesis requires further study. In human tissues, only two phenol STs, P-PST and M-PST, have been identified. The role of these enzymes or unidentified STs in the sulfation of N-hydroxyarylamine procarcinogens has not yet been established. Initial reports of the molecular cloning and expression of the rat and human phenol ST genes will provide a valuable mechanism for the characterization of roles of the individual enzymes in bioactivation.

Carcinogen activation by sulfate conjugate formation

The foregoing pages presented a substantial body of data that established that sulfotransferase conjugation can transform many xenobiotics into agents that can modify cellular macromolecules. However, activation by sulfation is rarely the only metabolic pathway that is open to these compounds; other pathways can become more important in response to a variety of factors. This metabolic switching can be produced by substrate concentration, cofactor availability, kinetic factors that dictate the velocity of the various possible conjugation reactions, and, in some cases, competition between Phase-I and Phase-II metabolism. Also, it is important to realize that demonstration of activation by sulfate ester formation in vitro does not necessarily mean that a similar activation process will occur in vivo. Experience also teaches that argument by analogy can be very misleading in the case of sulfate activation. Small structural differences can upset the delicate balance between sulfate activation and the various other competing pathways. Nevertheless, sulfation is an important mechanism by which a number of chemicals are transformed to their activated forms.

Metabolic activation of carcinogens

Most chemical carcinogens are not active in themselves but require bioactivation to electrophiles that bind covalently to DNA and often act by producing mutations. In recent years it has been realized that mutations can be important at many stages of carcinogenesis. A variety of different enzymes are involved in bioactivation reactions, which include oxidation, reduction, thiol conjugation, acetyl transfer, sulfur transfer, methyl transfer, glucuronosyl transfer, and epoxide hydrolysis. These processes often occur in concert with a single carcinogen. Humans vary considerably in activities of these enzymes and this variation may contribute to differences in risk.