The metabolism of 6-aminochrysene in the rat

Comparison between oral and dermal bioavailability of soil-adsorbed phenanthrene in female rats

Phenathrene is a major coal tar component found in hazardous waste disposal sites. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which phenanthrene adsorption to either of 2 different soils affects the manner in which phenanthrene is subsequently handled in orally and dermally exposed adult female rats. Absorption from the gastrointestinal tract was relatively rapid for all treatments with maximum plasma concentration of radioactivity occurring within 1 h following oral administration. After dermal application, the time to reach maximum plasma concentration (12 h) was the same in all 3 phenanthrene treatment groups although sandy soil lowered the area under the plasma concentration time curve (AUC) compared to the pure and clay soil groups. Dermal exposure increased absorption half-lives 8-fold compared to oral exposure in the pure group and 15-fold in each of the soil groups. After oral or dermal treatment with phenanthrene alone or adsorbed to soil, the urine represented the primary excretion route of 14C activity. Ileum contained the highest tissue concentration of radioactivity in all oral treatment groups. However, the skin application site contained the highest concentration of radioactivity followed by ileum after dermal exposure. Phenanthrenequinone and 9,10-phenanthrene dihydrodiol were the major urinary metabolites detected in the 0-12-h urine of all treatment groups in both routes of administration. The data suggest that the oral exposure route for phenanthrene is a greater health risk than the dermal route. However, the presence of sandy or clay soil tends to delay the elimination of phenanthrene from the plasma.

A comparative study of the kinetics and bioavailability of pure and soil-adsorbed naphthalene in dermally exposed male rats

The aim of this study was to utilize pharmacokinetic techniques to assess the bioavailability of sandy or clay soil-adsorbed naphthalene vs chemical alone following dermal treatment of male rats. Animals were exposed to 43 micrograms total of 14C-naphthalene (pure or adsorbed to one of two soils) introduced into a shallow glass cap covering a 13-cm2 area on the skin of each rat. While both soils delayed the time to reach maximum plasma concentration of radioactivity and significantly increased the half-life of plasma absorption, only sandy soil significantly decreased the peak plasma concentration of radioactivity versus the pure compound. Within 12 h after dermal application, approximately 50% of the naphthalene dose was excreted in the urine of the pure and clay soil-adsorbed groups. However, when naphthalene was adsorbed to sandy soil, the percentages of the initial dose excreted in the urine collected between 0-12 h and 12-24 h were nearly equal (33-39%). Furthermore, sandy soil adsorption shifted the secondary excretion route from expired air to feces and significantly lowered the amount of radioactivity in expired air relative to naphthalene alone. In the presence of sandy soil, a significantly larger amount of radioactivity washed off of the skin application sites. In all groups the predominant urinary metabolites determined by high performance liquid chromatography were 2,7- and 1,2-dihydroxynaphthalenes.

Products formed from the in vitro reaction of metabolites of 3-aminochrysene with calf thymus DNA

3-Aminochrysene, a mutagenic geometric isomer of the mutagenic and carcinogenic aromatic amine 6-aminochrysene, has been synthesized and its metabolic activation studied by characterization of the products formed from the reaction of metabolites with calf thymus DNA. DNA adducts produced by 3-aminochrysene via N-oxidation were examined by preparing 3-nitrosochrysene and incubating the nitroso derivative with calf thymus DNA in the presence of ascorbic acid (to generate the N-hydroxy derivative) at pH 5. The major adduct, as determined by 1H-NMR and thermospray-mass spectrometry of the modified nucleoside obtained after enzymatic hydrolysis of the modified DNA, was N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-3-aminochrysene. Thus, the reaction of N-hydroxy-3-aminochrysene with DNA differs from that of N-hydroxy-6-aminochrysene, which had previously been shown to generate N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-6-aminochrysene, 5-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-6-aminochrysene and N-(deoxyinosin-8-yl)-6- aminochrysene as major adducts. 32P-Postlabeling analysis of DNA treated with 3-aminochrysene in the presence of liver microsomes from rats pretreated with phenobarbital indicated an adduct pattern identical to that seen with DNA that had been treated with 3-nitrosochrysene and ascorbic acid. However, DNA treated with 3-aminochrysene (3-AC) in the presence of liver microsomes from rats pretreated with 3-methylcholanthrene contained a major adduct that was chromatographically distinct from N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-3-aminochrysene.

Mutation induction and DNA adduct formation in Chinese hamster ovary cells treated with 6-nitrochrysene, 6-aminochrysene and their metabolites

6-Nitrochrysene, 6-aminochrysene and several of their metabolites were assayed for mutagenic activity at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (hprt) locus in DNA-repair-proficient Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells and excision-repair-deficient CHO-UV5 cells. Mutagen-DNA adducts were analyzed by 32P-postlabeling in cells treated under the conditions of the mutagenicity assay and compared with the adduct patterns produced from the in vitro reaction of metabolites of 6-nitrochrysene and 6-aminochrysene with calf-thymus DNA. The mutagenic activities of the test compounds in the presence of a liver homogenate (S9) fraction from Aroclor 1254-pretreated rats, expressed as the number of mutants per 10(6) cells per nmole test compound per ml, in CHO-K1 and CHO-UV5 cells, respectively, were as follows: 6-nitrochrysene, 0.3 and 4; 6-aminochrysene, 35 and 117; 6-nitrochrysene-1,2-dihydrodiol, 1 and 6; 6-aminochrysene-1,2-dihydrodiol, 488 and 644; chrysene (run as a positive control), 12 and 28. 6-Nitrosochrysene was a direct-acting mutagen, yielding 127 and 618 mutants per 10(6) cells per nmole per ml in CHO-K1 and CHO-UV5 cells, respectively. Mutagen-DNA adduct analysis indicated that cells treated with 6-aminochrysene in the presence of S9 or 6-nitrosochrysene in the absence of S9 contained an adduct pattern identical to that derived from the in vitro reaction of N-hydroxy-6-aminochrysene with calf-thymus DNA. Cells treated with 6-aminochrysene-1,2-dihydrodiol plus S9 contained a single mutagen-DNA adduct that was distinct from those derived from N-hydroxy-6-aminochrysene. Based on comparison with previous studies, this adduct is presumed to be derived from 1,2-dihydroxy-3,4-epoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6-aminochrysene. Cells treated with 6-nitrochrysene plus S9 and 6-nitrochrysene-1,2-dihydrodiol plus S9 contained a single major chromatographically identical adduct that was apparently derived from N-hydroxy-6-aminochrysene-1,2-dihydrodiol. The results indicate that 6-nitrochrysene, 6-aminochrysene and their metabolites are mutagenic in CHO cells, but that the major activation pathway for 6-nitrochrysene and 6-nitrochrysene-1,2-dihydrodiol in this system differs from previously described pathways.

Metabolism of drugs and other xenobiotics in the gut lumen and wall

Metabolism in the gut lumen and wall can decrease the bioavailability and the pharmacological effects of a wide variety of drugs. Bacterial flora in the gut, the environmental pH and oxidative or conjugative enzymes present in the intestinal epithelial cells can all contribute to the process. Bacterial biotransformation is greatest in the colon, while gut wall metabolism is generally highest in the jejunum and decreases distally. Gut wall metabolism may be induced or inhibited by dietary or environmental xenobiotics or by co-administered drugs. Recent evidence suggests that some drugs, food-derived mutagens and other xenobiotics can be metabolized by gut flora and/or gut wall enzymes to reactive species which may cause tumors.

Toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. I. Effect of phenanthrene, pyrene, and their ozonized products on blood chemistry in rats

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with a single ip injection of physiological saline (3.0 ml/kg), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO, 3.0 ml/kg), phenanthrene (150 mg/kg), ozonized products of phenanthrene (150 mg/kg), pyrene (150 mg/kg), or ozonized products of pyrene (150 mg/kg). Phenanthrene, pyrene, and their ozonized products were dissolved in DMSO (50 mg/ml). Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity was increased significantly 24 hr after ip administration of DMSO when compared with physiological saline. Phenanthrene produced a significant elevation of serum AST and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP) levels related to physiological saline and DMSO-injected rats 24 hr after injection. However, GGTP levels for groups treated with DMSO or phenanthrene were not significantly increased when compared with saline groups 72 hr after injection. Ozonized products of phenanthrene produced a significant elevation of serum AST, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), GGTP, and bilirubin levels when compared with groups treated with physiological saline, DMSO, and phenanthrene 24 or 72 hr after injections. The ozonized products of phenanthrene also produced significant elevation of serum creatinine levels compared with physiological saline, DMSO, and phenanthrene groups at 24 hr after treatment and of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels at 24 and 72 hr. Although pyrene caused a small but significant increase in the serum AST and bilirubin levels 24 hr after treatment, no significant change in the serum AST, ALT, GGTP, BUN, and creatine levels were observed with the ozonized products of pyrene at 24 or 72 hr. This study demonstrates significant alterations in serum chemistry induced by reaction products of ozone with phenanthrene. No such effect was observed when the products of pyrene ozonation were administered. Although the ozonation products of pyrene were not toxic under the conditions of this study, phenanthrene products were more hepatotoxic than was phenanthrene itself. Nephrotoxicity was also an apparent effect of ozonized phenanthrene. Since ozone-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) reactions may occur in the atmosphere, these reactions might produce compounds that are more toxic than either ozone or the PAH alone.

N-glucuronide formation of carcinogenic aromatic amines in rat and human liver microsomes

(1) Sensitive fluorimetric assays were developed for the determination of microsomal UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activities towards 1- and 2-naphthylamine and 4-aminobiphenyl. (2) In rat liver microsomes, enzyme activity towards 1-naphthylamine was orders of magnitude higher than the activities towards 2-naphthylamine, 4-aminobiphenyl or aniline. The differences were less marked with human liver microsomes. (3) Glucuronidation of aniline and 4-aminobiphenyl was not appreciably altered in rat liver microsomes from 3-methylcholanthrene- or phenobarbital-treated rats. UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activities towards 1- and 2-naphthylamine were selectively increased (about 2-fold) by 3-methylcholanthrene-treatment. However the increases were less marked than those observed with representative substrates of the 3-methylcholanthrene-inducible enzyme form. The results suggest that the arylamines investigated are predominantly conjugated by constitutive enzyme forms in rat liver. (4) Arylamine N-glucuronides were found to be susceptible to hydrolysis by E. coli beta-glucuronidase suggesting the release of carcinogenic arylamines in the gut and their enterohepatic circulation.

Alteration of urinary levels of the carcinogen, N-hydroxy-2-naphthylamine, and its N-glucuronide in the rat by control of urinary pH, inhibition of metabolic sulfation, and changes in biliary excretion

The hepatic metabolism of arylamine bladder carcinogens to N-hydroxy arylamine N-glucuronides, their excretion in the urine, and their subsequent acidic hydrolysis to highly carcinogenic and reactive N-hydroxy arylamines have been proposed as essential steps in arylamine-induced urinary bladder carcinogenesis. In this study, alteration of urinary pH, inhibition of metabolic sulfation, and blockage of biliary disposition were shown to profoundly affect the urinary excretion of the probable ultimate bladder carcinogen, N-hydroxy-2-naphthylamine (N-HO-2-NA) and its N-glucuronide conjugate. The normal pH of rat urine (6.7) was altered to 5.7 or 7.7 by administration of NH4Cl or NaHCO3 in the drinking water. Subsequent treatment with either 2-naphthylamine (2-NA) or 2-nitronaphthalene (2-NN) resulted in increased urinary levels of free N-HO-2-NA (relative to its N-glucuronide) in acidic urines and decreased relative amounts of free N-HO-2-NA in alkaline urines. In addition, 2-NN yielded 5--10-fold greater levels of urinary N-HO-2-NA and its N-glucuronide than rats given 2-NA; and 2-NA was not detected as a urinary metabolite of 2-NN. Some 12 additional metabolites of 2-NA and 2-NN were also found. Of these, 2-amino-1-naphthol and its sulfate and glucuronide conjugates were quantitated. From these data, 2-NA and 2-NN appear to share common metabolic pathways which yield free N-HO-2-NA as a putative ultimate urinary bladder carcinogen. Pentachlorophenol, a known inhibitor of hepatic sulfotransferases, was shown to cause a 2--3-fold increase in the urinary levels of N-HO-2-NA N-glucuronide and N-HO-2-NA from 2-NA-treated rats. Similarly, inhibition of the biliary excretion of 2-NA by bile duct ligation resulted in a 6-fold increase in total urinary N-HO-2-NfA. Furthermore, analyses of bile revealed that substantial amounts of N-HO-2-NA N-glucuronide, but not free N-HO-2-NA, were present. The role of urinary versus biliary excretion of N-hydroxy arylamines in relation to bladder and colon carcinogenesis is discussed.