32P-analysis of DNA adducts in somatic and reproductive tissues of rats treated with the anticancer antibiotic, mitomycin C

Insight Into Factors Governing Formation, Synthesis and Stereochemical Configuration of DNA Adducts Formed by Mitomycins

Mitomycin C, (MC), an antitumor drug used in the clinics, is a DNA alkylating agent. Inert in its native form, MC is reduced to reactive mitosenes in cellulo which undergo nucleophilic attack by DNA bases to form monoadducts as well as interstrand crosslinks (ICLs). These properties constitute the molecular basis for the cytotoxic effects of the drug. The mechanism of DNA alkylation by mitomycins has been studied for the past 30 years and, until recently, the consensus was that drugs of the mitomycins family mainly target CpG sequences in DNA. However, that paradigm was recently challenged. Here, we relate the latest research on both MC and dicarbamoylmitomycin C (DMC), a synthetic derivative of MC which has been used to investigate the regioselectivity of mitomycins DNA alkylation as well as the relationship between mitomycins reductive activation pathways and DNA adducts stereochemical configuration. We also review the different synthetic routes to access mitomycins nucleoside adducts and oligonucleotides containing MC/DMC DNA adducts located at a single position. Finally, we briefly describe the DNA structural modifications induced by MC and DMC adducts and how site specifically modified oligonucleotides have been used to elucidate the role each adduct plays in the drugs cytotoxicity.

Traip controls mushroom body size by suppressing mitotic defects

Microcephaly is a failure to develop proper brain size and neuron number. Mutations in diverse genes are linked to microcephaly, including several with DNA damage repair (DDR) functions; however, it is not well understood how these DDR gene mutations limit brain size. One such gene is TRAIP, which has multiple functions in DDR. We characterized the Drosophila TRAIP homolog nopo, hereafter traip, and found that traip mutants (traip-) have a brain-specific defect in the mushroom body (MB). traip- MBs were smaller and contained fewer neurons, but no neurodegeneration, consistent with human primary microcephaly. Reduced neuron numbers in traip- were explained by premature loss of MB neuroblasts (MB-NBs), in part via caspase-dependent cell death. Many traip- MB-NBs had prominent chromosome bridges in anaphase, along with polyploidy, aneuploidy or micronuclei. Traip localization during mitosis is sufficient for MB development, suggesting that Traip can repair chromosome bridges during mitosis if necessary. Our results suggest that proper brain size is ensured by the recently described role for TRAIP in unloading stalled replication forks in mitosis, which suppresses DNA bridges and premature neural stem cell loss to promote proper neuron number.

Cancer molecular biology and strategies for the design of cytotoxic gold(I) and gold(III) complexes: a tutorial review

This tutorial review highlights key principles underpinning the design of selected metallodrugs to target specific biological macromolecules (DNA and proteins). The review commences with a descriptive overview of the eukaryotic cell cycle and the molecular biology of cancer, particularly apoptosis, which is provided as a necessary foundation for the discovery, design, and targeting of metal-based anticancer agents. Drugs which target DNA have been highlighted and clinically approved metallodrugs discussed. A brief history of the development of mainly gold-based metallodrugs is presented prior to addressing ligand systems for stabilizing and adding functionality to bio-active gold(I) and gold(III) complexes, particularly in the burgeoning field of anticancer metallodrugs. Concepts such as multi-modal and selective cytotoxic agents are covered where necessary for selected compounds. The emerging role of carbenes as the ligand system of choice to achieve these goals for gold-based metallodrug candidates is highlighted prior to closing the review with comments on some future directions that this research field might follow. The latter section ultimately emphasizes the importance of understanding the fate of metal complexes in cells to garner key mechanistic insights.

Role of Estrogen in Androgen-Induced Prostate Carcinogenesis in NBL Rats

Androgens are thought to cause prostate cancer, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Data from animal studies suggest that for androgens to cause prostate cancer, they must be aromatized to estrogen and act in concert with estrogen metabolites. We tested the hypothesis that androgen-receptor and estrogen receptor-mediated effects of androgen and estrogen are necessary, as well as genotoxicity of estrogen metabolites. NBL rats were treated with androgenic and estrogenic compounds for 16-75 weeks through slow-release silastic implants or pellets. Testosterone alone induced cancer in the prostate of 37% of rats. 5α-Dihydrotestosterone, which cannot be converted to estradiol or testosterone, did not cause a significant prostate cancer incidence (4%). Addition of estradiol to 5α-dihydrotestosterone treatment did not markedly enhance prostate cancer incidence (14%), unlike adding estradiol to testosterone treatment which induced a 100% tumor incidence. Testosterone plus estradiol treatment induced a DNA adduct detectable by ³²P-postlabeling, oxidative DNA damage (8-hydroxyguanosine), and lipid peroxidation at the site within the prostate where this treatment causes cancers, preceding later cancer formation. The non-estrogenic 4-hydroxy metabolite of estradiol, when combined with testosterone, induced prostatic dysplasia within 16 weeks and, after long-term treatment, a very low incidence of prostate cancer (21%). When an estrogen that cannot be hydroxylated (2-fluoroestradiol) was added to this combined treatment with testosterone and 4-hydroxyestradiol, dysplasia frequency after 16 weeks was doubled. These results strongly support the hypothesis, but additional definitive studies are needed which may identify new targets to interfere with these mechanisms that are clinically feasible in humans.

Genotoxic and mutagenic studies of teratogens in developing rat and mouse

In this review, genotoxic and mutagenic effects of teratogenic chemical agents in both rat and mouse have been reviewed. Of these chemicals, 97 are drugs and 33 are pesticides or belong to other groups. Large literature searches were conducted to determine the effects of chemicals on chromosome abnormalities, sister chromatid exchanges, and micronucleus formation in experimental animals such as rats and mice. In addition, studies that include unscheduled DNA synthesis, DNA adduct formations, and gene mutations, which help to determine the genotoxicity or mutagenicity of chemicals, have been reviewed. It has been estimated that 46.87% of teratogenic drugs and 48.48% of teratogenic pesticides are positive in all tests. So, all of the teratogens involved in this group have genotoxic and mutagenic effects. On the other hand, 36.45% of the drugs and 21.21% of the pesticides have been found to give negative results in at least one test, with the majority of the tests giving positive results. However, only 4.16% of the drugs and 18.18% of the pesticides were determined to give negative results in the majority of the tests. Among tests with major negative results, 12.50% of the teratogenic drugs and 12.12% of the teratogenic pesticides were negative in all conducted tests.

Inactivation of genes involved in base excision repair of Corynebacterium glutamicum and survival of the mutants in presence of various mutagens

Base Excision Repair (BER) is considered as the most active DNA repair pathway in vivo, which is initiated by recognition of the nucleotide lesions and excision of the damaged DNA base. The genome of Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 contains various DNA glycosylases encoding genes (ung, fpg/mutM, tagI, alkA, mutY), two AP-endonuclease encoding genes (nei and nth) and an exonuclease encoding gene xth. To investigate the role of these genes during DNA repair in C. glutamicum, mutants with deletions of one or more genes in BER pathway were created. After treatment with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), mitomycin C (MMC), zeocin and UV-light, we characterised the function of the different BER genes by determination of the survival capability. DNA lesions caused by MNNG strongly reduced survival of the tagI, mutY and alkA mutants but had a negligible effect on the ung and mutM mutants. The endonucleases Nth and Nei turned out to be essential for the repair of base modifications caused by MMC while UV-light and zeocin did not seem to address the BER. So far, BER in C. glutamicum appears to be very similar to that in E. coli.

Dose-dependent effect of mitomycin C on human vocal fold fibroblasts

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to evaluate in vitro cytotoxicity and antifibrotic effects of mitomycin C on normal and scarred human vocal fold fibroblasts.

METHODS

Fibroblasts were subjected to mitomycin C treatment at 0.2, 0.5, or 1 mg/mL, or serum control. Cytotoxicity, immunocytochemistry, and Western blot for collagen I/III were performed at days 0, 1, 3, and 5.

RESULTS

Significant decreases in live cells were measured for mitomycin C-treated cells on days 3 and 5 for all doses. Extracellular staining of collagen I/III was observed in mitomycin C-treated cells across all doses and times. Extracellular staining suggests apoptosis with necrosis, compromising the integrity of cell membranes and release of cytosolic proteins into the extracellular environment. Western blot indicates inhibition of collagen at all doses except 0.2 mg/mL at day 1.

CONCLUSION

A total of 0.2 mg/mL mitomycin C may provide initial and transient stimulation of collagen for necessary repair to damaged tissue without the long-term risk of fibrosis.

Effect of mitomycin C on the tensile properties of the upper lacrimal canaliculi in a rabbit model

The upper lacrimal canaliculus consists of a tubular structure, and the tensile properties which in lacrimal tissues might contribute to structural integrity and tear drainage. We evaluated the characteristics of the tensile properties of the upper lacrimal canaliculi and the clinical implications of using a mitomycin C (MMC)-treated rabbit model. Mitomycin C (0.04%) was applied to the punctum of rabbits for 5 min, and the upper lacrimal tissues including the punctum were excised and attached to a forced transducer to record the tensile properties in a resting state 1 month later. The recording showed continuing decrement of basal tension with time in the lacrimal tissues treated with MMC in contrast with normal controls which maintained initial tension throughout the experiment. The rabbits were then randomly divided into the following 3 groups: vertical punctal incision with the MMC application group; vertical punctal incision with a balanced salt solution application group; and a balanced salt solution application only group. Four weeks after surgery, the puncta of rabbits treated with an incision and MMC application were more dilated clinically and showed less elasticity as compared with the other groups. Histological staining revealed that MMC treatment combined with incision decreased the amount of collagen and elastin fibers in the canaliculi. These results suggest that lacrimal canaliculi of rabbits have rheological basal tension and elasticity, which can be decreased by the use of MMC treatment.

Mitomycin C: biological effects and use in refractive surgery

PURPOSE

To provide an overview of the safety and efficacy of mitomycin C (MMC) as adjuvant therapy after refractive surgery procedures.

METHODS

Literature review.

RESULTS

Over the past 10 years, MMC has been used by refractive surgeons to prophylactically decrease haze after surface ablation procedures and therapeutically in the treatment of preexisting haze. Development of MMC treatments has had a significant role in the revival of surface ablation techniques. We reviewed the literature regarding mechanism of action of MMC, its role in modulating wound healing after refractive surgery, and its safety and efficacy as adjuvant therapy applied after primary photorefractive keratectomy surgery or after photorefractive keratectomy re-treatment after laser in situ keratomileusis and other corneal surgeries and disorders. The drug is a potent mitotic inhibitor that effectively blocks keratocyte activation, proliferation, and myofibroblast differentiation. Many studies have suggested that MMC is safe and effective in doses used by anterior surface surgeons, although there continue to be concerns regarding long-term safety. After initial depletion of anterior keratocytes, keratocyte density seems to return to normal 6 to 12 months after the use of MMC when corneas are examined with the confocal microscope. Most clinical studies found no difference between preoperative and postoperative corneal endothelial cell densities when MMC 0.02% was applied during refractive surgery, with exposure time of 2 minutes or less.

CONCLUSIONS

After more than 10 years of use, MMC has been found to be effective when used for prevention and treatment of corneal haze. Questions remain regarding optimal treatment parameters and long-term safety.

The rat gut micronucleus assay: a good choice for alternative in vivo genetic toxicology testing strategies

The in vivo bone marrow (BM) micronucleus assay is one of the three tests in the standard test battery to assess the genotoxic potential of a pharmaceutical candidate. In some cases, depending on results of in vitro studies, the route of administration or the degree of systemic exposure, in vivo assessment of genotoxicity in the BM alone may not be sufficient. Based on the potential for high gut exposures to orally administered compounds with low systemic exposures as well as the potential susceptibility of rapidly dividing cells of the intestinal tissues, we have developed a modified technique for evaluating micronuclei formation in both the duodenum and colon of rats based on earlier publications. Adult male Sprague Dawley rats were treated once daily for 2 days with either vehicle control or with the test articles acetyl salicylic acid (ASA), carbendazim (CAR), cyclophosphamide (CP), dimethylhydrazine (DMH), mitomycin C (MMC) or vinblastine sulfate (VIN). The duodenum, colon, and BM were harvested, processed, and analyzed for micronucleus induction. Results from these studies demonstrated differences in the susceptibility for different test compounds in the three tissues tested. When MMC and VIN were dosed by different routes at the same dose levels both compounds produced positive results in all three tissues by intraperitoneal injection but not oral administration. These studies suggest that overall the GI micronucleus assay might be a useful tool for clastogenic and aneugenic compounds that are expected to produce high sustained concentrations in the gastrointestinal tract with little systemic exposure.

Mapping DNA adducts of mitomycin C and decarbamoyl mitomycin C in cell lines using liquid chromatography/ electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

The antitumor antibiotic and cancer chemotherapeutic agent mitomycin C (MC) alkylates and crosslinks DNA, forming six major MC-deoxyguanosine adducts of known structures in vitro and in vivo. Two of these adducts are derived from 2,7-diaminomitosene (2,7-DAM), a nontoxic reductive metabolite of MC formed in cells in situ. Several methods have been used for the analysis of MC-DNA adducts in the past; however, a need exists for a safer, more comprehensive and direct assay of the six-adduct complex. Development of an assay, based on mass spectrometry, is described. DNA from EMT6 mouse mammary tumor cells, Fanconi Anemia-A fibroblasts, normal human fibroblasts, and MCF-7 human breast cancer cells was isolated after MC or 10-decarbamoyl mitomycin C (DMC) treatment of the cells, digested to nucleosides, and submitted to liquid chromatography electrospray-tandem mass spectrometry. Two fragments of each parent ion were monitored ("multiple reaction monitoring"). Identification and quantitative analysis were based on a standard mixture of six adducts, the preparation of which is described here in detail. The lower limit of detection of adducts is estimated as 0.25 pmol. Three initial applications of this method are reported as follows: (i) differential kinetics of adduct repair in EMT6 cells, (ii) analysis of adducts in MC- or DMC-treated Fanconi Anemia cells, and (iii) comparison of the adducts generated by treatment of MCF-7 breast cancer cells with MC and DMC. Notable results are the following: Repair removal of the DNA interstrand cross-link and of the two adducts of 2,7-DAM is relatively slow; both MC and DMC generate DNA interstrand cross-links in human fibroblasts, Fanconi Anemia-A fibroblasts, and MCF-7 cells as well as EMT6 cells; and DMC shows a stereochemical preference of linkage to the guanine-2-amino group opposite from that of MC.

Mitomycin: clinical applications in ophthalmic practice

Mitomycin (mitomycin C; MMC) is an antibiotic isolated from Streptomyces caespitosus. The drug is a bioreductive alkylating agent that undergoes metabolic reductive activation, and has various oxygen tension-dependent cytotoxic effects on cells, including the cross-linking of DNA. It is widely used systemically for the treatment of malignancies, and has gained popularity as topical adjunctive therapy in ocular and adnexal surgery over the past 2 decades. In ophthalmic medicine, it is principally used to inhibit the wound healing response and reduce scarring of surgically fashioned ostia. Hence, it has been used as adjunctive therapy in various ocular surgeries, such as glaucoma filtering surgeries, dacryocystorhinostomy, corneal refractive surgery and surgeries for ocular cicatrisation. In addition, it has been used as an adjunct in the surgical management of pterygia, ocular surface squamous neoplasia, primary acquired melanosis with atypia and conjunctival melanoma. In many of these surgeries and ophthalmic pathologies, MMC showed a significant beneficial effect.

Studies on the chemopreventive potentials of vegetable oils and unsaturated fatty acids against breast cancer carcinogenesis at initiation

The effect of dietary fat on breast cancer is a longstanding and an unresolved issue. We found that 17beta-estradiol (E2) could be activated by the epoxide-forming oxidant dimethyldioxirane (DMDO) to bind DNA-forming DNA adducts both in vitro and in vivo, and to inhibit nuclear RNA synthesis. We proposed that E2 epoxidation is the underlying mechanism for the initiation of breast cancer carcinogenesis (Carcinogenesis 17, 1957-61, 1996). This report is on the transcriptional and DNA-binding properties of vegetable oils and fatty acids, and on the potentials of these compounds to prevent the formation of E2 epoxide. The results show that vegetable oils, having no effect on nuclear RNA synthesis either before or after DMDO treatment, were all able to prevent the formation of E2 epoxide independent of their mono- or polyunsaturated fatty acid content. Similarly, unsaturated fatty acids, regardless of chain length and number of double bonds, were all able to prevent the formation of E2 epoxide as reflected by the loss of the ability of [3H]E2 to bind DNA. In contrast to vegetable oils, the results indicated that the unsaturated fatty acids palmitoleic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic and arachidonic acid could be activated by DMDO to inhibit nuclear RNA synthesis, and that the mono-unsaturated fatty acids (i.e. palmitoleic and oleic acid) were stronger inhibitors than fatty acids with more than one double bond (e.g. linoleic, linolenic and arachidonic acid). [32P]Post-labeling analysis revealed that under identical DMDO activation, the DNA adducts formed for oleic acid were 17098 adducts/10(8) nucleotides, which was 20-fold more than palmitoleic acid (815), and 120-fold more than alpha-linolenic acid (142). This result strongly suggests that oleic acid could be a potential initiating carcinogen after epoxidation.

In vivo and in vitro inhibition of CYP1A-dependent activity in Fundulus heteroclitus by the polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon fluoranthene

Certainpolynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) such as benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) induce CYP1A-dependent enzyme activities. Because PAHs are ubiquitous environmental contaminants, and some are aryl hydrocarbon agonists, CYP1A has been used as a biomarker for PAH exposure. However, PAHs exist in the environment in complex mixtures that may confound biomarker results. In in vitro studies, the PAH fluoranthene (FL) failed to increase or enhance CYP1A1-dependent ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity in cells, but rather inhibited activities induced by AhR agonists such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and benzo(k)fluoranthene. In order to determine the in vivo effects of FL on CYP1A and DNA adduct levels, Fundulus heteroclitus were given single ip injections of either BaP (5 mg/kg), BaP + FL (5 mg/kg each), BaP + FL (5 and 50 mg/kg, respectively), FL (5 mg/kg), FL (50 mg/kg), or corn oil control. BaP-treated fish had liver microsome EROD activities significantly higher than controls, whereas FL-treated fish were not different from controls. EROD activities in BaP + FL cotreatments were significantly lower compared to fish treated with BaP alone. When FL was incubated with BaP-induced microsomes, the IC50 for inhibition of EROD activity was 1.4 x 10(-5) M FL. Kinetic studies indicated a significant noncompetitive component to the FL inhibition. When fish were treated with [(14)C]FL, the concentration of radiolabel associated with microsomal preparations was four orders of magnitude lower than the IC50. Therefore, the presence of FL or a FL metabolite was insufficient to account for the inhibition by a kinetic mechanism. In contrast to cell studies, CYP1A immunoreactive protein was significantly decreased in vivo by FL cotreatment, indicating that FL may inhibit EROD activity by down-regulating the CYP1A protein. A covalent interaction of [(14)C]FL with CYP1A was not detected. Total (32)P-postlabeled DNA adducts were not significantly changed by cotreatment of FL and BaP; however, cotreatment with 50 mg/kg FL decreased one adduct and increased another significantly. Because FL and perhaps other inhibitory PAHs, co-occur in the environment with CYP1A inducers, CYP1A-dependent bioassays may cause an underestimation of PAH exposures.

Evidence of uptake, biotransformation and DNA binding of polyaromatic hydrocarbons in Atlantic cod and corkwing wrasse caught in the vicinity of an aluminium works

Feral Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and corkwing wrasse (Symphodus melops) were investigated for polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination in the Karmsund strait, western Norway. This strait is highly contaminated with PAHs, and a main source is the chronic release of gas-scrubbing effluents from a local aluminium works. In both species, the level of biliary PAH metabolites and hepatic DNA adducts were higher in fish collected near the aluminium works. Interestingly, a significantly higher level of both biliary PAH metabolites and hepatic DNA adducts was found in corkwing wrasse as compared to cod, indicating a higher potential for genotoxic effects in this species. Hepatic cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) in cod estimated by ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase and an immunoassay technique (ELISA), seemed to be weakly induced at the contaminated sites. At the most contaminated site, skin ulcers and fin erosion were detected in about 70 and 45% of the cods, respectively. The data demonstrated that both cod and corkwing wrasse may be suitable target species for PAH pollution monitoring.

Validation of an orthotopic model of human lung cancer with regional and systemic metastases

BACKGROUND

We developed an orthotopic model of human lung cancer that exhibits highly predictable regional and systemic metastases. This study examines the response of the model when treated with conventional and experimental chemotherapy.

METHODS

NCI-H460 tumor fragments were implanted into the right caudal lung lobe of a nude rat. Treatment commenced 2 weeks later. We assessed response by comparing primary tumor and mediastinal lymph node weights, total body weight, and length of survival with untreated, tumor-bearing control animals. We also calculated the incidence of metastasis to kidney, bone, brain, and contralateral lung in treated versus untreated animals.

RESULTS

Mitomycin and cisplatin showed broad activity against primary and metastatic disease. The matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor batimastat, low-dose cisplatin, and mitomycin significantly prolonged survival. High-dose cisplatin caused renal toxicity that shortened survival. Brain metastases did not respond to mitomycin, consistent with its poor blood-brain barrier penetration.

CONCLUSIONS

Responses were similar to NCI-H460 in vitro data and consistent with clinical experience for these drugs. Drug-related toxicities similar to those seen in clinical practice were detected.

Methods for testing compounds for DNA adduct formation

This article, based on a presentation on DNA adduct detection given at a Genetic Toxicology Association workshop, is an overview of methods used for testing compounds for DNA adduct formation. A DNA adduct study may be initiated on a case by case basis when there are conflicting results within the standard battery of genetic toxicology tests or when tumors are detected in the animal bioassay for nongenotoxic compounds. Methods for adduct detection include the 32P-postlabeling assay, the use of radioactive test chemicals, physicochemical methods, and immunoassays. Of these, the 32P-postlabeling assay and the use of radiochemicals are discussed in greater detail, since only these two methods are readily applicable to test a compound for the formation of uncharacterized DNA adducts. The other methods are applicable to those adducts that have been chemically characterized or that contain a fluorophore or electrochemically active groups. Evaluation of mutagenic and carcinogenic risk from DNA adducts would require the understanding of various parameters, including the chemical nature, quantity and stability of adducts, proliferation rates for target cells to fix adducts into mutations, mutagenic and repair efficiencies of adducts, and the extent of modifications in critical genes. Since such data cannot be readily obtainable, the toxicological risk from uncharacterized adducts is difficult to assess.

Biomonitoring the human population exposed to pollution from the oil fires in Kuwait: analysis of placental tissue using (32)P-postlabeling

The placenta is a readily available source of material for molecular epidemiological investigations. As such, DNA damage in this tissue can be indicative of maternal exposure to environmental pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Previous reports have demonstrated that (32)P-postlabeling (PPL) is able to detect the presence of aromatic adducts in human placenta that are associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy. Using PPL we have assayed the DNA damage in placental samples from Kuwaiti mothers who were exposed to environmental pollution during pregnancy. This pollution arose in the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, which left hundreds of oil wells burning. For comparison, further Kuwaiti samples were obtained approximately 1 year after the oil well fires and, as such, are from individuals unexposed to the airborne pollution from the oil well fires during pregnancy. In addition, placental samples were obtained from subjects in the United Kingdom. Adduct levels were measured in all samples using both the nuclease P1 and butanol extraction enhancement procedures. No elevation of adduct levels was observed in the placenta of mothers exposed to the oil well fires (n = 40) with either procedure (144 +/- 30 attomol/microg DNA for nuclease P1 enrichment, 245 +/- 50 attomol/microg DNA for butanol extraction), when compared with the nonexposed Kuwaiti mothers (180 +/- 32 and 281 +/- 39 attomol/microg DNA, respectively, n = 24). Similar adduct levels were observed in UK mothers who smoked cigarettes (178 +/- 30 and 284 +/- 52 attomol/microg DNA, n = 30), which in turn were approximately twice those observed in nonsmoking mothers (90 +/- 14 and 141 +/- 15 attomol/microg DNA, n = 12), although there is no significant difference in the distribution of adduct levels when statistical analysis is performed. Comprehensive interpretation of the Kuwaiti data is difficult as precise information on PAH levels is unavailable, although the data do seem to indicate that exposure to PAHs was not biologically significant.

The lack of binding of methyl-n-amyl ketone (MAK) to rat liver DNA as demonstrated by direct binding measurements, and 32P-postlabeling techniques

It has been reported that 14C-labeled methyl-n-amyl ketone (MAK, 2-heptanone) is able to bind spontaneously, in vitro, to isolated rat liver DNA to the extent of 400 pmol/mg DNA; and that 14C-MAK, when given by gavage to female Fischer 344 rats, resulted in HPLC chromatograms of isolated, hydrolyzed liver DNA in which some radiolabel was not associated with the four normal DNA bases dA, dT, dC, and dG. The present studies were undertaken to re-examine the hypothesis that MAK is able to bind to rat liver DNA. In the in vitro study, liver nuclear DNA was incubated with [2-14C]-labeled MAK (25 mCi/mmol) in the absence, or in the presence of rat liver microsomes, precipitated, washed free of unbound MAK, and counted by scintillation spectrometry. No binding to DNA by MAK was detectable. In the in vivo study, groups of five female F344 rats were exposed by inhalation to 0, 80, 400, or 1000 ppm MAK for 6 h/day for 10 days. DNA was purified from the liver nuclei of the 0 and 1000 ppm dosed animals, and 32P-postlabeling techniques were used to assay for adducts. No DNA adducts were detected using these techniques. It was concluded that MAK lacks the ability to bind to rat liver DNA in vitro and in vivo.

1a-docosahexaenoyl mitomycin C: a novel inhibitor of protein tyrosine kinase

A series of derivatives of mitomycin C conjugated with various fatty acids at position 1a was synthesized and the effect of these compounds on protein kinase activities was evaluated. 1a-Docosahexaenoyl mitomycin C (DMMC) selectively inhibited protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) activity in the postnuclear fraction of v-src-transformed NIH 3T3 cells although neither derivatives conjugated with other fatty acids or docosahexaenoic acid or mitomycin C did not. DMMC inhibited the activity of calmodulin-dependent kinase III and protein kinase A very weakly, and only barely affected protein kinase C activity. DMMC also attenuated autophosphorylation of immunoprecipitated p60v-src irreversibly. The addition of thiol compounds to the reaction mixture reversed the inhibition by DMMC, suggesting that some thiol moiety of PTK protein might be involved. DMMC also inhibited kinase activity of p210bcr-abl immunoprecipitated from the lysate of K562 cells. These results indicate that DMMC is a novel inhibitor of PTK.

The mitomycin bioreductive antitumor agents: cross-linking and alkylation of DNA as the molecular basis of their activity

This review focuses on the chemical and enzymatic aspects of the reductive activation of mitomycin C, its disulfide analogs KW-2149 and BMS-181174, and, in less detail, FR66979 and FR900482, newly discovered antitumor antibiotics related to mitomycins. Furthermore, structural aspects of DNA damage induced by these drugs in vitro and in vivo are described, including the chemical and conformational characteristics of DNA interstrand and intrastrand cross-links and monofunctional alkylation products, with emphasis on DNA adducts of mitomycin C. The DNA sequence specificity of the damage and its mechanism is reviewed. The relationship between the chemical and structural properties of the DNA damage on the one hand, and the antitumor and other biological activities of the mitomycins on the other, is discussed.

Correlation of mutagenic potencies of various petroleum oils and oil coal tar mixtures with DNA adduct levels in vitro

An in vitro system was utilized to measure DNA adduct-forming ability of petroleum oils and oil coal tar mixtures to define correlations between DNA adduct levels and their mutagenic potencies. The system consisted of reaction of dimethyl sulfoxide extracts of oils with calf thymus DNA in the presence of Aroclor-induced hamster liver microsomes for 30 min. Following DNA extraction, DNA adducts were measured by the nuclease P1-enhanced postlabeling assay coupled with two-dimensional polyethyleneimine (PEI)-cellulose TLC. Thin layer plates showed putative aromatic DNA adducts, with levels ranging from 60 to 1400 adducts per 10(9) DNA nucleotides. TLC mobilities suggested adducts to be aromatic compounds containing 4 or more rings. A good correlation (coefficient of correlation = 0.91) was observed between DNA adduct levels and Salmonella mutagenicity for 19 oils. All 19 samples tested produced DNA adducts. To expedite the TLC procedure, adducts were resolved by one-dimensional TLC and the radioactivity measured using a mechanical scanner. Results were comparable to those obtained by two-dimensional TLC and quantification after scraping. Our data show that the in vitro incubation system coupled with the postlabeling adduct assay is a useful screening method to identify mutagenic and potentially carcinogenic oils.

DNA single strand breakage, DNA adducts, and sister chromatid exchange in lymphocytes and phenanthrene and pyrene metabolites in urine of coke oven workers

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the specificity of biological monitoring variables (excretion of phenanthrene and pyrene metabolites in urine) and the usefulness of some biomarkers of effect (alkaline filter elution, 32P postlabelling assay, measurement of sister chromatid exchange) in workers exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

METHODS

29 coke oven workers and a standardised control group were investigated for frequencies of DNA single strand breakage, DNA protein cross links (alkaline filter elution assay), sister chromatid exchange, and DNA adducts (32P postlabelling assay) in lymphocytes. Phenanthrene and pyrene metabolites were measured in 24 hour urine samples. 19 different PAHs (including benzo(a)pyrene, pyrene, and phenanthrene) were measured at the workplace by personal air monitoring. The GSTT1 activity in erythrocytes and lymphocyte subpopulations in blood was also measured.

RESULTS

Concentrations of phenanthrene, pyrene, and benzo(a)pyrene in air correlated well with the concentration of total PAHs in air; they could be used for comparisons of different workplaces if the emission compositions were known. The measurement of phenanthrene metabolites in urine proved to be a better biological monitoring variable than the measurement of 1-hydroxypyrene. Significantly more DNA strand breaks in lymphocytes of coke oven workers were found (alkaline filter elution assay); the DNA adduct rate was not significantly increased in workers, but correlated with exposure to PAHs in a semiquantitative manner. The number of sister chromatid exchanges was lower in coke oven workers but this was not significant; thus counting sister chromatid exchanges was not a good variable for biomonitoring of coke oven workers. Also, indications for immunotoxic influences (changes in lymphocyte subpopulations) were found.

CONCLUSIONS

The measurement of phenanthrene metabolites in urine seems to be a better biological monitoring variable for exposure to PAHs than measurement of hydroxypyrene. The alkaline filter elution assay proved to be the most sensitive biomarker for genotoxic damage, whereas the postlabelling assay was the only one with some specificity for DNA alterations caused by known compounds.

Evaluation of the dermal carcinogenic potential of re-refined base stocks using the modified Ames assay, PAC analysis and the 32P-postlabeling assay for DNA adduct induction

The standard method for assessing the carcinogenicity of lubricating oil base stocks is the mouse skin-painting bioassay. This assay has the advantage of directly measuring the endpoint of interest, dermal carcinogenicity, but has the drawback of being time-consuming and expensive. For this reason, a variety of biological and chemical assays have been developed as predictive alternatives to the in vivo assay. This publication describes the application of three such methods to the assessment of carcinogenic potential of hydrotreated, re-refined oils: the modified Ames test, the analytical determination of 3-7-ring polycyclic aromatic compound content and the 32P-postlabeling assay for DNA adduct induction.

DNA adducts from chemotherapeutic agents

The guiding principle of early work was the hypothesis that the anti-cancer alkylating drugs acted through their ability to cross-link macromolecules essential for cell division. Not long afterwards, DNA was specified as the essential target, and support for the hypothesis came from evidence that the archetypal agent, mustard gas, could link guanine bases in DNA through their N-7 atoms. Quantitative correlations between alkylation of DNA and its inactivation as a template followed, with bacteriophage as a simple test object, showing that the mean lethal dose was close to a single cross-link in the genome. This conclusion applied to either mustard gas or the more recently introduced platinum drugs. Although both inter- and intra-strand cross-links were effective, it was thought that in cells the inter-strand cross-link would, by preventing the separation of the strands necessary for cell division, and by being more difficult to repair, constitute the more effectively lethal lesion. With repair-deficient bacteria, it also emerged that a single cross-link in the genome was lethal, but proficient bacteria could remove about 20 cross-links through excision repair. Mono-7-alkylguanines were not removed and were evidently inert. Thus, only a few percent of the total alkylation products were the most effective lesions. Parallel studies with cultured mammalian cells gave a rather different picture, in that the mean lethal doses of even hypersensitive cell lines were around 20 or more cross-links per genome, about the same as for resistant strains of bacteria. Most cells could withstand several hundreds of cross-links per genome, and although adducts were removed, there was incomplete removal of cross-links. Some, but not all, sensitive cell lines were deficient in excision repair. Methods were devised for measuring the extents of alkylation of DNA in cells of patients treated with chemotherapeutic drugs; these are mainly immunoassays, and were applied generally to peripheral blood leukocytes, although some tumours were studied. Extents of alkylation of leukocyte DNA were generally of the same order as, or rather less than the mean lethal doses of cultured cells of the 'normal' type, but in some reports for cisplatin-treated patients, very wide variability between individuals was found. A positive correlation between adduct levels, and particularly a very minor adduct recognised specifically by one antibody, and favourable therapeutic outcome was discerned, and suggested to have a pharmacogenetic basis. In several instances, extents of alkylation of tumours were significantly higher than the average for leukocytes; for ovarian and a testicular tumour for cisplatin, and for a plasma cell tumour for melphalan. Nevertheless, these favourable examples would not constitute more than three or four mean lethal doses in the tumour cells, assuming that they had the same sensitivity as 'normal' cell lines: the therapeutic effect would of course be much more favourable if the tumour cells resembled 'sensitive' cell lines. This lack of a favourable difference between extents of alkylation in DNA of patients and the mean lethal dose for normal cells was particularly obvious with the methylating drugs dacarbazine and procarbazine. These considerations stress the need for higher extents of alkylation to be achieved in target tumour DNA for successful chemotherapy. One approach is to give a higher overall dose, and to 'rescue' the bone marrow (known from the earliest report on mustard gas to be the most susceptible tissue) by autologous transplantation. The second, which has yet to reach the clinic, is to convert unreactive prodrugs through enzymic activation into alkylating agents specifically in tumours (see Bagshawe, 1994).

DNA adduct formation by hormonal steroids in vitro

We examined the binding of various steroid hormones to DNA in vitro by means of 32P-postlabeling. Seventeen steroid hormones and cholesterol (CS) were incubated with human liver DNA at 37 degrees C for 1 h under aerobic conditions in the absence of catalysis. The reaction mixtures were analyzed by the nuclease P-1 version of 32P-postlabeling. The results showed that cortexolone (CX), prednisolone (PS), cortisone (CN), cortisol (CL), tetrahydrocortisol (TC), corticosterone (CC), 11-deoxycorticosterone (DC), dexamethasone (DX), dihydrocortisol (DL), and aldosterone (AL) covalently bound with DNA. However, progesterone (PG), 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone (HG), estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), testosterone (TS), cortol (CR) and the original compound for biosynthesis, CS, did not form adducts. In absence of DNA, the steroids themselves did not give rise to any spot on TLC under the same conditions. The dose-responses of DNA binding by DC, DL, CC, CL and CN were linear. The relative adduct labeling of reactive steroids at a concentration of 2 mM were as follows: 68.8 (CX), 53.2 (PS), 39.6 (CN), 29.9 (CL), 20.9 (TC), 12.9 (CC), 12.3 (DC), 7.5 (DX), 4.7 (DL), 1.2 (AL) adducts per 10(8) nucleotides. Reactive and nonreactive steroids were distinguishable by the presence or absence of the carbonyl group (-CO-CH2OH) at carbon seventeen (C17) of the cholesterol skeleton. This implies that the electrophilic carbonyl or a neighboring group perhaps involved in the formation of covalent bond with DNA. To investigate the nature of target base(s) of these DNA reactive steroids, mononucleotides of all four bases of DNA were reacted with CN, CL, CC and cochromatographed with the obtained spots of DNA reactions. The results of which stated that these steroids and guanine reaction gave the same spots as observed in DNA reaction, indicating guanine is the main target of these DNA reactive steroids. Hep G2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells were used as an alternative model. Although nine steroids (CL, DL, TC, PS, DX, PG, E2, TX, CR) did not react with intracellular DNA under our experimental conditions, our findings suggested that some hormonal steroids can form covalent DNA adducts in vivo.

Low mutagenic effects of mitomycin C in undifferentiated embryonic P19 cells are correlated with efficient cell cycle control

Pluripotent undifferentiated embryonic carcinoma cells of line P19 and their differentiated progeny, epithelioid ectoderm-like EPI-7 cells, showed different responses to mitomycin C (MMC) with respect to induction of micronuclei, mutations at the HPRT-locus and cell cycle control. Cytotoxic effects of MMC after a 5-h treatment were lower in undifferentiated P19 cells than in differentiated EPI-7 cells with IC50 values of 1.3 and 0.25 microM for P19 and EPI-7 cells, respectively. MMC did not induce 6-thioguanine-resistant mutants in P19 cells but significantly increased the mutation frequency in EPI-7 cells with concentrations of 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 microM MMC. Micronuclei determined by flow-cytometry were induced by MMC in both cell lines at equitoxic concentrations of 4.5 (P19) and 0.75 (EPI-7) microM, reducing the viability in both cell lines to 10%. Whereas the induction of micronuclei in P19 cells was maximal 28 h after treatment and declined thereafter, micronucleus induction peaked 48 h post treatment in EPI-7 cells and remained significantly increased even 67 h after the treatment. Flow-cytometric determination of the distribution of MMC-treated P19 and EPI-7 within the cell cycle revealed a distinct G2/M-block in P19 cells, whereas EPI-7 cells showed normal progression through S-phase and a negligible G2/M-block. Therefore, we conclude that the lower effectivity of MMC to induce gene mutations and micronuclei in P19 cells seemed to be correlated with a more efficient cell cycle control in undifferentiated compared to differentiated EPI-7 cells.

Non-enzymatic and enzymatic activation of mitomycin C: identification of a unique cytosolic activity

Mitomycin C (MMC), an alkylating anti-tumor agent, was activated by non-enzymatic and enzymatic mechanisms leading to DNA binding and adduct formation. However, it was enzymatically, not non-enzymatically, activated MMC which induced inter-strand DNA cross-linking, a major determinant of cell death. The enzymatic activation of MMC was catalyzed by microsomal NADPH:cytochrome P450 reductase (P450 reductase) and cytosolic enzyme activities. Human P450 reductase, transiently expressed from its cDNA in the COSI cells, metabolically activated MMC to generate 9 specific MMC-DNA adducts and induced inter-strand DNA cross-linking. Co-chromatography of the MMC-DNA adducts generated by P450 reductase and sodium borohydride in separate experiments indicated that MMC was metabolized by P450 reductase to produce 2,7-diaminomitosenes that exhibited binding to deoxyguanosine. Several experiments indicated that cytosolic enzymes which catalyzed reductive activation of MMC and DNA cross-linking included NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductaseI (NQOI or DT diaphorase) when present in extremely high concentrations and a unique cytosolic activity. The unique cytosolic activity was present in several mammalian cells and mouse colon and liver but absent in mouse kidney. The unique activity had properties of a diaphorase but was distinct from NQOI because of a lack of correlation between NQOI (2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol reduction) activity and the amount of MMC-reductive activation leading to DNA cross-linking. This activity was also distinct from xanthine oxidoreductase and NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase, 2 other enzymes that catalyze metabolic activation of MMC, because the unique activity was not inhibited by allopurinol (an inhibitor of xanthine oxidoreductase) and its activity was the same with NADH and NADPH (cytochrome b5 reductase is specific to NADH).

32P-postlabeling analysis of DNA adducts in different populations

Blood samples were obtained from different populations exposed occupationally or by lifestyle habits to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). DNA adducts were determined by 32P-postlabeling assay either in white blood cells (WBC) or lymphocytes. The level of DNA adducts ranged from 1.5 per 10(9) nucleotides in one of the control groups up to 7.1 per 10(9) nucleotides in one group of PAH-exposed workers. Comparison of the adduct thin layer chromatography (TLC) profiles revealed individual variation in both pattern and level of DNA adducts. Significant differences of adduct levels were detected between one group of PAH-exposed coke-oven workers and the corresponding control group. Only a weak influence of the smoking habits on the amount of adducts was detectable in occupationally exposed or unexposed individuals.

Lack of DNA adduct formation in mice treated with benzene

The potential of benzene to produce DNA adducts in B6C3F1 mice was investigated by the nuclease P1-enhanced 32P-postlabeling assay. The mice were daily treated i.p. with 500 mg/kg benzene in olive oil for 4 days, and the liver, mammary gland, and bone marrow were collected 24 h after the last treatment. Thin-layer chromatograms obtained with treated-tissue DNA specimens were qualitatively identical to those from corresponding olive oil-treated (control) tissue DNA. Quantitative evaluations revealed that there was no treatment-related increase in radioactivity on the chromatograms at or near the locations where the major in vitro adducts of phenol, hydroquinone and benzoquinone migrated. Benzene treatment, however, resulted in a decrease in the levels of certain endogenous adducts, the biological significance of which is unknown. Our results indicate that benzene treatment does not produce detectable levels of aromatic DNA adducts in mouse tissues.

Mutations in a shuttle vector exposed to activated mitomycin C

The cytotoxicity of the potent antibiotic and antitumor agent mitomycin C (MMC) is due to its irreversible binding to DNA. Alkylating species generated by bioreductive activation of MMC are known to cause monoadducts and cross-links in DNA by specifically binding to guanine residues. To gain insight into how these lesions lead to base- and sequence-specific mutations, shuttle vector pSP189 was treated with MMC chemically reduced by treatment with sodium borohydride, replicated in human Ad293 cells, rescued in bacteria, and analyzed for mutations in the supF tRNA gene sequence. The MMC-induced mutations were predominantly base substitutions. Eighty-four percent of the base substitutions were transversions, with G:C-->T:A the major transversion. Single base deletions were the other major mutational event, and 77% of these were G:C deletions. Base positions 115, 123, and 163 were mutational hot spots based on the frequency of independent mutations. Identification of a single MMC adduct (presumed to be a modified G on the basis of its Rf value) and clustering of MMC-induced mutations at three GC-rich areas (nt 100-123, 152-163, and 168-176) suggested that the mutational spectrum we found was due to binding of MMC to guanine on either strand of the plasmid DNA.

Genotoxic effects of the carbamate insecticide, methyomyl. II. In vivo studies with pure compound and the technical formulation, "Lannate 25"

The carbamate insecticide, methomyl, and the methomyl-containing technical formulation, "Lannate 25", were tested for the induction of DNA damage in vivo. Swiss CD1 mice were treated intraperitoneally with test substances and the following tests were performed: alkaline elution of liver and kidney DNA, 8-hydroxyguanosine detection in liver DNA, and 32P-postlabelling analysis of DNA adducts in liver DNA. The clastogenic activity of the two pesticide preparations was also evaluated as micronucleus frequency in bone marrow. No DNA adducts were detected in liver DNA of mice treated with pure methomyl, while a dose-related increase in DNA adducts was found in Lannate 25-treated animals. All other tests were positive with both methomyl and Lannate 25. A summary of genotoxic activity of methomyl is also presented. The hypothesis that the observed genotoxic effects of methomyl are induced indirectly, through formation of active oxygen species, is discussed.

Application of high-performance liquid chromatography for recognition of covalent nucleic acid modification with anticancer drugs

Covalent modification of DNA by antineoplastic agents represents a potent biochemical lesion which can play a major role in drug mechanism of action. The ability to measure levels of DNA covalent modifications in target cells in vivo may, therefore, be seen as the ultimate form of therapeutic drug monitoring. Additionally, elucidation of the structure of critical DNA adducts and definition of their role in tumour cell cytotoxicity will provide more selective targets for rational drug design of new cancer chemotherapeutic agents. High-performance liquid chromatography has contributed significantly to all these areas. In vivo levels of nucleic acid covalent modifications are in the range of 1 in 10(5)-10(8) nucleotides precluding the use of conventional high-performance liquid chromatographic detection methods. Several classes of natural product anticancer drugs have been shown to bond covalently to nucleic acids under optimal laboratory conditions. These have proved more accessible to high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis because of their lipophilicity and strong UV chromophores. However, the majority of experimental evidence to date suggests that with the exception of mitomycin C and morpholino-anthracyclines these compounds do not exert their primary mechanism of action through nucleic acid covalent modification. DNA adducts of alkylating and platinating agents are more difficult to detect by high-performance liquid chromatography and can be chemically unstable. These compounds interact with DNA on the basis of chemical kinetics. Thus, the principle sites of attachment tend to be with the most nucleophilic base (guanine) at its most reactive centre (N-7 position). Limited in vivo high-performance liquid chromatographic studies with all classes of anticancer drugs indicate a much more complex pattern of adductation than would have been anticipated from in vitro studies alone. Some of these differences are probably due to methodological artefacts but these studies stress the need for sensitive detection methods and reliable sample preparation (nucleic acid extraction and digestion techniques) when attempting to determine nucleic acid covalent modifications by anticancer drugs.

C18 thin-layer chromatographic enhancement of the 32P-postlabeling assay for aromatic or bulky carcinogen-DNA adducts: evaluation of adduct recoveries in comparison with nuclease P1 and butanol methods

The suitability of C18 reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography (TLC) for enrichment of adducts in the 32P-postlabeling assay was investigated for structurally diverse classes of DNA adducts derived from benzo[a]pyrene, 2-acetylaminofluorene, benzoquinone, safrole, and mitomycin C. The TLC enrichment involved retention of adducts to the C18 phase followed by elution with organic solvent-water. Adduct patterns obtained by the C18 purification were qualitatively similar to those obtained by the nuclease P1 and butanol procedures, the two commonly used enrichment methods. Adduct recoveries by the C18 method varied for different adducts and were significantly lower than those obtained by the other two techniques.

Biological and toxicological consequences of quinone methide formation

Quinone methides are a class of reactive, electrophilic compounds which are capable of alkylating cellular macromolecules. They are formed during xenobiotic biotransformation reactions and are hypothesized to mediate the toxicity of a large number of quinone antitumor drugs as well as several alkylphenols. In addition, oxidation of specific endogenous alkylphenols (e.g. coniferyl alcohol) and alkylcatechols (e.g. N-acetyldopamine, dopa) to quinone methides plays an important role in the synthesis of several complex plant and animal polymers, including lignin, cuticle and melanin. The role of quinone methides in these various processes is reviewed.

32P-postlabeling analysis of DNA adducts in rats during estrogen-induced hepatocarcinogenesis and effect of tamoxifen on DNA adduct level

DNA adduct formation in the liver, pancreas, kidneys and uterus in ethynylestradiol (EE)-induced carcinogenesis and the effect of tamoxifen (TAM) on DNA adduct formation were evaluated in female Wistar JCL rats using the 32P-postlabeling method. Hyperplastic nodules were noted in the liver of all rats 4 months after the first oral administration of 0.075 mg of EE, and hepatocellular carcinoma was detected in 8.1% of rats treated with EE for 12 months. DNA adducts increased in the liver for 4 months, reaching a level of 7.3 adducts/10(7) nucleotides and decreasing thereafter. Formation of DNA adducts was also noted in the pancreas and kidney, but the adduct levels were lower than those in the liver. TAM inhibited estrogen receptors (ER) in liver tissues and completely suppressed the development of hyperplastic nodules or hepatocellular carcinoma but did not affect DNA adduct formation in the liver. In this model, therefore, EE is considered to cause mutations of hepatocytes due to DNA adduct formation without mediation by ER and to induce initiated cells to develop into hepatocellular carcinoma in the presence of ER-mediated hormonal activities.

A comparison of DNA adduct formation in white blood cells and internal organs of mice exposed to benzo[a]pyrene, dibenzo[c,g]carbazole, safrole and cigarette smoke condensate

Measurement of tissue/cell DNA adducts represents a suitable monitor of carcinogen exposure because the majority of chemical mutagens/carcinogens react with DNA, forming covalent adducts, a key event in the initiation of chemical carcinogenesis. Investigations of DNA-adduct formation in vivo in white blood cells (WBC) versus target tissues, i.e. internal organs for most carcinogens, is expected to yield useful information about the suitability of WBC for biomonitoring and risk assessment. For this purpose, female ICR mice were given 0.4 mmole/kg benzo[a]pyrene (BP), 0.045 mmole/kg dibenzo[c,g]carbazole (DBC) or 2.47 mmole/kg safrole by oral gavage or 4 daily doses (equivalent to 3 cigarettes) of cigarette-smoke condensate (CSC) by topical application. At 24 h after dosing, DNA adducts were detected by a nuclease P1-enhanced 32P-postlabeling assay [M.V. Reddy and K. Randerath, Carcinogenesis, 7 (1986) 1543] in WBC and internal tissues treated with individual carcinogens, while CSC treatment elicited aromatic adducts in most tissues but not in WBC. Adduct patterns of WBC DNA were qualitatively similar to those of internal organs, but adduct amounts varied. BP, a systemic carcinogen, bound nearly as much to WBC DNA as to target-tissue DNA samples; whereas the liver carcinogens, DBC and safrole, bound to WBC DNA considerably less (22- and 51-fold, respectively) compared with liver DNA. The number of adducts in 10(7) nucleotides of WBC, liver, lung, kidney and spleen DNA, respectively, were: 2, 5, 3, 2 and 3 with BP; 6, 131, 6, 14 and 4 with DBC; 5, 238, 3, 5 and 0.6 with safrole. For CSC, these values were 0, 1 and 0.02 in WBC, lung and spleen, respectively. Our results show that carcinogen binding to WBC DNA does not reflect binding to target-tissue DNA in a quantitative sense for the carcinogens studied except for BP, and that WBC are not suitable surrogates for monitoring CSC exposure by DNA-adduct measurement after topical application. The CSC data in mice was consistent with the previous findings in humans that smokers' tissues but not WBC show smoking-related bulky/aromatic DNA adducts, as measured by 32P-postlabeling.

32P-assay of DNA adducts in white blood cells and placentas of pregnant women: lack of residential wood combustion-related adducts but presence of tissue-specific endogenous adducts

Residential wood combustion (RWC), which has been increasingly used as a heating source, is of health concern because emissions from RWC contain carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). To assess health risk, the possible formation of PAH-DNA adducts in white blood cells (WBC) and placentas of nonsmoking women exposed to RWC smoke during pregnancy was measured by a nuclease P1-enhanced 32P-postlabeling assay having a sensitivity limit of one lesion per 10(9-10) DNA nucleotides. DNA samples isolated from 12 exposed specimens (8 WBC, 4 placentas) and 13 unexposed control specimens (8 WBC, 5 placentas) were hydrolyzed to mononucleotides, which were then 32P-labeled and separated by high-resolution thin-layer chromatography. Comparison of autoradiograms of exposed DNA samples with those of controls failed to show exposure-related adducts. All placental DNA maps exhibited one major (47 +/- 10%) and 12 minor extra spots, however, that were not seen on WBC-DNA maps. These derivatives corresponded to an average of 12 (+/- 6) modifications in 10(9) nucleotides. Similarly, WBC DNA showed four spots that were absent in placental DNA and were not quantified because of their low levels. Neither placental nor WBC DNA adducts coincided chromatographically with the product formed by the reaction of benzo(a)pyrene diol epoxide I with N2 of guanine in DNA. Although these results suggest that RWC smoke does not elicit detectable levels of aromatic DNA adducts in humans, lack of evaluation of RWC exposure levels leaves some uncertainty in this conclusion. The results, however, clearly show that placental and WBC DNA contain covalent modifications that are unrelated to RWC exposure. These DNA derivatives may be caused by ingestion and/or inhalation of, or skin contact with, low levels of environmental genotoxicants or may arise from endogenous electrophiles of as yet unknown origin.

Nucleophilic selectivity as a determinant of carcinogenic potency (TD50) in rodents: a comparison of mono- and bi-functional alkylating agents and vinyl chloride metabolites

Using published data, the carcinogenic potency (TD50) in rodents of a series of monofunctional alkylating agents, bifunctional antitumor drugs and the vinyl chloride (VC) metabolites chloroethylene oxide (CEO) and chloroacetaldehyde (CAA) was compared to their nucleophilic selectivity (Swain and Scott's constant s or initial ratio of 7-/O6-alkylguanine in DNA). A positive correlation between the log of TD50 estimates and the s values for a series of 14, mostly monofunctional, alkylating agents was observed. This linear relationship also included 2 bifunctional chloroethylnitrosoureas, although their carcinogenic potency was compared to their initial 7-/O6-alkylguanine ratio rather than their s values (n = 16, r = 0.91, p less than 0.005). In addition, the carcinogenic potency of 2 alkyl sulfates, which is not yet known accurately, may correlate with their nucleophilic selectivity through the same relationship. By contrast, 2 methyl halides and 5 bifunctional antitumor drugs (nitrogen mustards and azyridinyl derivatives) did not follow this linear relationship: at similar nucleophilic selectivity, they were more potent carcinogens than the above 18 alkylating agents; this may hold true for CEO and CAA too, although further carcinogenicity experiments are needed to calculate their precise TD50 values. The possible molecular mechanisms involved in tumor induction by these agents are discussed on the basis of these findings. Comparison of the estimated TD50 for CEO, CAA and VC in rodents confirms that CEO is the ultimate carcinogenic metabolite of VC and suggests that only a very small proportion of metabolically generated CEO is available for DNA alkylation in vivo.

In situ freezing of the rat urinary bladder: DNA adduct formation in the bladder epithelium demonstrated by 32P-postlabeling assay

In situ freezing of the urinary bladder has been demonstrated to exert tumor-initiating potential in two-stage urinary bladder carcinogenesis in the rat. In the present experiment, DNA modification was examined after in situ freezing of the whole urinary bladder performed by pinching with frozen forceps at -15 degrees C or -30 degrees C for 2 s. The 32P-postlabeling analysis revealed at least 2 DNA adducts in the epithelial cells of the urinary bladder collected 3 days after freezing. Single-strand breaks of DNA were also found by means of the alkaline elution assay in the bladder epithelium collected 10 min after freezing. Thus, the previously demonstrated tumor-initiating activity of in situ freezing in urinary bladder carcinogenesis was revealed to be associated with substantial DNA damage and adduct formation.

An in vivo study of benzene metabolite DNA adduct formation in liver of male New Zealand rabbits

Rabbits were treated with benzene (586 mg/kg/b.i.d./4 days) after which DNA was isolated from liver and analyzed for adduct formation using the [32P] post-labeling method of Randerath and coworkers (Randerath et al. 1981; Reddy et al. 1984, 1986, 1987). Liver 500 g and 9000 g fractions were analyzed for adducts. There appeared to be several adducts in both the 500 g and 9000 g fractions observed on radioautographs of cellulose-TLC plates. Several adducts were also observed when the 9000 g fraction was studied using HPLC.

32P-post-labeling analysis of DNA adduct formation by antitumor drug nitracrine (Ledakrin) and other nitroacridines in different biological systems

A 32P-post-labeling method has been employed to detect DNA adducts formed by derivatives of nitro-9-aminoacridine in both cellular and non-cellular systems. The treatment of HeLa S3 cells in culture or Ehrlich ascites tumor cells in vivo with nitracrine and two other antitumor 1-nitro-9-aminoacridines, denoted C-857 and C-1006, resulted in covalent binding of these compounds to cellular DNA. Each derivative studied gave rise to a distinct pattern of adduct spots and the similarity of the respective adduct profiles was noted for the both cellular models. Calf thymus DNA samples modified in vitro with nitracrine and C-857 in the presence of either rat hepatic microsomal fraction or dithiothreitol yielded chromatographic profiles resembling those obtained in the cellular systems, suggesting similarity in the DNA adduct structures. There were also neither qualitative nor quantitative differences in calf thymus DNA modification by these two 1-nitro derivatives between aerobic and anaerobic conditions, thus the reduction of a nitro group seems not to be the only determinant of covalent binding to DNA in vitro. No DNA adduct formation was detected in the cellular systems used with 2-nitro and 4-nitro isomers of nitracrine that are devoid of cytotoxic activity, which provides further evidence that both covalent binding and DNA crosslinking, but not intercalation, are responsible for cytotoxic and antitumor properties of 1-nitro-9-aminoacridines.

32P-adduct assay: short- and long-term persistence of 2-acetylaminofluorene-DNA adducts and other applications of the assay

32P-Postlabeling techniques have been developed to detect and measure adducts formed by covalent binding of carcinogens of known or unknown origin with DNA (and RNA). The assay is applicable to various classes of chemical carcinogens and permits detection of many adducts at attomole (10(-18) mol) level using microgram amounts of DNA. Here, we demonstrate the application of the assay for the analysis of short- and long-term persistence of 2-acetylaminofluorene-DNA adducts in rat liver in vivo and also outline examples illustrating the applicability of the procedure to different experimental problems.

Modification of DNA by mitomycin C in cancer patients detected by 32P-postlabeling analysis

DNA adducts of mitomycin C (MMC) were detected by 32P-postlabeling analysis in both surgical specimens and an autopsy sample of the liver of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who had received chemotherapy with MMC. Four kinds of adducts were detected in all 6 patients treated with MMC. These adducts had identical chromatographic mobilities to those of adducts in the liver of rats treated with MMC, but 1 additional adduct was detected in rat liver. In patients treated with MMC, about 3 adducts/10(8) nucleotides were found 4 days after MMC treatment, and 1 adduct/10(8) nucleotides 14 days after treatment and the latter level was maintained for up to 56 days. MMC-DNA adducts were also detected in peripheral blood leukocytes from a patient 1 and 7 days after MMC treatment, at levels of 1 and 0.6 adduct/10(8) nucleotides, respectively. These results suggest the tumor-initiating activity of MMC in humans.