Application of HPLC in the 32P-postlabeling assay

Convenient synthesis of pyrimidine 2'-deoxyribonucleoside monophosphates with important epigenetic marks at the 5-position

Methyl groups of thymine and 5-methylcytosine (5mC) bases in DNA undergo endogenous oxidation damage. Additionally, 5mC residues can be enzymatically deaminated or oxidized through either genetic alterations or the newly identified epigenetic reprogramming pathway. Several methods have been developed to measure the formation of modified DNA nucleobases including 32P-postlabeling. However, the postlabeling method is often limited by the absence of authentic chemical standards. The synthesis of monophosphate standards of nucleotide oxidation products is complicated by the presence of additional functional groups on the modified bases that require complex protection and deprotection strategies. Due to the emerging interest in the pyrimidine oxidation products, the corresponding protected 3'-phosphoramidites needed for solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis have been reported, and several are commercially available. We report here an efficient synthesis of 3'-monophosphates from 3'-phosphoramidites and the subsequent enzymatic conversion of 3'-monophosphates to the corresponding 5'-monophosphates using commercially available enzymes.

On the origins and development of the (32)P-postlabelling assay for carcinogen-DNA adducts

The (32)P-postlabelling method for the analysis of carcinogen-DNA adducts originated 30years ago from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and was the work of a team comprised of Kurt and Erica Randerath, Ramesh Gupta and Vijay Reddy. With subsequent modifications and developments, it has become a highly sensitive and versatile method for the detection of DNA adducts that has been applied in a wide range of human, animal and in vitro studies. These include monitoring human exposure to environmental and occupational carcinogens, investigating genotoxicity of chemicals, elucidating pathways of metabolic activation of carcinogens, mechanistic studies of DNA repair, analysing the genotoxicity of complex mixtures and in ecotoxicology studies. Its use has been instrumental in providing new clues to the aetiology of some cancers and in identifying a new human carcinogen.

³²P-postlabelling for the sensitive detection of DNA adducts

32P-postlabelling is a technique originally described by Kurt Randerath and colleagues for the sensitive detection of damage produced in DNA by reactive chemicals or genotoxins. The procedure essentially entails the enzymatic digestion of DNA to nucleoside 3'-monophosphates which are then radioactively labelled using T4 polynucleotide kinase and [γ(32)P]-adenosine triphosphate. Adducted nucleoside-3'-5'-bisphosphates are then separated from their normal counterparts by thin layer chromatography. Prior to the development of the assay, quantification of DNA adducts was confined to studies that utilised compounds synthesised to be isotopically labelled with tritium or carbon-14. As such, these studies were limited to specific and recognised genotoxins that could be administered only in the laboratory to cultures or animals. With (32)P-postlabelling it was possible not only to determine DNA adduct induction by a relatively uncharacterised suspected carcinogen, but also following exposure to complex mixtures containing a multitude of known and unknown potential genotoxins. The small amount of DNA required to perform the (32)P-postlabelling assay also meant that human biomonitoring studies using readily obtainable tissues, such as lymphocytes, were possible. Using the standard (32)P-postlabelling method, it is possible to detect a single DNA adduct in 10(7) to 10(8) normal nucleotides. The subsequent development of several enhancement methods improved this detection rate to one adduct in 10(10) nucleotides. For these reasons, the (32)-postlabelling assay represents an extremely versatile and extremely sensitive method to detect and monitor DNA damage.

Methodologies for bulky DNA adduct analysis and biomonitoring of environmental and occupational exposures

It is undisputed that DNA adduct formation is one of the key processes in early carcinogenesis. Therefore, analysis of DNA adduct levels may be one of the best tools available to characterize exposure to complex mixtures of genotoxic chemicals as occurring in different environmental and occupational exposure settings. However, from an analytical point of view the detection and quantification of DNA adducts is a challenging enterprise as extremely high sensitivity and selectivity are required. The entire spectrum of chromatographic techniques, including thin-layer chromatography (TLC), gas and liquid chromatography as well as capillary electrophoresis has been used in combination with different detection systems, all with their own specific characteristics. Among the various combinations of techniques, the TLC-(32)P-postlabeling combination appears to meet best with criteria of sensitivity and requirements of minimal amounts of material. Recent developments in the application of capillary electrophoresis in combination with either immunochemical or mass spectrometric detection techniques may offer new and promising approaches, with higher selectivity as compared to TLC-(32)P postlabeling. The applicability of these new techniques in biomonitoring studies aiming at the exposure and risk assessment of low and chronic exposures remains to be determined. In this paper we compare and discuss the advantages and limitations of different techniques used in DNA adduct analysis, with specific emphasis on those adducts formed by the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic aromatic amines.

DNA adducts from N-nitrosodiethanolamine and related beta-oxidized nitrosamines in vivo: (32)P-postlabeling methods for glyoxal- and O(6)-hydroxyethyldeoxyguanosine adducts

The mechanism by which environmentally prevalent N-nitrosodiethanolamine (NDELA) and related 2-hydroxyethyl- or other beta-oxidized nitrosamines initiate the carcinogenic process has remained obscure. (32)P-Postlabeling assays for the pH sensitive glyoxal-deoxyguanosine (gdG) and the O(6)-2-hydroxyethyldeoxyguanosine (OHEdG) DNA adducts have been developed as probes in this mechanistic investigation and used in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. The ready cleavage of the glyoxal fragment from gdG at pH 7 and greater has required methods of optimization in order to achieve a detection limit of 0.05 micromol/mol of DNA. Nuclease P1 treatment enhances the detection of gdG adducts but does not increase the detection limit for OHEdG. For OHEdG, best results were achieved using fraction collection from HPLC (0.3 micromol/mol of DNA). Using radiochemical methods, both adducts could be detected either by HPLC or 2D TLC. NDELA, N-nitrosomorpholine (NMOR), N-nitrosomethyethanolamine (NMELA), and N-nitrosoethylethanolamine (NEELA) all produce both gdG and OHEdG adducts in rat liver DNA in vivo and are called bident carcinogens because fragments from both chains of the nitrosamine are incorporated into DNA. N-Nitroso-2-hydroxymorpholine (NHMOR), a metabolite of NDELA and NMOR, generates gdG in DNA in vitro and in vivo. gdG DNA adducts were found in the range 1.1-6.5 micromol/mol of DNA. OHEdG DNA adducts were produced from equimolar amounts of nitrosamines in rat liver in vivo over the range 4-25 micromol/mol of DNA and in the order NMELA > NEELA > NDELA > NMOR. Deuterated isotopomers of NDELA showed a marked isotope effect on DNA OHEdG adduct formation. alpha-Deuteration markedly decreased OHEdG adduct formation while beta-deuteration had the opposite effect. These data support the hypothesis that NDELA and related nitrosamines are activated by both enzyme mediated alpha-hydroxylation and beta-oxidation. The formation of OHEdG adducts from NDELA requires alpha-hydroxylation of the 2-hydroxyethyl chain, and formation of gdG necessitates a beta-oxidation as well. The bident nature of these carcinogens may explain why they are relatively potent carcinogens despite the fact that major proportions of doses are excreted unchanged.

Methods for predicting carcinogenic hazards: new opportunities coming from recent developments in molecular oncology and SAR studies

Without epidemiological evidence, and prior to either short-term tests of genotoxicity or long-term tests of carcinogenicity in rodents, an initial level of information about the carcinogenic hazard of a chemical that perhaps has been designed on paper, but never synthesized, can be provided by structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies. Herein, we have reviewed the interesting strategies developed by human experts and/or computerized approaches for the identification of structural alerts that can denote the possible presence of a carcinogenic hazard in a novel molecule. At a higher level of information, immediately below epidemiological evidence, we have discussed carcinogenicity experiments performed in new types of genetically engineered small rodents. If a dominant oncogene is already mutated, or if an allele of a recessive oncogene is inactivated, we have a model animal with (n-1) stages in the process of carcinogenesis. Both genotoxic and receptor-mediated carcinogens can induce cancers in 20-40% of the time required for classical murine strains. We have described the first interesting results obtained using these new artificial animal models for carcinogenicity studies. We have also briefly discussed other types of engineered mice (lac operon transgenic mice) that are especially suitable for detecting mutagenic effects in a broad spectrum of organs and tissues and that can help to establish mechanistic correlations between mutations and cancer frequencies in specific target organs. Finally, we have reviewed two complementary methods that, while obviously also feasible in rodents, are especially suitable for biomonitoring studies. We have illustrated some of the advantages and drawbacks related to the detection of DNA adducts in target and surrogate tissues using the 32P-DNA postlabeling technique, and we have discussed the possibility of biomonitoring mutations in different human target organs using a molecular technique that combines the activity of restriction enzymes with polymerase chain reaction (RFLP/PCR). Prediction of carcinogenic hazard and biomonitoring are very wide-ranging areas of investigation. We have therefore selected five different subfields for which we felt that interesting innovations have been introduced in the last few years. We have made no attempt to systematically cover the entire area: such an endeavor would have produced a book instead of a review article.

Detection and characterization of two major ethylated deoxyguanosine adducts by high performance liquid chromatography, electrospray mass spectrometry, and 32P-postlabeling. Development of an approach for detection of phosphotriesters

Postlabeling can be one of the most sensitive methods for the measurement of DNA adducts. However, for the determination of alkylated adducts, essential requirements are standards which must be fully chemically characterized. In order to develop a postlabeling assay for monitoring exposure to genotoxic ethylating agents, the reaction of diethyl sulfate with 2'-deoxynucleoside 3'- and 5'-monophosphates was examined. The adducts generated were fully characterized using HPLC, electrospray tandem mass spectrometry, UV, and postlabeling. The major product was the phosphodiester derived from alkylation of the phosphate, and alkylation of the base occurred to a lesser extent. The phosphodiester standard, 2'-deoxyguanosine 3'-(mono-O-ethyl phosphate) (3'Et-pdG), was used to develop a postlabeling assay for the detection of this adduct in DNA samples. Since alkylated phosphodiesters in DNA are not susceptible to the actions of micrococcal nuclease and calf spleen phosphodiesterase, they can be obtained as alkylated phosphodiester dinucleosides from DNA. Nuclease P1 was used as enhancement step which allowed the separation of these adducted phosphotriesters from the unmodified nucleotides by HPLC. Subsequent hydrolysis of the phosphotriester dinucleosides in alkali yielded phosphodiesters, including 3'Et-pdG, which was efficiently postlabeled. This approach was shown to be capable of detecting this adduct in liver DNA from mice treated intraperitoneally with N-nitrosodiethylamine.

Improved high-performance liquid chromatography analysis of 32P-postlabeled 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine-DNA adducts using in-line precolumn purification

An improved HPLC-based 32P-postlabeling assay has been developed for the analysis of DNA modified with the food carcinogen 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP). Postlabeled samples are loaded onto a C18 precolumn and adducted bases are retained while excess radioactivity and unmodified DNA bases are eluted directly to waste through a switching valve. The use of this HPLC in-line precolumn purification (HIPP) technique allows entire postlabeled samples to be analyzed without prior removal of inorganic phosphate and unmodified DNA bases. The method has a sample to sample precision of 15% and accuracy of 20%, at adduct levels of 2 adducts/10(7) bases and shows a linear relationship between signal and adduction levels from 1 adduct per 10(4) to approximately 2 +/- 1 adducts per 10(9) bases. Individual postlabeled DNA samples can be analyzed by HPLC in less than 1 h, allowing high throughput. The use of calf-thymus DNA (CT-DNA), highly modified with PhIP, or DNA isolated from mice chronically fed a PhIP-modified diet shows two major PhIP-DNA adduct peaks and three additional minor adduct peaks when labeled under ATP-limiting conditions. Isolation of the HPLC purified peaks and analysis by thin layer chromatography (TLC) matches the five HPLC peaks to the spots typically seen by TLC, including N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5- b]pyridine (dG-C8-PhIP). Variations in digestion techniques indicate a potential resistance of the PhIP-DNA adducts to the standard enzymatic digestion methods. Attempts at adduct intensification by solid phase extraction, nuclease P1 enrichment or 1-butanol extraction decreased PhIP-DNA adduct peaks and introduced a large early eluting peak. Removal of the 3'-phosphate with nuclease P1 following the kinase labeling reaction simplifies the HPLC profile to one major peak (dG-C8-PhIP monophosphate) with several minor peaks. In addition to the high resolution provided by HPLC separation of the PhIP-DNA adducts, this method can be adjusted for analysis of other DNA adducts and is readily automated for high throughput.

Genotoxicity in the rodent urinary bladder

Elucidation of the mechanisms by which a chemical may induce urinary bladder tumours in rodents can be expected to provide insight into the relative risk from that agent. The methodologies for exploring whether tumour induction may be a response to direct genotoxic effect of the compound have been successfully applied to the bladders of both mice and rats. Thus, with experimental approaches that utilize adduct detection through the use of immunochemical and postlabelling techniques, unscheduled DNA synthesis and mutagenicity as studied with transgenic animals it is possible to obtain fundamental information on the genotoxic potential of carcinogens in the target bladder. Application of these experimental approaches to carcinogens for which the mechanisms of action are not known should permit assessment of the likelihood that genotoxic or non-genotoxic mechanisms are involved in the tumour induction process. Moreover, such studies may provide knowledge of the molecular pathways that are involved in the action of genotoxic agents, thus enabling judgements to be made as to whether humans are subject to tumour induction by the chemical.

Adduct detection by acylation with [35S]methionine: analysis of DNA adducts of 4-aminobiphenyl

Reaction of synthetic N-(2'-deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-4-aminobiphenyl (dGuo-8-ABP) with t-butoxycarbonyl-L-[35S]methionine, N-hydroxysuccinimidyl ester (35S-labeled TBM-NHS), under optimized conditions produced mono-, bis-, and tris-TBM-acylated nucleosides that were separable by HPLC. Reaction of different amounts of N-(2'-deoxy-1',2'-[3H]guanosin-8-yl)-4-aminobiphenyl ([3H]dGuo-8-ABP) with 35S-labeled TBM-NHS established that total 35S content of acylated products was linearly related to adduct concentration (r = 0.992) over the range of 10 fmol to 30.6 pmol. Additionally, the N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-4-[3H]aminobiphenyl (dGuo-8-[3H]ABP) adduct was isolated from calf thymus DNA adducted in vitro and from rat liver DNA adducted in vivo and similarly reacted with 35S-labeled TBM-NHS. Acylation products of dGuo-8-ABP from all three sources showed HPLC retention times identical to those of authentic TBM-dGuo-8-ABP, and 35S incorporation into acylated products was linearly related to amount of adduct reacted. These results indicate that the procedure, to which we have referred as adduct detection by acylation with methionine (ADAM), has potential applicability as an analytical procedure for detection and quantification of DNA adducts in human tissues in the molecular epidemiology of cancer.