Synthesis of N7-hydroxyethylguanine and O6-hydroxyethylguanine. Markers for the reaction of ethylene oxide (EO) with DNA

Macromolecular adducts of ethylene oxide: a literature review and a time-course study on the formation of 7-(2-hydroxyethyl)guanine following exposures of rats by inhalation

The results of efforts to identify and quantify macromolecular adducts of ethylene oxide (ETO), to determine the source and significance of background levels of these adducts, and to generate molecular dosimetry data on these adducts are reviewed. A time-course study was conducted to investigate the formation and persistence of 7-(2-hydroxyethyl)guanine (7-HEG; Fig. 1) in various tissues of rats exposed to ETO by inhalation, providing information necessary for designing investigations on the molecular dosimetry of adducts of ETO. Male F344 rats were exposed 6 h/day for up to 4 weeks (5 days/wk) to 300 ppm ETO by inhalation. Another set of rats was exposed for 4 weeks to 300 ppm ETO, and then killed 1-10 days after cessation of exposures. DNA samples from control and treated rats were analyzed for 7-HEG using neutral thermal hydrolysis, HPLC separation, and fluorescence detection. The adduct was detectable in all tissues of treated rats following 1 day of ETO exposure and increased approximately linearly for 3-5 days before the rate of increase began to level off. Concentrations of 7-HEG were greatest in brain, but the extent of formation was similar in all tissues studied. The adduct disappeared slowly from DNA, with an apparent half-life of approx. 7 days. The shape of the formation curve and the in vivo half-life indicate that 7-HEG will approach steady-state concentrations in rat DNA by 28 days of ETO exposure. The similarity in 7-HEG formation in target and nontarget tissues indicates that the tissue specificity for tumor induction is due to factors in addition to DNA-adduct formation.

Base sequence specificity of three 2-chloroethylnitrosoureas

Chemical modifications of guanine are some of the most common results of interactions of DNA with many carcinogens and anti-cancer drugs, including nitrosoureas, nitrogen mustards, triazenes, polycyclic aromatics, and aflatoxins. The base sequence specificity for alkylation of guanines by three 2-chloroethylnitrosoureas has been determined. Guanines in the midst of a run of guanines are more susceptible than guanines in other base sequences. We have shown that certain 2-chloroethylnitrosoureas (BCNU, CCNU and methyl-CCNU) follow this same pattern. However, the quantitative degree of higher specificity for guanine with guanines as nearest neighbors depended on both the guanine position alkylated and the structure of the alkyl group attached. For example, when hydroxyethylation of runs of guanine occurred at N-7, a 6- to 11-fold increase of alkylation occurred compared to that found in the random base sequences of DNA, while hydroxyethylation at O-6 increased 1.2 to 3.5-fold and chloroethylation at N-7 was 2-to 4-fold higher than in DNA. Guanines with thymines on both the 3' and 5' sides were much less susceptible, most notably in N-7-hydroxyethylation and N-7-chloroethylation. Since guanine-rich regions are found in regulatory regions of the genome, knowledge concerning the effect of base sequence upon the production of each of the potential DNA lesions is vital to gaining an understanding of the roles of these lesions in the anti-tumor activity of a drug.

Preparation and mass spectral characterization of pentafluorobenzyl derivatives of alkyl and hydroxyalkyl-nucleobase DNA adducts

Pentafluorobenzyl (PFBz) derivatives of the following nucleobases were prepared: cytosine, 5-methylcytosine, O2-methylcytosine, O2-ethylthymine, O4-ethylthymine, 5-hydroxymethyluracil, N6-methyladenine, O6-methylguanine, O6-hydroxyethylguanine and O6-hydroxyethylpurine. 13C nuclear magnetic resonance was diagnostic for O- versus N-attachment of the PFBz moiety: the resonance of the methylene carbon appeared in the range 29.15-42.13 ppm for NCH2C6F5, and 58.45-69.01 for OCH2C6F5. Considerable structural information was provided by mass spectrometry with ionization by electron impact. All of the derivatives were detected with high sensitivity and specificity by gas chromatography with detection by electron capture negative ion mass spectrometry, reflecting not only their chemical and physical stability, but also their strong tendency to form a structurally diagnostic anion, [M - PFBz]-, in high yield under these ionization conditions. PFBz derivatives are therefore attractive forms of alkyl-substituted nucleobases for analysis by mass spectrometry.

Analysis of macromolecular ethylene oxide adducts

Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic compound which is also an ethylene metabolite. Ethylene oxide forms macromolecular adducts with proteins and nucleic acids. Targets in proteins are the amino acids cysteine, histidine and valine (if N-terminal, as in hemoglobin). The major DNA adduct is 7-(2-hydroxyethyl)-guanine. Methods for detection of this adduct include radiolabelling and GC-MS. The sensitivity of current GC/MS methods can be improved by selective enrichment of adducts from DNA samples. Studies in this direction are presently being performed.

6-Methylguanine and 6-methylguanosine inhibit colony-forming ability in a malignant xeroderma pigmentosum cell line but not in other xeroderma pigmentosum and normal human fibroblast strains after treatment with 1-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitroso-3-(2-hydroxyethyl)-urea

The XP cell strain XP29MA, its malignant counterpart XP29MAmal and a normal human fibroblast strain were tested for colony-forming ability after treatment with HECNU in the presence of m6G, m6Gua, and he7G. In XP29MAmal, inhibition of post-HECNU colony-forming ability was 35% when 0.25 mM of either m6G or m6Gua were present, whereas in XP29MA and the normal fibroblast strain no inhibition was detected. The he7G caused a similar but smaller inhibitory effect in XP29MAmal, but failed to do so in XP29MA. HECNU predominantly exerts its killing effect by alkylating O-6 of DNA-bound guanine and causing DNA interstrand crosslinks. Alkylation of O-6 of guanine can be repaired by 6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase. From our experiments we conclude that in XP29MAmal this methyltransferase was inhibited in the presence of the 6-alkylguanines, thus leaving more 2-chloroethylated sites in DNA unrepaired. This results in sensitization in terms of decreased colony-forming ability observed only in the malignant cell line.

The binding of 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-nitrosourea to DNA in vitro and to DNA of thymus and marrow in C57BL mice in vivo

To investigate the hypothesis that the similarity of dose-response curves for induction of thymic lymphoma in C57BL mice was due to similar DNA alkylation profiles for 1-ethyl-1-nitrosourea (ENU) and 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-nitrosourea (HNU), we measured the reaction of the two agents with DNA in vitro and in target tissues in vivo. At equimolar doses, alkylation of DNA by HNU was about 20% greater than that by ENU in vitro. As a percentage of total DNA-bound alkyl groups, relative reaction at a minor groove site (3 of adenine) was similar for the two agents, but HNU caused greater relative alkylation at the major groove sites, O6 and N-7 of guanine. At equi-oncogenic doses, alkylation at the O6 of guanine in liver and thymus was similar for both agents, but O6-alkylguanine formation in bone marrow by HNU was almost twice that by ENU. Because alkylation at O6 of guanine has previously been shown to be a key procarcinogenic lesion in this system, these findings suggest the thymus, rather than the marrow as a primary target for tumor induction by these agents, although involvement of marrow alkylation cannot be ruled out.

Inhalation pharmacokinetics based on gas uptake studies. V. Comparative pharmacokinetics of ethylene and 1,3-butadiene in rats

The pharmacokinetics of ethylene and 1,3-butadiene were studied in male Sprague-Dawley rats by use of a closed inhalation chamber system. Both compounds showed saturable metabolism when untreated rats were used. "Linear" pharmacokinetics applied at exposure concentrations below 800 ppm ethylene and below 1,000 ppm 1,3-butadiene. A constant elimination rate, indicative of metabolic saturation, occurred at concentrations higher than 1,000 ppm ethylene or 1,500 ppm 1,3-butadiene. Pretreatment with aroclor 1254 (polychlorinated biphenyls) increased Vmax for both compounds. For 1,3-butadiene, no saturation of metabolic capacity was observed with exposure concentrations up to 12,000 ppm when the rats were pretreated with aroclor 1254. A comparison with previous studies on ethane and n-pentane suggested that introduction of a double bond into a saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon increased the rate of metabolism under conditions in vivo.

Cross-linking of DNA induced by chloroethylnitrosourea is presented by O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase

The DNA repair enzyme O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase has been used as a reagent to analyse the initial reaction sites of alkylating agents such as chloroethylnitrosourea that cross-link DNA. The transferase can be employed for this purpose because it removes substituted ethyl groups from DNA, as shown by its ability to act on O6-hydroxyethylguanine residues in DNA. The enzyme counteracts the formation of interstrand cross-links induced by bis-chloroethylnitrosourea, but not those induced by nitrogen mustard. Once formed, chloroethylnitrosourea-induced cross-links are not broken by the enzyme. In agreement with deductions from experiments with living cells, it is concluded that chloroethylnitrosourea act by forming reactive monoadducts at the O6 position of guanine and/or the O4 position of thymine, which subsequently generate -CH2CH2- bridges to the complementary DNA strand. A new method for quantitating interstrand cross-links in DNA has been employed.

Mutagenicities of glycidyl ethers for Salmonella typhimurium: relationship between mutagenic potencies and chemical reactivity

The lethal and mutagenic effects of ethyl, benzyl, 1-naphthylmethyl, 2-naphthylmethyl, 1-naphthylethyl, 2-naphthylethyl and 9-anthrylmethyl glycidyl ethers on Salmonella typhimurium (TA100, TA1535, TA98 and TA1538) were investigated. LD30-value became smaller with an increase in compound hydrophobicity. The mutagenicities of these compounds in TA100 increased in the order: 1-naphthylethyl glycidyl ether less than 2-naphthylethyl glycidyl ether less than benzyl glycidyl ether less than 2-naphthylmethyl glycidyl ether less than 1-naphthylmethyl glycidyl ether less than 9-anthrylmethyl glycidyl ether. 1-Naphthylmethyl and 2-naphthylmethyl glycidyl ethers were mutagenic toward TA1535. In TA98, 1-naphthylmethyl and 9-anthrylmethyl glycidyl ethers showed mutagenic activity and 9-anthrylmethyl glycidyl ether was more mutagenic than 1-naphthylmethyl glycidyl ether. 9-Anthrylmethyl glycidyl ether was also active in TA1538. In the reaction of glycidyl ethers with deoxyguanosine and related compounds, glycidyl ethers attacked at only N-7 of guanine. The alkylation rates of glycidyl ethers toward guanine residues in DNA were determined and the exciplex-formation ability of 7-substituted guanines was studied. The reactivity of glycidyl ethers with guanine residues in DNA has not provided a sufficient explanation for the variation in mutagenic potencies of glycidyl ethers.

The unique role of rodents in the detection of possible human carcinogens and mutagens

Some of the probable reasons underlying the observation that not all chemicals shown to be genotoxic in vitro are capable of eliciting tumours in rodents or humans are discussed using appropriate examples. It is suggested that a substantial proportion of the resources currently available for conducting rodent carcinogenicity bioassays should be employed in the short-term evaluation in vivo of some of the many hundreds of chemicals recently defined as genotoxic in vitro, rather than in the protracted evaluation of a few chemicals, often of unknown activity in vitro, for carcinogenicity. A decision tree approach to the evaluation of chemicals for human mutagenic/carcinogenic potential is presented which is at variance with the construction and philosophy of many of the current legislative guidelines. The immediate need for the adoption of one of the available short-term in vivo liver assays, and/or the development of a short-term in vivo rodent assay capable of concomitantly monitoring different genetic end-points in a range of organs or tissues is emphasized.