Optimizing proteolytic digestion conditions for the analysis of serum albumin adducts of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine, a potential human carcinogen formed in cooked meat

Photocatalyzed C3-H Nitrosylation of Imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine under Continuous Flow and External Photocatalyst-, Oxidant-, and Additive-Free Conditions

This study reports a protocol for the highly regioselective photocatalyzed C-H nitrosylation of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine scaffolds at the C3 position under a combination of visible-light irradiation and continuous flow without any external photocatalyst. This protocol involves mild and safe conditions and shows good tolerance to air and water along with excellent functional group compatibility and site selectivity, generating various 3-nitrosoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines in excellent yields under photocatalyst-, oxidant-, and additive-free conditions.Notably, the proposed nitrosylation reaction, which introduces the chromophore NO into imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine scaffolds, occurs efficiently under visible-light irradiation without any additional photocatalyst owing to the intense light-absorption characteristics of the nitrosylation products. This study could guide future studies on the development of green organic-synthesis strategies with a wide variety of potential applications.

Quo vadis blood protein adductomics?

Chemicals are measured regularly in air, food, the environment, and the workplace. Biomonitoring of chemicals in biological fluids is a tool to determine the individual exposure. Blood protein adducts of xenobiotics are a marker of both exposure and the biologically effective dose. Urinary metabolites and blood metabolites are short term exposure markers. Stable hemoglobin adducts are exposure markers of up to 120 days. Blood protein adducts are formed with many xenobiotics at different sites of the blood proteins. Newer methods apply the techniques developed in the field of proteomics. Larger adducted peptides with 20 amino acids are used for quantitation. Unfortunately, at present the methods do not reach the limits of detection obtained with the methods looking at single amino acid adducts or at chemically cleaved adducts. Therefore, to progress in the field new approaches are needed.

Metabolism and biomarkers of heterocyclic aromatic amines in humans

Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) form during the high-temperature cooking of meats, poultry, and fish. Some HAAs also arise during the combustion of tobacco. HAAs are multisite carcinogens in rodents, inducing cancer of the liver, gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, mammary, and prostate glands. HAAs undergo metabolic activation by N-hydroxylation of the exocyclic amine groups to produce the proposed reactive intermediate, the heteroaryl nitrenium ion, which is the critical metabolite implicated in DNA damage and genotoxicity. Humans efficiently convert HAAs to these reactive intermediates, resulting in HAA protein and DNA adduct formation. Some epidemiologic studies have reported an association between frequent consumption of well-done cooked meats and elevated cancer risk of the colorectum, pancreas, and prostate. However, other studies have reported no associations between cooked meat and these cancer sites. A significant limitation in epidemiology studies assessing the role of HAAs and cooked meat in cancer risk is their reliance on food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) to gauge HAA exposure. FFQs are problematic because of limitations in self-reported dietary history accuracy, and estimating HAA intake formed in cooked meats at the parts-per-billion level is challenging. There is a critical need to establish long-lived biomarkers of HAAs for implementation in molecular epidemiology studies designed to assess the role of HAAs in health risk. This review article highlights the mechanisms of HAA formation, mutagenesis and carcinogenesis, the metabolism of several prominent HAAs, and the impact of critical xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes on biological effects. The analytical approaches that have successfully biomonitored HAAs and their biomarkers for molecular epidemiology studies are presented.

Multiple biological active 4-aminopyrazoles containing trifluoromethyl and their 4-nitroso-precursors: Synthesis and evaluation

4-Nitroso-3-trifluoromethyl-5-alkyl[(het)aryl]pyrazoles were synthesized via one-pot nitrosation of 1,3-diketones or their lithium salts followed by treatment of hydrazines. Reduction of nitroso-derivatives made it possible to obtain 4-amino-3-trifluoromethylpyrazoles chlorides. According to computer-aided calculations, all synthesized compounds are expected to have acceptable ADME profile for drug design. Tuberculostatic, antibacterial, antimycotic, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of the compounds were evaluated in vitro, while their analgesic and anti-inflammatory action was tested in vivo along with acute toxicity studies. N-Unsubstituted 4-nitrosopyrazoles were the most effective tuberculostatics (MIC to 0.36 μg/ml) and antibacterial agents against Streptococcus pyogenes (MIC to 7.8 μg/ml), Staphylococcus aureus,S. aureus MRSA and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (MIC to 15.6 μg/ml). 4-Nitroso-1-methyl-5-phenylpyrazole had the pronounced antimycotic action against a wide range of fungi (Trichophytonrubrum, T. tonsurans, T. violaceum, T. interdigitale, Epidermophytonfloccosum, Microsporumcanis with MIC 0.38-12.5 μg/ml). N-Unsubstituted 4-aminopyrazoles shown high radical-scavenging activity in ABTS test, ORAC/AAPH and oxidative erythrocyte hemolysis assays. 1-Methyl-5-phenyl-3-trifluoromethylpyrazol-4-aminium chloride revealed potential anticancer activity against HeLa cells (SI > 1351). The pronounced analgesic activity was found for 4-nitroso- and 4-aminopyrazoles having phenyl fragment at the position 5 in "hot plate" test. The most of the obtained pyrazoles had a moderate acute toxicity.

16α-Hydroxyestrone: Mass Spectrometry-Based Methodologies for the Identification of Covalent Adducts Formed with Blood Proteins

Elevated levels of the estrone metabolite, 16α-hydroxyestrone (16αOHE1), have been linked with multiple diseases. As an electrophilic reactive metabolite, covalent binding to proteins is thought to constitute one of the possible mechanisms in the onset of deleterious health outcomes associated with 16αOHE1. Whereas mass spectrometry (MS)-based methodologies are currently considered the best suited to monitor the formation of protein covalent adducts, the application of these approaches for the identification of covalent adducts of 16αOHE1 is yet to be provided. In the present study, with the ultimate goal of determining the most adequate methodology for searching for 16αOHE1-derived covalent adducts, we explored multiple liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-HRMS/MS)-based approaches to investigate the nature and specific locations of the covalent adducts produced in human hemoglobin (Hb) and human serum albumin (HSA) modified in vitro with 16αOHE1. The application of a "bottom up" proteomics approach, involving the nanoLC-ESI-HRMS/MS analysis of tryptic peptides, allowed the identification of multiple sites of 16αOHE1 adduction in Hb and HSA. As expected, the majority of the adducted peptides occurred in lysine residues following stabilization of the Schiff base formed with 16αOHE1 by reduction or via Heyns rearrangement, yielding the stable α-hydroxyamine and ketoamine adducts, respectively. Noteworthy is the fact that a serine residue was also identified to be covalently modified with 16αOHE1, which to our knowledge constitutes a first-hand report of a keto electrophile as target of hydroxyl-based nucleophilic amino acids. The N-alkyl Edman degradation resulted to be unsuitable for the identification of 16αOHE1adducts formed with the N-terminal valine of Hb, most probably due to stereochemical restraints of the tested derivatizing agents (fluorescein isothiocyanate and phenyl isothiocyanate) on assessing these bulky covalent adducts. Nonetheless, the digestion of adducted proteins to amino acids resulted in the detection of 16αOHE1-derived keto and α-hydroxyamine Lys adducts. The simplicity of this methodology might be beneficial for clinical studies, with the possibility of offering quantitative information with the preparation of synthetic standards of these adducts. The results obtained are crucial not only for the identification and quantification of biomarkers of exposure to 16αOHE1 but also for clarifying the role of protein binding in the onset of diseases associated with elevated levels of this reactive metabolite.

Is It Realistic to Propose Determination of a Lifetime Internal Exposome?

Biomonitoring of xenobiotics has been performed for many years in occupational and environmental medicine. It has revealed hidden exposures and the exposure of workers could be reduced. Although most of the toxic effects of chemicals on humans were discovered in workers, the scientific community has more recently focused on environmental samples. In several countries, urinary and blood samples have been collected and analyzed for xenobiotics. Health, biochemical, and clinical parameters were measured in the biomonitoring program of the Unites States. The data were collected and evaluated as group values, comparing races, ages, and gender. The term exposome was created in order to relate chemical exposure to health effects together with the terms genome, proteome, and transcriptome. Internal exposures were mostly established with snapshot measurements, which can lead to an obvious misclassification of the individual exposures. Albumin and hemoglobin adducts of xenobiotics reflect the exposure of a larger time frame, up to 120 days. It is likely that only a small fraction of xenobiotics form such adducts. In addition, adduct analyses are more work intensive than the measurement of xenobiotics and metabolites in urine and/or blood. New technology, such as high-resolution mass spectrometry, will enable the discovery of new compounds that have been overlooked in the past, since over 300,000 chemicals are commercially available and most likely also present in the environment. Yet, quantification will be challenging, as it was for the older methods. At this stage, determination of a lifetime internal exposome is very unrealistic. Instead of an experimental approach with a large number of people, which is economically and scientifically not feasible, in silico methods should be developed further to predict exposure, toxicity, and potential health effects of mixtures. The computer models will help to focus internal exposure investigations on smaller groups of people and smaller number of chemicals.

Mode of action-based risk assessment of genotoxic carcinogens

The risk assessment of chemical carcinogens is one major task in toxicology. Even though exposure has been mitigated effectively during the last decades, low levels of carcinogenic substances in food and at the workplace are still present and often not completely avoidable. The distinction between genotoxic and non-genotoxic carcinogens has traditionally been regarded as particularly relevant for risk assessment, with the assumption of the existence of no-effect concentrations (threshold levels) in case of the latter group. In contrast, genotoxic carcinogens, their metabolic precursors and DNA reactive metabolites are considered to represent risk factors at all concentrations since even one or a few DNA lesions may in principle result in mutations and, thus, increase tumour risk. Within the current document, an updated risk evaluation for genotoxic carcinogens is proposed, based on mechanistic knowledge regarding the substance (group) under investigation, and taking into account recent improvements in analytical techniques used to quantify DNA lesions and mutations as well as "omics" approaches. Furthermore, wherever possible and appropriate, special attention is given to the integration of background levels of the same or comparable DNA lesions. Within part A, fundamental considerations highlight the terms hazard and risk with respect to DNA reactivity of genotoxic agents, as compared to non-genotoxic agents. Also, current methodologies used in genetic toxicology as well as in dosimetry of exposure are described. Special focus is given on the elucidation of modes of action (MOA) and on the relation between DNA damage and cancer risk. Part B addresses specific examples of genotoxic carcinogens, including those humans are exposed to exogenously and endogenously, such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and the corresponding alcohols as well as some alkylating agents, ethylene oxide, and acrylamide, but also examples resulting from exogenous sources like aflatoxin B1, allylalkoxybenzenes, 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f] quinoxaline (MeIQx), benzo[a]pyrene and pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Additionally, special attention is given to some carcinogenic metal compounds, which are considered indirect genotoxins, by accelerating mutagenicity via interactions with the cellular response to DNA damage even at low exposure conditions. Part C finally encompasses conclusions and perspectives, suggesting a refined strategy for the assessment of the carcinogenic risk associated with an exposure to genotoxic compounds and addressing research needs.

A hemoglobin adduct as a biomarker for the internal exposure to the rodent carcinogen furfuryl alcohol

Furfuryl alcohol is a common food contaminant, which is formed by acid- and heat-catalyzed degradation of fructose and glucose. Its carcinogenic effect in rodents originates most likely from sulfotransferase (SULT)-catalyzed conversion into the mutagenic sulfate ester 2-sulfoxymethylfuran. In this study, a protein adduct biomarker was sought for the medium-term internal exposure to furfuryl alcohol. A UPLC-MS/MS screening showed that the adduct N-((furan-2-yl)methyl)-Val (FFA-Val) at the N-terminus of hemoglobin is a valid target analyte. The Val cleavage by fluorescein isothiocyanate-mediated Edman degradation yielded 3-fluorescein-1-(furan-2-ylmethyl)-5-(propan-2-yl)-2-thioxoimidazolidin-4-one (FFA-Val-FTH), which was characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. An isotope-dilution method for the quantification of FFA-Val-FTH by UPLC-MS/MS was developed. It was used to study the adduct formation in furfuryl alcohol-treated FVB/N mice and the influence of ethanol and the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) inhibitor 4-methylpyrazole on the adduct levels. The administration of 400 mg/kg body weight furfuryl alcohol alone led to 12.5 and 36.7 pmol FFA-Val/g Hb in blood samples of male and female animals, respectively. The co-administration of 1.6 g ethanol/kg body weight increased FFA-Val levels by 1.4-fold in males and by 1.5-fold in females. The co-administration of 100 mg 4-methylpyrazole/kg body weight had a similar effect on the adduct levels. A high correlation was observed between adduct levels in hemoglobin and in hepatic DNA samples determined in the same animal experiment. This indicated that FFA-Val is a valid biomarker for the internal exposure to 2-sulfoxymethylfuran, which may be suitable to monitor furfuryl alcohol exposure also in humans.

Mass Spectrometric Characterization of an Acid-Labile Adduct Formed with 2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine and Albumin in Humans

2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) is a carcinogenic heterocyclic aromatic amine formed during the high-temperature cooking of meats. The cytochrome P450-mediated N-hydroxylation of the exocyclic amine group of PhIP produces 2-hydroxyamino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine, an electrophilic metabolite that forms adducts with DNA and proteins. Previous studies conducted by our laboratory showed that the reaction of N-oxidized PhIP metabolites with human albumin in vitro primarily occurs at the Cys³⁴ residue, to produce an acid-labile linked sulfinamide adduct. On the basis of these findings, we developed a sensitive ultraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method to measure acid-labile albumin-PhIP adducts in human volunteers administered a dietary-relevant dose of ¹⁴C-labeled PhIP [Dingley, K. H., et al. (1999) Cancer Epidemiol., Biomarkers Prev. 8, 507-512]. Mild acid treatment of albumin (0.1 N HCl, 37 °C for 1 h) or proteolytic digestion with Pronase [50 mM ammonium bicarbonate buffer (pH 8.5) at 37 °C for 18 h] released similar amounts of covalently bound PhIP, which was characterized by multistage scanning and quantified by Orbitrap mass spectrometry. The amount of [¹⁴C]PhIP recovered by acid treatment of albumin 24 h following dosing accounted for 7.2-21.3% of the [¹⁴C]PhIP bound to albumin based on accelerator mass spectrometry measurements. 2-Amino-1-methyl-6-(5-hydroxy)phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine, a hydrolysis product of the Cys³⁴ S-N linked sulfenamide adduct of PhIP, was not detected in either acid-treated or protease-treated samples. These findings suggest that a portion of the PhIP bound to albumin in vivo probably occurs as an acid-labile sulfinamide adduct formed at the Cys³⁴ residue.

Biomonitoring Human Albumin Adducts: The Past, the Present, and the Future

Serum albumin (Alb) is the most abundant protein in blood plasma. Alb reacts with many carcinogens and/or their electrophilic metabolites. Studies conducted over 20 years ago showed that Alb forms adducts with the human carcinogens aflatoxin B1 and benzene, which were successfully used as biomarkers in molecular epidemiology studies designed to address the role of these chemicals in cancer risk. Alb forms adducts with many therapeutic drugs or their reactive metabolites such as β-lactam antibiotics, acetylsalicylic acid, acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, chemotherapeutic agents, and antiretroviral therapy drugs. The identification and characterization of the adduct structures formed with Alb have served to understand the generation of reactive metabolites and to predict idiosyncratic drug reactions and toxicities. The reaction of candidate drugs with Alb is now exploited as part of the battery of screening tools to assess the potential toxicities of drugs. The use of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography, or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) enabled the identification and quantification of multiple types of Alb xenobiotic adducts in animals and humans during the past three decades. In this perspective, we highlight the history of Alb as a target protein for adduction to environmental and dietary genotoxicants, pesticides, and herbicides, common classes of medicinal drugs, and endogenous electrophiles, and the emerging analytical mass spectrometry technologies to identify Alb-toxicant adducts in humans.

Novel Transgenic Mouse Model for Studying Human Serum Albumin as a Biomarker of Carcinogenic Exposure

Albumin is a commonly used serum protein for studying human exposure to xenobiotic compounds, including therapeutics and environmental pollutants. Often, the reactivity of albumin with xenobiotic compounds is studied ex vivo with human albumin or plasma/serum samples. Some studies have characterized the reactivity of albumin with chemicals in rodent models; however, differences between the orthologous peptide sequences of human and rodent albumins can result in the formation of different types of chemical-protein adducts with different interaction sites or peptide sequences. Our goal is to generate a human albumin transgenic mouse model that can be used to establish human protein biomarkers of exposure to hazardous xenobiotics for human risk assessment via animal studies. We have developed a human albumin transgenic mouse model and characterized the genotype and phenotype of the transgenic mice. The presence of the human albumin gene in the genome of the model mouse was confirmed by genomic PCR analysis, whereas liver-specific expression of the transgenic human albumin mRNA was validated by RT-PCR analysis. Further immunoblot and mass spectrometry analyses indicated that the transgenic human albumin protein is a full-length, mature protein, which is less abundant than the endogenous mouse albumin that coexists in the serum of the transgenic mouse. The transgenic protein was able to form ex vivo adducts with a genotoxic metabolite of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine, a procarcinogenic heterocyclic aromatic amine formed in cooked meat. This novel human albumin transgenic mouse model will facilitate the development and validation of albumin-carcinogen adducts as biomarkers of xenobiotic exposure and/or toxicity in humans.

Acid-labile protein-adducted heterocyclic aromatic amines in human blood are not viable biomarkers of dietary exposure: A systematic study

Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HCA) are carcinogenic mutagens formed during cooking of protein-rich foods. HCA residues adducted to blood proteins have been postulated as biomarkers of HCA exposure. However, the viability of quantifying HCAs following hydrolytic release from adducts in vivo and correlation with dietary intake are unproven. To definitively assess the potential of labile HCA-protein adducts as biomarkers, a highly sensitive UPLC-MS/MS method was validated for four major HCAs: 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP), 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx), 2-amino-3,4,8-trimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (4,8-DiMeIQx) and 2-amino-3,7,8-trimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (7,8-DiMeIQx). Limits of detection were 1-5 pg/ml plasma and recoveries 91-115%. Efficacy of hydrolysis was demonstrated by HCA-protein adducts synthesised in vitro. Plasma and 7-day food diaries were collected from 122 fasting adults consuming their habitual diets. Estimated HCA intakes ranged from 0 to 2.5 mg/day. An extensive range of hydrolysis conditions was examined for release of adducted HCAs in plasma. HCA was detected in only one sample (PhIP, 9.7 pg/ml), demonstrating conclusively for the first time that acid-labile HCA adducts do not reflect dietary HCA intake and are present at such low concentrations that they are not feasible biomarkers of exposure. Identification of biomarkers remains important. The search should concentrate on stabilised HCA-peptide markers and use of untargeted proteomic and metabolomic approaches.

2-Amino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (AαC) Adducts and Thiol Oxidation of Serum Albumin as Potential Biomarkers of Tobacco Smoke

2-Amino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (AαC) is a carcinogenic heterocyclic aromatic amine formed during the combustion of tobacco. AαC undergoes bioactivation to form electrophilic N-oxidized metabolites that react with DNA to form adducts, which can lead to mutations. Many genotoxicants and toxic electrophiles react with human serum albumin (albumin); however, the chemistry of reactivity of AαC with proteins has not been studied. The genotoxic metabolites, 2-hydroxyamino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (HONH-AαC), 2-nitroso-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (NO-AαC), N-acetyloxy-2-amino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (N-acetoxy-AαC), and their [(13)C6]AαC-labeled homologues were reacted with albumin. Sites of adduction of AαC to albumin were identified by data-dependent scanning and targeted bottom-up proteomics approaches employing ion trap and Orbitrap MS. AαC-albumin adducts were formed at Cys(34), Tyr(140), and Tyr(150) residues when albumin was reacted with HONH-AαC or NO-AαC. Sulfenamide, sulfinamide, and sulfonamide adduct formation occurred at Cys(34) (AαC-Cys(34)). N-Acetoxy-AαC also formed an adduct at Tyr(332). Albumin-AαC adducts were characterized in human plasma treated with N-oxidized metabolites of AαC and human hepatocytes exposed to AαC. High levels of N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-AαC (dG-C8-AαC) DNA adducts were formed in hepatocytes. The Cys(34) was the sole amino acid of albumin to form adducts with AαC. Albumin also served as an antioxidant and scavenged reactive oxygen species generated by metabolites of AαC in hepatocytes; there was a strong decrease in reduced Cys(34), whereas the levels of Cys(34) sulfinic acid (Cys-SO2H), Cys(34)-sulfonic acid (Cys-SO3H), and Met(329) sulfoxide were greatly increased. Cys(34) adduction products and Cys-SO2H, Cys-SO3H, and Met(329) sulfoxide may be potential biomarkers to assess exposure and oxidative stress associated with AαC and other arylamine toxicants present in tobacco smoke.

Mass Spectrometric Characterization of Human Serum Albumin Adducts Formed with N-Oxidized Metabolites of 2-Amino-1-methylphenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine in Human Plasma and Hepatocytes

2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP), a carcinogenic heterocyclic aromatic amine formed in cooked meats, is metabolically activated to electrophilic intermediates that form covalent adducts with DNA and protein. We previously identified an adduct of PhIP formed at the Cys(34) residue of human serum albumin following reaction of albumin with the genotoxic metabolite 2-hydroxyamino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (HONH-PhIP). The major adducted peptide recovered from a tryptic/chymotryptic digest was identified as the missed-cleavage peptide LQQC*([SO2PhIP])PFEDHVK, a [cysteine-S-yl-PhIP]-S-dioxide linked adduct. In this investigation, we have characterized the albumin adduction products of N-sulfooxy-2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (N-sulfooxy-PhIP), which is thought to be a major genotoxic metabolite of PhIP formed in vivo. Targeted and data-dependent scanning methods showed that N-sulfooxy-PhIP adducted to the Cys(34) of albumin in human plasma to form LQQC*([SO2PhIP])PFEDHVK at levels that were 8-10-fold greater than the adduct levels formed with N-(acetyloxy)-2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (N-acetoxy-PhIP) or HONH-PhIP. We also discovered that N-sulfooxy-PhIP forms an adduct at the sole tryptophan (Trp(214)) residue of albumin in the sequence AW*([PhIP])AVAR. However, stable adducts of PhIP with albumin were not detected in human hepatocytes. Instead, PhIP and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-(5-hydroxy)phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (5-HO-PhIP), a solvolysis product of the proposed nitrenium ion of PhIP, were recovered during the proteolysis, suggesting a labile sulfenamide linkage had formed between an N-oxidized intermediate of PhIP and Cys(34) of albumin. A stable adduct was formed at the Tyr(411) residue of albumin in hepatocytes and identified as a deaminated product of PhIP, Y(*[desaminoPhIP])TK, where the 4-HO-tyrosine group bound to the C-2 imidazole atom of PhIP.