3-hydroxyamino-1-methyl-5h-pyrido(4-3-b)indole and 2-hydroxyamino-6-methyldipyrido(1-2-a-3--2--d)imidazole

Aerobic oxidation of 3-hydroxyamino-1-methyl-5H-pyrido-[4,3-b]indole [Trp-P-2(NHOH)] in neutral aqueous solution was greatly accelerated by copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD). The major product in this SOD-mediated reaction was identified as 3-nitroso-1-methyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole [Trp-P-2(NO)]. This conversion was accompanied by a decrease of the mutagenicity of the mixture, as monitored by the direct-acting mutagenicity on Salmonella typhimurium TA98; a rapid change to approximately 1/3 of the original mutagenicity was followed by no further decrease of the activity. In contrast, in the spontaneous aerobic oxidation of Trp-P-2-(NHOH), the mutagenicity slowly and continuously decreased, until it was finally lost almost completely. Similar acceleration by SOD of aerobic oxidation was found for 2-hydroxyamino-6-methyldipyrido[1,2-a:3',2'-d]imidazole [Glu-P-1(NHOH)]. Again, mutagenicity of approximately 1/4 that of the original was retained in the SOD-mediated decomposition, while a complete loss of the mutagenicity was observed in the spontaneous decomposition. When Trp-P-2(NO) was treated with the superoxide-generating system, xanthine oxidase plus xanthine, Trp-P-2(NHOH) was formed. Therefore, the role of SOD in the conversion of Trp-P-2(NHOH) into Trp-P-2(NO) is the removal of superoxide anions generated by reduction of aerobic oxygen, thereby inhibiting the reverse reactions, i.e. the reduction of Trp-P-2(NO) and that of the putative intermediate nitroxide radical. In support of this proposed mechanism, phenylhydroxylamine underwent a SOD-accelerated conversion to nitrosobenzene, and nitrosobenzene was reduced to phenylhydroxylamine by the action of the xanthine oxidase-xanthine system. Hence, this reversible interchange between an arylhydroxylamine and its nitroso compound, coupled with the oxygen-superoxide cycle, may be a general phenomenon. A consequence of this finding is that the xenobiotic N-hydroxylamines may be converted by the action of SOD in the biological settings into nitroso compounds, which are chemically more stable, serving as a reservoir for mutagenicity.

Topics: Carbolines; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; DNA Damage; Hydrogen Peroxide; Hydroxylamines; Imidazoles; Mutagenicity Tests; Mutagens; Nitroso Compounds; Oxidation-Reduction; Proteins; Superoxide Dismutase; Superoxides

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) and 1-nitro-2-naphthol were found to be potent inhibitors of enzymatic acetyl-CoA dependent activation, which is suggested as proceeding through direct O-acetylation, of N-hydroxyarylamines to tRNA binding by liver cytosolic enzymes from hamsters and rats. IC50 values of PCP for the activation of 2-hydroxyamino-6-methyldipyrido[1,2-a:3',2'-d]imidazole (N-OH-Glu-P-1), 3-hydroxyamino-1-methyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole (N-OH-Trp-P-2) and N-hydroxy-2-aminofluorene (N-OH-AF) were 20, 25 and 17 microM, respectively, in hamster cytosol system. Similar inhibition was observed with rat liver cytosol (IC50 values of PCP and 1-nitro-2-naphthol were 13 and 12 microM, respectively, for the binding of N-OH-Glu-P-1). PCP is known as an inhibitor of sulfotransferase; however, another potent inhibitor of sulfotransferase, 2,6-dichloro-4-nitrophenol, did not inhibit the acetyl-CoA dependent binding. Antibiotic thiolactomycin, which inhibits bacterial O-acetyltransferase, did not affect the activation by hamster and rat cytosol, indicating the difference in property between bacterial and mammalian enzymes. The kinetic data obtained with hamster cytosol suggested the competitive inhibition of PCP with substrate, N-OH-Glu-P-1, and non-competitive inhibition with acetyl-CoA. In addition to the O-acetylation, PCP and 1-nitro-2-naphthol also inhibited N-acetylation of arylamines and N,O-acetyltransfer reaction of N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene (N-OH-AAF) by hamster cytosol. IC50 values for these two types of acetyltransfer reactions, however, were slightly higher than those observed for acetyl-CoA dependent activations of N-hydroxyarylamines.

Topics: Acetyl Coenzyme A; Animals; Carbolines; Chlorophenols; Cricetinae; Cytosol; Fluorenes; Imidazoles; Liver; Male; Mesocricetus; Naphthalenes; Pentachlorophenol; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains