4-hydroxyestradiol and tricaprylin

Prostate carcinomas arise in 100% of Noble rats treated with estradiol and testosterone. We hypothesize that estrogens initiate prostate cancer mainly by formation of 4-catechol estrogens (CE), followed by their oxidation to catechol estrogen-3,4-quinones (CE-3,4-Q), which can react with DNA. To avoid cancer initiation, CE can be detoxified by catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), and CE-3,4-Q by conjugation with glutathione (GSH) or by reduction to CE, catalyzed by quinone reductase and/or cytochrome P450 reductase. To investigate the prostatic metabolism of estrogens, Noble rats were treated with the CE 4-hydroxyestradiol (4-OHE2) or estradiol-3,4-quinone (E2-3,4-Q), and CE metabolites and conjugates were analyzed in the four regions of the prostate, which differ in susceptibility to carcinoma formation. Following treatment of rats with 4-OHE2 (6 micromol/100 g body weight in 200 microl of trioctanoin/dimethylsulfoxide (4:1) by intraperitoneal injection) for 90 min, the non-susceptible ventral (VP) and anterior (AP) prostate had higher levels of 4-methoxyCE and GSH conjugates than the susceptible dorsolateral prostate (DLP) and periurethral prostate (PUP). After treatment with the same molar amount of E2-3,4-Q, the VP and AP contained more GSH conjugates, 4-CE and 4-methoxyCE than the susceptible DLP and PUP. These results suggest that prostate areas susceptible to carcinoma induction have less protection by COMT, GSH, and quinone reductase and/or cytochrome P450 reductase, favoring reaction of CE-3,4-Q with DNA, presumably to initiate cancer.

Topics: Animals; Caprylates; Catechol O-Methyltransferase; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Dimethyl Sulfoxide; Estradiol; Estrogens; Estrogens, Catechol; Excipients; Glutathione; Male; Models, Chemical; NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone); NADPH-Ferrihemoprotein Reductase; Prostate; Prostatic Neoplasms; Protein Binding; Rats; Testosterone; Time Factors; Triglycerides; Urethra