phosphorus-radioisotopes and 3-4-3--4--tetrachlorobiphenyl

Mitomycin C (MMC) is a DNA cross-linking agent that has been used in cancer chemotherapy for over 20 years, yet little is known either qualitatively or quantitatively about MMC-induced DNA adduct formation and repair in vivo. As an initial means of investigating this, we used a recently developed 32P-postlabeling assay to examine the formation and loss of MMC-DNA adducts in the tissues of a simple in vivo model test system, the chick embryo, following treatment with a chemotherapeutic dose of MMC. As early as 15 min after MMC treatment, four adducts could be detected in the liver which were tentatively identified as the (CpG) N2G-MMC-N2G interstrand cross-link, the bifunctionally activated MMC-N2G monoadduct, and two isomers (alpha and beta) of the monofunctionally activated MMC-N2G monoadduct. The (GpG) N2G-MMC-N2G intrastrand cross-link appears to be a poor substrate for nuclease P1 and/or T4 kinase and was not evaluable by this assay. Levels of all four detectable adducts increased substantially within the first 2 h after MMC treatment, reached maximal levels by 6 h, and decreased progressively thereafter through 24 h, although low levels of certain adducts persisted beyond 24 h. Lung and kidney had comparable levels of total MMC adducts, which were approximately 60% those of the liver, and there were no significant differences in the proportion of specific adducts among the three tissues. The interstrand cross-link represented approximately 13-14% of the total MMC adducts, which is approximately 5-fold greater than the proportion of CpG sites in the genome. In addition, the interstrand cross-link was selectively decreased after 16 h relative to the three monoadducts, suggesting preferential repair. The effect of modulating different components of the Phase I and Phase II drug metabolism on MMC adduct formation, using either glutethimide, 3,4,3',4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl, dexamethasone, buthionine sulfoximine, ethacrynic acid, or N-acetylcysteine pretreatments, was examined to characterize the possible pathways of MMC metabolism and adduct formation in vivo. Surprisingly, none of these pretreatments had a significant effect on individual or total adducts with the exception of dexamethasone, which caused an almost 2-fold proportional increase in all four adducts in the liver.

Topics: Acetylcysteine; Animals; Biotransformation; Buthionine Sulfoximine; Chick Embryo; Cross-Linking Reagents; Dexamethasone; DNA; DNA Adducts; DNA Damage; DNA Repair; Enzyme Induction; Ethacrynic Acid; Glutathione; Glutethimide; Inactivation, Metabolic; Kidney; Liver; Lung; Mitomycin; Phosphorus Radioisotopes; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Time Factors

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are industrial chemicals which have been detected in fish, birds and humans. They are known to exert marked effects on the liver. They induce hepatocellular carcinoma in rats and birds, and are suspected of being carcinogenic to humans. To better understand the genotoxic effects of PCBs, we used 32P-postlabelling to investigate DNA adduct formation, after exposure to PCBs (Aroclor 1254 and 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl), in primary cultures of fetal hepatocytes from two animal species and in a human cell line (Hep G2). We also studied the induction of 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) in these PCB-treated cells. The three cell types used are known to express different cytochrome P450 families. The aim was to see whether a correlation could be established between EROD activity (a CYP1A1-related activity) and DNA adduct formation. DNA adducts were found in all three models after exposure to 50 microM 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl. The number of adducts was higher in quail hepatocytes (37 adducts per 10(9) nucleotides) than in rat hepatocytes or Hep G2 cells (20 adducts per 10(9) nucleotides in both cases). The major adduct was the same in all three cell types, but some adducts were found in only one or two species. These inter-species differences probably reflect metabolic differences leading to different ultimate carcinogens. Exposure to Aroclor 1254 failed to produce significant levels of DNA adducts, suggesting that pre-treated cells are required to magnify Aroclor 1254 metabolism. No correlation was found between adduct formation and the level of EROD induction.

Topics: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Aroclors; Carcinogens, Environmental; Cells, Cultured; Chlorodiphenyl (54% Chlorine); Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System; DNA Adducts; Enzyme Induction; Hepatoblastoma; Humans; Liver; Liver Neoplasms; Oxidoreductases; Phosphorus Radioisotopes; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Quail; Rats; Species Specificity; Tumor Cells, Cultured