Endogenous Formaldehyde Is a Hematopoietic Stem Cell Genotoxin and Metabolic Carcinogen.

Endogenous formaldehyde is produced by numerous biochemical pathways fundamental to life, and it can crosslink both DNA and proteins. However, the consequences of its accumulation are unclear. Here we show that endogenous formaldehyde is removed by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase 5 (ADH5/GSNOR), and Adh5(-/-) mice therefore accumulate formaldehyde adducts in DNA. The repair of this damage is mediated by FANCD2, a DNA crosslink repair protein. Adh5(-/-)Fancd2(-/-) mice reveal an essential requirement for these protection mechanisms in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), leading to their depletion and precipitating bone marrow failure. More widespread formaldehyde-induced DNA damage also causes karyomegaly and dysfunction of hepatocytes and nephrons. Bone marrow transplantation not only rescued hematopoiesis but, surprisingly, also preserved nephron function. Nevertheless, all of these animals eventually developed fatal malignancies. Formaldehyde is therefore an important source of endogenous DNA damage that is counteracted in mammals by a conserved protection mechanism.

DNA methylation on N(6)-adenine in mammalian embryonic stem cells.

It has been widely accepted that 5-methylcytosine is the only form of DNA methylation in mammalian genomes. Here we identify N(6)-methyladenine as another form of DNA modification in mouse embryonic stem cells. Alkbh1 encodes a demethylase for N(6)-methyladenine. An increase of N(6)-methyladenine levels in Alkbh1-deficient cells leads to transcriptional silencing. N(6)-methyladenine deposition is inversely correlated with the evolutionary age of LINE-1 transposons; its deposition is strongly enriched at young (<1.5 million years old) but not old (>6 million years old) L1 elements. The deposition of N(6)-methyladenine correlates with epigenetic silencing of such LINE-1 transposons, together with their neighbouring enhancers and genes, thereby resisting the gene activation signals during embryonic stem cell differentiation. As young full-length LINE-1 transposons are strongly enriched on the X chromosome, genes located on the X chromosome are also silenced. Thus, N(6)-methyladenine developed a new role in epigenetic silencing in mammalian evolution distinct from its role in gene activation in other organisms. Our results demonstrate that N(6)-methyladenine constitutes a crucial component of the epigenetic regulation repertoire in mammalian genomes.

Analysis of DNA Adducts and Mutagenic Potency and Specificity in Rats Exposed to Acrylonitrile.

Acrylonitrile (ACN), which is a widely used industrial chemical, induces cancers in multiple organs/tissues of rats by unresolved mechanisms. For this report, evidence for ACN-induced direct/indirect DNA damage and mutagenesis was investigated by assessing the ability of ACN, or its reactive metabolite, 2-cyanoethylene oxide (CEO), to bind to DNA in vitro, to form select DNA adducts [N7-(2'-oxoethyl)guanine, N2,3-ethenoguanine, 1,N6-ethenodeoxyadenosine, and 3,N4-ethenodeoxycytidine] in vitro and/or in vivo, and to perturb the frequency and spectra of mutations in the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (Hprt) gene in rats exposed to ACN in drinking water. Adducts and frequencies and spectra of Hprt mutations were analyzed using published methods. Treatment of DNA from human TK6 lymphoblastoid cells with [2,3-14C]-CEO produced dose-dependent binding of 14C-CEO equivalents, and treatment of DNA from control rat brain/liver with CEO induced dose-related formation of N7-(2'-oxoethyl)guanine. No etheno-DNA adducts were detected in target tissues (brain and forestomach) or nontarget tissues (liver and spleen) in rats exposed to 0, 3, 10, 33, 100, or 300 ppm ACN for up to 105 days or to 0 or 500 ppm ACN for ∼15 months; whereas N7-(2'-oxoethyl)guanine was consistently measured at nonsignificant concentrations near the assay detection limit only in liver of animals exposed to 300 or 500 ppm ACN for ≥2 weeks. Significant dose-related increases in Hprt mutant frequencies occurred in T-lymphocytes from spleens of rats exposed to 33-500 ppm ACN for 4 weeks. Comparisons of "mutagenic potency estimates" for control rats versus rats exposed to 500 ppm ACN for 4 weeks to analogous data from rats/mice treated at a similar age with N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea or 1,3-butadiene suggest that ACN has relatively limited mutagenic effects in rats. Considerable overlap between the sites and types of mutations in ACN-exposed rats and butadiene-exposed rats/mice, but not controls, provides evidence that the carcinogenicity of these epoxide-forming chemicals involves corresponding mutagenic mechanisms.

Reevaluation of Hepatocellular Neoplasms in CD-1 Mice from a 2-year Oral Carcinogenicity Study with Permethrin.

A 24-month oral carcinogenicity study of permethrin was conducted by feeding male and female CD-1 mice diets containing concentrations of 0, 20, 500, and 2,000 ppm of permethrin (males) or 0, 20, 2,500, and 5,000 ppm of permethrin (females). After approximately two years on study, surviving mice were sacrificed for the evaluation of chronic toxicity and/or carcinogenicity. An expert panel of pathologists was convened as a Pathology Working Group (PWG) to review coded liver histology sections from male and female mice and to classify all liver neoplasms according to current nomenclature and diagnostic criteria guidelines. The PWG results indicate that permethrin induced a significant dose-dependent increase in the incidence of hepatocellular neoplasms in treated female mice ( p < .01) as well as a nonstatistically significant increase in the incidence of hepatocellular tumors in treated male mice. Given the continuum of the diagnoses of adenoma and carcinoma, and the difficulty in distinguishing some of the lesions, it is appropriate to consider only the combined incidences of hepatocellular tumors (adenoma and/or carcinoma) for biological significance and risk assessment.

Evaluation of inhaled low-dose formaldehyde-induced DNA adducts and DNA-protein cross-links by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

As a widespread industrial chemical, formaldehyde carcinogenicity has been highly controversial. Meanwhile, formaldehyde is an essential metabolite in all living cells. Previously, we have demonstrated exogenous formaldehyde causes DNA adducts in a nonlinear manner between 0.7 and 15.2 ppm using [13CD2]-formaldehyde for exposure coupled with the use of sensitive mass spectrometry. However, the responses from exposure to low doses of formaldehyde are still unknown. In this study, rats were exposed to 1, 30, and 300 ppb [13CD2]-formaldehyde for 28 days (6 h/day) by nose-only inhalation, followed by measuring DNA mono-adduct (N2-HOMe-dG) and DNA-protein crosslinks (dG-Me-Cys) as formaldehyde specific biomarkers. Both exogenous and endogenous DNA mono-adducts and dG-Me-Cys were examined with ultrasensitive nano-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Our data clearly show that endogenous adducts are present in all tissues analyzed, but exogenous adducts were not detectable in any tissue samples, including the most susceptible nasal epithelium. Moreover, formaldehyde exposure at 1, 30 and 300 ppb did not alter the levels of endogenous formaldehyde-induced DNA adducts or DNA-protein crosslinks. The novel findings from this study provide new data for risk assessment of exposure to low doses of formaldehyde.

Considerations for refining the risk assessment process for formaldehyde: Results from an interdisciplinary workshop.

Anticipating the need to evaluate and integrate scientific evidence to inform new risk assessments or to update existing risk assessments, the Formaldehyde Panel of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), in collaboration with the University of North Carolina, convened a workshop: "Understanding Potential Human Health Cancer Risk - From Data Integration to Risk Evaluation" in October 2017. Twenty-four (24) invited-experts participated with expertise in epidemiology, toxicology, science integration and risk evaluation. Including members of the organizing committee, there were 29 participants. The meeting included eleven presentations encompassing an introduction and three sessions: (1) "integrating the formaldehyde science on nasal/nasopharyngeal carcinogenicity and potential for causality"; (2) "integrating the formaldehyde science on lymphohematopoietic cancer and potential for causality; and, (3) "formaldehyde research-data suitable for risk assessment". Here we describe key points from the presentations on epidemiology, toxicology and mechanistic studies that should inform decisions about the potential carcinogenicity of formaldehyde in humans and the discussions about approaches for structuring an integrated, comprehensive risk assessment for formaldehyde. We also note challenges expected when attempting to reconcile divergent results observed from research conducted within and across different scientific disciplines - especially toxicology and epidemiology - and in integrating diverse, multi-disciplinary mechanistic evidence.

Accurate Measurement of Formaldehyde-Induced DNA-Protein Cross-Links by High-Resolution Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry.

Genomic instability caused by DNA-protein cross-link (DPCs)-induced DNA damage is implicated in disease pathogenesis, aging, and cancer development. The covalent linkages between DNA and protein are induced by chemical reactions catalyzed by the endogenous metabolic intermediates and exogenous agents, such as aldehydes, chemotherapeutic agents, and ionizing radiation. Formaldehyde has been classified as a genotoxic carcinogen. In addition, endogenous formaldehyde-induced DPCs may increase the risks of bone marrow toxicity and leukemia. There is a need to develop an effective detection method for DPC analysis, including the structural differentiation of endogenous and exogenous formaldehyde-induced DPCs. To this end, our group previously reported a useful liquid chromatography-selected reaction monitoring (LC-SRM) approach coupled with stable isotope labeling and low mass resolution-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. In the present work, we further demonstrate an accurate quantification method using a high-resolution, accurate-mass Orbitrap mass spectrometer for the measurement of the covalent linkage between 2'-deoxyguanosine (dG) and cysteine (Cys), specifically termed dG-Me-Cys, one kind of linkages derived from the formaldehyde-induced DPCs. This quantification method with a wide dynamic range of at least 3 orders generates an interference-free spectrum for unbiased and unambiguous quantification, resulting in good intra- and interday precisions and accuracies with less than 10% variations. The endogenous and exogenous amounts of dG-Me-Cys in a human cell line treated with formaldehyde are analyzed by our new methodology. The quantification strategy demonstrated in this study can be widely applied to characterize and quantify other DPC linkages induced by formaldehyde or other chemical agents.

Exposure assessment of process-related contaminants in food by biomarker monitoring.

Exposure assessment is a fundamental part of the risk assessment paradigm, but can often present a number of challenges and uncertainties. This is especially the case for process contaminants formed during the processing, e.g. heating of food, since they are in part highly reactive and/or volatile, thus making exposure assessment by analysing contents in food unreliable. New approaches are therefore required to accurately assess consumer exposure and thus better inform the risk assessment. Such novel approaches may include the use of biomarkers, physiologically based kinetic (PBK) modelling-facilitated reverse dosimetry, and/or duplicate diet studies. This review focuses on the state of the art with respect to the use of biomarkers of exposure for the process contaminants acrylamide, 3-MCPD esters, glycidyl esters, furan and acrolein. From the overview presented, it becomes clear that the field of assessing human exposure to process-related contaminants in food by biomarker monitoring is promising and strongly developing. The current state of the art as well as the existing data gaps and challenges for the future were defined. They include (1) using PBK modelling and duplicate diet studies to establish, preferably in humans, correlations between external exposure and biomarkers; (2) elucidation of the possible endogenous formation of the process-related contaminants and the resulting biomarker levels; (3) the influence of inter-individual variations and how to include that in the biomarker-based exposure predictions; (4) the correction for confounding factors; (5) the value of the different biomarkers in relation to exposure scenario's and risk assessment, and (6) the possibilities of novel methodologies. In spite of these challenges it can be concluded that biomarker-based exposure assessment provides a unique opportunity to more accurately assess consumer exposure to process-related contaminants in food and thus to better inform risk assessment.

N6-Formyllysine as a Biomarker of Formaldehyde Exposure: Formation and Loss of N6-Formyllysine in Nasal Epithelium in Long-Term, Low-Dose Inhalation Studies in Rats.

Exposure to both endogenous and exogenous formaldehyde has been established to be carcinogenic, likely by virtue of forming nucleic acid and proteins adducts such as N6-formyllysine. To better assess N6-formyllysine as a biomarker of formaldehyde exposure, we studied accumulation of N6-formyllysine adducts in tissues of rats exposed by inhalation to 2 ppm [13C2H2]-formaldehyde for 7, 14, 21, and 28 days (6 h/day) and investigated adduct loss over a 7-day postexposure period using liquid chromatography-coupled tandem mass spectrometry. Our results showed formation of exogenous adducts in nasal epithelium and to some extent in trachea but not in distant tissues of lung, bone marrow, or white blood cells, with a 2-fold increase over endogenous N6-formyllysine over a 3-week exposure period. Postexposure analyses indicated a biexponential decay of N6-formyllysine in proteins extracted from different cellular compartments, with half-lives of ∼25 and ∼182 h for the fast and slow phases, respectively, in cytoplasmic proteins. These results parallel the behavior of DNA adducts and DNA-protein cross-links, with protein adducts cleared faster than DNA-protein cross-links, and point to the potential utility of N6-formyllysine protein adducts as biomarkers of formaldehyde.

DNA Product Formation in Female Sprague-Dawley Rats Following Polyhalogenated Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PHAH) Exposure.

DNA oxidation damage has been regarded as one of the possible mechanisms for the hepatic carcinogenesis of dioxin-like compounds (DLCs). In this study, we evaluated the toxic equivalency factor (TEF) from the standpoint of induced DNA oxidation products and their relationship to toxicity and carcinogenicity. Nine DNA oxidation products were analyzed in the liver of female Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-pdioxin (TCDD) alone or the tertiary mixture of TCDD, 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB 126), and 2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorodibenzofuran (PeCDF) by gavage for 14, 31, and 53 weeks (5 days/week) by LC-MS/MS: 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dGuo); 1,N6-etheno-2'-deoxyadenosine (1,N6-εdAdo); N2,3-ethenoguanine (N2,3-εG); 7-(2-oxoethly)guanine (7-OEG); 1,N2-etheno-2'-deoxyguanosine (1,N2-εdGuo); malondialdehyde (M1dGuo); acrolein (AcrdGuo); crotonaldehyde (CrdGuo); and 4-hydroxynonenal (HNEdGuo) derived 2'-deoxyguanosine adducts. Exposure to TCDD (100 ng/kg/day) significantly induced 1,N6-εdAdo at 31 and 53 weeks, while no increase of 8-oxo-dGuo was observed. Significant increases were observed for 8-oxo-dGuo and 1,N6-εdAdo at all time points following exposure to the tertiary mixture (TEQ 100 ng/kg/day). Exposure to TCDD for 53 weeks only significantly increased 1,N6-εdAdo, while increases of N2,3-εG and 7-OEG were only found in the highest dose group (100 ng/kg/day). Exposure to the tertiary mixture for 53 weeks had no effect on N2,3-εG in any exposure group (TEQ 0, 22, 46, or 100 ng/kg/day), while significant increases were observed for 1,N6-εdAdo (all dose groups), 8-oxo-dGuo (46 and 100 ng/kg/day), and 7-OEG (100 ng/kg/day). While no significant increase was observed at 53 weeks for 1,N2-εdGuo, M1dGuo, AcrdGuo, or CrdGuo following exposure to TCDD (100 ng/kg/day), all of them were significantly induced in animals exposed to the tertiary mixture (TEQ 100 ng/kg/day). This oxidation DNA product data suggest that the simple TEF methodology cannot be applied to evaluate the diverse patterns of toxic effects induced by DLCs.

Time-matched analysis of DNA adduct formation and early gene expression as predictive tool for renal carcinogenesis in methylazoxymethanol acetate treated Eker rats.

Genotoxic carcinogens pose great hazard to human health. Uncertainty of current risk assessment strategies and long latency periods between first carcinogen exposure and diagnosis of tumors have raised interest in predictive biomarkers. Initial DNA adduct formation is a necessary step for genotoxin induced carcinogenesis. However, as DNA adducts not always translate into tumorigenesis, their predictive value is limited. Here we hypothesize that the combined analysis of pro-mutagenic DNA adducts along with time-matched gene expression changes could serve as a superior prediction tool for genotoxic carcinogenesis. Eker rats, heterozygous for the tuberous sclerosis (Tsc2) tumor suppressor gene and thus highly susceptible towards genotoxic renal carcinogens, were continuously treated with the DNA alkylating carcinogen methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAMAc). Two weeks of MAMAc treatment resulted in a time-dependent increase of O6-methylguanine and N7-methylguanine adducts in the kidney cortex, which was however not reflected by significant expression changes of cyto-protective genes involved in DNA repair, cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. Instead, we found a transcriptional regulation of genes involved in the tumor-related MAPK, FoxO and TGF-beta pathways. Continuous MAMAc treatment for up to 6 months resulted in a mild but significant increase of cancerous lesions. In summary, the combined analysis of DNA adducts and early gene expression changes could serve as a suitable predictive tool for genotoxicant-induced carcinogenesis.

Polychlorinated Biphenyls Induce Oxidative DNA Adducts in Female Sprague-Dawley Rats.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organic chemicals that were traditionally produced and widely used in industry as mixtures and are presently formed as byproducts of pigment and dye manufacturing. They are known to persist and bioaccumulate in the environment. Some have been shown to induce liver cancer in rodents. Although the mechanism of the toxicity of PCBs is unknown, it has been shown that they increase oxidative stress, including lipid peroxidation. We hypothesized that oxidative stress-induced DNA damage could be a contributor for PCB carcinogenesis and analyzed several DNA adducts in female Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB 126), 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB 153), and a binary mixture (PCB 126 + 153) for 14, 31, and 53 wks. Eight adducts were measured to profile oxidative DNA lesions, including 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG), 1,N(6)-ethenodeoxyadenosine (1,N(6)-εdA), N(2),3-ethenoguanine (N(2),3-εG), 1,N(2)-ethenodeoxyguanosine (1,N(2)-εdG), as well as malondialdehyde (M1dG), acrolein (AcrdG), crotonaldehyde (CrdG), and 4-hydroxynonenal-derived dG adducts (HNEdG) by LC-MS/MS analysis. Statistically significant increases were observed for 8-oxo-dG and 1,N(6)-εdA concentrations in hepatic DNA of female rats exposed to the binary mixture (1000 ng/kg/day + 1000 µg/kg/day) but not in rats exposed to PCB 126 (1000 ng/kg/day) or PCB 153 (1000 µg/kg/day) for 14 and 31 wks. However, exposure to PCB 126 (1000 ng/kg/day) for 53 wks significantly increased 8-oxo-dG, 1,N(6)-εdA, AcrdG, and M1dG. Exposure to PCB 153 (1000 µg/kg/day) for 53 wks increased 8-oxo-dG, and 1,N(6)-εdA. Exposure to the binary mixture for 53 wks increased 8-oxo-dG, 1,N(6)-εdA, AcrdG, 1,N(2)-εdG, and N(2),3-εG significantly above control groups. Increased hepatic oxidative DNA adducts following exposure to PCB 126, PCB 153, or the binary mixture shows that an increase in DNA damage may play an important role in hepatic toxicity and carcinogenesis in female Sprague-Dawley rats.

The bottom-up approach to bounding potential low-dose cancer risks from formaldehyde: An update.

In 2013, we proposed a novel bottom-up approach to bounding low-dose cancer risks that may result from small exogenous exposures to chemicals that are always present in the body as a result of normal biological processes. The approach utilizes the background cancer risk and the background (endogenous) concentration of a cancer-related exposure biomarker in specific target tissues. After allowing for statistical uncertainty in these two parameters, the ratio of the background risk to background exposure provides a conservative slope factor estimate that can be utilized to bound the added risk that may be associated with incremental exogenous exposures. Our original bottom-up estimates were markedly smaller than those obtained previously by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) with a conventional top-down approach to modeling nasopharyngeal cancer and leukemia mortality data from a US worker cohort. Herein we provide updated bottom-up estimates of risk for these two cancers that are smaller still, and rely upon more robust estimates of endogenous and exogenous formaldehyde-DNA adducts in monkeys and a more robust estimate of the DNA adduct elimination half-life in rats, both obtained very recently. We also re-examine the worker mortality data used by USEPA in developing its estimate of human leukemia incidence from lifetime exposure to 1 ppm airborne formaldehyde. Finally, we compare a new bottom-up slope estimate of the risk of rat nasal cancer with conventional top-down estimates obtained with empirical dose-response modeling of rat nasal cancer bioassay data.

Incorporation of metabolic activation potentiates cyclophosphamide-induced DNA damage response in isogenic DT40 mutant cells.

Elucidating the DNA repair pathways that are activated in the presence of genotoxic agents is critical to understand their modes of action. Although the DT40 cell-based DNA damage response (DDR) assay provides rapid and sensitive results, the assay cannot be used on genotoxic compounds that require metabolic activation to be reactive. Here, we applied the metabolic activation system to a DDR and micronucleus (MN) assays in DT40 cells. Cyclophosphamide (CP), a well-known cross-linking agent requiring metabolic activation, was preincubated with liver S9 fractions. When DT40 cells and mutant cells were exposed to the preactivated CP, CP caused increased cytotoxicity in FANC-, RAD9-, REV3- and RAD18-mutant cells compared to isogenic wild-type cells. We then performed a MN assay on DT40 cells treated with preactivated CP. An increase in the MN was observed in REV3- and FANC-mutant cells at lower concentrations of activated CP than in the parental DT40 cells. These results demonstrated that the incorporation of metabolic preactivation system using S9 fractions significantly potentiates DDR caused by CP in DT40 cells and their mutants. In addition, our data suggest that the metabolic preactivation system for DDR and MN assays has a potential to increase the relevance of this assay to screening various compounds for potential genotoxicity.

Bis-butanediol-mercapturic acid (bis-BDMA) as a urinary biomarker of metabolic activation of butadiene to its ultimate carcinogenic species.

Human carcinogen 1,3-butadiene (BD) undergoes metabolic activation to 3,4-epoxy-1-butene (EB), hydroxymethylvinyl ketone (HMVK), 3,4-epoxy-1,2-butanediol (EBD) and 1,2,3,4-diepoxybutane (DEB). Among these, DEB is by far the most genotoxic metabolite and is considered the ultimate carcinogenic species of BD. We have shown previously that BD-exposed laboratory mice form 8- to 10-fold more DEB-DNA adducts than rats exposed at the same conditions, which may be responsible for the enhanced sensitivity of mice to BD-mediated cancer. In the present study, we have identified 1,4-bis-(N-acetyl-L-cystein-S-yl)butane-2,3-diol (bis-BDMA) as a novel DEB-specific urinary biomarker. Isotope dilution high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry was employed to quantify bis-BDMA and three other BD-mercapturic acids, 2-(N-acetyl-L-cystein-S-yl)-1-hydroxybut-3-ene/1-(N-acetyl-L-cystein-S-yl)-2-hydroxy-but-3-ene (MHBMA, from EB), 4-(N-acetyl-L-cystein-S-yl)-1,2-dihydroxybutane (DHBMA, from HMVK) and 4-(N-acetyl-L-cystein-S-yl)-1,2,3-trihydroxybutane (THBMA, from EBD), in urine of confirmed smokers, occupationally exposed workers and BD-exposed laboratory rats. Bis-BDMA was formed in a dose-dependent manner in urine of rats exposed to 0-200 p.p.m. BD by inhalation, although it was a minor metabolite (1%) as compared with DHBMA (47%) and THBMA (37%). In humans, DHBMA was the most abundant BD-mercapturic acid excreted (93%), followed by THBMA (5%) and MHBMA (2%), whereas no bis-BDMA was detected. These results reveal significant differences in metabolism of BD between rats and humans.

Molecular dosimetry of endogenous and exogenous O(6)-methyl-dG and N7-methyl-G adducts following low dose [D3]-methylnitrosourea exposures in cultured human cells.

For DNA-reactive chemicals, a low dose linear assessment of cancer risk is the science policy default. In the present study, we quantitated the endogenous and exogenous N7-methyl-G and O(6)-methyl-dG adducts in human lymphoblastoid cells exposed to low dose [D3]-methylnitrosourea. Endogenous amounts of both adducts remained nearly constant, while the exogenous adducts showed linear dose-responses. The data show that O(6)-methyl-dG adducts ≥1.8/10(8) dG correlated with published studies that demonstrated significant increases of mutations under these conditions. The combined results do not support linear extrapolations to zero when data are available for science-based regulations.

Gut microbiome phenotypes driven by host genetics affect arsenic metabolism.

Large individual differences in susceptibility to arsenic-induced diseases are well-documented and frequently associated with different patterns of arsenic metabolism. In this context, the role of the gut microbiome in directly metabolizing arsenic and triggering systemic responses in diverse organs raises the possibility that gut microbiome phenotypes affect the spectrum of metabolized arsenic species. However, it remains unclear how host genetics and the gut microbiome interact to affect the biotransformation of arsenic. Using an integrated approach combining 16S rRNA gene sequencing and HPLC-ICP-MS arsenic speciation, we demonstrate that IL-10 gene knockout leads to a significant taxonomic change of the gut microbiome, which in turn substantially affects arsenic metabolism.

An organizational approach for the assessment of DNA adduct data in risk assessment: case studies for aflatoxin B1, tamoxifen and vinyl chloride.

The framework analysis previously presented for using DNA adduct information in the risk assessment of chemical carcinogens was applied in a series of case studies which place the adduct information into context with the key events in carcinogenesis to determine whether they could be used to support a mutagenic mode of action (MOA) for the examined chemicals. Three data-rich chemicals, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), tamoxifen (Tam) and vinyl chloride (VCl) were selected for this exercise. These chemicals were selected because they are known human carcinogens and have different characteristics: AFB1 forms a unique adduct and human exposure is through contaminated foods; Tam is a pharmaceutical given to women so that the dose and duration of exposure are known, forms unique adducts in rodents, and has both estrogenic and genotoxic properties; and VCl, to which there is industrial exposure, forms a number of adducts that are identical to endogenous adducts found in unexposed people. All three chemicals produce liver tumors in rats. AFB1 and VCl also produce liver tumors in humans, but Tam induces human uterine tumors, only. To support a mutagenic MOA, the chemical-induced adducts must be characterized, shown to be pro-mutagenic, be present in the tumor target tissue, and produce mutations of the class found in the tumor. The adducts formed by AFB1 and VCl support a mutagenic MOA for their carcinogenicity. However, the data available for Tam shows a mutagenic MOA for liver tumors in rats, but its carcinogenicity in humans is most likely via a different MOA.

Dosimetry of N6-formyllysine adducts following [¹³C²H2]-formaldehyde exposures in rats.

With formaldehyde as the major source of endogenous N6-formyllysine protein adducts, we quantified endogenous and exogenous N6-formyllysine in the nasal epithelium of rats exposed by inhalation to 0.7, 2, 5.8, and 9.1 ppm [¹³C²H2]-formaldehyde using liquid chromatography-coupled tandem mass spectrometry. Exogenous N6-formyllysine was detected in the nasal epithelium, with concentration-dependent formation in total as well as fractionated (cytoplasmic, membrane, nuclear) proteins, but was not detected in the lung, liver, or bone marrow. Endogenous adducts dominated at all exposure conditions, with a 6 h 9.1 ppm formaldehyde exposure resulting in one-third of the total load of N6-formyllysine being derived from exogenous sources. The results parallel previous studies of formaldehyde-induced DNA adducts.

Gut microbiome perturbations induced by bacterial infection affect arsenic biotransformation.

Exposure to arsenic affects large human populations worldwide and has been associated with a long list of human diseases, including skin, bladder, lung, and liver cancers, diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders. In addition, there are large individual differences in susceptibility to arsenic-induced diseases, which are frequently associated with different patterns of arsenic metabolism. Several underlying mechanisms, such as genetic polymorphisms and epigenetics, have been proposed, as these factors closely impact the individuals' capacity to metabolize arsenic. In this context, the role of the gut microbiome in directly metabolizing arsenic and triggering systemic responses in diverse organs raises the possibility that perturbations of the gut microbial communities affect the spectrum of metabolized arsenic species and subsequent toxicological effects. In this study, we used an animal model with an altered gut microbiome induced by bacterial infection, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry-based arsenic speciation to examine the effect of gut microbiome perturbations on the biotransformation of arsenic. Metagenomics sequencing revealed that bacterial infection significantly perturbed the gut microbiome composition in C57BL/6 mice, which in turn resulted in altered spectra of arsenic metabolites in urine, with inorganic arsenic species and methylated and thiolated arsenic being perturbed. These data clearly illustrated that gut microbiome phenotypes significantly affected arsenic metabolic reactions, including reduction, methylation, and thiolation. These findings improve our understanding of how infectious diseases and environmental exposure interact and may also provide novel insight regarding the gut microbiome composition as a new risk factor of individual susceptibility to environmental chemicals.