Structure of a (Cys3His) zinc ribbon, a ubiquitous motif in archaeal and eucaryal transcription.

Transcription factor IIB (TFIIB) is an essential component in the formation of the transcription initiation complex in eucaryal and archaeal transcription. TFIIB interacts with a promoter complex containing the TATA-binding protein (TBP) to facilitate interaction with RNA polymerase II (RNA pol II) and the associated transcription factor IIF (TFIIF). TFIIB contains a zinc-binding motif near the N-terminus that is directly involved in the interaction with RNA pol II/TFIIF and plays a crucial role in selecting the transcription initiation site. The solution structure of the N-terminal residues 2-59 of human TFIIB was determined by multidimensional NMR spectroscopy. The structure consists of a nearly tetrahedral Zn(Cys)3(His)1 site confined by type I and "rubredoxin" turns, three antiparallel beta-strands, and disordered loops. The structure is similar to the reported zinc-ribbon motifs in several transcription-related proteins from archaea and eucarya, including Pyrococcus furiosus transcription factor B (PfTFB), human and yeast transcription factor IIS (TFIIS), and Thermococcus celer RNA polymerase II subunit M (TcRPOM). The zinc-ribbon structure of TFIIB, in conjunction with the biochemical analyses, suggests that residues on the beta-sheet are involved in the interaction with RNA pol II/TFIIF, while the zinc-binding site may increase the stability of the beta-sheet.

Inactivation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase by a reactive metabolite of acetaminophen and mass spectral characterization of an arylated active site peptide.

Acetaminophen (4'-hydroxyacetanilide, APAP) is a widely used analgesic and antipyretic drug that can cause hepatic necrosis under some circumstances via cytochrome P450-mediated oxidation to a reactive metabolite, N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI). Although the mechanism of hepatocellular injury caused by APAP is not fully understood, it is known that NAPQI forms covalent adducts with several hepatocellular proteins. Reported here is the identification of one of these proteins as glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase [GAPDH, D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate: NAD+ oxidoreductase (phosphorylating), EC 1.2.1.12]. Two hours after the administration of hepatotoxic doses of [14C]APAP to mice, at a time prior to overt cell damage, hepatocellular GAPDH activity was significantly decreased concurrent with the formation of a 14C-labeled GAPDH adduct. A nonhepatotoxic regioisomer of APAP, 3'-hydroxyacetanilide (AMAP), was found to decrease GAPDH activity to a lesser extent than APAP, and radiolabel from [14C]AMAP bound to a lesser extent to GAPDH at a time when its overall binding to hepatocellular proteins was almost equivalent to that of APAP. In order to determine the nature of the covalent adduct between GAPDH and APAP, its major reactive and toxic metabolite, NAPQI, was incubated with purified porcine muscle GAPDH. Microsequencing analysis and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB-MS) with collision-induced dissociation (CID) were used to characterize one of the adducts as APAP bound to the cysteinyl sulfhydryl group of Cys-149 in the active site peptide of GAPDH.

The oligomerization domain of p53: crystal structure of the trigonal form.

The structure of the oligomerization domain of the p53 tumor suppressor protein was determined in the trigonal crystal form, using a refined NMR structure as a model. A synthetic peptide comprising residues 319-360 of human p53 crystallized in the space group P3(1)21. There is one biologically relevant tetrameric domain in the crystallographic asymmetric unit. The structure was refined jointly with NMR data, only the third such case (the previous examples being IL-1beta (Shaanan, B., Gronenborn, A.M., Cohen, G.H., Gilliland, G.L., Veerapandian, B., Davies, D.R. and Clore, G.M. (1992) Science 257, 961-964 [1]) and BPTI (Schiffer, C., Huber, R., Wuthrich, K. and Van Gunsteren, W.F. (1994) J. Mol. Biol. 241, 588-599 [21)), to 2.5 A resolution with an R factor of 0.207. The distribution of tumor-derived mutations in the oligomerization region together with structural and biological data suggest a strategy for the design of antitumor therapeutics.

A palindromic regulatory site within vertebrate GATA-1 promoters requires both zinc fingers of the GATA-1 DNA-binding domain for high-affinity interaction.

GATA-1, a transcription factor essential for the development of the erythroid lineage, contains two adjacent highly conserved zinc finger motifs. The carboxy-terminal finger is necessary and sufficient for specific binding to the consensus GATA recognition sequence: mutant proteins containing only the amino-terminal finger do not bind. Here we identify a DNA sequence (GATApal) for which the GATA-1 amino-terminal finger makes a critical contribution to the strength of binding. The site occurs in the GATA-1 gene promoters of chickens, mice, and humans but occurs very infrequently in other vertebrate genes known to be regulated by GATA proteins. GATApal is a palindromic site composed of one complete [(A/T)GATA(A/G)] and one partial (GAT) canonical motif. Deletion of the partial motif changes the site to a normal GATA site and also reduces by as much as eightfold the activity of the GATA-1 promoter in an erythroid precursor cell. We propose that GATApal is important for positive regulation of GATA-1 expression in erythroid cells.

Low affinity binding of phorbol esters to protein kinase C and its recombinant cysteine-rich region in the absence of phospholipids.

Binding of phorbol esters to protein kinase C (PKC) has been regarded as dependent on phospholipids, with phosphatidylserine being the most effective for reconstituting binding. By using a purified single cysteine-rich region from PKC delta expressed in Escherichia coli we were able to demonstrate that specific binding of [3H]phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate to the receptor still takes place in the absence of the phospholipid cofactor. However, [3H]phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate bound to the cysteine-rich region with 80-fold lower affinity in the absence than in the presence of 100 micrograms/ml phosphatidylserine. Similar results were observed with the intact recombinant PKC delta isolated from insect cells. When different phorbol derivatives were examined, distinct structure-activity relations for the cysteine-rich region were found in the presence and absence of phospholipid. Our results have potential implications for PKC translocation, for inhibitor design, and for PKC structural determination.

Backbone dynamics of the oligomerization domain of p53 determined from 15N NMR relaxation measurements.

The backbone dynamics of the tetrameric p53 oligomerization domain (residues 319-360) have been investigated by two-dimensional inverse detected heteronuclear 1H-15N NMR spectroscopy at 500 and 600 MHz. 15N T1, T2, and heteronuclear NOEs were measured for 39 of 40 non-proline backbone NH vectors at both field strengths. The overall correlation time for the tetramer, calculated from the T1/T2 ratios, was found to be 14.8 ns at 35 degrees C. The correlation times and amplitudes of the internal motions were extracted from the relaxation data using the model-free formalism (Lipari G, Szabo A, 1982, J Am Chem Soc 104:4546-4559). The internal dynamics of the structural core of the p53 oligomerization domain are uniform and fairly rigid, with residues 327-354 exhibiting an average generalized order parameter (S2) of 0.88 +/- 0.08. The N- and C-termini exhibit substantial mobility and are unstructured in the solution structure of p53. Residues located at the N- and C-termini, in the beta-sheet, in the turn between the alpha-helix and beta-sheet, and at the C-terminal end of the alpha-helix display two distinct internal motions that are faster than the overall correlation time. Fast internal motions (< or = 20 ps) are within the extreme narrowing limit and are of uniform amplitude. The slower motions (0.6-2.2 ns) are outside the extreme narrowing limit and vary in amplitude.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Refined solution structure of the oligomerization domain of the tumour suppressor p53.

The NMR solution structure of the oligomerization domain of the tumour suppressor p53 (residues 319-360) has been refined. The structure comprises a dimer of dimers, oriented in an approximately orthogonal manner. The present structure determination is based on 4,472 experimental NMR restraints which represents a three and half fold increase over our previous work in the number of NOE restraints at the tetramerization interface. A comparison with the recently solved 1.7 A resolution X-ray structure shows that the structures are very similar and that the average angular root-mean-square difference in the interhelical angles is about 1 degree. The results of recent extensive mutagenesis data and the possible effects of mutations which have been identified in human cancers are discussed in the light of the present structure.

High-resolution structure of the oligomerization domain of p53 by multidimensional NMR.

The three-dimensional structure of the oligomerization domain (residues 319 to 360) of the tumor suppressor p53 has been solved by multidimensional heteronuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The domain forms a 20-kilodalton symmetric tetramer with a topology made up from a dimer of dimers. The two primary dimers each comprise two antiparallel helices linked by an antiparallel beta sheet. One beta strand and one helix are contributed from each monomer. The interface between the two dimers forming the tetramer is mediated solely by helix-helix contacts. The overall result is a symmetric, four-helix bundle with adjacent helices oriented antiparallel to each other and with the two antiparallel beta sheets located on opposing faces of the molecule. The tetramer is stabilized not only by hydrophobic interactions within the protein core but also by a number of electrostatic interactions. The implications of the structure of the tetramer for the biological function of p53 are discussed.

NMR structure of a specific DNA complex of Zn-containing DNA binding domain of GATA-1.

The three-dimensional solution structure of a complex between the DNA binding domain of the chicken erythroid transcription factor GATA-1 and its cognate DNA site has been determined with multidimensional heteronuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The DNA binding domain consists of a core which contains a zinc coordinated by four cysteines and a carboxyl-terminal tail. The core is composed of two irregular antiparallel beta sheets and an alpha helix, followed by a long loop that leads into the carboxyl-terminal tail. The amino-terminal part of the core, including the helix, is similar in structure, although not in sequence, to the amino-terminal zinc module of the glucocorticoid receptor DNA binding domain. In the other regions, the structures of these two DNA binding domains are entirely different. The DNA target site in contact with the protein spans eight base pairs. The helix and the loop connecting the two antiparallel beta sheets interact with the major groove of the DNA. The carboxyl-terminal tail, which is an essential determinant of specific binding, wraps around into the minor groove. The complex resembles a hand holding a rope with the palm and fingers representing the protein core and the thumb, the carboxyl-terminal tail. The specific interactions between GATA-1 and DNA in the major groove are mainly hydrophobic in nature, which accounts for the preponderance of thymines in the target site. A large number of interactions are observed with the phosphate backbone.

Identification of a binding site for the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 nucleocapsid protein.

The nucleocapsid (NC) protein NCp7 of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is important for encapsidation of the virus genome, RNA dimerization, and primer tRNA annealing in vitro. Here we present evidence from gel mobility-shift experiments indicating that NCp7 binds specifically to an RNA sequence. Two complexes were identified in native gels. The more slowly migrating complex contained two RNA molecules and one peptide, while the more rapidly migrating one is composed of one RNA and one peptide. Further, mutational analysis of the RNA shows that the predicted stem and loop structure of stem-loop 1 plays a critical role. Our results show that NCp7 binds to a unique RNA structure within the psi region; in addition, this structure is necessary for RNA dimerization. We propose that NCp7 binds to the RNA via a direct interaction of one zinc-binding motif to stem-loop 1 followed by binding of the other zinc-binding motif to stem-loop 1, stem-loop 2, or the linker region of the second RNA molecule, forming a bridge between the two RNAs.

A small single-"finger" peptide from the erythroid transcription factor GATA-1 binds specifically to DNA as a zinc or iron complex.

Sequence-specific DNA binding has been demonstrated for a synthetic peptide comprising only one of the two "finger"-like domains of the erythroid transcription factor GATA-1 (also termed Eryf-1, NF-E1, or GF-1). Quantitative analysis of gel-retardation assays yields a specific association constant of 1.2 x 10(8) M, compared with values of about 10(9) M for the full-length natural GATA-1 protein. By the use of peptides of various lengths, it was possible to delineate the smallest region necessary for specific binding. A single C-terminal finger of the double-finger motif is necessary but not sufficient for sequence-specific interaction. Basic amino acids located C-terminal to the finger (some more than 20 amino acids away) are also essential for tight binding. In addition to demonstrating that zinc is important for the formation of an active binding complex, we show that other ions, notably Fe2+, can fulfill this role. Our results make it clear that the GATA-1 metal binding motif is quite distinct from that found in the steroid hormone family and that GATA-1 is a member of a separate class of DNA binding proteins.

Three-dimensional solution structure of the E3-binding domain of the dihydrolipoamide succinyltransferase core from the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Escherichia coli.

The three-dimensional solution structure of a 51-residue synthetic peptide comprising the dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (E3)-binding domain of the dihydrolipoamide succinyltransferase (E2) core of the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Escherichia coli has been determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and hybrid distance geometry-dynamical simulated annealing calculations. The structure is based on 630 approximate interproton distance and 101 torsion angle (phi, psi, chi 1) restraints. A total of 56 simulated annealing structures were calculated, and the atomic rms distribution about the mean coordinate positions for residues 12-48 of the synthetic peptide is 1.24 A for the backbone atoms, 1.68 A for all atoms, and 1.33 A for all atoms excluding the six side chains which are disordered at chi 1 and the seven which are disordered at chi 2; when the irregular partially disordered loop from residues 31 to 39 is excluded, the rms distribution drops to 0.77 A for the backbone atoms, 1.55 A for all atoms, and 0.89 A for ordered side chains. Although proton resonance assignments for the N-terminal 11 residues and the C-terminal 3 residues were obtained, these two segments of the polypeptide are disordered in solution as evidenced by the absence of nonsequential nuclear Overhauser effects. The solution structure of the E3-binding domain consists of two parallel helices (residues 14-23 and 40-48), a short extended strand (24-26), a five-residue helical-like turn, and an irregular (and more disordered) loop (residues 31-39). This report presents the first structure of an E3-binding domain from a 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase complex.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

High-resolution solution structure of the double Cys2His2 zinc finger from the human enhancer binding protein MBP-1.

The high-resolution three-dimensional structure of a synthetic 57-residue peptide comprising the double zinc finger of the human enhancer binding protein MBP-1 has been determined in solution by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy on the basis of 1280 experimental restraints. A total of 30 simulated annealing structures were calculated. The backbone atomic root-mean-square distributions about the mean coordinate positions are 0.32 and 0.33 A for the N- and C-terminal fingers, respectively, and the corresponding values for all atoms, excluding disordered surface side chains, are 0.36 and 0.40 A. Each finger comprises an irregular antiparallel sheet and a helix, with the zinc tetrahedrally coordinated to two cysteines and two histidines. The overall structure is nonglobular in nature, and the angle between the long axes of the helices is 47 +/- 5 degrees. The long axis of the antiparallel sheet in the N-terminal finger is approximately parallel to that of the helix in the C-terminal finger. Comparison of this structure with the X-ray structure of the Zif-268 triple finger complexed with DNA indicates that the relative orientation of the individual zinc fingers is clearly distinct in the two cases. This difference can be attributed to the presence of a long Lys side chain in the C-terminal finger of MBP-1 at position 40, instead of a short Ala or Ser side chain at the equivalent position in Zif-268. This finding suggests that different contacts may be involved in the binding of the zinc fingers of MBP-1 and Zif-268 to DNA, consistent with the findings from methylation interference experiments that the two fingers of MBP-1 contact 10 base pairs, while the three fingers of Zif-268 contact only 9 base pairs.

Structural characterization of a 39-residue synthetic peptide containing the two zinc binding domains from the HIV-1 p7 nucleocapsid protein by CD and NMR spectroscopy.

A 39-residue peptide (p7-DF) containing the two zinc binding domains of the p7 nucleocapsid protein was prepared by solid-phase peptide synthesis. The solution structure of the peptide was characterized using circular dichroic and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in both the presence and absence of zinc ions. Circular dichroic spectroscopy indicates that the peptide exhibits a random coil conformation in the absence of zinc but appears to form an ordered structure in the presence of zinc. Two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy indicates that the two zinc binding domains within the peptide form stable, but independent, units upon the addition of 2 equivalents of ZnCl2 per equivalent of peptide. Structure calculations on the basis of nuclear Overhauser (NOE) data indicate that the two zinc binding domains have the same polypeptide fold within the errors of the coordinates (approximately 0.5 A for the backbone atoms, the zinc atoms and the coordinating cysteine and histidine ligands). The linker region (Arg17-Gly23) is characterized by a very limited number of sequential NOEs and the absence of any non-sequential NOEs suggest that this region of polypeptide chain is highly flexible. The latter coupled with the occurrence of a large number of basic residues (four out of seven) in the linker region suggests that it may serve to allow adaptable positioning of the nucleic acid recognition sequences within the protein.

Specific DNA binding to a major histocompatibility complex enhancer sequence by a synthetic 57-residue double zinc finger peptide from a human enhancer binding protein.

Two 57-residue peptides containing one pair of "zinc fingers" from a human enhancer binding protein were prepared by solid-phase peptide synthesis. One peptide (MBP-DF) contained the native sequence, while the second peptide ([Abu11]MBP-DF) has an alpha-aminobutyric acid residue substituted for a nonconserved cysteine residue at position 11. The peptides were characterized by several chemical and physical methods, and their DNA binding properties were evaluated using gel retardation experiments. Spectroscopic studies demonstrated that addition of metal ions such as zinc and cobalt resulted in specific conformational changes in both peptides, indicating that cysteine-11 does not appear to be involved in metal chelation. One-dimensional 1H NMR studies indicate that a stable folded structure is formed upon addition of zinc, and the chemical shift pattern is consistent with that previously observed for one constituent single finger (Omichinski, J., Clore, G. M., Appella, E., Sakaguchi, K., and Gronenborn, A. M. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 9324-9334). Gel retardation experiments demonstrate that the peptides are capable of interacting with a 15-mer oligonucleotide comprising a portion of the major histocompatibility complex enhancer sequence and that the interaction is zinc-dependent. The dissociation constant for the [Abu11]MBP-DF peptide is 1.4 x 10(-7) M with maximal binding occurring at a zinc-to-peptide ratio of 2 to 1. The binding specificity observed with respect to related enhancer sequences exhibits the same relative order as noted previously for the whole protein. Studies with point mutants of the major histocompatibility complex enhancer binding sequence indicate that the last GC base pair in a four-guanine stretch plays a pivotal role in the interaction between the peptide and DNA.

Sequence-specific DNA binding by glucocorticoid receptor "zinc finger peptides".

Steroid hormone receptors can activate or repress transcription from responsive loci by binding to DNA. We have examined the mechanism of DNA binding by individually synthesizing the putative "zinc finger peptides" from the rat glucocorticoid receptor. Atomic absorption studies show that the peptides will bind zinc on an equimolar basis, and circular dichroism experiments demonstrate a significant alteration in secondary structure in the presence of zinc. The results from a series of experiments establish that metal ion is required for binding to DNA and that the amino-terminal zinc finger shows a significantly greater affinity for glucocorticoid response element-containing DNA over control DNA. These observations indicate that a single synthetic "zinc finger peptide" is able to bind to DNA in a sequence-specific manner.

High-resolution three-dimensional structure of a single zinc finger from a human enhancer binding protein in solution.

The three-dimensional structure of a 30-residue synthetic peptide containing the carboxy-terminal "zinc finger" motif of a human enhancer binding protein has been determined by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2D NMR) spectroscopy and hybrid distance geometry-dynamical simulated annealing calculations. The structure determination is based on 487 approximate interproton distance and 63 torsion angle (phi, psi, and chi 1) restraints. A total of 40 simulated annealing structures were calculated, and the atomic rms distribution about the mean coordinate positions (excluding residues 29 and 30 which are ill-defined) is 0.4 A for the backbone atoms, 0.8 A for all atoms, and 0.41 A for all atoms excluding the lysine and arginine side chains, which are disordered. The solution structure of the zinc finger consists of two irregular antiparallel beta-strands connected by an atypical turn (residues 3-12) and a classical alpha-helix (residues 14-24). The zinc is tetrahedrally coordinated to the sulfur atoms of two cysteines (Cys-5 and Cys-8) and to the N epsilon 2 atoms of two histidines (His-21 and His-27). The two cysteine residues are located in the turn connecting the two beta-strands (residues 5-8); one of the histidine ligands (His-21) is in the alpha-helix, while the second histidine (His-27) is at the end of a looplike structure (formed by the end of the alpha-helix and a turn). The general architecture is qualitatively similar to two previously determined low-resolution Cys2-His2 zinc finger structures, although distinct differences can be observed in the beta-strands and turn and in the region around the two histidines coordinated to zinc. Comparison of the overall polypeptide fold of the enhancer binding protein zinc finger with known structures in the crystallographic data base reveals a striking similarity to one region (residues 23-44) of the X-ray structure of proteinase inhibitor domain III of Japanese quail ovomucoid [Papamokos, E., Weber, E., Bode, W., Huber, R., Empie, M. W., Kato, I., & Laskowski, M. (1982) J. Mol. Biol. 158, 515-537], which could be superimposed with a backbone atomic rms difference of 0.95 A on residues 3-25 (excluding residue 6) of the zinc finger from the enhancer binding protein. The presence of structural homology between two proteins of very different function may indicate that the so-called zinc finger motif is not unique for a class of DNA binding proteins but may represent a general folding motif found in a variety of proteins irrespective of their function.

Species differences in kidney necrosis and DNA damage, distribution and glutathione-dependent metabolism of 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP).

Species differences and mechanisms of 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) nephrotoxicity were investigated by studying DBCP renal necrosis and DNA damage, distribution and glutathione-dependent metabolism in rats, mice, hamsters and guinea pigs. Extensive renal tubular necrosis was observed in rats 48 hr after a single intraperitoneal administration (21-170 mumol/kg) of DBCP. Significantly less necrosis was found in mice and guinea pigs, whereas no renal damage was evident (less than 680 mumol/kg) in hamsters. The activation of DBCP to DNA damaging intermediates in vivo, as measured by alkaline elution of DNA isolated from kidney nuclei 60 min. after intraperitoneal injection of DBCP, was compared in all four species. Distinct DNA damage was detected in rats, mice and hamsters as early as 10 min. after administration of DBCP and within 30 min. in guinea pigs. Rats and guinea pigs showed similar sensitivity towards DBCP-induced DNA damage (extensive DNA damage greater than 21 mumol/kg DBCP), whereas in mice and hamsters a 10-50 times higher DBCP dose was needed to cause a similar degree of DNA damage. Renal DBCP concentrations at various time-points (20 min., 1, 3 and 8 hr) after intraperitoneal administration (85 mumol/kg) revealed that the initial (20 min.) DBCP concentration was substantially higher in rats and guinea pigs compared to the other two species. Furthermore, kidney elimination of DBCP occurred at a significantly lower rate in rats than in mice, hamsters and guinea pigs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Species differences in testicular necrosis and DNA damage, distribution and metabolism of 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP).

The human testicular toxicant 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) was studied for the same end-point in 4 different species of laboratory animals. Marked necrosis and atrophy of the seminiferous epithelium were observed in rats and guinea pigs 10 days after a single i.p. administration of DBCP (170-340 mumol/kg), whereas significantly less damage was observed in hamsters and mice. The testicular concentrations of DBCP measured at various time-points after the i.p. injection of DBCP indicated that factors in addition to tissue concentration were of importance for the observed species differences in sensitivity towards DBCP-induced testicular damage. Also, there did not seem to be any direct correlation between DBCP-induced in vivo testicular toxicity and in vitro GSH-dependent dehalogenation, inasmuch as the rate of bromide release from DBCP with hamster testicular cytosol was as fast as that with rat cytosol. Testicular DNA damage, as determined by alkaline elution 60 min after in vivo administration of 170 mumol/kg DBCP, was observed only in rats and guinea pigs. Thus, induction of DNA damage correlates with the relative susceptibilities of the species towards DBCP-induced testicular necrosis. To further study species differences in testicular activation of DBCP to DNA-damaging intermediate(s), cells isolated from the testes of the 4 species were incubated with DBCP. Testicular cells from rats and guinea pigs were the only preparations developing substantial DNA damage after 60 min incubation with low concentrations of DBCP (5-50 microM). The findings indicate that rats are sensitive towards DBCP-induced testicular necrosis because rat testicular cells easily activate DBCP to a DNA-damaging intermediate(s). The relative high testicular DBCP concentration as well as the ability to activate DBCP may explain the sensitivity of guinea pigs towards DBCP-induced testicular toxicity.