Carbonyl reductase inactivation may contribute to mouse lung tumor promotion by electrophilic metabolites of butylated hydroxytoluene: protein alkylation in vivo and in vitro.

Promotion of lung tumors in mice by the food additive butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) is mediated by electrophilic metabolites produced in the target organ. Identifying the proteins alkylated by these quinone methides (QMs) is a necessary step in understanding the underlying mechanisms. Covalent adducts of the antioxidant enzymes peroxiredoxin 6 and Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase were detected previously in lung cytosols from BALB/c mice injected with BHT, and complimentary in vitro studies demonstrated that QM alkylation causes inactivation and enhances oxidative stress. In the present work, adducts of another protective enzyme, carbonyl reductase (CBR), were detected by Western blotting and mass spectrometry in mitochondria from lungs of mice one day after a single injection of BHT and throughout a 28-day period of weekly injections required to achieve tumor promotion. BHT treatment was accompanied by the accumulation of protein carbonyls in lung cytosol from sustained oxidative stress. Studies in vitro demonstrated that CBR activity in lung homogenates was susceptible to concentration- and time-dependent inhibition by QMs. Recombinant CBR underwent irreversible inhibition during QM exposure, and mass spectrometry was utilized to identify alkylation sites at Cys 51, Lys 17, Lys 189, Lys 201, His 28, and His 204. Except for Lys 17, all of these adducts were eliminated as a cause of enzyme inhibition either by chemical modification (cysteine) or site-directed mutagenesis (lysines and histidines). The data demonstrated that Lys 17 is the critical alkylation target, consistent with the role of this basic residue in NADPH binding. These data support the possibility that CBR inhibition occurs in BHT-treated mice, thereby compromising one pathway for inactivating lipid peroxidation products, particularly 4-oxo-2-nonenal. These data, in concert with previous evidence for the inactivation of antioxidant enzymes, provide a molecular basis to explain lung inflammation leading to tumor promotion in this two-stage model for pulmonary carcinogenesis.

Discovery of antiglioma activity of biaryl 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives and conformationally flexible analogues.

Cultured rat astrocytes and C6 rat glioma were used as a differential screen for a variety of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (THI) derivatives. Compound 1 [1-(biphenyl-4-ylmethyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-6,7-diol hydrochloride] selectively blocked the growth of C6 glioma leaving normal astrocytes relatively unaffected. The potential for clinical utility of 1 was further substantiated in human gliomas and other tumor cell lines. Preliminary SAR of this activity was characterized by synthesis and testing of several THI and conformationally flexible variants.

In vitro and in silico characterization of peroxiredoxin 6 modified by 4-hydroxynonenal and 4-oxononenal.

Peroxiredoxin 6 (PRX6) belongs to the 1-Cys class of peroxiredoxins and is recognized as an important antioxidant protein in tissues such as cardiac muscle, skin, and lung. Preliminary in vivo proteomic data have revealed that PRX6 is adducted by 4-hydroxynonenal (4HNE) in the livers of rats chronically fed an ethanol-containing diet. The goals of this study were to evaluate the in vitro effect of aldehyde adduction on PRX6 peroxidase activity, identify specific sites of aldehyde modification using mass spectrometry, and predict conformational changes due to adduction using molecular modeling. PRX6 was found to be resistant to inactivation via aldehyde modification; however, Western blots of adducted protein revealed that both 4HNE and 4-oxononenal (4ONE) caused extensive cross-linking, resulting in high molecular mass species. Tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-LC-MS/MS) analysis demonstrated multiple sites of modification, but adduction of the active site Cys47 was not observed. Molecular modeling simulations indicated that adduction at Cys91 results in a change in protein active site conformation, which potentially restricts access of 4-HNE to Cys47. The Cys91-Lys209 cross-linked adducts could provide the conformational changes required to inactivate the protein by either restricting access to electrophiles or preventing important amino acid interactions within the catalytic triad.

Effects, in an in-vivo model system, of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline on glioma.

The effects of 1-(biphenyl-4-ylmethyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-6,7-diol (EDL-155) on the growth of glioma was tested in vitro and in vivo. Normal cultured rat astrocytes and C6 rat glioma were used as a differential screen to test the effects of EDL-155. The compound was preferentially cytotoxic for C6 glioma (EC50=1.5 micromol/l) relative to cultured neonatal astrocytes (EC50=27.4 micromol/l). When compared with a standard chemotherapeutic agent, carmustine (1,3-bis[2-chloroethyl]-1-nitrosourea), or temozolomide, EDL-155 was more selective and more potent in our differential tissue culture assay. The effect of EDL-155 was also tested in an animal model in which C6 glioma was transplanted into the brains of Sprague-Dawley rats. EDL-155 was delivered directly onto the tumor by an osmotic minipump directly into the brain or by intraperitoneal injection. Animals treated with EDL-155 had significantly smaller tumors than did control animals treated with carrier solution. We observed anatomical changes in cultured glioma cells treated with EDL-155 that were consistent with selective destruction of mitochondria and the induction of autophagy. These changes were not observed in normal astrocytes cultured from rat pups. The selective killing of glioma in tissue culture and in the rat brain models indicates that EDL-155 has potential therapeutic value in treating this type of brain cancer.

Mechanistic basis for inflammation and tumor promotion in lungs of 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol-treated mice: electrophilic metabolites alkylate and inactivate antioxidant enzymes.

An established model for mechanistic analysis of lung carcinogenesis involves administration of 3-methylcholanthrene to mice followed by several weekly injections of the tumor promoter 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (BHT). BHT is metabolized to quinone methides (QMs) responsible for promoting tumor formation. QMs are strongly electrophilic and readily form adducts with proteins. The goal of the present study was to identify adducted proteins in the lungs of mice injected with BHT and to assess the potential impact of these modifications on tumorigenesis. Cytosolic proteins from treated mouse lungs were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis, adducts detected by immunoblotting, and proteins identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Eight adducts were detected in the lungs of most, or all, of six experimental groups of BALB mice. Of these adducts, several were structural proteins, but others, namely, peroxiredoxin 6 (Prx6), Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1), carbonyl reductase, and selenium-binding protein 1, have direct or indirect antioxidant functions. When the 9000g supernatant fraction of mouse lung was treated with BHT-QM (2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylene-2,5-cyclohexadienone), substantial lipid peroxidation and increases in hydrogen peroxide and superoxide formation were observed. Studies with human Prx6 and bovine SOD1 demonstrated inhibition of enzyme activity concomitant with adduct formation. LC-MS/MS analysis of digests of adducted Prx6 demonstrated adduction of both Cys 91 and Cys 47; the latter residue is essential for peroxidatic activity. Analysis of QM-treated bovine SOD1 by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight MS demonstrated the predominance of a monoadduct at His 78. This study provides evidence that indicates Prx6, SOD1, and possibly other antioxidant enzymes in mouse lung are inhibited by BHT-derived QMs leading to enhanced levels of reactive oxygen species and inflammation and providing a mechanistic basis for the effects of BHT on lung tumorigenesis.