32P-postlabelling studies on the DNA adducts of the food mutagens/carcinogens IQ and PhIP--adduct formation in a chemical system, and by rat and human metabolism.

The DNA adducts of the food mutagens/carcinogens IQ and PhIP were studied by means of 32P-postlabelling techniques. Adducts were generated in vitro and in vivo by three techniques: by photolysis of azido-IQ and azido-PhIP in the presence of dGp, calf-thymus DNA or Salmonella; by administration of IQ and PhIP to rats; and by incubation of cultured COS-1 cells with IQ. These cells expressed the human cytochromes P450 1A1 or P450 1A2 and/or the human N-acetyltransferases NAT1 or NAT2. The data demonstrate that, in the photolytic, rat and human systems, a common IQ metabolite and a common PhIP metabolite are formed together with common sets of IQ adducts and PhIP adducts. The data obtained in the human system show that N-hydroxy-IQ, formed by cytochrome P450, binds poorly to DNA, whereas more efficient binding occurs in the presence of NAT1 and most efficient binding in presence of NAT2. This indicates an O-acetyltransferase activity of human NAT1 and NAT2 and formation of N-acetoxy-IQ as an intermediate and immediate precursor of the ultimate arylnitrenium ion. The effect of the polymorphic NAT2 suggests a critical role for the human acetylation polymorphism in the DNA-binding of IQ in humans and in its genotoxic implications.

The role of the human acetylation polymorphism in the metabolic activation of the food carcinogen 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ).

The metabolic activation of the heterocyclic food carcinogen 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) by two human cytochrome P450 monoxygenases (P4501A1 and P4501A2) and two human N-acetyltransferases (NAT1 and NAT2) was investigated. Various combinations of these enzymes were functionally expressed in COS-1 cells. DNA adducts resulting from the activation of IQ were assayed quantitatively by the 32P-postlabeling procedure. The highest adduct frequency was observed in cells expressing both CYP1A2 and NAT2. CYP1A2 in combination with NAT1 was 3-6 times less active. When expressed alone these enzymes gave rise to low adduct frequencies. Experiments with N-acetyl-IQ as substrate suggest that NAT1 and NAT2 in addition to their known role in N-acetylation display arylhydroxamic acid N, O-acetyltransferase (AHAT) activity. Quantitative differences in adduct formation between IQ and N-acetyl-IQ indicated that metabolic activation of these arylamines preferentially occurs by P4501A2-catalyzed N-hydroxylation followed by O-acetylation mediated through NAT1 and/or NAT2. These data, in combination with the known genetic polymorphism of NAT2, may explain the clinical observation that the acetylation polymorphism constitutes a risk factor in the carcinogenic activation of environmental mutagens.

Tissue distribution of DNA adducts in CDF1 mice fed 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) and 2-amino-3,4-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (MeIQ).

Male and female CDF1 mice were administered a single oral dose of 3 mumol of the food mutagens 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) or 2-amino-3,4-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (MeIQ) and killed 24 h later. DNA was isolated from the livers, lungs, kidneys, colon and forestomach and analysed by 32P-postlabelling for the presence of IQ and MeIQ adducts. Several adduct-enrichment procedures were investigated, including ATP-deficient labelling conditions, butanol extraction and nuclease P1 digestion, and only the ATP-deficient procedure was found to produce the same adduct pattern on polyethyleneimine--cellulose TLC as the standard procedure. Up to nine adduct spots were detected in liver DNA from IQ-treated mice, two of which were not detected in other tissues. The levels of binding in both male and female mice were in the order liver greater than kidney greater than colon greater than forestomach greater than lung. Analysis of DNA from MeIQ-treated mice revealed the presence of up to seven adducts, one of which was detected in liver but not in other tissues. The relative order of DNA binding was kidney greater than liver greater than or equal to colon greater than forestomach greater than lung. As dietary feeding of IQ induces liver, lung and forestomach tumours, and MeIQ induces liver and forestomach tumours in this mouse strain, these binding levels do not correlate with the susceptibility of the organs to carcinogenesis induced by these compounds; the results may indicate the importance of additional factors in determining organ specificity of carcinogenicity.

Photolysis of arylazides and generation of highly electrophilic DNA-binding and mutagenic intermediates.

Photolysis of arylazides with long wavelength ultraviolet (NUV) light in an aqueous medium produces short-lived reactive chemical species which bind to DNA and deoxynucleoside 3'-phosphates and induce reversion mutations in frameshift tester strains of Salmonella typhimurium. Nitrenes are known reactive products of azide photolysis, so the DNA-binding and mutagenic species is either a nitrene or a nitrene-derivative. An N-hydroxyarylamine intermediate, potentially formed from a nitrene and water, can be excluded because the mutagenic potencies of the reactive species in TA98 and in the hydroxylamine-resistant TA98/1,8-DNP6 are of the same order, and because the life-time of this species is very short. The mutagenic potency of the arylazide photolysis products decreases in the order azido-IQ greater than 1-azidopyrene greater than azido-MeIQx greater than 6-azidochrysene greater than 2-azidofluorene greater than 4-azidobiphenyl greater than 2-azido-naphthalene greater than 1-azido-naphthalene. This potency sequence correlates with that of the corresponding arylamines. Furthermore, their DNA binding products are chromatographically identical with those obtained in cellular, metabolizing systems from nitroarenes and arylamines. Therefore, the reactive, electrophilic azide photolysis product is very likely a nitrenium ion formed by protonation of a nitrene. Nitrenium ions are also the ultimate mutagens/carcinogens formed from nitroarenes and arylamines. Arylazides can therefore be considered as stabilized forms of arylnitrenium ions. The arylazide-nitrene technique reported here is new and simple and provides ready access to presumed nitrenium ions which are otherwise difficult to obtain.

Heterocyclic aromatic amine-DNA-adducts in bacteria and mammalian cells detected by 32P-postlabeling analysis.

The formation of DNA adducts by the fried meat mutagen and carcinogen 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) was studied by means of 32P-postlabeling of DNA digests and four-directional t.l.c. Three major and five minor adducts were detected in assays of DNA digests obtained from Salmonella typhimurium TA98 cells after treatment with IQ and rat liver postmitochondrial supernatant (S9). A qualitatively identical adduct pattern was obtained with nitro-IQ (3-methyl-2-nitroimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline), a new analogue of IQ with a nitro instead of the amino group. These two compounds, therefore, form the same ultimate metabolite. The same adduct pattern was also found after TA98/1,8-DNP6 (acetyltransferase-deficient) cells were treated with nitro-IQ; this is probably due to a residual acetyltransferase activity in this strain. Upon treatment of TA98 cells with 1 mM IQ for 3 h one adduct was detected in 4.7 x 10(5) total bases; a considerably higher adduct frequency, one in 4.2 x 10(3), was induced by nitro-IQ (70 microM, 30 min). The IQ isomer 2-amino-1-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (isoIQ) and its nitro-analogue nitro-isoIQ (1-methyl-2-nitroimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline) also produced identical adducts. Their common adduct pattern was very similar to the IQ adduct pattern but was located in a position different from that of the IQ adduct pattern. DNA from Syrian hamster embryo (SHE) cells treated with IQ and S9 exhibited adducts apparently identical with those of Salmonella DNA.