Development of a rat and human PBPK model for bromate and estimation of human equivalent concentrations in drinking water.

A physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was developed to described uptake, disposition and clearance of bromate in the rat using published experimental data in rat. The rodent bromate model was extrapolated to human using species-specific physiological parameters and standard interspecies scaling of rate constants. The bromate model is kinetically linear (i.e. AUC and Cmax) across the range of drinking water concentrations used in the cancer bioassays (15 to 500 ppm). This is likely the result of the poor oral bioavailability of bromate due to high reduction rates in the intestinal tract. The bromate PBPK model was used to assess the human equivalent drinking water concentration (HEC) consistent with average plasma concentrations in the rodent bioassays. At drinking water concentrations <500 mg/L, the predicted HEC was two to three fold lower than the bioassay concentration and was dependent on the reported drinking water intake reported in the bioassay.

Absorption and disposition of bromate in F344 rats.

Bromate (BrO(3)(-)) is a ubiquitous by-product of using ozone to disinfect water containing bromide (Br(-)). The reactivity of BrO(3)(-) with biological reductants suggests that its systemic absorption and distribution to target tissues may display non-linear behavior as doses increase. The intent of this study is to determine the extent to which BrO(3)(-) is systemically bioavailable via oral exposure and broadly identify its pathways of degradation. In vitro experiments of BrO(3)(-) degradation in rat blood indicate a rapid initial degradation immediately upon addition that is >98% complete at concentrations up to 66µM in blood. As initial concentrations are increased, progressively lower fractions are lost prior to the first measurement. Secondary to this initial loss, a slower and predictable first order degradation rate was observed (10%/min). Losses during both phases were accompanied by increases in Br(-) concentrations indicating that the loss of BrO(3)(-) was due to its reduction. In vivo experiments were conducted using doses of BrO(3)(-) ranging from 0.077 to 15.3mg/kg, administered intravenously (IV) or orally (gavage) to female F344 rats. The variable nature and uncertain source of background concentrations of BrO(3)(-) limited derivation of terminal half-lives, but the initial half-life was approximately 10min for all dose groups. The area under the curve (AUC) and peak concentrations (C(t=5')) were linearly related to IV dose up to 0.77mg/kg; however, disproportionate increases in the AUC and C(t=5') and a large decrease in the volume of distribution was observed when IV doses of 1.9 and 3.8mg/kg were administered. The average terminal half-life of BrO(3)(-) from oral administration was 37min, but this was influenced by background levels of BrO(3)(-) at lower doses. With oral doses, the AUC and C(max) increased linearly with dose up to 15.3mgBrO(3)(-)/kg. BrO(3)(-) appeared to be 19-25% bioavailable without an obvious dose-dependency between 0.077 and 1.9mg/kg. The urinary elimination of BrO(3)(-) and Br(-) was measured from female F344 rats for four days following administration of single doses of 8.1mgKBrO(3)/kg and for 15 days after a single dose of 5.0mgKBr/kg. BrO(3)(-) elimination was detected over the first 12h, but Br(-) elimination from BrO(3)(-) over the first 48h was 18% lower than expected based on that eliminated from an equimolar dose of Br(-) (15.5±1.6 vs. 18.8±1.2µmol/kg, respectively). The cumulative excretion of Br(-) from KBr vs. KBrO(3) was equivalent 72h after administration. The recovery of unchanged administered BrO(3)(-) in the urine ranged between 6.0 and 11.3% (creatinine corrected) on the 27th day of treatment with concentrations of KBrO(3) of 15, 60, and 400mg/L of drinking water. The recovery of total urinary bromine as Br(-)+BrO(3)(-) ranged between 61 and 88%. An increase in the fraction of the daily BrO(3)(-) dose recovered in the urine was observed at the high dose to both sexes. The deficit in total bromine recovery raises the possibility that some brominated biochemicals may be produced in vivo and more slowly metabolized and eliminated. This was supported by measurements of dose-dependent increases of total organic bromine (TOBr) that was eliminated in the urine. The role these organic by-products play in BrO(3)(-)-induced cancer remains to be established.

Development of a rat dosimetry model for bromate.

Bromate is a known animal carcinogen that is found in drinking water supplies treated with ozone. Bromate targets the kidney for toxicity and cancer, the peritoneum for cancer (mesotheliomas derived from testes), testes for lowered sperm count and the thyroid for follicular cell cancer. Kidney tumors as well as other toxicities may be caused by the metabolism of bromate to reactive intermediates. There is evidence that bromate and its stable metabolite bromide are actively transported by the sodium iodide transporter (NIS) protein found in the thyroid, kidney and testes. This association strongly suggests that characterizing the preferential distribution of bromate into the NIS-rich tissues and its subsequent metabolism to reactive metabolites is important for interpreting the dose-response characteristics of bromate in rodents. In this paper the current evidence for NIS dependent dosimetry for bromate is developed and studies are proposed to develop a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model for bromate. The recent PBPK models describing NIS protein transport of perchlorate and radiolabeled iodide offer a template for the development of the bromate model in rodents and humans. The proposed research is expected to be instrumental in quantifying the human health risks associated with ingestion of low levels of bromate in drinking water.

Research strategy for developing key information on bromate's mode of action.

Bromate is produced when ozone is used to treat waters that contain trace amounts of bromide ion. It is also a contaminant of hypochlorite solutions produced by electrolysis of salt that contains bromide. Both ozone and hypochlorite are extensively used to disinfect drinking water, a process that is credited with reducing the incidence of waterborne infections diseases around the world. In studies on experimental animals, bromate has been consistently demonstrated to induce cancer, although there is evidence of substantial species differences in sensitivity (rat>mouse>hamster). There are no data to indicate bromate is carcinogenic in humans. An issue that is critical to the continued use of ozone as a disinfectant for drinking water in bromide-containing waters depends heavily on whether current predictions of carcinogenic risk based on carcinogenic responses in male rats treated with bromate are accurate at the much lower exposure levels of humans. Thiol-dependent oxidative damage to guanine in DNA is a plausible mode of action for bromate-induced cancer. However, other mechanisms may contribute to the response, including the accumulation of alpha2u-globulin in the kidney of the male rat. To provide direction to institutions that have an interest in clarifying the toxicological risks that bromate in drinking water might pose, a workshop funded by the Awwa Research Foundation was convened to lay out a research strategy that, if implemented, could clarify this important public health issue. The technical issues that underlie the deliberations of the workshop are provided in a series of technical papers. The present manuscript summarizes the conclusions of the workgroup with respect to the type and timing of research that should be conducted. The research approach is outlined in four distinct phases that lay out alternative directions as the research plan is implemented. Phase I is designed to quantify pre-systemic degradation, absorption, distribution, and metabolism of bromate and to associate these with key events for the induction of cancer and develop an initial pharmacokinetic (PK) model based on preliminary studies. Phase II will be implemented if it appears that there is a linear relationship between external dose and key event responses and is designed to gather carcinogenesis data in female rats in the absence of alpha2u-globulin-induced nephropathy which the workgroup concluded was a probable contributor to the responses observed in the male rats for which detailed dose-response data were collected. If the key events and external dosimetry are found not to be linear in Phase I, Phase III is initiated with a screening study of the auditory toxicity of bromate to determine if it is likely to be exacerbated by chronic exposure. If this occurs, auditory toxicity will be further evaluated in Phase IV. If auditory toxicity is determined unlikely to occur, an alternative chronic study in female rats to the one identified in Phase II will be implemented to include exposure in utero. This was recommended to address the possibility that the fetus may be more susceptible. One of the three options are to be implemented in Phase IV depending upon whether preliminary data indicated that chronic auditory toxicity, reproductive and/or developmental toxicities, or a combination of these outcomes is necessary to characterize the toxicology of low dose exposures to bromate. Each phase of the research will be accompanied by further development of pharmacokinetic models to guide collection of appropriate data to meet the needs of the more sophisticated studies. It is suggested that a Bayesian approach be utilized to develop a final risk model based upon measurement of prior observations from the Phase I studies and the set of posterior observations that would be obtained from whichever chronic study is conducted.

Toxicity and carcinogenicity of potassium bromate--a new renal carcinogen.

Potassium bromate (KBrO3) is an oxidizing agent that has been used as a food additive, mainly in the bread-making process. Although adverse effects are not evident in animals fed bread-based diets made from flour treated with KBrO3, the agent is carcinogenic in rats and nephrotoxic in both man and experimental animals when given orally. It has been demonstrated that KBrO3 induces renal cell tumors, mesotheliomas of the peritoneum, and follicular cell tumors of the thyroid. In addition, experiments aimed at elucidating the mode of carcinogenic action have revealed that KBrO3 is a complete carcinogen, possessing both initiating and promoting activities for rat renal tumorigenesis. However, the potential seems to be weak in mice and hamsters. In contrast to its weak mutagenic activity in microbial assays, KBrO3 showed relatively strong potential inducing chromosome aberrations both in vitro and in vivo. Glutathione and cysteine degrade KBrO3 in vitro; in turn, the KBrO3 has inhibitory effects on inducing lipid peroxidation in the rat kidney. Active oxygen radicals generated from KBrO3 were implicated in its toxic and carcinogenic effects, especially because KBrO3 produced 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine in the rat kidney. A wide range of data from applications of various analytical methods are now available for risk assessment purposes.