Conversion of nitrosobenzene to N-phenylacetohydroxamic acid by yeast pyruvate decarboxylase.

In the presence of yeast enzyme concentrate or purified yeast pyruvate decarboxylase, nitrosobenzene was converted in part to N-phenylacetohydroxamic acid. This transformation had to be catalyzed by the enzyme, since the incubation of nitrosobenzene with the cofactor of pyruvate decarboxylase did not produce the hydroxamic acid. Similar incubations conducted with phenylhydroxylamine did not yield any detectable amounts of N-phenylacetohydroxamic acid.

Irreversible inhibition of the cytosolic metabolism of N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene by its glycolyl analog.

The glycolyl hydroxamic acid derivative of 2-aminofluorene was found to be a potent inhibitor of its own metabolism and the metabolism of N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene by rat liver cytosol. The inhibition was irreversible, as well as time and concentration dependent, which indicates a suicide-inhibition type of metabolism. There was a direct correlation between the inhibition of N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene disappearance and 2-acetylaminofluorene formation. In contrast, both the glycolyl and acetyl hydroxamic acid derivatives were metabolized to a similar extent by enzymes in the microsomal fraction.

Primary arylamine oxidation by a flavinhydroperoxide. A study of the basis for the substrate specificity of the flavoprotein monooxygenase.

4a-Hydroperoxy-5-ethyl-3,8,10-trimethylisoalloxazine (FlEtOOH) was prepared as a chemical model for the flavin-containing monooxygenase enzyme of mammalian liver. FlEtOOH was found to oxidize a series of para-substituted primary arylamines to the corresponding arylnitroso compound. The rates of arylamine oxidation were found to correlate with the Hammett substituent constant, sigma, as well as with amine basicity. These results suggest that amine nucleophilicity should be an important determinant of flavin monooxygenase reactivity toward primary arylamines; nevertheless, the enzyme demonstrates considerable substrate preference based on other factors.

Effect of ring substituents on the transketolase-catalyzed conversion of nitroso aromatics to hydroxamic acids.

Transketolase catalyzed the conversion of eight different aromatic C-nitroso compounds into the corresponding N-glycolyl derived hydroxamic acids. Three of the nitroso compounds were also found to be converted in part to the arylhydroxylamines by a reductive process. A correlation was found for the rates of production of these metabolites with the electronegativities of substituent groups that were present on the aromatic ring. The rates of reaction of these substituted nitroso substrates with transketolase and D-fructose-6-phosphate were found to decrease in the order 4-NO2 much greater than 4-CF3 greater than 3-CF3, unsubstituted greater than 4-Cl greater than 4-CH3, 4-phenyl greater than 4-OC2H5. N,N-Dimethyl-p-nitrosoaniline was not metabolized by transketolase under the conditions employed for the other substrates. Those substrates possessing the strong electron-withdrawing groups 4-NO2, 4-CF3 and 3-CF3 were the only substrates that were found to undergo enzymatic reduction to the hydroxylamines as a competing process. A mechanism was proposed that involves a redox reaction between the nitroso substrate and the enzymatic intermediate "active glycolaldehyde" at the active-site of transketolase.

HRP-catalyzed bioactivation of carcinogenic hydroxamic acids. The greater reactivity of glycolyl- versus acetyl-derived hydroxamic acids.

An analysis of the hydroxamic acid oxidation reaction by H2O2 and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was made with three pairs of hydroxamic acids. Each pair consisted of the aceto- and glycolhydroxamic acid derivatives from one of three different arylhydroxylamines. The parent arylhydroxylamines were the known carcinogens, N-hydroxy-2-aminofluorene and N-hydroxy-4-aminobiphenyl and the noncarcinogen 4-chlorophenyl-hydroxylamine. All the hydroxamic acids appeared to be converted to products that were expected on the basis of the previously-proposed mechanism of this peroxidative reaction. Each acetohydroxamic acid gave the corresponding nitroso compound and O-acetyl ester of the starting material in approximately equal amounts. The glycolhydroxamic acids gave the corresponding nitroso compound and a relatively unstable product that was proposed, by analogy, to be the O-glycolyl ester of the starting material. A comparison of the initial rates of reaction of each hydroxamic acid pair showed that the glycolhydroxamic acid was much more susceptible to the peroxidation reaction than was the corresponding acetohydroxamic acid. The initial rate of the reaction was also highly dependent upon the nature of the aromatic ring in the order fluorene greater than biphenyl greater than 4-chlorophenyl. The relative degree of HRP-catalyzed covalent binding to DNA of the aceto- and glycolhydroxamic acids in the fluorene series was studied and found to parallel the relative rates of reaction of these substrates in the H2O2/HRP system. It was proposed that glycolhydroxamic acids are likely to be more genotoxic than are acetohydroxamic acids when subjected to peroxidative bioactivation conditions.

Unsaturated fatty acid-dependent oxidation of epinephrine in homogenates of the gorgonian, Pseudoplexaura porosa.

A novel epinephrine oxidation system in homogenates of the gorgonian Pseudoplexaura porosa was discovered. The enzymatic reaction required an unsaturated fatty acid and molecular oxygen or hydrogen peroxide. Diphenylisobenzofuran was also oxidized by Ps. porosa homogenates in the presence of an unsaturated fatty acid. Hydroxyl radical and superoxide anion did not appear to be involved in either of these oxidative reactions. The production of lipid hydroperoxides was not necessary for epinephrine oxidation and, with the exception of arachidonic acid, lipid hydroperoxide production did not occur. Evidence is presented for the involvement of singlet oxygen or a similar activated oxygen intermediate in the reactions, and a possible mechanism was proposed. The use of arachidonate-dependent epinephrine oxidation as a measure of prostaglandin synthetase activity is criticized.

A comparison of the HL-60 cell line and human granulocytes to effect the bioactivation of arylamines and related xenobiotics. The binding of 2-aminofluorene to nucleic acids as the result of the respiratory burst.

Studies were made on the ability of the leukemic cell line, HL-60, to substitute for normal human granulocytes in research concerned with the bioactivation of arylamines. The arylamine carcinogen, 2-aminofluorene (2-AF), was used as the model substrate in the form of 2-[9-14C]AF, and was incubated with HL-60 cell cultures, both in the presence and absence of phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) which induces the respiratory burst. The HL-60 cultures were generally employed after having been induced to undergo differentiation to neutrophils by the action of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Comparisons of the amounts of DNA and RNA binding by 2-AF between HL-60 and normal human granulocyte cultures demonstrated close similarities in the amount and nature of nucleic acid binding by this arylamine substrate. HL-60 cells that had been induced to differentiate to neutrophils to the extent of about 80% showed high levels of the respiratory burst along with extensive covalent binding of 2-[9-14C]AF to cellular nucleic acids. Although normal human granulocytes tended to metabolize 2-AF slightly faster than did highly differentiated HL-60 cells, the extent of nucleic acid binding relative to the amount of 2-AF metabolized was similar. A major difference in the metabolic fate of 2-AF in these cell cultures was the unique ability of HL-60 cultures at all stages of differentiation to effect the slow N-acetylation of 2-AF to give 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF). Extensive analyses of incubation extracts showed that the major differences in apparent metabolites were quantitative. With few exceptions, both activated HL-60 and granulocyte cell cultures produced the same metabolites, most of which remain unidentified. Studies with inhibitors such as catalase, superoxide dismutase and azide ion further suggest that these two related cell cultures metabolize 2-AF in similar manner. The DMSO-differentiated HL-60 culture is proposed as a convenient model with which to investigate the metabolism and bioactivation of arylamines by human granulocytes or pure neutrophils.

Mutagenicity of the C-nitroso analog of fenitrothion.

The chemicals fenitrothion, nitroso fenitrothion, amino fenitrothion and 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol were tested for mutagenicity to Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100, both in the presence and absence of rat liver S-9 mix. The strong mutagenicity of nitroso fenitrothion to both strains either in the presence or absence of S-9 mix contrasted with the observation that fenitrothion displayed no mutagenicity in these tester strains. The results suggest that the normal nitroreductases present in TA98 and TA100 cannot metabolize fenitrothion to a mutagenic metabolite. This inability of the tester strains to effect partial nitroreduction results in the failure of this screening system to predict the potential genotoxicity of this pesticide.

Mutagenicity of some monoaromatic hydroxamic acids.

The mutagenicity of some monoaromatic hydroxamic acids was tested in the presence and absence of rat liver S-9 with Salmonella typhimurium tester strains TA98 and TA100. Of the five N-(chlorophenyl)-substituted hydroxamic acids and seven N-arylformohydroxamic acids tested, 2 of the first and 4 of the latter series were mutagenic to both strains upon metabolic activation. None of the four N-acetyl-type hydroxamic acids was mutagenic to either strain, even upon activation. Because some of the N-acetyl-derived hydroxamic acids were inactive, whereas the same aromatic nucleus possessing a formyl group displayed significant activity, a consideration of the nature of the aryl group in hydroxamic acid mutagenicity is important.

Characterization of poison oak urushiol.

Procedures are described that were used in the isolation and characterization of urushiol components reported to be the allergenic constituents of poison oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum. Characterization of these components by spectral techniques indicated they are unsaturated congeners of 3-heptadecylcatechol, possessing one, two, or three double bonds in an unbranched C17 side chain. These components are shown to differ from those isolated from poison ivy, Toxicodendron radicans, by a - CH2CH2-unit in the unbranched alkyl side chain.

Nucleic acid binding of arylamines during the respiratory burst of human granulocytes.

Following stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate, human granulocytes were found to incorporate a series of arylamines into cellular nucleic acid. No such binding occurred if the granulocytes were not induced to undergo the respiratory burst. The relative amount of covalent binding to cellular DNA and RNA was found to depend strongly on the chemical structure of the arylamine. 2-Aminofluorene gave the highest ratio of DNA/RNA binding, while 4-nitroaniline showed a very low ratio of DNA/RNA binding. 4-Nitroaniline may bind only to RNA, since the degree of binding to DNA was at the level of detectability. Two other substrates, 4-chloroaniline and 4-methylaniline, gave intermediary ratios of DNA/RNA binding. Studies on the possible role of the granulocyte enzyme myeloperoxidase in the activation and binding of these arylamines were conducted in vitro and also through the use of azide, an inhibitor of myeloperoxidase activity in cells. The results indicate that myeloperoxidase probably plays only a limited role in causing the covalent binding of arylamines to nucleic acid in human granulocytes. It is probable that other reactive oxygen species, which are not dependent upon myeloperoxidase for their production, are necessary for the bioactivation of some arylamines, especially for substrates such as 4-nitroaniline. A free-radical mechanism for arylamine bioactivation, and its potential role in arylamine toxicity, was presented in the context of the current scientific literature.

N-phenylglycolhydroxamate production by the action of transketolase on nitrosobenzene.

The incubation of nitrosobenzene with yeast transketolase and D-xylulose 5-phosphate resulted in the production of N-phenylglycolhydroxamic acid. The addition of D-ribose 5-phosphate decreased the amount of hydroxamic acid that was produced. This conversion of nitrosobenzene into the glycollic acid-derived hydroxamic acid was shown to be an enzymic process, and a chemical mechanism for the conversion was proposed.

Peroxide oxidation of indole to oxindole by chloroperoxidase catalysis.

In the presence of chloroperoxidase, indole was oxidized by H2O2 to give oxindole as the major product. Under most conditions oxindole was the only product formed, and under optimal conditions the conversion was quantitative. This reaction displayed maximal activity at pH 4.6, although appreciable activity was observed throughout the entire pH range investigated, namely pH 2.5-6.0. Enzyme saturation by indole could not be demonstrated, up to the limit of indole solubility in the buffer. The oxidation kinetics were first-order with respect to indole up to 8 mM, which was the highest concentration of indole that could be investigated. On the other hand, 2-methylindole was not affected by H2O2 and chloroperoxidase, but was a strong inhibitor of indole oxidation. The isomer 1-methylindole was a poor substrate for chloroperoxidase oxidation, and a weak inhibitor of indole oxidation. These results suggest the possibility that chloroperoxidase oxidation of the carbon atom adjacent to the nitrogen atom in part results from hydrogen-bonding of the substrate N-H group to the enzyme active site.

Synthesis and antibiotic properties of chloramphenicol reduction products.

Analogs of chloramphenicol were prepared for the first time in which the nitro group was replaced by hydroxylamine, nitroso, hydroxamic acid, methyl hydroxamate, and O-acetyl hydroxamate functional groups. These compounds were tested for antibiotic activity in order to determine whether the antibiotic activity of chloramphenicol is mediated by one or more of these potential metabolites of chloramphenicol. None of these analogs was as active as chloramphenicol against the four test organisms, and two of the compounds were essentially devoid of activity. The significance of these findings with regard to the importance of the nitro group to the biological activity of chloramphenicol is discussed.

Peroxidases produced by the marine sponge Iotrochota birotulata.

1. Two peroxidases, differing in ionic character and substrate specificity, have been isolated from the tropical marine sponge Iotrochota birotulata. 2. Both peroxidases catalyze the oxidation of a number of substrates, and one peroxidase possesses a specificity similar to the terrestrial fungal enzyme chloroperoxidase. 3. Based on inhibition studies utilizing sodium azide, potassium cyanide and 8-hydroxyquinoline, it appears that the peroxidases from I. birotulata are haemoprotein complexes. 4. One peroxidase appears to possess subunit structure, and requires bound divalent metal cations for activity.

Peroxygenation mechanism for chloroperoxidase-catalyzed N-oxidation of arylamines.

The metabolism of three arylamine substrates by H2O2 in the presence of each of the peroxidative enzymes chloroperoxidase (CPX) and pea seed peroxygenase (PSM) was conducted with normal H2O2 and with 18O-labeled H2O2. The resulting C-nitroso aromatic metabolites were examined by GC-MS methods to determine the extent of 18O incorporation. The arylamine substrates were p-toluidine, 4-chloroaniline, and 3,4-dichloroaniline. For both enzymes, all three arylamines were found to give quantitative incorporation of 18O into their nitroso metabolites when [18O]H2O2 was the oxidant substrate. The introduction of the oxygen atom into 4-chloronitrosobenzene was found to occur during the first step of this process, since it was found that when (4-chlorophenyl)hydroxylamine was employed as the substrate, no significant incorporation of 18O occurred. These observations prove that CPX and PSM cause N-oxidation of primary arylamines via an oxygen transfer from the compound I activated forms of their heme functional groups. Therefore, these peroxidases are correctly called peroxygenases when acting in such a manner. A discussion of the reaction mechanisms for peroxidases and their relation to cytochrome P-450 oxidations is presented.

Metabolism of 4-Chloronitrobenzene by the Yeast Rhodosporidium sp.

The yeast Rhodosporidium sp. metabolized 4-chloronitrobenzene by a reductive pathway to give 4-chloroacetanilide and 4-chloro-2-hydroxyacetanilide as the major final metabolites. The intermediate production of 4-chloronitrosobenzene, 4-chlorophenylhydroxylamine, and 4-chloroaniline was demonstrated by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Additional studies with selected metabolites established that the metabolite 4-chloro-2-hydroxyacetanilide was produced by an initial Bamberger rearrangement of the hydroxylamine metabolite, followed by acetylation. Direct C hydroxylation of the aromatic ring was not observed in this species. No hydroxamic acid production was detected, even though significant concentrations of the nitroso and hydroxylamine precursors to this functional group were observed.

Studies on the nitroso-glyoxylate reaction. Relative hydroxamic acid production by glyoxylate, pyruvate, and formaldehyde in reactions with 4-nitrosobiphenyl.

The pH rate profiles for the reactions of 4-nitrosobiphenyl with three carbonyl substrates in aqueous buffers were determined by use of chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods. Glyoxylate and formaldehyde caused the conversion of 4-nitrosobiphenyl to N-(4-biphenyl)-formohydroxamic acid, while pyruvate resulted in the production of N-(4-biphenyl)acetohydroxamic acid. The dramatic effect of pH on the kinetics of these reactions provided considerable information concerning the nature of these reactions. The reactions with pyruvate and formaldehyde displayed similar pH rate profiles and were significant only at acidic pH. Glyoxylate displayed a pH rate profile that differed markedly from those of pyruvate and formaldehyde as the pH was increased beyond 2.0. The ability of glyoxylate to convert 4-nitrosobiphenyl to the hydroxamic acid increased rapidly in the pH range 2.0-4.0, above which the pH dependency was constant. This biphasic appearance of the pH rate profile was unique to glyoxylate, since the reactions of pyruvate and formaldehyde became extremely slow as solution neutrality was approached. A second substrate, 4-chloronitrosobenzene, displayed similar pH rate profiles in its reactions with these carbonyl substrates. For 4-nitrosobiphenyl, hydroxamic acid formation by glyoxylate was 10(4) times faster than that by pyruvate at neutral pH, but only about 3-fold faster at pH 1.0. The appearance of the pH rate profile for glyoxylate suggested that this alpha-oxo acid reacts with nitrosoarenes at neutrality via a pathway that is insignificant for pyruvate or formaldehyde. Thus, the nitroso-glyoxylate reaction is unique to this alpha-oxo acid under physiological pH conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Oxidation of organosulfur compounds by the microsomal fraction of germinating pea seeds (Pisum sativum).

The oxidation of organosulfur functional groups by the microsomal fraction of germinating pea seeds has been investigated. Arylsulfides , but not thioamides , were converted to sulfoxides by this hemoprotein in the presence of hydrogen peroxide.

The effects of temperature, salinity and a simulated tidal cycle on the toxicity of fenitrothion to Callinectes sapidus.

The 96 hr LC50 for Callinectes sapidus exposed to fenitrothion at 22 degrees C and a salinity of 34 ppt (parts per thousand) was estimated to be 8.6 micrograms/l with a 95% confidence interval of 7.4-9.9 micrograms/l. Acute toxicity was shown to increase with increasing temperature as well as increasing salinity. Exposure of Callinectes to a simulated tidal cycle of 17 ppt salinity change at 6 hr intervals increased the acute toxicity of fenitrothion to Callinectes. The autotomization response in Callinectes was shown to be affected at subacute exposure levels as low as 0.1 microgram/l.