32P-postlabeling analysis of IQ, MeIQx and PhIP adducts formed in vitro in DNA and polynucleotides and found in vivo in hepatic DNA from IQ-, MeIQx- and PhIP-treated monkeys

Postlabeling: a sensitive method for studying DNA adducts and their role in carcinogenesis

The covalent binding of xenobiotics to DNA is an important trigger of the multistage process that leads to carcinogenesis. 32P-postlabeling represents a highly sensitive method for biomonitoring exposure to genotoxic agents and for cancer risk assessment; it is capable of detecting less than one DNA adduct per human genome. Recent improvements to the technique have shown that the resistance of adducted DNA to enzyme digestion may lead to an overestimation of the number of different adducts present in a sample.

Metabolic activation of heterocyclic amine food mutagens in the mammary gland of lactating Fischer 344 rats

We investigated the ability of the mammary gland to metabolically activate 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ), 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]-quinoxaline (MeIQx) and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP). Although mammary gland microsomes had almost no capacity to metabolically activate the parent compounds, mammary gland cytosol was able to esterify the N-hydroxylamines. Acetyltransferase was the primary enzyme responsible for the phase II activation of the N-hydroxylamines. The level of acetyl CoA-stimulated binding when N-hydroxy PhIP served as the substrate was approximately 3- and 17-fold higher than when IQ and MeIQx served as substrates, respectively. N-Hydroxy-IQ and N-hydroxy PhIP can also be activated by tRNA synthetase and phosphatase, but not by sulfotransferase. However, the levels of proline- and ATP-enhanced DNA binding was approximately 30- and 60-fold lower than the acetyl CoA-enhanced DNA binding of IQ and PhIP, respectively. Differences observed in the phase II activation of the various heterocyclic amines in the mammary gland may explain why the mammary gland is a target organ for PhIP-induced carcinogenicity but not for IQ- or MeIQx-induced carcinogenicity in Fischer 344 rats.

Some perspectives on the nutritional aspects of breast cancer research. Food-derived heterocyclic amines as etiologic agents in human mammary cancer

Epidemiologic and experimental evidence indicates that dietary factors influence the incidence of mammary gland cancer. The dietary causes of this cancer, however, remain largely unknown. This paper reviews the experimental studies implicating the food-derived heterocyclic amines (HAs) in human breast cancer. Heterocyclic amines are formed at the parts-per-billion levels in meats, such as beef, chicken, pork, and fish, cooked by ordinary methods. 2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo [4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) is among the most prevalent of the HAs in fried and barbecued beef, a staple of the American diet. Chronic administration of PhIP in the diet has been shown to cause mammary gland cancer in rats. Two other food-derived HAs, 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline and 2-amino-3,4-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline, also have been shown to be mammary carcinogens in rodent models. In rats, heterocyclic amines produce DNA adducts in the mammary gland after metabolic activation. Studies examining human urine for HAs and metabolites confirm that humans who consume cooked meats are exposed to HAs. Studies also reveal that humans can activate HAs metabolically. Therefore, the experimental evidence suggests that the food-derived HAs may be etiologic agents in human breast cancer. Humans, however, are exposed to a complex mixture of carcinogenic and anticarcinogenic agents through their diets. Experimental studies examining the interaction between HAs and other dietary factors with respect to mammary carcinogenesis are warranted.

Inhibition of plasmid reporter gene expression in CHO cells by DNA adducts of 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine

2-Amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) are two members of a family of carcinogenic heterocyclic amines (HAs) found in cooked meats that form DNA adducts after activation to N-acetoxy derivatives. The ability of IQ- and PhIP-DNA adducts to inhibit gene expression was investigated using a human growth hormone (hGH) reporter gene in a pUC12-based mammalian expression vector under the control of either the herpes simplex virus-1 thymidine kinase promoter or the human immunodeficiency virus-1 long terminal repeat. The plasmids were treated in vitro with 0, 5, 10, or 40 microM N-hydroxy-IQ or N-hydroxy-PhIP in the presence of a 10-fold molar excess of acetic anhydride to generate the N-acetoxy derivatives in situ. The adduct levels in the plasmids were quantitated by the 32P-postlabeling method. The adducted (and control) plasmids were each transfected into repair-deficient or -proficient Chinese hamster ovary cells, and expression of hGH was measured by immunoassay of growth hormone secreted into the cell medium. The results showed that IQ- and PhIP-DNA adducts inhibited gene expression in both plasmids and that the degree of inhibition of hGH production was proportional to the levels of IQ- and PhIP-DNA adducts. The degree of inhibition, however, was independent of the promoter, despite the differences in the strengths of the two promoters to drive hGH production. Repair capacity influenced the extent of inhibition of gene expression by HA adducts since, in general, fewer adducts were needed to inhibit reporter gene expression in repair-deficient cells than in repair-proficient cells. In both cell lines, DNA adducts of PhIP appeared to be more potent in inhibiting hGH expression than adducts of IQ. Whether alteration of gene expression by HA adducts plays a role in the carcinogenicity of these compounds deserves further study.

Detection of guanine-C8-2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine adduct as a single spot on thin-layer chromatography by modification of the 32P-postlabeling method

N-(Deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (dG-C8-PhIP) has been shown to be a major adduct in DNA of rats given [3H]PhIP. However, when DNA from organs of rats fed PhIP was analyzed by the 32P-postlabeling method under standard and adduct-intensification conditions, four adduct spots were observed, and 3',5'-pdGp-C8-PhIP was detected as a minor, not a major, adduct spot. Since the three other major adduct spots were suspected to be those of adducted di- or oligo-nucleotides, the 32P-labeled samples were further treated with nuclease P1 and phosphodiesterase I and found to yield only a single adduct spot. The material in this adduct spot was confirmed to be 5'-pdG-C8-PhIP. Thus, using this newly modified 32P-postlabeling method, dG-C8-PhIP was detected as a major adduct in DNA of rats given PhIP.