Metabolism and macromolecular covalent binding of benzo[a]pyrene in cultured Fischer-344 rat lung type II epithelial cells

Integrated Decision-tree Testing Strategies for Acute Systemic Toxicity and Toxicokinetics with Respect to the Requirements of the EU REACH Legislation

Liverpool John Moores University and FRAME conducted a joint research project, sponsored by Defra, on the status of alternatives to animal testing with regard to the European Union REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) system for the safety testing and risk assessment of chemicals. The project covered all the main toxicity endpoints associated with REACH. This paper focuses on the use of alternative (non-animal) methods (both in vitro and in silico) for acute systemic toxicity and toxicokinetic testing. The paper reviews in vitro tests based on basal cytotoxicity and target organ toxicity, along with QSAR models and expert systems available for this endpoint. The use of PBPK modelling for the prediction of ADME properties is also discussed. These tests are then incorporated into a decision-tree style, integrated testing strategy, which also includes the use of refined in vivo acute toxicity tests, as a last resort. The implementation of the strategy is intended to minimise the use of animals in the testing of acute systemic toxicity and toxicokinetics, whilst satisfying the scientific and logistical demands of the EU REACH legislation.

Integrated decision-tree testing strategies for acute systemic toxicity and toxicokinetics with respect to the requirements of the EU REACH legislation

Liverpool John Moores University and FRAME conducted a joint research project, sponsored by Defra, on the status of alternatives to animal testing with regard to the European Union REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) system for the safety testing and risk assessment of chemicals. The project covered all the main toxicity endpoints associated with REACH. This paper focuses on the use of alternative (non-animal) methods (both in vitro and in silico) for acute systemic toxicity and toxicokinetic testing. The paper reviews in vitro tests based on basal cytotoxicity and target organ toxicity, along with QSAR models and expert systems available for this endpoint. The use of PBPK modelling for the prediction of ADME properties is also discussed. These tests are then incorporated into a decision-tree style, integrated testing strategy, which also includes the use of refined in vivo acute toxicity tests, as a last resort. The implementation of the strategy is intended to minimise the use of animals in the testing of acute systemic toxicity and toxicokinetics, whilst satisfying the scientific and logistical demands of the EU REACH legislation.

Toxicokinetics of inhaled benzo[a]pyrene: plasma and lung bioavailability

Bioavailability and toxicokinetic studies are essential in order to establish dose-response relationships of widely distributed environmental toxicants such as benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. Fischer 344 rats were exposed for 4 h (via nose-only inhalation) to aerosol exposure concentrations of 0.1, 1.0, and 2.5 mg/m(3) of BaP absorbed onto carbon black particles using a state-of-the-art model aerosol generation system. Nominal and chamber concentrations of the particulate aerosol were determined gravimetrically with a seven-stage cascade impactor. The average aerosol for the 3 exposure concentrations used in this study exhibited a trimodal distribution with 93% cumulative mass less than 15.85 microm, 89% cumulative mass less than 10 microm, 55.3% cumulative mass less than 2.5 microm, and 38% less than 1 microm. Fifty-five percent of the aerosol had a cumulative mass less than PM(2.5) and the mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) -/+ geometric standard deviation (GSD) for this mode was 1.7 -/+ 0.085 microm. Plasma and lung samples were collected at 30, 60, 120, and 240 min postexposure. The concentrations of BaP parent compound and metabolites were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. The toxicokinetic parameters were computed from the time course of plasma BaP concentration. The bioavailability of BaP increased as a function of exposure concentration, and toxicokinetic analysis indicates first-order pharmacokinetics for BaP. However, some toxicokinetic parameters such as clearance and volume of distribution remained constant throughout the duration of the postexposure period. BaP and its metabolite concentrations in plasma peaked at 1 h postexposure. At 240 min postexposure, only trace levels of BaP remained in the plasma. The BaP metabolites in the lung showed an identical trend where no parent compound was detected. Among the metabolites detected, BaP 4,5-, 7,8-, and 9,10-dihydrodiols, 3-OH-BaP, and 9-OH-BaP were predominant.

Studies on the ability of rat lung and liver microsomes to facilitate transfer and metabolism of benzo[a]pyrene from diesel particles

Little is known about the bioavailability of inhaled organic compounds that are associated with particles. It is known that certain particle-associated organic compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) adsorbed on diesel soot particles, are retained in the lung longer than PAH inhaled in pure form. If such particle-associated compounds are available for tissue interaction, their prolonged retention may result in an increased potential for a toxic effect. To determine the factors affecting the bioavailability of particle-associated PAH, we have studied the ability of microsomes to facilitate transfer of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) adsorbed on the surface of diesel exhaust soot particles to the microsomes and the ability of the microsomes to metabolize the transferred B[a]P. Our results indicate that rat lung and liver microsomes were able to facilitate the transfer of small amounts of B[a]P from diesel particles (less than 3%), but only a fraction of the amount transferred (1-2%) was metabolized. Under the same incubation conditions without soot, free B[a]P was extensively metabolized by microsomes, principally to B[a]P-9,10-diol. Lung microsomes were about twice as effective as liver microsomes for the transfer of the B[a]P. The ability to transfer B[a]P to the microsomes was independent of metabolism or the presence of protein, but was related to the lipid content of the microsomal fraction. There was no metabolism of the B[a]P coated on diesel particles as analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. These findings suggest that microsomes are able to enhance the slow transfer of only a small amount of B[a]P from diesel particles in a form that can be metabolized. However, over a long period of time, this slow release might be significant.

Binding of nitropyrenes and benzo[a]pyrene to mouse lung deoxyribonucleic acid after pretreatment with inducing agents

In assessing the biological effects of exposure to a complex chemical mixture, it is important to determine how the behavior of one compound may be influenced by the presence of other compounds in the mixture. In this study the effect of pre-exposure to an organic extract of diesel exhaust or to selected compounds in diesel exhaust on the binding of diesel exhaust compounds to DNA was determined. The amount of radiolabel covalently bound to mouse lung DNA following intratracheal administration of radiolabeled benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), 1-nitropyrene, 1,3,6-trinitropyrene, or a mixture of dinitropyrene was determined following pretreatment with benzo[a]pyrene, 1-nitropyrene, and diesel exhaust extract. Male CD-1 mice, 15-18 weeks of age, received 10 mg/kg of putative inducing agents by intratracheal instillation and, after 24 hr, 0.03 to 1.2 mg/kg radiolabeled putative DNA binding agents. Lung DNA was extracted, and covalent binding was quantitated by liquid scintillation spectroscopy. 1-Nitropyrene was a potent lung DNA binding agent in the absence of inducing agents [Covalent Binding Index (CBI) = 970] and was extremely potent after benzo[a]pyrene pretreatment (CBI = 21,540, comparable to the CBI for aflatoxin B1). Similar results were obtained for DNA binding of dinitropyrene and trinitropyrene with and without BaP pretreatment. DNA binding of BaP was lower (CBI = 40) and less inducible (BaP-pretreatment CBI = 230). Pretreatment with diesel extract caused an elevation in the binding of benzo[a]pyrene but little or no elevation in the binding of the nitropyrenes. Pretreatment with 1-nitropyrene did not increase significantly DNA binding of any of the agents tested. These results indicate that nitropyrenes bind readily to lung DNA and this binding may be increased in the presence of respirable mixtures, especially those containing inducing agents such as BaP.

An in vitro lung epithelial cell system for evaluating the potential toxicity of inhalable materials

Assays have been developed using a lung epithelial cell strain, LEC, for evaluating the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of gases, vapours, particles and fibres. LEC was derived from an adult male Fischer 344 rat and was cultured continuously in vitro for over 60 passages. The cells had an epithelial morphology, a near-diploid modal chromosome number of 43-44, and properties of untransformed cells. Lamellar inclusion bodies were found in the cytoplasm, suggesting that LEC originated from the type II alveolar cells. The ability to LEC to metabolize xenobiotics was demonstrated by the formation of polar metabolites from benzo[a]pyrene, the induction of gene mutation by promutagens in a metabolically incompetent cell line (Chinese hamster ovary cells) after co-cultivation with LEC, and the induction of sister chromatid exchange in LEC by promutagens. LEC will grow on collagen gel in the absence of an overlying medium, thereby constituting an in vitro exposure system closely resembling lung epithelium in vivo. The cytotoxic potential of inhalable agents, including nitrogen dioxide, phenol vapours, formaldehyde, automobile exhaust, titanium dioxide and chrysotile and crocidolite forms of asbestos was studied. The in vitro cytotoxicity appeared to correlate well with the known in vivo pulmonary toxicity of the substances studied. Using chromosomal-aberration induction as an endpoint, chrysotile asbestos was found to be genotoxic to LEC. Our results suggest that LEC may be a useful in vitro system for the evaluation of the toxic potential of inhalable materials.

Metabolism of 1-[14C]nitropyrene in respiratory tract tissue of rats exposed to diesel exhaust

The purpose of this study was to determine how prior exposure of rats to graded concentrations of diesel exhaust would affect respiratory tract tissue metabolism of 1-nitropyrene (NP), a known constituent of diesel exhaust. Rats were exposed (whole body) 7 hr/day, 5 days/week for 4 weeks to clean air (controls) or to diluted diesel exhaust containing concentrations of 350, 3300, and 7400 micrograms particles/m3. After exposures, nasal tissue and lungs from rats were tested for their ability to metabolize NP. Rat nasal tissue was incubated for 10 min with 20 microM 1-[14C]NP. Isolated perfused rat lungs were perfused for 90 min with 25 microM 1-[14C]NP. NP metabolites formed in rat nasal tissue and the isolated perfused rat lung were separated by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Exposure of rats to 7400 micrograms particles/m3 for 4 weeks resulted in significant increases (twofold) in rates of NP metabolism in both nasal tissue (440 pmol/mg protein/min) and the isolated perfused rat lung (112 nmol/g lung). Exposure of rats to lower concentrations of diesel exhaust did not increase the rates of NP metabolism in either rat nasal tissue or perfused rat lungs. In all cases, the major metabolites of NP formed in nasal tissue and perfused lungs were 3-, 6-, and 8-hydroxy-1-nitropyrene and 4,5-dihydro-4,5-dihydroxy-1-nitropyrene. A fourfold increase was observed in the amounts of 14C covalently bound in lungs from rats exposed to 7400 micrograms particles/m3. The results from this study indicate that exposure to diesel exhaust particles significantly alters metabolism and subsequent covalent binding of NP.

Dog pulmonary macrophage metabolism of free and particle-associated [14C]benzo[a]pyrene

Pulmonary macrophages (PM) are involved in the clearance of inhaled particulate matter from the lung. PM also are capable of metabolizing xenobiotics such as benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). The objective of this investigation was to measure the ability of PM isolated from dogs to metabolize BaP coated onto diesel exhaust particles and to compare this metabolism with that of BaP in solution. PM were isolated from male beagle dogs and incubated with 1 microM [14C]BaP (solution or diesel particle coated) for select times up to 48 h. After incubation of PM with [14C]BaP, both the cells and the media were individually analyzed for [14C]BaP metabolites by high-performance liquid chromatography. Total quantities of [14C]BaP metabolites in both the media (125 pmol/10(6) cells) and cells (45 pmol/10(6) cells) increased with incubation time for up to 48 h. BaP-9,10-diol and BaP-7,8-diol were the major metabolites in organic extracts from the culture media, whereas BaP-7,8-diol and BaP-4,5-diol were the major metabolites in extracts of cells. Small quantities of BaP phenols and BaP quinones were detected in both the cells and media. Total quantities of BaP metabolites (20-30 pmol/10(6) cells) were not significantly different when PM were incubated for 24 h with either [14C]BaP in solution or [14C]BaP coated on diesel particles. The data suggest that particles retained in lungs are capable of being acted upon by PM metabolizing enzymes and that the ensuing metabolism may play an important role in the metabolic fate of organic material inhaled on particulate matter.