The absorption and metabolism in rats of small oral doses of dimethylnitrosamine. Implication for the possible hazard of dimethylnitrosamine in human food

Risk characterization of N-nitrosodimethylamine in pharmaceuticals

Since 2018, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) has been a reported contaminant in numerous pharmaceutical products. To guide the pharmaceutical industry, FDA identified an acceptable intake (AI) of 96 ng/day NDMA. The approach assumed a linear extrapolation from the Carcinogenic Potency Database (CPDB) harmonic-mean TD50 identified in chronic studies in rats. Although NDMA has been thought to act as a mutagenic carcinogen in experimental animals, it has not been classified as a known human carcinogen by any regulatory agency. Humans are exposed to high daily exogenous and endogenous doses of NDMA. Due to the likelihood of a threshold dose for NDMA-related tumors in animals, we believe that there is ample scientific basis to utilize the threshold-based benchmark dose or point-of-departure (POD) approach when estimating a Permissible Daily Exposure limit (PDE) for NDMA. We estimated that 29,000 ng/kg/day was an appropriate POD for calculating a PDE. Assuming an average bodyweight of 50 kg, we expect that human exposures to NDMA at doses below 5800 ng/day in pharmaceuticals would not result in an increased risk of liver cancer, and that there is little, if any, risk for any other type of cancer, when accounting for the mode-of-action in humans.

EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (EFSA CONTAM Panel), Schrenk D, Bignami M, Bodin L, Chipman JK, del Mazo J, Hogstrand C, (Ron) Hoogenboom L, Leblanc J, Nebbia CS, Nielsen E, Ntzani E, Petersen A, Sand S, Schwerdtle T, Vleminckx C, Wallace H, Romualdo B, Cristina F, Stephen H, Marco I, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Riolo F, Christodoulidou A, Grasl‐Kraupp B. Risk assessment of N-nitrosamines in food

EFSA was asked for a scientific opinion on the risks to public health related to the presence of N-nitrosamines (N-NAs) in food. The risk assessment was confined to those 10 carcinogenic N-NAs occurring in food (TCNAs), i.e. NDMA, NMEA, NDEA, NDPA, NDBA, NMA, NSAR, NMOR, NPIP and NPYR. N-NAs are genotoxic and induce liver tumours in rodents. The in vivo data available to derive potency factors are limited, and therefore, equal potency of TCNAs was assumed. The lower confidence limit of the benchmark dose at 10% (BMDL10) was 10 μg/kg body weight (bw) per day, derived from the incidence of rat liver tumours (benign and malignant) induced by NDEA and used in a margin of exposure (MOE) approach. Analytical results on the occurrence of N-NAs were extracted from the EFSA occurrence database (n = 2,817) and the literature (n = 4,003). Occurrence data were available for five food categories across TCNAs. Dietary exposure was assessed for two scenarios, excluding (scenario 1) and including (scenario 2) cooked unprocessed meat and fish. TCNAs exposure ranged from 0 to 208.9 ng/kg bw per day across surveys, age groups and scenarios. 'Meat and meat products' is the main food category contributing to TCNA exposure. MOEs ranged from 3,337 to 48 at the P95 exposure excluding some infant surveys with P95 exposure equal to zero. Two major uncertainties were (i) the high number of left censored data and (ii) the lack of data on important food categories. The CONTAM Panel concluded that the MOE for TCNAs at the P95 exposure is highly likely (98-100% certain) to be less than 10,000 for all age groups, which raises a health concern.

Risk assessment of chemical carcinogens and thresholds

The controversial arguments about the existence of "thresholds" for carcinogens are discussed and some conclusions are drawn: (1) The meaning of "threshold" has changed considerably during the last decades. Initially, the discussion focused on the genotoxic properties of chemicals. In dose-response studies the endpoint was tumor incidence. Later, DNA adducts represented the biologically active target dose and whether saturation of metabolic activation could lead to non-linear relationships was tested as a hypothesis. (2) In a next step, the implications of the initiation-promotion model were studied. Carcinogens with tumor-initiating properties showed linear dose-response relationships at low doses without a definable threshold, whereas those with tumor-promoting properties showed non-linear characteristics compatible with the existence of a threshold. However, the results are difficult to transfer to the human situation, and many critical endpoints are subject to other risk factors so that a meaningful value cannot be given. (3) Eventually, it turned out that most carcinogens exhibit genotoxic as well as non-genotoxic properties, and toxicity may be equally important as genotoxicity. (4) In view of the discussion for more than 60 years about the existence of thresholds for carcinogens, it is suggested that the threshold approach not be used to establish acceptable risk limits. (5) Instead of calculating an acceptable risk from cancer risk data, the recommended method is to assess the incremental contribution of exposure to the background of avoidable and unavoidable exposures by using biomonitoring data from human individuals. Such data could help in risk management, in order to reach acceptable limits of exposures on the basis of the "as low as reasonably achievable" or "ALARA" principle.

Clearance of N-nitrosodimethylamine and N-nitrosodiethylamine by the perfused rat liver. Relationship to the Km and Vmax for nitrosamine metabolism

The first-pass clearance of dietary N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) by the liver is the most important factor in the pharmacokinetics of this carcinogen in the rat, but is less important in the pharmacokinetics of N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA). The reason for the difference in clearance of these two nitrosamines is not known. These experiments were carried out to see whether the general characteristics of the clearance of these two carcinogens in vivo could be reproduced in the perfused liver, and whether the clearance could be correlated with the Michaelis-Menten parameters Km and Vmax for their metabolism. If this could be done one would be able to predict the possible extent of first-pass clearance of nitrosamines in man from measurement of Km and Vmax for nitrosamine metabolism by the human liver. The Km (22 microM) and Vmax (10.2 and 13.4 nmol/g liver/min) for the metabolism of NDMA by slices from two human livers, the inhibition of that metabolism by ethanol (Ki 0.5 microM), and the rate of N-7 methylation of DNA when slices are incubated with NDMA, were measured. These results are similar to those reported previously with rat liver. The Km (27 microM) for the metabolism of NDEA by rat liver slices and the inhibition of that metabolism by ethanol (Ki 1 microM) were estimated from the rate of ethylation of the DNA of the slices. The clearance of both these nitrosamines by the perfused rat liver was measured, and the results appeared to parallel those in vivo with a striking difference between the clearance of NDMA and NDEA. The maximal rate of clearance of NDMA was 11.2 nmol/g liver/min and of NDEA 8.9 nmol/g liver/min, similar to the Vmax for metabolism of NDMA by liver slices and to the estimated maximal rate of liver metabolism of both nitrosamines in the living rat. However, although the Km for metabolism of these two nitrosamines by liver slices is similar (about 25 microM), the logarithmic mean sinusoidal concentration [see Bass and Keiding, Biochem Pharmacol 37: 1425-1431, 1988] giving half maximal clearance during perfusion (the equivalent to Km) was 2.3 microM for NDMA and 10.6 microM for NDEA. The almost 5-fold difference between these two values is the basis for the difference between the clearance of the two nitrosamines.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Role of DNA methylation in the activation of proto-oncogenes and the induction of pulmonary neoplasia by nitrosamines

The relationships between DNA methylation and repair induced by the tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) to the activation of proto-oncogenes and the induction of pulmonary neoplasia by this carcinogen is described. The formation of the O6-methylguanine (O6MG) adduct following metabolic activation of NNK appears to be a major factor in the induction of lung tumors in both rats and mice and in the activation of the K-ras oncogene in lung tumors from A/J mouse. The potent carcinogenicity of NNK in the rat lung correlated strongly with cell specificity for formation and persistence of the O6MG adduct in the Clara cells. This conclusion was supported by studies with nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a weak carcinogen in the rodent lung. Treatment with NDMA was not associated with any pulmonary cell specificity for DNA methylation. The high affinity for activation of NNK compared to NDMA was ascribed to a difference in cytochrome P-450 isozymes involved in the activation of these two nitrosamines. In the A/J mouse, the induction of pulmonary tumorigenesis involved direct genotoxic activation of the K-ras proto-oncogene as a result of the base mispairing produced by formation of the O6MG adduct. In contrast, the induction of pulmonary tumors in the rat by NNK does not appear to involve the ras pathway. It is apparent that different molecular mechanisms are involved in the development of pulmonary tumors by NNK in the mouse and rat. The studies described in this paper illustrate the utility of performing dose-response experiments and the quantitation of DNA methylation and repair in not only target tissues but also target cell types. The fundamental knowledge gained from unraveling the mechanism of carcinogenesis by NNK could lead ultimately to the identification of factors important in the development of human lung cancer.

Toxicokinetics of N-nitrosodimethylamine in the Syrian golden hamster

The single-dose toxicokinetics of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) has been characterized in 8-week-old male Syrian golden hamsters by analysis using high performance liquid chromatography of serial blood samples. An i.v. bolus dose of 4.2 mumols/kg [14C]NDMA revealed biphasic first-order elimination with a terminal half-life of 8.7 +/- 1.0 min (mean +/- SE) for unchanged NDMA and 31.5 +/- 5.5 min for total radioactivity, and evidence for conversion to polar metabolites was seen in the chromatographic assays. The systemic blood clearance and apparent steady-state volume of distribution for unchanged NDMA were 51.2 +/- 3.0 ml/min/kg and 582 +/- 60 ml/kg, respectively. No unchanged NDMA was detected in the urine following an i.v. bolus dose of 15 mumols/kg [14C]NDMA, but 31% of the total radioactivity was eliminated by that route. A dose of 38 mumols/kg given by gavage indicated a systemic bioavailability of 11 +/- 4% for unchanged NDMA. Reversible binding of NDMA to hamster plasma proteins was found to be negligible. Estimation of the intrinsic hepatic clearance (ClI) in the hamster produced a value of 648 ml/min/kg, which is greater than that previously obtained for the rat, and indicates that the metabolic capacity of the hamster liver is greater than that of the rat. These results suggest that this difference in ClI may play a role in the previously reported (Lijinsky et al. 1987) switch in organotropism from almost exclusivity for liver tumors in hamsters dosed by gavage to additional high incidences of lung and kidney tumors in the rat.

Literature-derived absorption coefficients for 39 chemicals via oral and inhalation routes of exposure

Absorption refers to the amount of a chemical or substance that is able to cross biological membranes and be taken up by the blood for subsequent distribution to target tissues. The term absorption coefficient, as used here, is a numerical descriptor characterizing that fractional uptake by the blood and represents an approximation of the biological "dose" ultimately responsible for toxicity or other effects following exposure or chemical administration. Regulatory agencies utilize absorption coefficients in deriving acceptable daily intake values and health advisory indices, as well as in quantifying radiological risk. However, absorption coefficients do not exist for many chemicals due to a paucity of appropriate toxicological data. As a result, regulatory policy must often provide default options that assume, for example, 100% absorption by all routes to permit evaluation of "data-gap" chemicals. This paper attempts to improve the situation by providing a discrete source of route-specific absorption coefficients that are based on experimental data reported in the open literature. The estimates presented here are the result of an extensive investigation of three data bases (TOXLINE, HSDB, and CIS), many agency documents, and nearly 200 articles from 30 scientific journals. Acknowledging that absorption efficiency varies with dietary status, age, and several other situation-specific factors, the estimates presented here are intended to reflect absorption by the average adult human.

International Commission for Protection against Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens. ICPEMC Working Paper No. 15/6. Effect of ethanol on nitrosamine metabolism and distribution. Implications for the role of nitrosamines in human cancer and for the influence of alcohol consumption on cancer incidence

Alcohol consumption is associated with an increase in the incidence of cancers of several sites, including oesophagus, larynx and mouth. The mechanism of the induction of cancer by alcohol is not clear. Humans are exposed to a variety of carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds. Ethanol changes the pharmacokinetics of nitrosamines in rats particularly by decreasing the ability of the liver to metabolize them. A hypothesis is put forward that the influence of alcohol on human cancer is mediated by its effect on the metabolism and distribution of nitrosamines from the diet, from tobacco smoke and from endogenous synthesis.

Ubiquitous binding of benzo[a]pyrene metabolites to DNA and protein in tissues of the mouse and rabbit

The in vivo formation of benzo[alpha]pyrene (BP) metabolite-DNA adducts in several tissues of mice and rabbits was examined. Included were tissues with widely divergent xenobiotic metabolizing capabilities such as liver and brain. The major adduct identified in each tissue was the (+)-7 beta,8 alpha-dihydroxy-9 alpha,10 alpha-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-BP (BPDEI)-deoxyguanosine adduct. A 7 beta,8 alpha-dihydroxy-9 beta,10 beta-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-BP (BPDEII)-deoxyguanosine adduct, a (-)-BPDEI-deoxyguanosine adduct and an unidentified adduct were also observed. These adducts were present in all of the tissues of the mice and in the lungs of the rabbits; only BPDEI and BPDEII were seen in the rest of the rabbit tissues. In all of the tissues studied, the DNA adduct levels were unexpectedly similar. For example, the BPDEI-DNA adduct levels in muscle and brain of mice were approx. 50% of those in lung and liver at each oral BP dose examined. After an i.v. dose of BP in rabbits, the BPDEI adduct levels in lung were three times those in brain or liver and twice those in muscle. The binding of BP metabolites to protein was also determined in these tissues. The tissue-to-tissue variation in protein binding levels of BP metabolites was greater than that for BPDEI-DNA adducts. There are several possible explanations for the in vivo binding of BP metabolites to DNA and protein of various tissues. First, oxidative metabolism of BP in each of the examined tissues might account for the observed binding. Second, reactive metabolites could be formed in tissues such as liver and lung and be transported to cells in tissues such as muscle and brain where they bind to DNA and protein. In any case, the tissue-to-tissue variations in protein and DNA binding of BP-derived radioactivity do not correlate with differences in cytochrome P-450 activity.

The possible role of nitrosamines in the link between alcohol consumption and esophageal cancer in man

Ethanol in amounts equivalent to a man drinking a pint of beer has a dramatic effect on the metabolism and distribution of nitrosamines in rats. It prevents the first pass clearance of dimethylnitrosamine and thus exposes the extrahepatic organs to oral doses of this carcinogen. By selectively inhibiting metabolism in liver and kidney, ethanol increases the amount of diethylnitrosamine activated in the esophagus between 1.8- and 4.6-fold. It is suggested that there may be a link between these observations and the increase in human esophageal cancer which is associated with alcohol consumption.

Methylation of liver DNA of rat and mouse by N-nitrosodimethylamine formed in vivo from dimethylamine and nitrite

The extent of formation of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in the stomachs of rats and mice after simultaneous oral administration of [14C]dimethylamine and potassium nitrite was determined by measuring the methylation of liver DNA. With doses of around 1 mg dimethylamine hydrochloride/kg body weight and 50 mg potassium nitrite/kg body weight, 0.8% of the amine was nitrosated on average. The individual fluctuations ranged from 0.2 to 1.3% in the rat and from 0.2 to 1.9% in the mouse. Simultaneous administration of 50 mg sodium ascorbate (vitamin C)/kg body weight inhibited the nitrosation by about 80% while 50 mg alpha-tocopherol acetate (vitamin E)/kg body weight reduced the nitrosation by about a half. Assuming similar kinetics and conditions of nitrosation in rats and man, a comparison of the formation of NDMA in vivo from dietary dimethylamine and nitrite with the estimated human uptake of preformed NDMA revealed that in vivo formation in the stomach of man is probably negligible.

An examination of human blood for the presence of volatile nitrosamines

Human blood was examined for the presence of volatile nitrosamines. Nitrosamines were detected by chemiluminescence and mass spectrometry after separation from blood by distillation and solvent extraction. N-nitrosodimethylamine was detected in all but one of 51 blood samples taken from 23 different people, at concentrations from the detection limit (0.1 microgram/litre) to 1.4 microgram/litre with a mean concentration of 0.5 microgram/litre. N-Nitrosodiethylamine was detected in 11 samples, the detection limit being 0.1 microgram/litre. No other volatile nitrosamines were detected. After a test meal of bacon, spinach, bread and beer, the concentration of N-nitrosodimethylamine increased. There was no appreciable difference between the nitrosamine concentrations in the blood of laboratory workers and in the blood of other people. Salivary nitrite concentrations measured semi-quantitatively concurrently with blood sampling varied considerably but showed no apparent correlation with blood nitrosamine levels. Measurements in rabbits given a continuous infusion of N-nitrosodimethylamine gave a clearance rate approximately equal to the blood flow through the liver and a volume of distribution of 1.2 litre/kg body weight. By applying these results to man, the body burden after the meal was calculated as 40-50 microgram. This is substantially higher than the estimated weekly intake of volatile nitrosamines from food.

Cell specificity in DNA binding and repair of chemical carcinogens

Many animal models for organ specific neoplasia have been developed and used to study the pathogenesis of cancer. Morphologic studies have usually concentrated on the response of target cells, whereas biochemical investigations have usually employed whole organ homogenates. Since hepatocytes comprise nearly 90% of the liver's mass and 70-80% of its DNA, alterations in DNA replication, covalent binding and DNA repair of nonparenchymal cells are usually obscured when whole organ homogenates are used. By utilizing cell separation methods, we have been able to demonstrate differences between hepatocyte and nonparenchymal cell replication. DNA damage and repair following exposure to a variety of hepatocarcinogen. Differences in removal of simple O6-alkylguanine and DNA replication correlate with cell specific carcinogenesis of simply alkylating agents. For several other procarcinogens, including 2-acetylaminofluorene and dinitroluene, cell specificity appears to reside primarily in the differential metabolic competence of hepatocytes and nonparenchymal cells. This results in greater covalent binding of the carcinogen to hepatocyte DNA, although the DNA adducts are removed at a similar rate in both cell types.

Removal of O6-methylguanine from DNA by human liver fractions

In in vitro assays using methylated DNAs as substrates, human liver fractions were shown to be able to catalyze the removal of O6-methylguanine. The amount of removal was proportional to the amount of protein added, and the loss of O6-methylguanine occurred with stoichiometric formation of guanine in the DNA and S-methylcysteine in protein. This indicates that human liver contains a protein similar to that previously found in bacteria exposed to alkylating agents. This protein acts as a transmethylase, transferring the intact methyl group from O6-methylguanine in DNA to a cysteine residue on that protein. A similar activity is present in rodent liver, but it was found that human liver was about 10 times more active in carrying out this reaction. In contrast, there was no difference between the human and rat liver extracts in catalyzing the loss of another methylation product, 7-methylguanine, from alkylated DNA. The liver is the organ most likely to be alkylated after exposure to exogenous potential alkylating agents such as dimethylnitrosamine. The present results show that human liver has a significant capacity to repair O6-methylguanine in DNA, which has been implicated as a critical product in carcinogenesis and mutagenesis.

Possible formation of nitrosamine in guinea pigs following exposure to nitrogen dioxide and dimethylamine

The possibility of formation of nitrosamine was investigated in animals exposed to a combination of dimethylamine (DMA) and NO2. First, the distribution and covalent binding of DMA and dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) in rats and guinea pigs were determined. The apparent volume of distribution and biological half-life for [14C]-DMA or [14C]DMN did not reveal any species difference. In general, there were no marked differences in accumulation of radioactivity in tissues of guinea pigs and rats 4 h after the administration of DMA, while the guinea pig tissues showed higher accumulation after DMN administration. Nucleic acid fractions prepared from liver and lungs of both species following administration of DMN or DMA in vivo showed much higher covalent binding with DMN than with DMA. Furthermore, the covalent binding of DMN was found to be due to bioactivation, whereas the DMA binding was nonspecific. Since guinea pig liver showed a higher degree of covalent binding than rat liver, this species was used to investigate the possible increase in covalent binding in the presence of NO2 and DMA as a reflection of DMN formation. There was no evidence of enhancement of covalent binding when animals pretreated with [14C]-DMA were exposed for various lengths of time to different concentrations of NO2.

Formation and subsequent removal of O6-methylguanine from deoxyribonucleic acid in rat liver and kidney after small doses of dimethylnitrosamine

1. The amounts of 7-methylguanine and O(6)-methylguanine present in the DNA of liver and kidney of rats 4h and 24h after administration of low doses of dimethylnitrosamine were measured. 2. O(6)-Methylguanine was rapidly removed from liver DNA so that less than 15% of the expected amount (on the basis of 7-methylguanine found) was present within 4h after doses of 0.25mg/kg body wt. or less. Within 24h of administration of dimethylnitrosamine at doses of 1mg/kg or below, more than 85% of the expected amount of O(6)-methylguanine was removed. Removal was most efficient (defined in terms of the percentage of the O(6)-methylguanine formed that was subsequently lost within 24h) after doses of 0.25-0.5mg/kg body wt. At doses greater or less than this the removal was less efficient, even though the absolute amount of O(6)-methylguanine lost during 24h increased with the dose of dimethylnitrosamine over the entire range of doses from 0.001 to 20mg/kg body wt. 3. Alkylation of kidney DNA after intraperitoneal injections of 1-50mug of dimethylnitrosamine/kg body wt. occurred at about one-tenth the extent of alkylation of liver DNA. Removal of O(6)-methylguanine from the DNA also took place in the kidney, but was slower than in the liver. 4. After oral administration of these doses of dimethylnitrosamine, the alkylation of kidney DNA was much less than after intraperitoneal administration and represented only 1-2% of that found in the liver. 5. Alkylation of liver and kidney DNA was readily detectable when measured 24h after the final injection in rats that received daily injections of 1mug of [(3)H]dimethylnitrosamine/kg for 2 or 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, O(6)-methylguanine contents in the liver DNA were about 1% of the 7-methylguanine contents. The amount of 7-methylguanine in the liver DNA was 10 times that in the kidney DNA, but liver O(6)-methylguanine contents were only twice those in the kidney. 6. Extracts able to catalyse the removal of O(6)-methylguanine from alkylated DNA in vitro were isolated from liver and kidney. These extracts did not lead to the loss of 7-methylguanine from DNA. 7. The possible relevance of the formation and removal of O(6)-methylguanine in DNA to the risk of tumour induction by exposure to low concentrations of dimethylnitrosamine is discussed.