Mutagenic selectivity at the HPRT locus in V-79 cells: comparison of mutations caused by bay-region benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-diol-9,-10-epoxide enantiomers with high and low carcinogenic activity

DNA adducts: Formation, biological effects, and new biospecimens for mass spectrometric measurements in humans

Hazardous chemicals in the environment and diet or their electrophilic metabolites can form adducts with genomic DNA, which can lead to mutations and the initiation of cancer. In addition, reactive intermediates can be generated in the body through oxidative stress and damage the genome. The identification and measurement of DNA adducts are required for understanding exposure and the causal role of a genotoxic chemical in cancer risk. Over the past three decades, 32 P-postlabeling, immunoassays, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) methods have been established to assess exposures to chemicals through measurements of DNA adducts. It is now possible to measure some DNA adducts in human biopsy samples, by LC/MS, with as little as several milligrams of tissue. In this review article, we highlight the formation and biological effects of DNA adducts, and highlight our advances in human biomonitoring by mass spectrometric analysis of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues, untapped biospecimens for carcinogen DNA adduct biomarker research.

Data in support of the mutagenic potential of the isoflavone irilone in cultured V79 cells

The isoflavone irilone is found in human plasma after ingestion of red clover-based dietary supplements, but information allowing safety assessment is rare. Here, data in support of the mutagenic potential of irilone in cultured V79 cells [1] are presented. These data include (i) a quantitative assessment of irilone in the culture medium during the cell culture experiments, (ii) changes in the mutation spectrum in cDNA of the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase locus of irilone-treated V79 cells, (iii) occurrence of karyorrhexis and apoptosis as well as (iv) number of micronucleated cells containing whole chromosomes or chromosomal fragments. Also exemplary micrographs, used for the fluorescence microscopic assessment of (iii) and (iv) are presented.

Aldo-keto reductases protect lung adenocarcinoma cells from the acute toxicity of B[a]P-7,8-trans-dihydrodiol

Tobacco smoke exposure stimulates the expression of genes that are likely to be involved in the metabolism of its combustion products such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Four of the smoke induced genes are aldo-keto reductases (AKR), enzymes that metabolically activate PAH to PAH o-quinones. Alternatively, PAHs are metabolized to (±)-anti-diol epoxides, such as (±)-anti-benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide ((±)-anti-BPDE)), by the combined action of P4501A1/1B1 and epoxide hydrolase. (±)-anti-BPDE forms DNA adducts directly, while PAH o-quinones cause DNA damage by oxidative stress through a futile redox cycle. To address the role of AKRs in PAH cytotoxicity, we compared the cytotoxicity of PAH metabolites and the effects of overexpressing AKR1A1 in lung cells. (±)-anti-BPDE and B[a]P-7,8-trans-dihydrodiol, an intermediate in (±)-anti-BPDE metabolism, are toxic to A549 cells at concentrations with an IC(50) of ∼2 μM. In contrast, the PAH o-quinone B[a]P-7,8-dione was about 10-fold less toxic to A549 cells with an IC(50) > 20 μM. Similar differences in cytoxicity were observed with two other PAH o-quinones (benz[a]anthracene-3,4-dione and 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-3,4-dione) compared with their respective diol-epoxide counterparts (BA-3,4-diol-1,2-epoxide and DMBA-3,4-diol-1,2-epoxide). In addition, both anti-BPDE and B[a]P-7,8-trans-dihydrodiol induced p53 expression ∼6 h post-treatment at concentrations as low as 1 μM consistent with extensive DNA damage. B[a]P-7,8-dione treatment did not induce p53 but generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) in A549 cells and induced the expression of oxidative response genes in H358 cells. We also observed that overexpression of AKR1A1 in H358 cells, which otherwise have low levels of AKR expression, protected cells 2-10-fold from the toxic effects of B[a]P-7,8-trans-dihydrodiol. These data suggest that overexpression of AKRs may protect lung cancer cells from the acute toxic effects of PAH.

Chemistry and structural biology of DNA damage and biological consequences

The formation of adducts by the reaction of chemicals with DNA is a critical step for the initiation of carcinogenesis. The structural analysis of various DNA adducts reveals that conformational and chemical rearrangements and interconversions are a common theme. Conformational changes are modulated both by the nature of adduct and the base sequences neighboring the lesion sites. Equilibria between conformational states may modulate both DNA repair and error-prone replication past these adducts. Likewise, chemical rearrangements of initially formed DNA adducts are also modulated both by the nature of adducts and the base sequences neighboring the lesion sites. In this review, we focus on DNA damage caused by a number of environmental and endogenous agents, and biological consequences.

On the impact of the molecule structure in chemical carcinogenesis

Cancer is as a highly complex and multifactorial disease responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of people in the western countries every year. Since cancer is clonal and due to changes at the level of the genetic material, viruses, chemical mutagens and other exogenous factors such as short-waved electromagnetic radiation that alter the structure of DNA are among the principal causes. The focus of this present review lies on the influence of the molecular structure of two well-investigated chemical carcinogens from the group of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), benzo[a]pyrene (BP) and dibenzo[a,l]pyrene (DBP). Although there is only one additional benzo ring present in the latter compound, DBP exerts much stronger genotoxic and carcinogenic effects in certain tumor models as compared to BP. Actually, DBP has been identified as the most potent tumorigen among all carcinogenic PAHs tested to date. The genotoxic effects of both compounds investigated in mammalian cells in culture or in animal models are described. Comparison of enzymatic activation, DNA binding levels of reactive diol-epoxide metabolites, efficiency of DNA adduct repair and mutagenicity provides some clues on why this compound is about 100-fold more potent in inducing tumors than BP. The data published during the past 20 years support and strengthen the idea that compound-inherent physicochemical parameters, along with inefficient repair of certain kinds of DNA lesions formed upon metabolic activation, can be considered as strong determinants for high carcinogenic potency of a chemical.

Differential nucleotide excision repair susceptibility of bulky DNA adducts in different sequence contexts: hierarchies of recognition signals

The structural origin underlying differential nucleotide excision repair (NER) susceptibilities of bulky DNA lesions remains a challenging problem. We investigated the 10S (+)-trans-anti-[BP]-N(2)-2'-deoxyguanosine (G*) adduct in double-stranded DNA. This adduct arises from the reaction, in vitro and in vivo, of a major genotoxic metabolite of benzo[a]pyrene (BP), (+)-(7R,8S,9S,10R)-7,8-dihydroxy-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene, with the exocyclic amino group of guanine. Removal of this lesion by the NER apparatus in cell-free extracts has been found to depend on the base sequence context in which the lesion is embedded, providing an excellent opportunity for elucidating the properties of the damaged DNA duplexes that favor NER. While the BP ring system is in the B-DNA minor groove, 5' directed along the modified strand, there are orientational distinctions that are sequence dependent and are governed by flanking amino groups [Nucleic Acids Res.35 (2007), 1555-1568]. To elucidate sequence-governed NER susceptibility, we conducted molecular dynamics simulations for the 5'-...CG*GC..., 5'-...CGG*C..., and 5'-...TCG*CT... adduct-containing duplexes. We also investigated the 5'-...CG*IC... and 5'-...CIG*C... sequences, which contain "I" (2'-deoxyinosine), with hydrogen replacing the amino group in 2'-deoxyguanosine, to further characterize the structural and dynamic roles of the flanking amino groups in the damaged duplexes. Our results pinpoint explicit roles for the amino groups in tandem GG sequences on the efficiency of NER and suggest a hierarchy of destabilizing structural features that differentially facilitate NER of the BP lesion in the sequence contexts investigated. Furthermore, combinations of several locally destabilizing features in the hierarchy, consistent with a multipartite model, may provide a relatively strong recognition signal.

Both replication bypass fidelity and repair efficiency influence the yield of mutations per target dose in intact mammalian cells induced by benzo[a]pyrene-diol-epoxide and dibenzo[a,l]pyrene-diol-epoxide

Mutations induced by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are expected to be produced when error-prone DNA replication occurs across unrepaired DNA lesions formed by reactive PAH metabolites such as diol epoxides. The mutagenicity of the two PAH-diol epoxides (+)-anti-7,8-dihydroxy-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (BPDE) and (+/-)-anti-11,12-dihydroxy-13,14-epoxy-11,12,13,14-tetrahydrodibenzo[a,l]pyrene (DBPDE) was compared in nucleotide excision repair (NER) proficient and deficient hamster cell lines. We applied the (32)P-postlabelling assay to analyze adduct levels and the hprt gene mutation assay for monitoring mutations. It was found that the mutagenicity per target dose was 4 times higher for DBPDE compared to BPDE in NER proficient cells while in NER deficient cells, the mutagenicity per target dose was 1.4 times higher for BPDE. In order to investigate to what extent the mutagenicity of the different adducts in NER proficient cells was influenced by repair or replication bypass, we measured the overall NER incision rate, the rate of adduct removal, the rate of replication bypass and the frequency of induced recombination in the hprt gene. The results suggest that NER of BPDE lesions are 5 times more efficient than for DBPDE lesions, in NER proficient cells. However, DBPDE adducts block replication more efficiently and also induce 6 times more recombination events in the hprt gene than adducts of BPDE, suggesting that DBPDE adducts are, to a larger extent, bypassed by homologous recombination. The results obtained here indicate that the mutagenicity of PAH is influenced not only by NER, but also by replication bypass fidelity. This has been postulated earlier based on results using in vitro enzyme assays, but is now also being recognized in terms of forward mutations in intact mammalian cells.

The role of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-DNA adducts in inducing mutations in mouse skin

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) form stable and depurinating DNA adducts in mouse skin to induce preneoplastic mutations. Some mutations transform cells, which then clonally expand to establish tumors. Strong clues about the mutagenic mechanism can be obtained if the PAH-DNA adducts can be correlated with both preneoplastic and tumor mutations. To this end, we studied mutagenesis in PAH-treated early preneoplastic skin (1 day after exposure) and in the induced papillomas in SENCAR mice. Papillomas were studied by PCR amplification of the H-ras gene and sequencing. For benzo[a]pyrene (BP), BP-7,8-dihydrodiol (BPDHD), 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) and dibenzo[a,l]pyrene (DB[a,l]P), the codon 13 (GGC to GTC) and codon 61 (CAA to CTA) mutations in papillomas corresponded to the relative levels of Gua and Ade-depurinating adducts, despite BP and BPDHD forming significant amounts of stable DNA adducts. Such a relationship was expected for DMBA and DB[a,l]P, as they formed primarily depurinating adducts. These results suggest that depurinating adducts play a major role in forming the tumorigenic mutations. To validate this correlation, preneoplastic skin mutations were studied by cloning H-ras PCR products and sequencing individual clones. DMBA- and DB[a,l]P-treated skin showed primarily A.T to G.C mutations, which correlated with the high ratio of the Ade/Gua-depurinating adducts. Incubation of skin DNA with T.G-DNA glycosylase eliminated most of these A.T to G.C mutations, indicating that they existed as G.T heteroduplexes, as would be expected if they were formed by errors in the repair of abasic sites generated by the depurinating adducts. BP and its metabolites induced mainly G.C to T.A mutations in preneoplastic skin. However, PCR over unrepaired anti-BPDE-N(2)dG adducts can generate similar mutations as artifacts of the study protocol, making it difficult to establish an adduct-mutation correlation for determining which BP-DNA adducts induce the early preneoplastic mutations. In conclusion, this study suggests that depurinating adducts play a major role in PAH mutagenesis.

The stereochemistry of benzo[a]pyrene-2'-deoxyguanosine adducts affects DNA methylation by SssI and HhaI DNA methyltransferases

The biologically most significant genotoxic metabolite of the environmental pollutant benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), (+)-7R,8S-diol 9S,10R-epoxide, reacts chemically with guanine in DNA, resulting in the predominant formation of (+)-trans-B[a]P-N(2)-dG and, to a lesser extent, (+)-cis-B[a]P-N(2)-dG adducts. Here, we compare the effects of the adduct stereochemistry and conformation on the methylation of cytosine catalyzed by two purified prokaryotic DNA methyltransferases (MTases), SssI and HhaI, with the lesions positioned within or adjacent to their CG and GCGC recognition sites, respectively. The fluorescence properties of the pyrenyl residues of the (+)-cis-B[a]P-N(2)-dG and (+)-trans-B[a]P-N(2)-dG adducts in complexes with MTases are enhanced, but to different extents, indicating that aromatic B[a]P residues are positioned in different microenvironments in the DNA-protein complexes. We have previously shown that the (+)-trans-isomeric adduct inhibits both the binding and methylating efficiencies (k(cat)) of both MTases [Subach OM, Baskunov VB, Darii MV, Maltseva DV, Alexandrov DA, Kirsanova OV, Kolbanovskiy A, Kolbanovskiy M, Johnson F, Bonala R, et al. (2006) Biochemistry45, 6142-6159]. Here we show that the stereoisomeric (+)-cis-B[a]P-N(2)-dG lesion has only a minimal effect on the binding of these MTases and on k(cat). The minor-groove (+)-trans adduct interferes with the formation of the normal DNA minor-groove contacts with the catalytic loop of the MTases. However, the intercalated base-displaced (+)-cis adduct does not interfere with the minor-groove DNA-catalytic loop contacts, allowing near-normal binding of the MTases and undiminished k(cat) values.

Exocyclic amino groups of flanking guanines govern sequence-dependent adduct conformations and local structural distortions for minor groove-aligned benzo[a]pyrenyl-guanine lesions in a GG mutation hotspot context

The environmental carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene (BP) is metabolized to reactive diol epoxides that bind to cellular DNA by predominantly forming N²-guanine adducts (G*). Mutation hotspots for these adducts are frequently found in 5′- ··· GG ··· dinucleotide sequences, but their origins are poorly understood. Here we used high resolution NMR and molecular dynamics simulations to investigate differences in G* adduct conformations in 5′- ··· CG*GC ··· and 5′- ··· CGG* C··· sequence contexts in otherwise identical 12-mer duplexes. The BP rings are positioned 5′ along the modified strand in the minor groove in both cases. However, subtle orientational differences cause strong distinctions in structural distortions of the DNA duplexes, because the exocyclic amino groups of flanking guanines on both strands compete for space with the BP rings in the minor groove, acting as guideposts for placement of the BP. In the 5′- ··· CGG* C ··· case, the 5′-flanking G · C base pair is severely untwisted, concomitant with a bend deduced from electrophoretic mobility. In the 5′- ··· CG*GC ··· context, there is no untwisting, but there is significant destabilization of the 5′-flanking Watson–Crick base pair. The minor groove width opens near the lesion in both cases, but more for 5′- ··· CGG*C···. Differential sequence-dependent removal rates of this lesion result and may contribute to the mutation hotspot phenomenon.

Free-energy perturbation methods to study structure and energetics of DNA adducts: results for the major N2-dG adduct of benzo[a]pyrene in two conformations and different sequence contexts

The potent mutagen/carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) is activated to (+)-anti-B[a]PDE, which induces a variety of mutations (e.g., G --> T, G --> A, etc.) via its major adduct [+ta]-B[a]P-N2-dG. One hypothesis is that adducts (such as [+ta]-B[a]P-N2-dG) induce different mutations via different conformations, probably when replicated by different lesion-bypass DNA polymerases (DNAPs). We showed that Escherichia coli DNAP V was responsible for G --> T mutations with [+ta]-B[a]P-N2-dG in a 5'-TGT sequence (Yin et al., (2004) DNA Repair 3, 323), so we wish to study conformations of this adduct/sequence context by molecular modeling. The development of a CHARMM-based molecular dynamics (MD) simulations protocol with free-energy calculations in the presence of solvent and counterions is described. A representative base-pairing and base-displaced conformation of [+ta]-B[a]P-N2-dG in the 5'-TGT sequence are used: (1) BPmi5, which has the B[a]P moiety in the minor groove pointing toward the base on the 5'-side of the adduct, and (2) Gma5, which has the B[a]P moiety stacked with the surrounding base pairs and the dG moiety displaced into the major groove. The MD output structures are reasonable when compared to known NMR structures. Changes in DNA sequence context dramatically affect the biological consequences (e.g., mutagenesis) of [+ta]-B[a]P-N2-dG. Consequently, we also developed a MD-based free-energy perturbation (FEP) protocol to study DNA sequence changes. FEP involves the gradual "fading-out" of atoms in a starting structure (A) and "fading-in" of atoms in a final structure (B), which allows a realistic assessment of the energetic and structural changes when two structures A and B are closely related. Two DNA sequence changes are described: (1) 5'-TGT --> 5'-TGG, which involves two steps [T:A --> T:C --> G:C], and (2) 5'-TGT --> 5'-TGC, which involves three steps [T:A --> T:2AP --> C:2AP --> C:G], where 2AP (2-aminopurine) is included, because T:2AP and C:2AP retain more-or-less normal pairing orientations between complementary bases. FEP is also used to evaluate the impact that a 5'-TGT to 5'-UGT sequence change might have on mutagenesis with [+ta]-B[a]P-N2-dG. In summary, we developed (1) a CHARMM-based molecular dynamics (MD) simulations protocol with free-energy calculations in the presence of solvent and counterions to study B[a]P-N2-dG adducts in DNA duplexes, and (2) a MD-based free-energy perturbation (FEP) protocol to study DNA sequence context changes around B[a]P-N2-dG adducts.

Mutagenesis studies with four stereoisomeric N2-dG benzo[a]pyrene adducts in the identical 5′-CGC sequence used in NMR studies: G→T mutations dominate in each case

Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and a potent mutagen/carcinogen found ubiquitously in the environment. B[a]P is primarily metabolized to diol epoxides, which react principally at N2-dG in DNA. B[a]P-N2-dG adducts have been shown to induce a variety of mutations, notably G-->T, G-->A, G-->C and -1 frameshifts. Four stereoisomers of B[a]P-N2-dG (designated: [+ta]-;, [+ca]-, [-ta] and [-ca]) were studied by NMR in duplex 11mers in a 5'-CGC sequence context, and each adopted a different adduct conformation (Geacintov, et al. (1997) Chem. Res. Toxicol., 10, 111). Herein these four identical B[a]P-containing 11mers are built into duplex plasmid genomes and mutagenesis studied in Escherichia coli following SOS-induction. In nucleotide excision repair (NER) proficient E.coli, no adduct-derived mutants are detected. In NER deficient E.coli, G-->T mutations dominate for all four stereoisomers [+ta]-, [+ca]-, [-ta] and [-ca]-B[a]P-N(2)-dG, and mutation frequency is similar. Thus, the mutagenic pattern for these four B[a]P-N2-dG stereoisomers is the same, in spite of the fact that they adopt dramatically different conformations in ds-oligonucleotides as determined by NMR. These findings suggest that adduct conformation must be fluid enough in the 5'-CGC sequence that the duplex DNA conformation can interconvert to mutagenic and non-mutagenic conformations during lesion-bypass. A comparison of all published studies with these four B[a]P-N2-dG stereoisomers in E.coli reveals that B[a]P-N2-dG adduct stereochemistry tends to have a lesser impact on mutagenic pattern (e.g. G-->T versus G-->A mutations) than does DNA sequence context, which is discussed.

Error-prone translesion synthesis by human DNA polymerase eta on DNA-containing deoxyadenosine adducts of 7,8-dihydroxy-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene

When human DNA polymerase eta (pol eta) encounters N6-deoxyadenosine adducts formed by trans epoxide ring opening of the 7,8-dihydroxy-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (BaP DE) isomer with (+)-7R,8S,9S,10R configuration ((+)-BaP DE-2), misincorporation of A or G and incorporation of the correct T are equally likely to occur. On the other hand, the enzyme exhibits a 3-fold preference for correct T incorporation opposite adducts formed by trans ring opening of the (-)-(7S,8R,9R,10S)-DE-2 enantiomer. Adducts at dA formed by cis ring opening of these two BaP DE-2 isomers exhibit a 2-3-fold preference for A over T incorporation, with G intermediate between the two. Extension one nucleotide beyond these adducts is generally weaker than incorporation across from them, but among mismatches the (adducted A*) x A mispair is the most favored for extension. Because mutations can only occur if mispairs are extended, this observation is consistent with the occurrence of A x T to T x A transversions as common mutations in animal cells treated with BaP DE-2 isomers. Adducts with S absolute configuration at the point of attachment of the hydrocarbon to the base inhibit incorporation and extension by pol eta to a lesser extent than their R counterparts. Template-primers containing each of the four isomeric dA adducts derived from BaP DE-2 and two adducts derived from 9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo-[a]pyrene in which the 7- and 8-hydroxyl groups of the DEs are replaced with hydrogens exhibit reduced electrophoretic mobilities relative to the unadducted oligonucleotides. This effect is largely independent of DNA sequence. Decreased mobility correlates with an increased rate of incorporation by pol eta, suggesting a systematic relationship between the overall DNA structure and efficiency of the enzyme.

Methylation of cytosine at C5 in a CpG sequence context causes a conformational switch of a benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide-N2-guanine adduct in DNA from a minor groove alignment to intercalation with base displacement

It is well known that CpG dinucleotide steps in DNA, which are highly methylated at the 5-position of cytosine (meC) in human tissues, exhibit a disproportionate number of mutations within certain codons of the p53 gene. There is ample published evidence indicating that the reactivity of guanine with anti-B[a]PDE (a metabolite of the environmental carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene) at CpG mutation hot spots is enhanced by the methylation of the cytosine residue flanking the target guanine residue on the 5'-side. In this work we demonstrate that such a methylation can also dramatically affect the conformational characteristics of an adduct derived from the reaction of one of the two enantiomers of anti-B[a]PDE with the exocyclic amino group of guanine ([BP]G adduct). A detailed NMR study indicates that the 10R (-)-trans-anti-[BP]G adduct undergoes a transition from a minor groove-binding alignment of the aromatic BP ring system in the unmethylated C-[BP]G sequence context, to an intercalative BP alignment with a concomitant displacement of the modified guanine residue into the minor groove in the methylated meC-[BP]G sequence context. By contrast, a minor groove-binding alignment was observed for the stereoisomeric 10S (+)-trans-anti-[BP]G adduct in both the C-[BP]G and meC-[BP]G sequence contexts. This remarkable conformational switch resulting from the presence of a single methyl group at the 5-position of the cytosine residue flanking the lesion on the 5'-side, is attributed to the hydrophobic effect of the methyl group that can stabilize intercalated adduct conformations in an adduct stereochemistry-dependent manner. Such conformational differences in methylated and unmethylated CpG sequences may be significant because of potential alterations in the cellular processing of the [BP]G adducts by DNA transcription, replication, and repair enzymes.

Structure of a high fidelity DNA polymerase bound to a benzo[a]pyrene adduct that blocks replication

Of the carcinogens to which humans are most frequently exposed, the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon benzo[a]pyrene (BP) is one of the most ubiquitous. BP is a byproduct of grilled foods and tobacco and fuel combustion and has long been linked to various human cancers, particularly lung and skin. BP is metabolized to diol epoxides that covalently modify DNA bases to form bulky adducts that block DNA synthesis by replicative or high fidelity DNA polymerases. Here we present the structure of a high fidelity polymerase from a thermostable strain of Bacillus stearothermophilus (Bacillus fragment) bound to the most common BP-derived N2-guanine adduct base-paired with cytosine. The BP adduct adopts a conformation that places the polycyclic BP moiety in the nascent DNA minor groove and is the first structure of a minor groove adduct bound to a polymerase. Orientation of the BP moiety into the nascent DNA minor groove results in extensive disruption to the interactions between the adducted DNA duplex and the polymerase. The disruptions revealed by the structure of Bacillus fragment bound to a BP adduct provide a molecular basis for rationalizing the potent blocking effect on replication exerted by BP adducts.

Molecular modeling of the major benzo[a]pyrene N2-dG adduct in cases where mutagenesis results are known in double stranded DNA

The potent mutagen/carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) is metabolically activated to (+)-anti-B[a]PDE, which induces a full spectrum of mutations (e.g. GC-->TA, GC-->AT, etc.). One hypothesis for this complexity is that different mutations are induced by different conformations of its major adduct [+ta]-B[a]P-N2-dG when bypassed during DNA replication (probably by different DNA polymerases). Previous molecular modeling studies suggested that B[a]P-N2-dG adducts can in principle adopt at least 16 potential conformational classes in ds-DNA. Herein we report on molecular modeling studies with the eight conformations most likely to be relevant to base substitution mutagenesis in 10 cases where mutagenesis has been studied in ds-DNA plasmids in E. coli with B[a]P-N2-dG adducts of differing stereoisomers and DNA sequence contexts, as well as in five cases where the conformation is known by NMR. Of the approximately 11,000 structures generated in this study, the computed lowest energy structures are reported for 120 cases (i.e. eight conformations and 15 examples), and their conformations compared. Of the eight conformations, four are virtually always computed to be high in energy. The remaining four lower energy conformations include two with the BP moiety in the minor groove (designated: BPmi5 and BPmi3), and two base-displaced conformations, one with the dG moiety in the major groove (designated: Gma5) and one with the dG in the minor groove (designated: Gmi3). Interestingly, these four are the only conformations that have been observed for B[a]P-N2-dG adducts in NMR studies. Independent of sequence contexts and adduct stereochemistry, BPmi5 structures tend to look reasonably similar, as do BPmi3 structures, while the base-displaced structures Gma5 and BPmi3 tend to show greater variability in structure. A correlation was sought between modeling and mutagenesis results in the case of the low energy conformations BPmi5, BPmi3, Gma5 and Gma3. Plots of log[(G-->T)/(G-->A)] versus energy[(conformation X)-(conformation Y)] were constructed for all six pairwise combinations of these four conformations, and the only plot giving a straight line involved Gma5 and Gmi3. While this finding is striking, its significance is unclear (as discussed).

A single site-specific trans-opened 7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene 7,8-diol 9,10-epoxide N2-deoxyguanosine adduct induces mutations at multiple sites in DNA

Site-specific mutagenicity of trans-opened adducts at the exocyclic N(2)-amino group of guanine by the (+)-(7R,8S,9S,10R)- and (-)-(7S,8R,9R,10S)-enantiomers of a benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-diol 9,10-epoxide (7-hydroxyl and epoxide oxygen are trans, BPDE-2) has been determined in Chinese hamster V79 cells and their repair-deficient counterpart, V-H1 cells. Four vectors containing single 10S-BPDE-dG or 10R-BPDE-dG adducts positioned at G(0) or G(-1) in the analyzed 5'-ACTG(0)G(-1)GA sequence of the non-transcribed strand were separately transfected into the cells. Mutations at each of the seven nucleotides were analyzed by a novel primer extension assay using a mixture of one dNTP complementary to the mutated nucleotide and three other ddNTPs and were optimized to quantify levels of a mutation as low as 1%. Only G --> T mutations were detected at the adducted sites; the 10S adduct derived from the highly carcinogenic (+)-diol epoxide was 40-50 and 75-140% more mutagenic than the 10R adduct in V79 and V-H1 cells, respectively. Importantly, the 10S adducts, but not the 10R adducts, induced separate non-targeted mutations at sites 5' to the G(-1) and G(0) lesions (G(0) --> T and C --> T, respectively) in both cell lines. Neither the T 5' to G(0) nor sites 3' to the lesions showed mutations. Non-targeted mutations may enhance overall mutagenicity of the 10S-BPDE-dG lesion and contribute to the much higher carcinogenicity and mutagenicity of (+)-BPDE-2 compared with its (-)-enantiomer. Our study reports a definitive demonstration of mutations distal to a site-specific polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon adduct.

Mutations induced by (-)-anti-11R,12S-dihydrodiol 13S,14R-epoxide of dibenzo[a,l]pyrene in the coding region of the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (Hprt) gene in Chinese hamster V79 cells

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon dibenzo[a,l]pyrene (DB[a,l]P) is an exceptionally potent carcinogen. Its direct DNA-reactive metabolite, the fjord region (-)-anti-11R,12S-dihydrodiol 13S,14R-epoxide [(-)-anti-DB[a,l]PDE], was used to investigate induction of mutations in the coding region of the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (Hprt) gene in Chinese hamster V79 cells. Cells exposed to 1-10 nM (-)-anti-DB[a,l]PDE exhibited a close dose-responsive increase in the frequency of mutant clones resistant to 6-thioguanine. RNA was isolated from mutant clones and cDNAs were prepared by reverse transcription. The coding region of the cDNA of the Hprt gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and sequenced. Analysis of the DNA base sequence changes induced by (-)-anti-DB[a,l]PDE indicated that base substitutions were the most prevalent mutations, followed by exon deletions. Among the groups of V79 cells treated with low concentrations of (-)-anti-DB[a,l]PDE, most displayed high selectivity for both A:T-->T:A transversions and A:T-->G:C transitions, while cells exposed to a higher dose (10 nM) formed predominantly G:C-->T:A transversions. Also, the number of base substitutions per mutant clone increased with dose. In general, the mutation profiles induced by (-)-anti-DB[a,l]PDE exhibited a wide spectrum; in addition to base substitutions, deletions, insertions, frameshift mutations, as well as tandem mutations were detected. Analysis of the DNA adduct levels induced by (-)-anti-DB[a,l]PDE revealed that a concentration-dependent increase in the level of adduct formation preceded the concentration-dependent increase in mutational events in these cells and that an increasing proportion of DNA adducts at deoxyadenosine were formed with dose. The results of this study demonstrate a correspondence between the concentration and types of DNA adducts and the frequency and types of mutations induced by (-)-anti-DB[a,l]PDE in V79 cells.

Translesion replication of benzo[a]pyrene and benzo[c]phenanthrene diol epoxide adducts of deoxyadenosine and deoxyguanosine by human DNA polymerase iota

Human DNA polymerase iota (poliota) is a Y-family polymerase whose cellular function is presently unknown. Here, we report on the ability of poliota to bypass various stereoisomers of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) diol epoxide (DE) and benzo[c]phenanthrene (BcPh) DE adducts at deoxyadenosine (dA) or deoxyguanosine (dG) bases in four different template sequence contexts in vitro. We find that the BaP DE dG adducts pose a strong block to poliota-dependent replication and result in a high frequency of base misincorporations. In contrast, misincorporations opposite BaP DE and BcPh DE dA adducts generally occurred with a frequency ranging between 2 x 10(-3) and 6 x 10(-4). Although dTMP was inserted efficiently opposite all dA adducts, further extension was relatively poor, with one exception (a cis opened adduct derived from BcPh DE) where up to 58% extension past the lesion was observed. Interestingly, another human Y-family polymerase, polkappa, was able to extend dTMP inserted opposite a BaP DE dA adduct. We suggest that poliota might therefore participate in the error-free bypass of DE-adducted dA in vivo by predominantly incorporating dTMP opposite the damaged base. In many cases, elongation would, however, require the participation of another polymerase more specialized in extension, such as polkappa.

Molecular modeling of four stereoisomers of the major B[a]PDE adduct (at N(2)-dG) in five cases where the structure is known from NMR studies: molecular modeling is consistent with NMR results

The potent mutagen/carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) is metabolically activated to (+)-anti-B[a]PDE, which is known to induce a variety of mutations (e.g., GC --> TA, GC --> AT, etc.). One hypothesis for this complexity is that different mutations are induced by different conformations of its major adduct [+ta]-B[a]P-N(2)-dG when bypassed during DNA replication (perhaps by different DNA polymerases). Our previous molecular modeling studies have suggested that conformational complexity might be extensive in that B[a]P-N(2)-dG adducts appeared capable of adopting at least sixteen potential conformational classes in ds-DNA [e.g., Kozack and Loechler (1999) Carcinogenesis 21, 1953], although only eight seemed likely to be relevant to base substitution mutagenesis. Such molecular modeling studies are only likely to be valuable for the interpretation of mutagenesis results if global minimum energy conformations for adducts are found and if the differences in the energies of these different conformations can be computed reasonably accurately. One approach to assessing the reliability of our molecular modeling techniques is considered herein. Using a five-step molecular modeling protocol, which importantly included a molecular dynamics version of simulated annealing, eight conformations are studied in each of five cases. (The five cases are listed below, and were chosen because in each case the preferred solution conformation is known from a NMR study.) Of the eight conformations studied, the one computed to be lowest in energy is the same conformation as the one observed by NMR in four of the five cases: 5'-CGC sequence with [+ta]-, [-ta]-, and [+ca]-B[a]P-N(2)-dG, and 5'-TGC sequence with [+ta]-B[a]P-N(2)-dG. In the fifth case (5'-CGC sequence with [-ca]-B[a]P-N(2)-dG), the known NMR conformation is computed to be second lowest in energy, but it is within approximately 1.7 kcal of the computed lowest energy conformation. These results suggest that molecular modeling is surprisingly accurate in computing lowest energy conformations and that it should be useful in assessing the relative energies of different conformations. This is especially important given that currently molecular modeling is the only means available to study the energetics of minor conformations of DNA adducts.

Benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide-deoxyguanosine adducts are accurately bypassed by yeast DNA polymerase zeta in vitro

The possible role of bypass DNA polymerase zeta in mutagenic translesion synthesis past benzo[a]pyrene (BP) 7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide (DE) N(2)-deoxyguanosine (dG) adducts has been examined. We prepared 59-mer DNA templates containing dG adducts derived from trans opening of enantiomers of BP DE-2, in which the 7-hydroxyl group and epoxide oxygen are trans. The 10S-BP DE-dG and 10R-BP DE-dG adducts derive from the (+)- and (-)-DE-2 enantiomers, respectively. The adducted dG is located at a site identified as a G-->T mutational hotspot in random mutagenesis studies of (+)-BP DE-2 in Chinese hamster V-79 cells. Yeast pol zeta (complex of Gst-Rev3p and Rev7p) formed extension products (total of all lengths) of 71, 74 and 88% of a primer annealed to the 10S-BP DE-dG, 10R-BP DE-dG and non-adducted 59-mer templates, respectively. However, only 18 and 19% of the primer was extended to the full-length product on 10S-BP DE-dG and 10R-BP DE-dG adducted templates compared to 55% of the primer on the non-adducted template. A major 34-mer product corresponding to primer elongation up to and including the base before the adduct indicated that nucleotide incorporation opposite both adducts was strongly blocked. Full-length products were isolated from gels and subjected to PCR amplification and cloning. Sequence analysis of more than 300 clones of these full-length products on each template showed that only the correct dCMP was incorporated opposite both the adducted and non-adducted G-hotspot in the template. This corresponds to a probability of mutation lower than 0.3%, the limit of detection, and demonstrates the remarkable fidelity of yeast pol zeta in translesion synthesis past these BP DB-dG lesions in vitro.

Dose-dependent differences in the profile of mutations induced by carcinogenic (R,S,S,R) bay- and fjord-region diol epoxides of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Chinese hamster V79 cells were exposed to a high or low concentration of the highly carcinogenic (R,S,S,R) or the less active (S,R,R,S) bay- or fjord-region diol epoxides of benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[c]phenanthrene or dibenz[c,h]acridine. Independent 8-azaguanine-resistant clones were isolated, and base substitutions at the hypoxanthine (guanine) phosphoribosyltransferase (hprt) locus were determined. For the three (R,S,S,R) diol epoxides studied, the proportion of mutations at AT base pairs increased as the concentration of diol epoxide decreased. Concentration-dependent differences in the mutational profile were not observed, however, for the three (S,R,R,S) diol epoxides. In studies, with V-H1 cells (a DNA repair deficient variant of V79 cells), a concentration-dependent difference in the profile of mutations for the (R,S,S,R) diol epoxide of benzo[a]pyrene was not observed. These results suggest that concentration-dependent differences in the mutational profile are dependent on an intact DNA repair system. In additional studies, we initiated mouse skin with a high or low dose of benzo[a]pyrene and promoted the mice for 26 weeks with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. Papillomas were examined for mutations in the c-Ha-ras proto-oncogene. Dose-dependent differences in the profile of c-Ha-ras mutations in the tumors were observed. In summary, (i) dose-dependent differences in mutational profiles at the hprt locus were observed in Chinese hamster V79 cells treated with several highly mutagenic and carcinogenic (R,S,S,R) bay- or fjord-region diol epoxides but not with their less active (S,R,R,S) diol epoxide enantiomers, (ii) a dose-dependent difference in the mutational profile was not observed for the (R,S,S,R) diol epoxide of benzo[a]pyrene in a DNA-repair defective V79 cell line, and (iii) a dose-dependent difference in the mutational profile in the c-Ha-ras proto-oncogene was observed in tumors from mice treated with a high or low dose of benzo[a]pyrene.

Preferential misincorporation of purine nucleotides by human DNA polymerase eta opposite benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-diol 9,10-epoxide deoxyguanosine adducts

Human DNA polymerase eta was used to copy four stereoisomeric deoxyguanosine (dG) adducts derived from benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-diol 9,10-epoxide (diastereomer with the 7-hydroxyl group and epoxide oxygen trans (BaP DE-2)). The adducts, formed by either cis or trans epoxide ring opening of each enantiomer of BaP DE-2 by N(2) of dG, were placed at the fourth nucleotide from the 5'-end in two 16-mer sequence contexts, 5' approximately CG*A approximately and 5' approximately GG*T. poleta was remarkably error prone at all four diol epoxide adducts, preferring to misincorporate G and A at frequencies 3- to more than 50-fold greater than the frequencies for T or the correct C, although the highest rates were 60-fold below the rate of incorporation of C opposite a non-adducted G. Anti to syn rotation of the adducted base, consistent with previous NMR data for a BaP DE-2 dG adduct placed just beyond a primer terminus, provides a rationale for preferring purine misincorporation. Extension of purine misincorporations occurred preferentially, but extension beyond the adduct site was weak with V(max)/K(m) values generally 10-fold less than for misincorporation. Mostly A was incorporated opposite (+)-BaP DE-2 dG adducts, which correlates with published observations that G --> T is the most common type of mutation that (+)-BaP DE-2 induces in mammalian cells.

Fluorescence characteristics of site-specific and stereochemically distinct benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide-DNA adducts as probes of adduct conformation

Spectroscopic fluorescence quenching techniques are described for distinguishing the conformational characteristics of adducts derived from the binding of the benzo[a]pyrene metabolite anti-BPDE (the diol epoxide r7,t8-dihydroxy-t9,10epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenz[a]pyrene) to the exocyclic amino groups of guanine ([BP]-N(2)-dG) and adenine ([BP]-N(6)-dA) in double stranded oligonucleotides. These methods are calibrated by comparing the fluorescence quenching and UV absorbance characteristics of different, stereoisomeric anti-[BP]-N(2)-dG adducts of known adduct conformations, previously established by high-resolution NMR techniques. It is shown that intercalative adduct conformations can be distinguished from solvent-exposed adduct conformations, e.g., adducts in which the pyrenyl residues are positioned in the minor groove. These low resolution fluorescence methods are at least 4 orders of magnitude more sensitive than the high-resolution NMR techniques; the fluorescence methods are useful for distinguishing adduct conformations when either small amounts of material are available or the NMR signals are of such poor quality that high-resolution structures cannot be determined. This methodology is illustrated using a variety of anti-BPDE-modified oligonucleotides of varying adduct conformations. It is shown that the 10S (+)-trans-anti-[BP]-N(6)-dA adduct in an oligonucleotide duplex containing an N-ras protooncogene sequence, believed to be conformationally heterogeneous and disordered, is significantly more exposed to the solvent environment than the stereoisomeric, intercalated 10R adduct [Zegar et al. (1996) Biochemistry 35, 6212]. These differences suggest an explanation for the greater efficiencies of excision of the 10S adduct (relative to the 10R adduct) by human nucleotide excision repair enzymes [Buterin et al. (2000) Cancer Res. 60, 1849].

Differences between the mutational consequences of replication of cis- and trans-opened benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-diol 9,10-epoxide-deoxyguanosine adducts in M13mp7L2 constructs

The four adducts at N(2) of deoxyguanosine derived from cis-opening at C-10 of four optically active isomers of 7,8-dihydroxy-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene were incorporated into 5'-TTCGAATCCTTCCCCC [context III(G)] and 5'-GGGGTTCCCGAGCGGC [context IV(G)] at the underlined site. The mutagenic consequences of these lesions in each of the two sequence contexts were examined after ligation of the modified oligonucleotides into single-stranded M13mp7L2 and replication of the vector in SOS-induced Escherichia coli. Total frequencies of base substitution mutations ranged between 14 and 48%. The mutation frequencies were generally higher in context IV(G) than in context III(G), and consisted mainly of G-->T followed by G-->C base substitutions. A substantial number of deletions or insertions of one guanine was also found for all adducts in context IV(G), where the adduct is located at the 3'-end of a run of five guanines. The overall frequencies of base substitution mutations induced by cis-opened adducts were substantially higher than those observed with the trans-opened dGuo adducts in the same sequences [Page et al. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 9127-9137]. Although G-->T base substitutions predominated for both the cis- and trans-opened adducts, the cis-opened dGuo adducts generally resulted in a higher proportion of G-->C [particularly in context III(G)] relative to G-->A, whereas the opposite was true for the trans-opened dGuo adducts. The present results along with previous data indicate that mutagenicity is highly dependent on a combination of sequence context and adduct stereochemistry.

HPLC-MS/MS identification of positionally isomeric benzo[c]phenanthrene diol epoxide adducts in duplex DNA

LC-MS and LC-MS/MS analyses were used to investigate the chemoselectivity of the carcinogenic diol epoxide metabolite, (-)-(1R,2S,3S,4R)-1,2-epoxy-3,4-dihydroxy-1,2,3, 4-tetrahydrobenzo[c]phenanthrene [(-)-(R,S,S,R)-BcPh DE-2], on reaction in vitro with an oligonucleotide dodecamer derived from the HPRT gene. The sequence of this dodecamer, 5'-T(1)A(2)G(3)T(4)C(5)A(6)A(7)G(8)G(9)G(10)C(11)A(12)-3', contains a base (corresponding to A(7)) which is a hot spot for mutagenesis in the hprt gene induced by the carcinogenic (R,S,S,R)-enantiomer of benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-diol 9,10-epoxide, and an adjacent base (corresponding to A(6)) which gave no mutations with this diol epoxide. Modified oligonucleotides were generated by reaction of (-)-BcPh DE-2 with both the single-stranded and duplex forms of the dodecamer. Multiple purine targets in both strands led to the formation of complex reaction mixtures of regioisomeric BcPh DE-modified oligonucleotides, which were partially separated by reverse phase HPLC on a polystyrene-divinylbenzene column. On-line LC-MS data allowed facile distinction between adducts on the two strands of the duplex, and MS/MS analysis permitted unambiguous assignment of the major sites of modification in the regioisomeric, adducted strands. In the duplex, these sites were at A(6), A(7), and G(8). Interestingly, the "hot spot" A(7)w as about 3 times more reactive with the BcPh DE than the "cold spot" A(6). Adduct formation from the single-stranded dodecamer was less selective, and resulted in more extensive alkylation of G residues.

Factors that influence the mutagenic patterns of DNA adducts from chemical carcinogens

Carcinogens are generally mutagens, which is understandable given that tumor cells grow uncontrollably because they have mutations in critical genes involved in growth control. Carcinogens often induce a complex pattern of mutations (e.g., GC-->TA, GC-->AT, etc.). These mutations are thought to be initiated when a DNA polymerase encounters a carcinogen-DNA adduct during replication. In principle, mutational complexity could be due to either a collection of different adducts each inducing a single kind of mutation (Hypothesis 1a), or a single adduct inducing different kinds of mutations (Hypothesis 1b). Examples of each are discussed. Regarding Hypothesis 1b, structural factors (e.g., DNA sequence context) and biological factors (e.g., differing DNA polymerases) that can affect the pattern of adduct mutagenesis are discussed. This raises the question: how do structural and biological factors influence the pattern of adduct mutagenesis. For structural factors, three possibilities are considered: (Hypothesis 2a) a single conformation of an adduct giving rise to multiple mutations -- dNTP insertion by DNA polymerase being influenced by (e.g.) the surrounding DNA sequence context; (Hypothesis 2b) a variation on this ("dislocation mutagenesis"); or (Hypothesis 2c) a single adduct adopting multiple conformations, each capable of giving a different pattern of mutations. Hypotheses 2a, 2b and 2c can each in principle rationalize many mutational results, including how the pattern of adduct mutagenesis might be influenced by factors, such as DNA sequence context. Five lines of evidence are discussed suggesting that Hypothesis 2c can be correct for base substitution mutagenesis. For example, previous work from our laboratory was interpreted to indicate that [+ta]-B[a]P-N(2)-dG in a 5'-CGG sequence context (G115) could be trapped in a conformation giving predominantly G-->T mutations, but heating caused the adduct to equilibrate to its thermodynamic mixture of conformations, leading to a decrease in the fraction of G-->T mutations. New work is described suggesting that [+ta]-B[a]P-N(2)-dG at G115 can also be trapped predominantly in the G-->A mutational conformation, from which equilibration can also occur, leading to an increase in the fraction of G-->T mutations. Evidence is also presented that the fraction of G-->T mutations is higher when [+ta]-B[a]P-N(2)-dG at G115 is in ss-DNA ( approximately 89%) vs. ds-DNA ( approximately 66%), a finding that can be rationalized if the mixture of adduct conformations is different in ss- and ds-DNA. In summary, the factors affecting adduct mutagenesis are reviewed and five lines of evidence that support one hypothesis (2c: adduct conformational complexity can cause adduct mutational complexity) are discussed.

LacI mutation spectra following benzo[a]pyrene treatment of Big Blue mice

The mutation spectrum of the lacI gene from the liver of C57Bl6 Big Blue transgenic mice treated with benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) has been compared with the spectrum of spontaneous mutations observed in the liver of untreated Big Blue mice. Mice were treated with B[a]P for 3 days followed by a partial hepatectomy one day after the last injection. Liver tissue was removed for analysis at hepatectomy and, again, 3 days later at the time of sacrifice. Earlier, we reported that the lacI mutant frequency in these B[a]P-treated mice was elevated in the liver both at the time of hepatectomy and at sacrifice; however, a statistically significant increase in the mutant frequency was observed only at sacrifice. In this study, the DNA sequence spectra of lacI mutations observed in the liver of B[a]P-treated Big Blue mice at hepatectomy and at time of sacrifice were compared with each other and with the spectrum of spontaneous liver mutations. No differences were observed between the two B[a]P-treatment spectra. However, mutation frequencies of both GC-->TA and GC-->CG at the time of hepatectomy and at sacrifice were significantly elevated compared with the spontaneous frequency of these same transversions. Also, the frequency of AT-->TA transversions was significantly higher than the spontaneous frequency at the time of hepatectomy but not at sacrifice. The frequency of all other classes of mutations scored was not significantly different from the frequency of these same events in the spontaneous spectra. These data support the view that B[a]P treatment results in the induction of GC-->TA and GC-->CG transversions within 1 day of the last injection and they provide insights regarding the relative roles of benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-diol-9, 10-epoxide and radical cations of B[a]P in B[a]P-induced mutagenesis in vivo. Finally, these data provide evidence for B[a]P-induced mutagenesis under conditions where no statistical increase in mutant frequency could be shown.

Characterization of the mutational profile of (+)-7R,8S-dihydroxy-9S, 10R-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene at the hypoxanthine (guanine) phosphoribosyltransferase gene in repair-deficient Chinese hamster V-H1 cells

Earlier studies have shown that the profile of mutations induced by (+)-7R,8S-dihydroxy-9S,10R-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (+)-BPDE at the hypoxanthine (guanine) phosphoribosyltransferase (hprt) gene of Chinese hamster V79 cells was dependent on the concentration of (+)-BPDE. In the present study, we examined the effect of the concentration of (+)-BPDE on its mutational profile at the hprt gene in repair-deficient V-H1 cells (a derivative of V79 cells) to explore the role of DNA repair in the dose-dependent mutational profile of (+)-BPDE. Independent hprt mutant clones were isolated after exposing V-H1 cells to dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) or to low (4-6 nM; 95% cell survival) or high (40-48 nM; 31% cell survival) concentrations of (+)-BPDE in DMSO. The mutation frequencies for the DMSO control and for the low and high concentration groups were 0.1, 2.1 and 32.9 mutant colonies/10(5) survivors, respectively. The profile of mutations at the hprt gene was characterized for 148 (+)-BPDE-induced mutant clones and the results from the present study were compared with those obtained earlier with V79 cells. The data indicated that: (i) V-H1 cells were approximately 9-fold more sensitive to the cytotoxic effects of (+)-BPDE than V79 cells; (ii) the mutation frequency in V-H1 cells was similar to that observed in V79 cells following exposure to similar concentrations of (+)-BPDE; (iii) (+)-BPDE-induced mutations at guanine on the transcribed strand of the hprt gene were common in V-H1 cells but were extraordinarily rare in V79 cells; (iv) (+)-BPDE-induced mutations at adenine on the transcribed strand of the hprt gene were common in both V-H1 and V79 cells; (v) although exposure of V79 cells to different doses of (+)-BPDE resulted in a dose-dependent mutational profile at the hprt gene, this was not observed in V-H1 cells. Our observations indicate a defect in the transcription-coupled repair of (+)-BPDE-DNA adducts in V-H1 cells and that the repair activity deficient in V-H1 cells is essential for the dose-dependent mutational profile observed with (+)-BPDE in V79 cells.

Multiple mutations in a shuttle vector modified by ultraviolet irradiation, (+/-)-7 beta,8 alpha-dihydroxy-9 alpha,10 alpha-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene, and aflatoxin B(1) have different properties than single mutations and may be generated during translesion synthesis

Shuttle vector-based systems are extensively employed to study the mutational properties of various mutagens in mammalian cells. Such vectors are designed for the detection of point mutations, that is small deletions and single base and tandem substitutions. However, mutant target genes carrying two or more point mutations, referred to as multiple mutations, can also be found in various proportions depending on the mutagen and the cells used. To evaluate the frequency and characteristics of multiple mutations, we used a system where the plasmid, pYZ289, was treated by ultraviolet irradiation, aflatoxin B(1) or (+/-)-7 beta,8 alpha-dihydroxy-9 alpha, 10 alpha-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene before transfection into mouse fibroblast cells. The kinds of mutations and the mutational spectra were different for single and multiple mutations. In addition, in at least 75% of the cases, mutations of multiples appeared to arise in the same strand. Furthermore, mutational spectra for multiple mutations were different for 5' and 3' members of multiple sets. These observations suggest that multiple mutations arise via a different mechanism than single mutations. Moreover, these findings suggest that multiples arise during translesion DNA synthesis and involve an error-prone polymerase able to introduce a base opposite misinstructive or noninstructional DNA lesions and subject to subsequent misincorporation errors.

The p53 tumor suppressor protein reduces point mutation frequency of a shuttle vector modified by the chemical mutagens (+/-)7, 8-dihydroxy-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene, aflatoxin B1 and meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid

p53 has been postulated to be the guardian of the genome. However, results supporting the prediction that point mutation frequencies are elevated in p53-deficient cells either have not been forthcoming or have been equivocal. To analyse the effect of p53 on point mutation frequency, we used the supF gene of the pYZ289 shuttle vector as a mutagenic target. pYZ289 was treated in vitro by ultraviolet irradiation, aflatoxin B1, (+/-)7,8-dihydroxy-9, 10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene and meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid and then transfected into p53-deficient cells with or without a p53 expression vector. p53 reduced the mutant frequency up to fivefold when pYZ289 was treated with aflatoxin B1, (+/-)7,8-dihydroxy-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene or meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid but not when it was ultraviolet-irradiated. The p53-dependent mutation frequency reduction was higher at a higher level of premutational lesions for aflatoxin B1 and (+/-)7,8-dihydroxy-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene and at a lower level of lesions for meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid. This suggests that the chemical mutagens produce, in a dose-dependent fashion, two kinds of DNA damage, one subject to p53-dependent mutation frequency reduction and the other not. These results indicate that p53 can reduce the point mutation frequency in a shuttle vector treated by chemical mutagens and suggest that p53 can act as guardian of the genome for at least some kinds of point mutations.

Hydrophobic forces dominate the thermodynamic characteristics of UvrA-DNA damage interactions

The Escherichia coli DNA repair proteins UvrA, UvrB and UvrC work together to recognize and incise DNA damage during the process of nucleotide excision repair (NER). To gain an understanding of the damage recognition properties of UvrA, we have used fluorescence spectroscopy to study the thermodynamics of its interaction with a defined DNA substrate containing a benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide (BPDE) adduct. Oligonucleotides containing a single site-specifically modified N2-guanine (+)-trans-, (-)-trans-, (+)-cis-, or (-)-cis-BPDE adducts were ligated into 50-base-pair DNA fragments. All four stereoisomers of DNA-BPDE adducts show an excitation maximum at 350 nm and an emission maximum around 380 to 385 nm. Binding of UvrA to the BPDE-DNA adducts results in a five to sevenfold fluorescence enhancement. Titration of the BPDE-adducted DNA with UvrA was used to generate binding isotherms. The equilibrium dissociation constants for UvrA binding to (+)-trans-, (-)-trans-, (+)-cis-, and (-)-cis- BPDE adduct were: 7.4+/-1.9, 15. 8+/-5.4, 11.3+/-2.7 and 22.4+/-2.0 nM, respectively. There was a large negative change in heat capacity DeltaCpo,obs, (-3.3 kcal mol-1 K-1) accompanied by a relatively unchanged DeltaGoobs with temperature. Furthermore, varying the concentration of KCl showed that the number of ions released upon formation of UvrA-DNA complex is about 3.4, a relatively small value compared to the contact size of UvrA with the substrate. These data suggest that hydrophobic interactions are an important driving force for UvrA binding to BPDE-damaged DNA.

Overexpression of stably transfected human glutathione S-transferase P1-1 protects against DNA damage by benzo[a]pyrene diol-epoxide in human T47D cells

The (+)-anti enantiomer of benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-dihydrodiol-9, 10-epoxide (BPDE) is a potent mutagenic and carcinogenic metabolite of benzo[a]pyrene (BP), and a major fraction is conjugated with glutathione in vivo. The chemopreventive role of glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) in protecting against covalent modification of DNA and other cellular macromolecules by BPDE was modeled in human T47D and MCF-7 cell lines previously stably transfected with human GSTpi1 (hGSTP1). Cells were exposed to [3H]BPDE (30-600 nM). Dose-response experiments indicated that the high level of expression of hGSTP1-1 in the T47Dpi cell line (4411 +/- 183 milliunits/mg of cytosolic protein, using 1-Cl-2,4-dinitrobenzene as substrate), resulted in 70-90% reduction in the covalent 3H-adduct formation in DNA or RNA isolated from the GSTP1-transfected T47Dpi cell line. The lower level of hGSTP1-1 expression in the transfected MCF-7 cell line (91 milliunits/mg) provided only marginal protection against [3H]BPDE adduct formation and did not affect sensitivity to BPDE-induced cytotoxicity. Protection against BPDE-induced cytotoxicity was observed only in the T47Dpi cell line, which had an IC50 value 5.8-fold greater than that of the T47Dneo control cell line. Measurement of glutathione conjugates of BPDE indicated that the total conjugation was 5-fold higher in the GSTpi-transfected T47D line, most of which was exported into the culture medium over the 20-min exposure period. These results indicate that hGSTP1-1 protects effectively against DNA and RNA modification by BPDE, but moderate to high level expression may be required for strong protection against BPDE-induced genotoxicity and cytotoxicity.

Highly mutagenic bypass synthesis by T7 RNA polymerase of site-specific benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide-adducted template DNA

We have previously developed an in vitro system that allows quantitative evaluation of the fidelity of transcription during synthesis on a natural template in the presence of all four nucleotides. Here, we have employed this system using a TAA ochre codon reversion assay to examine the fidelity of transcription by T7 RNA polymerase past an adenine residue adducted at the N6-position with (-)-anti-trans- or (+)-anti-trans-benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide (BPDE). T7 RNAP was capable of transcribing past either BPDE isomer to generate full-length run-off transcripts. The extent of bypass was found to be 32% for the (-)-anti-trans-isomer and 18% for the (+)-anti-trans-isomer. Transcription past both adducts was highly mutagenic. The reversion frequency of bypass synthesis of the (-)-anti-trans-isomer was elevated 11,000-fold and that of the (+)-anti-trans-isomer 6000-fold, relative to the reversion frequency of transcription on unadducted template. Adenine was misinserted preferentially, followed by guanine, opposite the adenine adducted with either BPDE isomer. Although base substitution errors were by far the most frequent mutation on the adducted template, three- and six-base deletions were also observed. These results suggest that transcriptional errors, particularly with regard to damage bypass, may contribute to the mutational burden of the cell.

Role of hydrophobic effects in the reaction of a polynuclear aromatic diol epoxide with oligodeoxynucleotides in aqueous solutions

The need for large-scale direct synthesis of stereochemically defined and site-specific benzo[alpha]pyrenediol epoxide-oligodeoxyribonucleotide adducts for detailed NMR and other biochemical and physicochemical studies has necessitated a better understanding of variables that lead to an enhancement of the reaction yields. It is shown that, in aqueous solution, the formation of noncovalent hydrophobic complexes between 7r, 8t-dihydroxy-9t,10t-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[alpha] pyrene (BPDE) and the single-stranded oligonucleotide 5'-d(CCATCGCTACC) precedes the covalent binding reaction of BPDE with the single deoxyguanosine residue. The yield of covalent reaction products (involving reaction of BPDE at the C10 position with the exocyclic amino group of the dG residue) increases with increasing DNA concentration and tends toward saturation at oligonucleotide single-strand concentrations above approximately 3 mM. The addition of NaCl (0.3 M) also tends to enhance the adduct reaction yields. However, organic solvents such as tetrahydrofuran in the reaction mixtures (10-40%) decrease the stabilities of the noncovalent complexes, which in turn leads to reductions in the yields of covalent BPDE-dG oligonucleotide adducts. The efficiencies of formation of hydrophobic complexes were probed by fluorescence and UV absorption techniques using the BPDE tetrol hydrolysis product 7,8,9,10-tetrahydroxytetrahydrobenzo[alpha]pyrene as a model system.

Determination of HPRT mutant frequency and molecular analysis of T-lymphocyte mutants derived from coke-oven workers

We measured the frequency of mutant (MF) lymphocytes at the hprt locus in a population of 43 coke-oven workers exposed to PAH and in a group of 26 non-exposed workers. A non-significant increase in MF in the exposed group (19.0 +/- 16.3) compared to the non-exposed group (15.8 +/- 14.6) was observed. Moreover, when we considered smoking habits for the overall population, the MF values were higher, although not significantly, in smokers than in non-smokers. For some T-cell mutant clone structural alterations, splicing and coding errors were detected by PCR-based methods. We analysed 161 HPRT- clones, derived from exposed and non-exposed workers by multiplex-PCR and 56 HPRT- clones by reverse transcriptase-PCR. Overall, the percentages of the different types of gene alterations were similar in exposed and non-exposed subjects. Only the frequency of splice mutations in mutant clones derived from coke-oven workers was higher (22%) than in non-exposed donors (11%).

Base pair conformation-dependent excision of benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide-guanine adducts by human nucleotide excision repair enzymes

Human nucleotide excision repair processes carcinogen-DNA adducts at highly variable rates, even at adjacent sites along individual genes. Here, we identify conformational determinants of fast or slow repair by testing excision of N2-guanine adducts formed by benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide (BPDE), a potent and ubiquitous mutagen that induces mainly G x C-->T x A transversions and frameshift deletions. We found that human nucleotide excision repair processes the predominant (+)-trans-BPDE-N2-dG adduct 15 times less efficiently than a standard acetylaminofluorene-C8-dG lesion in the same sequence. No difference was observed between (+)-trans- and (-)-trans-BPDE-N2-dG, but excision was enhanced about 10-fold by changing the adduct configurations to either (+)-cis- or (-)-cis-BPDE-N2-dG. Conversely, excision of (+)-cis- and (-)-cis- but not (+)-trans-BPDE-N2-dG was reduced about 10-fold when the complementary cytosine was replaced by adenine, and excision of these BPDE lesions was essentially abolished when the complementary deoxyribonucleotide was missing. Thus, a set of chemically identical BPDE adducts yielded a greater-than-100-fold range of repair rates, demonstrating that nucleotide excision repair activity is entirely dictated by local DNA conformation. In particular, this unique comparison between structurally highly defined substrates shows that fast excision of BPDE-N2-dG lesions is correlated with displacement of both the modified guanine and its partner base in the complementary strand from their normal intrahelical positions. The very slow excision of carcinogen-DNA adducts located opposite deletion sites reveals a cellular strategy that minimizes the fixation of frameshifts after mutagenic translesion synthesis.

Metabolic activation of the (+)-S,S- and (-)-R,R-enantiomers of trans-11,12-dihydroxy-11,12-dihydrodibenzo[a,l]pyrene: stereoselectivity, DNA adduct formation, and mutagenicity in Chinese hamster V79 cells

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons require metabolic activation in order to exert their biological activity initiated by DNA binding. The metabolic pathway leading to bay or fjord region dihydrodiol epoxides as ultimate mutagenic and/or carcinogenic metabolites is thought to play a dominant role. For dibenzo[a,l]pyrene, considered as the most potent carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, the formation of the fjord region syn- and/or anti-11,12-dihydrodiol 13,-14-epoxide (DB[a,l]PDE) diastereomers has been found to be the principal metabolic activation pathway in cell cultures leading to DNA adducts. In order to further elucidate the stereoselectivity involved in this activation pathway via the formation of the trans-11,12-dihydrodiol, we have synthesized the enantiomerically pure 11,12-dihydrodiols of dibenzo[a,l]-pyrene and investigated their biotransformation in rodents. Incubations with liver microsomes of Sprague-Dawley rats and CD-1 mice pretreated with Aroclor 1254 revealed that the enzymatic conversion to the fjord region DB[a,l]PDE strongly depends on the absolute configuration of the 11,12-dihydrodiol enantiomers. While oxidation at the 13,14-position of the (+)-(11S,12S)-dihydrodiol is limited to a small extent, the (-)-11R,12R-enantiomer is metabolized to its fjord region dihydrodiol epoxides in considerably higher amounts. Moreover, this substrate is transformed with high stereoselectivity to the corresponding (-)-anti-dihydrodiol epoxide by liver microsomes of Aroclor 1254-treated rodents. The metabolism results were in good accordance with the extent of stable adduct formation in calf thymus DNA as investigated by the 32P-postlabeling technique and with the mutagenicity in Chinese hamster V79 cells of the two enantiomeric 11,12-dihydrodiols mediated by hepatic postmitochondrial preparations of Aroclor 1254-treated rats. The results indicate that both genotoxic events occurred predominantly by the stereoselective activation of the (-)-(11R,12R)-dihydrodiol to the (-)-anti-DB[a,l]PDE with R,S,S,R-configuration.

Stereoselective activation of dibenzo[a,l]pyrene and its trans-11,12-dihydrodiol to fjord region 11,12-diol 13,14-epoxides in a human mammary carcinoma MCF-7 cell-mediated V79 cell mutation assay

Dibenzo[a,l]pyrene (DB[a,l]P) represents the most potent carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) yet discovered. Like other PAHs, DB[a,l]P requires metabolic activation to exert its mutagenic and/or carcinogenic activity. In the human mammary carcinoma cell line MCF-7, DB[a,l]P is stereoselectively metabolized to the (-)-anti- and (+)-syn-DB[a,l]P-11,12-diol 13,14-epoxides (DB[a,l]PDE) which both bind extensively to deoxyadenosine residues in DNA. To further characterize the underlying mechanism of its strong carcinogenicity, the relationship between DNA binding and mutagenicity of DB[a,l]P was determined. Racemic DB[a,l]P-11,12-dihydrodiol and the two individual (+)- and (-)-enantiomers, the metabolic precursors of the stereoisomeric fjord region dihydrodiol epoxides, were also investigated. Induction of mutations at the HPRT locus was measured in a MCF-7 cell-mediated Chinese hamster V79 cell mutation assay. The parent hydrocarbon, (+/-)-DB[a,l]P-11,12-dihydrodiol, and (-)-DB[a,l]P-11,12-dihydrodiol were highly mutagenic under the assay conditions. In contrast, (+)-DB[a,l]P-(11S,12S)-dihydrodiol was not mutagenic using MCF-7 cells as the metabolic activating system. Analysis of DNA adducts in the same experiments revealed that MCF-7 cells treated with (-)-DB[a,l]P-11,12-dihydrodiol formed exclusively (-)-anti-DB[a,l]-PDE adducts whereas cells treated with (+)-DB[a,l]P-11,12-dihydrodiol did not contain detectable levels of DNA adducts. These results suggest that specific cytochrome P450 enzymes may have high stereoselectivity for activation of the two DB[a,l]P-11,12-dihydrodiol enantiomers, and this may play an important role in the metabolic activation of the strong carcinogen DB[a,l]P in human cells.

A comparative investigation of DNA adducts, DNA strand breaks and gene mutations induced by benzo[a]pyrene and (+/-)-anti-benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-diol 9,10-oxide in cultured human cells

Genotoxic effects of benzo[a]pyrene (BP) and its reactive metabolites (+/-)-anti-benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-diol 9,10-oxide ((+/-)-anti-BPDE) were comparatively investigated in vitro with the permanent human fibroblast cell line MRC5CV1. Induced DNA adducts were measured by 32P-postlabeling, DNA strand breakage was determined by the comet assay and the HPRT gene mutation test was used to detect cytotoxicity and mutagenicity. Treatment of MRC5CV1 cells with S9 mix-activated BP or with (+/-)-anti-BPDE resulted in a concentration-dependent increase in DNA adducts and strand breaks. Genotoxic effects of BP and (+/-)-anti-BPDE were detected by 32P-postlabeling and the comet assay with similar sensitivity. However, under the same experimental conditions, a clear induction of gene mutations was only found after (+/-)-anti-BPDE treatment. The relationship between the induction of primary DNA alterations like DNA strand breaks and DNA adducts and the induction of gene mutations is discussed.

Chronic, topical exposure to benzo[a]pyrene induces relatively high steady-state levels of DNA adducts in target tissues and alters kinetics of adduct loss

Carcinogen-DNA adduct measurements may become useful biomarkers of effective dose and/or early effect. However, validation of this biomarker is required at several levels to ensure that human exposure and response are accurately reflected. Important in this regard is an understanding of the relative biomarker levels in target and nontarget organs and the response of the biomarker under the chronic, low-dose conditions to which humans are exposed. We studied the differences between single and chronic topical application of benzo[a]pyrene (BAP) on the accumulation and removal of BAP-DNA adducts in skin, lung, and liver. Animals were treated with BAP at 10, 25, or 50 nMol topically once or twice per week for as long as 15 weeks. Animals were sacrificed either at 24, 48, or 72 hr after the last dose at 1 and 30 treatments, and after 24 hr for all other treatment groups. Adduct levels increased with increasing dose, but the slope of the dose-response was different in each organ. At low doses, accumulation was linear in skin and lung, but at high doses the adduct levels in the lung increased dramatically at the same time when the levels in the skin reached apparent steady state. In the liver adduct, levels were lower than in target tissues and apparent steady-state adduct levels were reached rapidly, the maxima being independent of dose, suggesting that activating metabolism was saturated in this organ. Removal of adducts from skin, the target organ, was more rapid following single treatment than with chronic exposure. This finding is consistent with earlier data, indicating that some areas of the genome are more resistant to repair. Thus, repeated exposure and repair cycles would be more likely to cause an increase in the proportion of carcinogen-DNA adducts in repair-resistant areas of the genome. These findings indicate that single-dose experiments may underestimate the potential for carcinogenicity for compounds that follow this pattern.

Base sequence-dependent bends in site-specific benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide-modified oligonucleotide duplexes

The site specifically modified oligonucleotides 5'-d(TCCTCCTG1G2CCTCTC) (I) and 5'-d(CTATG1G2G3TATC) (II) were synthesized with single modified guanine residues at positions G1, G2, or G3, derived from the covalent binding reaction of 7R,8S-dihydroxy-9S,10R-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene ((+)-anti-BPDE) with the exocyclic amino groups of the guanine residues. In denaturing 20% polyacrylamide gels, the electrophoretic mobilities of the (+)-anti-BPDE-modified oligonucleotides I and II are slower than the mobilities of the respective unmodified oligonucleotides and independent of the positions of the BPDE-modified guanines. However, in the double-stranded forms in native 8% polyacrylamide gels, the electrophoretic mobilities of the duplexes with lesions at G2 or G3 are remarkably slower (reductions in mobilities up to approximately 40%) than to duplexes with lesions at G1 and are attributed to physical bends or flexible hinge joints at the sites of the BPDE lesions. These sequence-dependent mobility effects occur whenever the BPDE-modified guanine residues with (+)-trans-stereochemistry are flanked by unmodified G's on the 5'-side. These retarded electrophoretic mobilities are attributed to bending induced by steric hindrance effects involving the bulky 5'-flanking guanines and the pyrenyl residues that are known to point into the 5'-direction relative to the modified G [Cosman, M., et al. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89, 1914-1918]. These anomalous electrophoretic mobility effects are not observed in the case of (-)-anti-BPDE-modified sequences I with trans-(-)-anti-BPDE-N2-dG adduct stereochemistry.

Molecular characterization of mutation and comparison of mutation profiles in the hprt gene of Chinese hamster ovary cells treated with benzo[a]pyrene trans-7,8-diol-anti-9,10-epoxide, 1-nitrobenzo[a]pyrene trans-7,8-diol-anti-9,10-epoxide, and 3-nitrobenzo[a]pyrene trans-7,8- diol-anti-9,10-epoxide

Both 1- and 3-nitrobenzo[a]pyrene (nitro-BaP) are environmental contaminants, potent mutagens in Salmonella, and moderate mutagens in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The mutagenicity of their oxidized metabolites,trans-7,8-dihydroxy-anti-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-epoxy -7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-1-nitrobenzo[a]pyrene (1-nitro-BaP-DE) and trans-7,8-dihydroxy-anti-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-3-nitrobenzo[a]- pyrene (3-nitro-BaPDE), together with trans-7,8-dihydroxy-anti-9, 10-ep- oxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (BaP-DE), was determined in CHO-K1 cells, and the resulting mutations at the hprt locus were characterized by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of reverse-transcribed hprt mRNA, followed by DNA sequence analysis. The mutant frequencies, in mutants/10(6) clonable cells, at 30 and 100 ng/ml, were BaP-DE, 248 and 456; 1-nitro-BaP-DE, 68 and 260; 3-nitro-BaP-DE, 81 and 232, respectively. In general, the three diolepoxides exhibited similar mutational spectra: 1) 64% (23/36 sequenced mutants) of BaP-DE, 53% (19/36) of 1-nitro-BaP-DE, and 64% (23/36) of 3-nitro-BaP-DE mutants resulted from simple base pair substitution, with the predominant mutation being G-->T transversion; 2) 90%, 100%, and 100% of mutations at G:C had the mutated dG on the nontranscribed DNA strand; and 3) about one quarter of the mutants produced by each mutagen had one or more PCR products with partial or complete exon deletions. The mutagens induced few frameshifts or complex mutations. Among the differences in mutational specificity for the three diolepoxides, the proportion of substituted dGs with 3' purines was significant (P < 0.05) for BaP-DE (16/19, 84%) and 3-nitro-BaP-DE (17/20, 85%), but not significant for 1-nitro-BaP-DE-induced mutants (11/17, 65%, P > 0.05). Also, high proportions of BaP-DE and 3-nitro-BaP-DE base pair substitutions at G:C occurred in DNA sequence contexts of 5'-GG-3', 5'-GGA-3', and 5'-TGGA-3', while the proportions of 1-nitro-BaP-DE mutants in these contexts were often lower. The results indicate that nitro substitution at C1 or C3 of BaP-DE reduces mutational potency in CHO cells and appears to have only subtle effects upon the mutational pattern in the hprt gene.

Temporal and molecular characteristics of lacZ mutations in somatic tissues of transgenic mice

In order to help establish criteria for optimizing protocols for in vivo mutation studies, lacZ transgenic mice (Muta mouse) were treated with five consecutive daily doses of ethylnitrosourea (50 mg/kg), sampled at times up to 55 days after treatment, and mutant frequencies and DNA sequences determined for liver and bone marrow. In the bone marrow, the mutant frequency rose very rapidly in the first 5 days after treatment to 34 times the control frequency. Subsequently, there was a brood peak where the mutant frequency did not vary significantly, although it did appear to begin to decline after 45 days. In contrast, in the liver, the peak mutant frequency (11 times the control frequency) was not achieved until 35 days, after which there appeared to be a slow decline up to 55 days, which was not statistically significant. Once the maximum mutant frequency was reached, the mutation spectra in the two tissues were indistinguishable. In contrast to the G:C-->A:T transitions in 5'-CpG sites characteristic of untreated mice, A:T-->T:A transversions and A:T-->G:C transitions were prominent in both liver and bone marrow of ENU-treated mice, suggesting the involvement of unrepaired O2- and O4-ethylthymine adducts. In addition, G:C-->T:A transversions were induced in liver. This study demonstrates the possibility that although tissues may have different mutation fixation times, a single mutation fixation time equal to the longest time may be appropriate for in vivo mutation studies, provided that the mutation frequency does not decline appreciably after the peak is reached. This study also illustrates the necessity of ensuring that mutation characteristics are determined after optimal fixation has occurred.