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Biomedical subjects

A H Conney

Publications and source records attributed to A H Conney.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

An enantiomeric interaction in the metabolism and tumorigenicity of (+)- and (-)-benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-oxide.

The (+)- and (-)-enantiomers of benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-oxide are hydrated stereospecifically at C-8 to (-)- and (+)-trans-7,8-dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene, respectively, by rat hepatic epoxide hydrolase. The (-)-enantiomer of benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-oxide is metabolized by microsomal epoxide hydrolase at a rate 3- to 4-fold greater than the (+)-enantiomer. At low conversion of racemic substrate, however, benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-oxide is metabolized to the dihydrodiol at a rate equal to that of the (+)-enantiomer. An analysis of the enantiomeric composition of the dihydrodiol formed from the racemic substrate revealed preferential formation of (-)-trans-7,8-dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo-[a]pyrene. At low substrate conversion (< 20% metabolism), the enantiomeric purity of the dihydrodiol was much higher than at high substrate conversion (> 50% metabolism). Similar results were obtained with microsomes from hamster, rabbit, guinea pig, mouse, and human liver. These results indicate that epoxide hydrolase has a higher affinity for (+)-benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-oxide than for the (-)-enantiomer. The kinetics of hydration of (+)- and (-)-benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-oxide by purified epoxide hydrolase in detergent solution showed the (+)- and (-)-enantiomers to have apparent Km values of 1.7 and greater than or equal to 20 microM, respectively. Tumorigenicity studies with benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-oxide on mouse skin and in newborn mice revealed that (+)-benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-oxide, the metabolic precursor of the more tumorigenic (-)-7,8-dihydrodiol, is significantly more tumorigenic than the (-)-enantiomer. However, racemic benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-oxide was more tumorigenic than either enantiomer alone, indicating an enantiomeric synergism in the carcinogenicity of benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-oxide. The data are discussed in relation to the complete sequence of metabolic pathways leading to an ultimate carcinogen from benzo[a]pyrene.

Animals↗

Regulation of human drug metabolism by dietary factors.

Several dietary factors influence the oxidative metabolism of chemicals in humans. Increasing the ratio of protein to carbohydrate or fat in the diet, feeding cabbage and brussels sprouts or feeding charcoal-broiled beef for several days stimulates human drug metabolism. The chronic ingestion of ethanol stimulates drug metabolism whereas the chronic ingestion of methylxanthine-containing foods inhibits drug metabolism. In contrast, an increase in the ratio of fat to carbohydrate in the diet of normal subjects or the fasting of obese individuals for several days has little or no effect on drug metabolism. Flavonoids in edible plants influence the metabolism of foreign chemicals by human liver in vitro. The addition of flavone, tangeretin or nobiletin to human liver microsomes activates both the hydroxylation of benzo[alpha]pyrene and the metabolism of aflatoxin B1 to mutagens. On the other hand, quercetin, kaempferol, morin and chrysin, which are also normally occurring flavonoids, inhibit the hydroxylation of benzo[alpha]pyrene by human liver microsomes.

Adult↗

Antipyrine metabolism during the menstrual cycle.

Two studies were initiated to determine the effect of the menstrual cycle on antipyrine metabolism. In the first study a relatively large oral dose of antipyrine (15 mg/kg) was given on days, 3, 5, 10, 14, 16, 20, and 25 after the onset of menstruation. Salivary antipyrine half-lifes (t1/2S) declined progressively, suggesting that the long-term administration of this dose had stimulated antipyrine metabolism. To minimize this possible induction, in the second study a much smaller dose of antipyrine (1 mg/kg) was given on the same days of the cycle as in the first study. There was no induction. In both experiments, the menstrual cycle had little or no effect on the mean salivary t1/2, mean metabolic clearance rate, or apparent volume of distribution of antipyrine. In the second, men served as controls. The mean kinetic parameters for the men did not differ from those for the women. Although individuals of each sex varied from day to day in each kinetic parameter, the magnitude of the intraindividual variability in antipyrine metabolism was the same for both. The mean intraindividual coefficient of variation for antipyrine t1/2S was 14.4 +/- 1.6% (SE) in women and 12.4 +/- 1.3% (SE) in men. No consistent pattern for either sex was observed in the day-to-day variations in the means of the kinetic parameters investigated. Several women in whom the t1/2 rose or fell at midcycle were found to have a different pattern when reexamined 6 mo later.

Adult↗

Tumorigenic activity of benzo(e)pyrene derivatives on mouse skin and in newborn mice.

The tumorigenic activities of benzo(e)pyrene and several of its derivatives were determined in two mouse tumor models. Newborn Swiss-Webster mice were given i.p. injections of 0.4, 0.8, and 1.6 mumol of compound on the first, eighth, and 15th day of life, respectively. When the mice were 62 to 66 weeks old, the experiment was terminated by killing the animals. Benzo(e)pyrene, trans-4,5-dihydroxy-4,5-dihydrobenzo(e)pyrene, and trans-9,10-dihydroxy-9,10-dihydrobenzo(e)pyrene had little or no tumorigenic activity in lung tissue, although trans-9,10-dihydroxy-9,10-dihydrobenzo(e) pyrene did induce a significant number of hepatic tumors. The tumor-initiating activities of benzo(e)pyrene and several of its derivatives were determined on the skin of female CD-1 mice. A single topical application of 1.0 to 6.0 mumol of the test compound was followed 7 days later by twice-weekly applications of the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate for 35 weeks. Control mice and mice treated with 6.0 mumol of benzo(e)pyrene, trans-4,5-dihydroxy-4,5-dihydrobenzo(e)pyrene, trans 9,10-dihydroxy-9,10-dihydrobenzo(e)pyrene, and trans-9,10-dihydroxy-9,10,11,12-tetrahydrobenzo(e)pyrene had a tumor incidence of less than 20% and had less than or equal to 0.25 papillomas/mouse. 9,10-Dihydrobenzo(e)pyrene was the only derivative tested that had significant tumor-initiating activity on mouse skin; an initiating dose of 2.5 mumol gave a 67% tumor incidence and 1.43 papillomas/mouse.

Animals↗

Mutagenicity and tumor-initiating activity of cyclopenta(c,d)pyrene and structurally related compounds.

The biological activities of benzo(a)pyrene, cyclopenta(c,d)pyrene, and 12 other structurally related compounds were assessed by mutagenicity studies with bacterial and mammalian cells and/or skin tumorigenicity studies with mice. The ability of the parent hydrocarbons to be metabolically activated to mutagenic products was examined in strains TA98 and TA100 of Salmonella typhimurium, using 3 experimental protocols. In each case, cyclopenta(c,d)pyrene was metabolically activated to products mutagenic to the bacteria to a greater extent than was benzo(a)pyrene. However, 7,8-dihydrobenzo(a)pyrene and 0,10-dihydrobenzo(e)pyrene were the best substrates for metabolic activation to bacterial mutagens. Highly purified epoxide hydrase added to a purified and reconstituted monooxygenase system readily abolished the mutagenic activity observed in strain TA100 of S. typhimurium when cyclopenta(c,d)pyrene was the substrate, but not when benzo(a)pyrene was the substrate. Inherent mutagenicity of several epoxides of the hydrocarbons generally paralleled the ability of their potential metabolic precursors to be activated to mutagens. 1-Pyrenyloxirane and 10,11-dihydrocycloheptapyrene 8,9-oxide were highly mutagenic in strains TA98 and TA100 of S. typhimurium, and in the former strain these activities were comparable to that observed with 9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene, 4-Pyrenyloxirane was significantly less mutagenic than was 1-pyrenyloxirane in both strains of bacteria and in mammalian cells. Benzo(a)pyrene was over 20 times more tumorigenic than was cyclopenta-(c,d)pyrene, and it was the most potent of the 11 compounds tested for tumor-initiating activity in 2-stage initiation-promotion experiments on the skin of mice. Cyclopenta(c,d)pyrene had tumor-initiating activity comparable to that of benzo-(a)anthracene, but it was significantly less active than chrysene. Thus, contrary to inferences made from its high mutagenic activity, cyclopenta(c,d)pyrene is a weak tumor initiator on mouse skin.

Animals↗

Intraindividual variation in drug disposition.

Large interindividual differences occur in the in vivo metabolism of drugs due to genetic and environmental factors. Our studies show that intraindividual variabilities in rates of metabolism are relatively low for antipyrine and phenylbutazone, which are drugs that are primarily metabolized by the liver and have low hepatic extractions; whereas in the case of phenacetin, a drug that undergoes extensive metabolism in the gastrointestinal tract or during its first pass through the liver, or both, intraindividual variations in plasma half-lifes and areas under the plasma concentration-time curves are of much greater magnitude. In our studies, no effort was made to control the lifestyles of our subjects. The variations in rates of drug metabolism did not result from assay procedures, since there was little variation in measured concentrations when the drugs were added to plasma and assayed on multiple occasions. Intraindividual variation occurring in subjects given the drug on 5 different occasions may be due to changes in the external environment or changes in internal physiologic parameters or both. Our studies confirm the usefulness of antipyrine as a test drug in studying drug metabolism in man and also demonstrate that the antipyrine test may be able to detect those subjects whose environments are perturbed by unidentified factors.

Administration, Oral↗

Absolute stereochemistry of the trans-dihydrodiols formed from benzo[a]anthracene by liver microsomes.

Through application of the exciton chirality method, absolute stereochemistry has been assigned to the (+)-and (-)-enantiomers of four of the five metabolically possible trans-dihydrodiols of the polycyclic hydrocarbon benzo[a]anthracene (BA). The (+)- and (-)-enantiomers of each of these dihydrodiols can be separated as their diastereomeric bis-esters with (-)-alpha-methoxy-alpha-trifluoromethylphenylacetic acid by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). BA 3,4-, 5,6-, 8,9- and 10,11-dihydrodiol are formed in 38%, 36%, 78% and 66% enantiometric purity, respectively, by liver microsomes from phenobarbital-treated rats, whereas the liver microsomes from 3-methylcholanthrene(MC)-treated rats form BA 5,6-, 8,9- and 10,11-dihydrodiols with higher optical purity (62%, 96% and 96%, respectively). BA 3,4-dihydrodiol is formed from (+/-)-BA 3,4-oxide by microsomal epoxide hydrase in very high enantiometric purity (78%). The major enantiomer of the BA dihydrodiols formed by liver enzymes has R,R absolute stereochemistry in each case. In parallel with previous studies on the metabolism of benzo[a]pyrene, the more tumorigenic (-)-enantiomer is the predominant isomer of BA 3,4-dihydrodiol formed by liver microsomes from BA.

Animals↗

Differences in mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of (+)- and (-)-benzo[a]pyrene 4,5-oxide: a synergistic interaction of enantiomers.

In order to study the biological effects of (+)- and (-)-benzo[a]pyrene 4,5-oxide, a synthesis of these molecules has been developed based on the resolution of (+/-)-cis-4,5-dihydroxy-4,5-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene. The (-) enantiomer of benzo[a]pyrene 4,5-oxide was 1.5- to 5.5-fold more mutagenic than the (+) enantiomer in strains TA 98, TA 100, TA 1537, and TA 1538 of Salmonella typhimurium and in Chinese hamster V79 cells. In studies with V79 Cells, the (-) enantiomer of benzo[a]pyrene 4,5-oxide was also more cytotoxic than the (+) enantiomer. When mixtures of the enantiomers were studied in V79 cells, synergistic cytotoxic and mutagenic responses were observed. The greatest cytotoxic and mutagenic effects occurred with a 3:1 mixture of the (-) and (+) enantiomers of benzo[a]pyrene 4,5-oxide, respectively.

Animals↗

Stimulatory effect of phenobarbital on the metabolism of the oral contraceptive 17 alpha-ethynylestradiol-3-methyl ether (mestranol) by rat liver microsomes.

Pretreatment of rats with phenobarbital for 4 days stimulates the activity of liver microsomal enzymes that metabolize 17 alpha-ethynylestradiol-3-methyl ether (mestranol). This effect provides an explanation for the decreased uterotropic action of mestranol in rats pretreated with phenobarbital and may provide an explanation for unwanted pregnancies in women taking oral contraceptives in combination with phenobarbital or other enzyme-inducing drugs.

Animals↗

Tumorigenicity of the diastereomeric benz[a]anthracene 3,4-diol-1,2-epoxides and the (+)- and (-)-enantiomers of benz[a]anthracene 3,4-dihydrodiol in newborn mice.

The tumorigenic activity of benz[a]anthracene (BA), the (+)- and (-)-enantiomers of trans-3,4-dihydroxy-3,4-dihydrobenz[a]anthracene (BA 3,4-dihydrodiol), and the racemic diastereomers of the BA 3,4-diol-1,2-epoxides [i.e., either or both of the diastereomeric 1,2-epoxides derived from BA 3,4-dihydrodiol in which the epoxide oxygen is cis (diol epoxide-1) or trans (diol epoxide-2) to the benzylic 4-hydroxyl group) was examined in newborn Swiss-Webster mice. The mice were administered ip a total dose of 280 nmoles of compound in divided doses consisting of 40 nmoles within 24 hours of birth, 80 nmoles at 8 days of age, and 160 nmoles at 15 days of age. The experiment was terminated when the animals were 26 weeks of age. BA 3,4-diol-1,2-epoxide-2 was the most potent compound tested. All animals treated with BA 3,4-diol-1,2-epoxide-2 developed pulmonary tumors with an average of 13.3 tumors per mouse. BA 3,4-diol-1,2-epoxide-1 produced pulmonary tumors in 42% of the mice with an average of only 0.56 tumors per mouse. The (-)-enantiomer of BA 3,4-dihydrodiol with [3R,4R] absolute stereochemistry was the second most tumorigenic derivative of BA tested; it produced pulmonary tumors in 71% of the mice with an average of 1.88 tumors per mouse. BA and the (+)-enantiomer of BA 3,4-dihydrodiol had little or no tumorigenic activity at the dose tested. A comparison of the average number of pulmonary tumors per mouse revealed that BA 3,4-diol-1,2-epoxide-2 was about 30-fold more tumorigenic than was BA 3,4-diol-1,2-epoxide-1, 8-fold more tumorigenic than was (-)-BA 3,4-dihydrodiol, and greater than 85-fold more tumorigenic than was BA. These data indicate that in newborn mice BA 3,4-dihydrodiol and a BA 3,4-diol-1,2-epoxide are proximate and ultimate carcinogenic metabolites of BA, respectively.

Animals↗