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Biomedical subjects

J A Bond

Publications and source records attributed to J A Bond.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Disposition of butadiene epoxides in Sprague-Dawley rats.

1,2-Epoxybutene (BMO) and diepoxybutane (BDE) are metabolic products of 1,3-butadiene in rodents. Both BMO and BDE are suspect in the development of tumors in rats and mice. To understand the distribution and elimination of these compounds in the absence of the rate-limiting production from butadiene, the pharmacokinetics of BMO and BDE in blood were determined in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats following intravenous administration. All animals were dually cannulated in these studies. For the BMO studies, rats were dosed with 71, 143, or 286 mumol/kg BMO (n = 3 for each dose group). For the BDE studies, rats were dosed with 523 mumol/kg BDE (n = 3). All animals tolerated the BMO and BDE doses without grossly observable adverse effects. Blood was drawn at predetermined time points and extracted in methylene chloride. BDE and BMO concentrations were quantitated by gas chromatography or gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The BMO distribution half-lives were short and ranged from 1.4 min at the lowest dose to 1.8 min at the highest dose. Volume of distribution at steady state ranged from 0.53 +/- 0.17 to 0.59 +/- 0.31 l/kg. Systemic clearances ranged from 67 +/- 17 to 114 +/- 20 ml/min per kg. The terminal elimination half-lives were also short and ranged from 5.7 to 8.5 min among the doses. The pharmacokinetic parameters after an i.v. dose of 523 mumol/kg BDE were a distribution half-life of 2.7 min, terminal elimination T1/2 of 14 min, volume of distribution at steady state of 0.73 +/- 0.06 l/kg, and systemic clearance of 76 +/- 8 ml/min per kg. These pharmacokinetic parameters demonstrate the similarity between disposition of the two epoxides in rats, that include a rapid distribution after i.v. administration into a small extravascular body compartment as well as a rapid elimination from blood. These pharmacokinetic data provide useful blood clearance information for assessing the critical physiological and biochemical determinants underlying the disposition of butadiene epoxides.

Animals↗

Genotoxicity and cytotoxicity in male B6C3F1 mice following exposure to mixtures of 1,3-butadiene and styrene.

1,3-Butadiene and styrene are oxidized, in part, by cytochrome P450 2E1 and have been shown to metabolically interact in rodents exposed by inhalation to mixtures of both compounds. Because the reactive metabolites of butadiene and styrene are thought to be responsible for the toxicity of each compound, metabolic interactions may alter the response in animals exposed to mixtures of butadiene and styrene compared with the response in animals exposed to butadiene alone or styrene alone. The purpose of this study was to quantitate alterations in genotoxicity and cytotoxicity in male B6C3F1 mice exposed to mixtures of butadiene and styrene. Male B6C3F1 mice were exposed to 6.25, 62.5, 200, or 625 ppm butadiene alone, 50 ppm styrene alone, or mixtures of 6.25, 62.5, 200, or 625 ppm butadiene and 50 ppm styrene. Genotoxicity was assessed by quantitating the frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes in bone marrow. Cytotoxicity was assessed by counting total spleen and thymus cells and by quantitating the frequency of polychromatic erythrocytes in the peripheral blood. Butadiene and mixtures of butadiene and styrene were genotoxic in mice, as shown by a significant increase in the frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes. The increased frequency following exposure to mixtures of butadiene and styrene was not significantly different compared with the frequency following exposure to butadiene alone. Styrene and mixtures of butadiene and styrene were cytotoxic in mice, as shown by significantly decreased number of spleen cells. Exposure to mixtures of butadiene and styrene with butadiene concentrations of 62.5 or 625 ppm significantly reduced the number of thymus cells. Exposure to 200 ppm or 625 ppm butadiene alone, or to mixtures of 200 ppm or 625 ppm butadiene and 50 ppm styrene, significantly reduced the frequency of polychromatic erythrocytes in the peripheral blood. The results of the study demonstrate that exposure to mixture of butadiene and styrene does not reduce the respective genotoxicity of butadiene or cytotoxicity of styrene.

Animals↗

A comparison of physiologically based pharmacokinetic model predictions and experimental data for inhaled ethanol in male and female B6C3F1 mice, F344 rats, and humans.

Ethanol is added to unleaded gasoline as an oxygenate to decrease carbon monoxide automobile emissions. This introduces inhalation as a new possible route of environmental exposure to humans. Knowledge of the pharmacokinetics of inhaled ethanol is critical for adequately assessing the dosimetry of this chemical in humans. The purpose of this study was to characterize the pharmacokinetics of inhaled ethanol in male and female B6C3F1 mice and F344 rats and to develop a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model for inhaled ethanol in mice, rats, and humans. During exposure to 600 ppm for 6 hr, steady-state blood ethanol concentrations (BEC) were reached within 30 min in rats and within 5 min in mice. Maximum BEC ranged from 71 microM in rats to 105 microM in mice. Exposure to 200 ppm ethanol for 30 min resulted in peak BEC of approximately 25 microM in mice and approximately 15 microM in rats. Peak BEC of about 10 microM were measured following exposure to 50 ppm in female rats and male and female mice, while blood ethanol was undetectable in male rats. No sex-dependent differences in peak BEC at any exposure level were observed. Species-dependent differences were found following exposure to 200 and 600 ppm. A blood flow limited PBPK model for ethanol inhalation was developed in mice, rats, and humans which accounted for a fractional absorption of ethanol. Compartments for the model included the pulmonary blood and air, brain, liver, fat, and rapidly perfused and slowly perfused tissues. The PBPK model accurately simulated BEC in rats and mice at all exposure levels, as well as BEC reported in human males in previously published studies. Simulated peak BEC in human males following exposure to 50 and 600 ppm ranged from 7 to 23 microM and 86 and 293 microM, respectively. These results illustrate that inhalation of ethanol at or above the concentrations expected to occur upon refueling results in minimal BEC and are unlikely to result in toxicity.

Administration, Inhalation↗

Physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling of 1,3-butadiene, 1,2-epoxy-3-butene, and 1,2:3,4-diepoxybutane toxicokinetics in mice and rats.

1,3-Butadiene (BD) is a more potent tumor inducer in mice than in rats. BD also shows striking differences in metabolic activation, with substantially higher blood concentrations of 1,2:3,4-diepoxybutane (butadiene diepoxide; BDE) in BD-exposed mice than in similarly exposed rats. The objective of this study was to develop a single mechanistic model structure capable of describing BD disposition in both species. To achieve this objective, known pathways of 1,2-epoxy-3-butene (butadiene monoepoxide; BMO) and BDE metabolism were incorporated into a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model by scaling rates determined in vitro. With this model structure, epoxide clearance was underestimated for both rats and mice. Improved simulation of blood epoxide concentrations was achieved by addition of first-order metabolism in the slowly perfused tissues, verified by simulation of data on the time course for BMO elimination after i.v. injection of BMO. Blood concentrations of BD were accurately predicted for mice and rats exposed by inhalation to constant concentrations of BD. However, if all BD was assumed to be metabolized to BMO, blood concentrations of BMO were overpredicted. By assuming that only a fraction of BD metabolism produces BMO, blood concentrations of BMO could be predicted over a range of BD exposure concentrations for both species. In vitro and in vivo studies suggest an alternative cytochrome P-450-mediated pathway for BD metabolism that does not yield BMO. Including an alternative pathway for BD metabolism in the model also gave accurate predictions of blood BDE concentrations after inhalation of BD. Blood concentrations of BMO and BDE observed in both mice and rats are best explained by the existence of an alternative pathway for BD metabolism which does not produce BMO.

Administration, Inhalation↗

An amphotropic retroviral vector expressing a mutant gsp oncogene: effects on human thyroid cells in vitro.

Point mutations of the gsp protooncogene (encoding the alpha-subunit of the Gs protein) that constitutively activate the cAMP signaling pathway are a common feature of and a plausible causative mechanism for thyroid hyperfunctioning adenomas (hot nodules). To investigate the extent to which mutant gsp acting alone can induce proliferation of thyroid follicular cells, we generated an amphotropic retroviral vector (based on the pBABE-neo plasmid and psi-CRIP packaging line) to permit stable introduction of a hemagglutinin-tagged Gln227-->Leu mutant gsp gene into normal human thyrocytes in vitro. The biological activity of the vector was confirmed by detection of HA-tagged Gsp protein expression and induction of cAMP synthesis in selected target cells. Normal human thyroid follicular cells in primary monolayer culture were infected with the gsp retroviral vector or with corresponding vectors expressing mutant H-ras or neo only as positive and negative controls, respectively. Although, as before, mutant ras generated 10-20 well differentiated epithelial colonies/dish of 10(5) infected cells, with an average lifespan of 15-20 population doublings, only small groups of no more than 15-50 differentiated thyrocytes were observed with the gsp vector. In addition to standard conditions (10% FCS), infections were performed in reduced serum (1% FCS, TSH, and insulin), in the presence of isobutylylmethylxanthine, or in the presence of agents capable of closing gap junctions, with no significant difference in outcome. Although little or no proliferative response was observed regardless of the conditions, there was clear evidence of morphological response (rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton and increased cell size). The results suggest that gsp mutation may not be a sufficient proliferogenic stimulus by itself to account for hot nodule formation.

Animals↗

Pharmacokinetics of methanol and formate in female cynomolgus monkeys exposed to methanol vapors.

The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments contain mandates for reduced automotive emissions and add new requirements for the use of alternative fuels such as methanol to reduce certain automotive pollutants. Methanol is acutely toxic in humans at relatively low doses, and the potential for exposure to methanol will be increased if it is used in automotive fuel. Formate is the metabolite responsible for neurotoxic effects of acute methanol exposure. Since formate metabolism is dependent on folate, potentially sensitive folate-deficient subpopulations, such as pregnant women, may accumulate formate and be at higher risk from low-level methanol exposure. Our objective was to determine the pharmacokinetics of 14C-methanol and 14C-formate in normal and folate-deficient monkeys after exposure to 14C-methanol vapors at environmentally relevant concentrations: below the threshold limit value (TLV), at the TLV of 200 parts per million (ppm), and above the TLV. Four normal adult female cynomolgus monkeys were individually anesthetized with isoflurane, and each was exposed by endotracheal intubation to 10, 45, 200, or 900 ppm 14C-methanol for 2 hours. Concentrations of the inhaled and exhaled 14C-methanol, blood concentrations of 14C-methanol and 14C-formate, exhaled 14C-carbon dioxide (14CO2), and respiratory parameters were measured during exposure. After exposure, 14C-methanol and 14CO2 exhaled, 14C-methanol and 14C-formate excreted in urine, and 14C-methanol and 14C-formate in blood were quantified. The amounts of exhaled 14C-methanol and 14CO2, blood concentrations of 14C-methanol and 14C-formate, and 14C-methanol and 14C-formate excreted in urine were linearly related to methanol exposure concentration. For all exposures, blood concentrations of 14C-methanol-derived formate were 10 to 1000 times lower than endogenous blood formate concentrations (100 to 200 mM) reported for monkeys and were several orders of magnitude lower than levels of formate known to be toxic. Since the metabolism of formate in primates depends on the availability of tetrahydrofolate, the same four monkeys were next placed on a folate-deficient diet until folate concentrations in red blood cells consistent with moderate folate deficiency (29 to 107 ng/mL) were achieved. Monkeys were then reexposed to the highest exposure concentration, 900 ppm 14C-methanol, for a similar 2-hour period, and again the pharmacokinetic data described above were obtained. Even with a reduced folate status, monkeys exposed to 900 ppm methanol for 2 hours had peak concentrations of methanol-derived formate that were well below the endogenous levels of formate. Although these results represent only a single exposure and therefore preclude broad generalizations, they do suggest the body contains sufficient folate stores to effectively detoxify small doses of methanol-derived formate from exogenous sources, such as those that might occur during normal use of automotive fuel.

Adult↗

Metabolism of butadiene by mice, rats, and humans: a comparison of physiologically based toxicokinetic model predictions and experimental data.

1,3-Butadiene is a carcinogen in rats and mice, with mice being substantially more sensitive than rats. Our recent research is directed toward obtaining a better understanding of the cancer risk of butadiene in humans by evaluating species-dependent differences in the formation of the toxic metabolites epoxybutene and diepoxybutane. The recent data include in vitro studies on butadiene metabolism using tissues from humans, rats, and mice as well as experimental data and physiological model predictions for butadiene in blood and butadiene epoxides in blood, lung, and liver after exposure of rats and mice to inhaled butadiene. The findings suggest that humans would be more like rats and less like mice regarding the formation of butadiene epoxides. These research findings permit a reassessment of some default options that are used in carcinogen risk assessments. The research approach employed can be a useful strategy for developing mechanistic and toxicokinetic data to supplant default assumptions used in carcinogen risk assessments.

Animals↗

Mutagenicity and mutational spectra of 1,3-butadiene in the bone marrow of B6C3F1 lacI transgenic mice.

We are using B6C3F1 lacI transgenic mice to investigate the in vivo mutagenicity and mutational spectra of 1,3-butadiene (BD). Male B6C3F1 lacI transgenic mice were exposed by inhalation to 0, 62.5, 625, or 1250 ppm BD for 4 weeks (6 h/day, 5 days/week). Tissues were collected 2 weeks after the final exposure for mutant frequency analysis. The lacI- mutant frequency in bone marrow from BD-exposed mice was increased 2- to 3.5-fold over air control mice. Analysis of the mutational spectrum of lacI mutants isolated from the bone marrow of lacI mice exposed to 625 ppm BD indicated a shift in the mutational spectrum at A:T base pairs relative to air controls: 2/41 point mutations occurred at A:T base pairs in air controls versus 6/24 in BD-exposed animals; 10/40 mutations occurred at A:T base pairs in lacI mice exposed to 1250 ppm BD. A-->T transversions were found only in BD-exposed animals. Although there was a reduction in the proportion of GC-->AT transitions at 5'-CpG-3' sites recovered from the bone marrow of BD-exposed mice (25%) relative to air controls (50%), there was no difference in the contribution of GC-->AT transitions at 5'-CpG-3' sites to the mutation frequency in BD-exposed mice compared to air controls. Since the bioactivation of BD by B6C3F1 mice produces at least two mutagenic metabolites epoxybutene (EB) and diepoxybutane (DEB), studies on the in vivo mutational spectra begin to provide the framework for the ultimate identification of the BD metabolite(s) responsible for the specific mutations observed.

Animals↗

Hepatic and pulmonary glutathione conjugation of 1,2:3,4-diepoxybutane in human, rat, and mouse in vitro.

1,3-Butadiene (BD) is a carcinogen in rats and mice. Previous in vitro studies showed that mouse liver microsomes formed 1,2-epoxy-3-butene (BMO) from BD and 1,2:3,4-diepoxybutane (BDE) from BMO at much higher rates than rat or human microsomes. Blood and tissue levels of BDE were significantly lower in rats than in mice following exposure to BD. Since mice are much more susceptible to cancer induced by BD than rats, these findings suggest a key role for BDE in BD-induced carcinogenicity. The aim of this study was to characterize the glutathione (GSH) conjugation of BDE by cytosol from human liver and mouse and rat liver and lung in vitro. BDE and radiolabeled GSH were incubated with cytosol. Conjugates were identified by 13C-NMR and FAB mass spectroscopy and quantitated by HPLC. The enzyme kinetics for the conjugation of BDE with GSH suggest that the higher BDE blood concentrations in mice compared with rats following inhalation exposure to BD are not due to differences in GSH conjugation of BDE.

Animals↗

Metabolism of 1,3-butadiene: inhalation pharmacokinetics and tissue dosimetry of butadiene epoxides in rats and mice.

Significant species differences exist in the susceptibility to butadiene (BD)-induced cancer in rats and mice, and metabolism is likely a critical determinant for species sensitivity. This study measured the in vivo concentrations of, (1) BD in blood; (2) epoxybutene (EB) and diepoxybutane (DEB) in blood, lung and liver; and (3) glutathione (GSH) in lung and liver of male B6C3F1 mice and Sprague-Dawley rats during and after 6-h exposure to 62.5, 625, 1250, and 8000 (rat only) ppm BD. Mice had higher concentrations of EB and DEB in blood and tissues than did rats, DEB could not be detected in blood or tissues of rats, and the greatest depletion of GSH occurred in the lungs of mice. During exposure, the peak concentrations of EB in mice compared with rats were 4- to 8-fold higher in blood, 13- to 15-fold higher in lung, and 5- to 8-fold higher in liver. These data suggest that higher levels of BD epoxides in blood and tissues of mice compared with rats may explain, in part, the greater sensitivity of mice than rats to BD-induced carcinogenicity.

Administration, Inhalation↗

Pharmacokinetic model describing the disposition of butadiene and styrene in mice.

Coexposure to 1,3-butadiene (BD) and styrene occurs in the workplace of many polymer industries. The reactive epoxide metabolites of both compounds are responsible for their genotoxicity. A physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was developed to describe the simultaneous disposition of BD and styrene in mice coexposed by inhalation. A model with one oxidative pathway and competition between BD and styrene was compared with a model with two oxidation pathways for both BD and styrene. The different PBPK models were used to simulate the observed rate of BD metabolism and blood concentration of styrene from 8-h inhalation exposures of mice to mixtures of BD and styrene. The model with two oxidative pathways more accurately simulated the observed inhibition of BD uptake in coexposed mice.

Animals↗

1,3-Butadiene metabolism by lung airways isolated from mice and rats.

1,3-Butadiene (BD) is oxidized by cytochrome P450 to reactive metabolites, including 1,2-epoxy-3-butene (BMO) and 1,2:3,4-diepoxybutane (BDE), which are thought to be responsible for BD genotoxicity and carcinogenicity. Alveolar-bronchiolar neoplasms were observed in mice but not rats following chronic exposure to BD. The site-specific carcinogenicity of BD in mice may result from metabolic activation in pulmonary tissue. We have incubated bronchioles isolated from both male B6C3F1 mice and male Sprague-Dawley rats with 34 microM BD (final concentration in the aqueous reaction medium) to assess species differences in pulmonary metabolism of BD and to enhance our understanding of species- and site-dependent BD carcinogenicity. Bronchioles from both mice and rats formed BMO, although mouse tissue produced 2-fold more than rat tissue. These preliminary results suggest that pulmonary activation of BD may play a role in the carcinogenicity of BD following inhalation exposure; however, other factors in addition to metabolic differences, probably contribute to the observed differences in susceptibility to BD toxicity.

Animals↗

Spontaneous de-differentiation correlates with extended lifespan in transformed thyroid epithelial cells: an epigenetic mechanism of tumour progression?

Normal thyroid follicular cells, like many highly differentiated epithelia, have limited proliferative capacity. We previously showed that this could be extended by expression of the SV40 large T oncogene, but that immortal lines always lost thyroid-specific differentiation. Detailed analysis now show that clones expressing T undergo 2 mutually exclusive fates. They either (i) remain well-differentiated, in which case they undergo irreversible growth arrest after 5 to 15 p.d., or (ii) spontaneously develop poorly differentiated sub-clones that exhibit greatly extended proliferative life spans (up to 75 p.d.). The frequency of this event (> 3 per 10(4) cell divisions) greatly exceeds that expected from somatic mutation, suggesting an epigenetic basis. This is supported by our finding of rare de-differentiated epithelial cells in normal thyroid that all generate clones with extended life spans, indistinguishable from the above, following introduction of SV40 T. Escape from early mortality in differentiated thyroid epithelium therefore requires not only loss of tumour suppressor gene function (induced here by SV40 T), but also a switch in differentiation programme, with the latter effectively converting the follicular cell into a cell type with increased intrinsic proliferative potential. The analogy between this in vitro model and the progression of thyroid cancer from the well-differentiated to the highly aggressive, anaplastic form suggests that de-differentiation may play a causal rather than a passive role in this critical switch in tumour behaviour.

Antigens, Viral, Tumor↗

S phase cell-cycle arrest following DNA damage is independent of the p53/p21(WAF1) signalling pathway.

It is now likely that the cyclin-kinase inhibitor, p21(WAF1/SD11), is a key effector of p53-mediated cell-cycle arrest at the G(1)/S checkpoint following DNA damage. More recently, however, in vitro data has suggested that this pathway may also mediate the acute inhibition of DNA synthesis seen in cells already in S phase. Here we address this question in an intact cell system using normal human diploid fibroblasts in which p53 function is manipulated by expression of a dominant-negative mutant (ala(143)) introduced by a retroviral vector. Induction of DNA strand breaks in normal control fibroblasts by exposure to bleomycin led as expected to G(1)/S cell cycle arrest, induction of p2l(WAF1) and a rapid reduction in the rate of DNA synthesis in cells already in S phase. Stable expression of mutant p53 abrogated the G(1)/S (but not the G(2)/M) cell cycle checkpoint and abolished the induction of p21(WAF1), but had no significant effect on the inhibition of DNA replication in S phase nuclei. We conclude that, despite the in vitro evidence for inhibitory activity on PCNA/polymerase delta, p21(WAF1) induction does not appear to be essential for the acute inhibition of DNA synthesis in the intact cell following strand-break damage in S phase.

Antibiotics, Antineoplastic↗

Glutathione conjugation of 1,2:3,4- diepoxybutane in human liver and rat and mouse liver and lung in vitro.

1,3-Butadiene (BD) has been classified as a probable human carcinogen based on sufficient evidence of a carcinogenic response in B6C3F1 mice and Sprague-Dawley rats and limited human evidence of carcinogenicity. Mice are much more susceptible to BD-induced carcinogenicity than rats. Previous in vitro studies revealed that mouse liver microsomes formed 1,2-epoxy-3-butene (BMO) from BD and 1,2:3,4-diepoxybutane (BDE) from BMO at much higher rates than rat or human microsomes. BDE was also readily quantitated in blood and tissues of mice exposed to BD but could not be detected in rats similarly exposed. These findings suggest a key role for BDE in BD-induced carcinogenicity. The purpose of this study was to characterize the glutathione (GSH) conjugation of BDE by liver and lung cytosol from B6C3F1 mice and Sprague-Dawley rats and human liver cytosol from six different individuals in vitro. BDE and glycine-[2-3H]GSH were incubated, at pH 7.4, with cytosol. 13C NMR and mass spectral analysis indicated formation of two isomeric conjugates, S-(1-(hydroxy-methyl)-2,3-epoxypropyl)glutathione and S-(2-hydroxy-3,4-epoxy--butyl)glutathione, which were rapidly hydrolyzed in cytosol to the corresponding trihydroxy conjugates. Total conjugates were quantitated by HPLC. Conjugation of BDE with GSH followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics in human as well as rat and mouse cytosolic fractions. The conjugation rates in mouse and rat liver cytosol were similar (Vmax 162 +/- 16 and 186 +/- 37 nmol/mg protein/min, respectively) and an order of magnitude higher than in human liver cytosol (Vmax 6.4 +/- 1.9 nmol/mg protein/min). the apparent KM values were lower in human (2.1 +/- 1.4 mM) than mouse (6.4 +/- 1.6 mM) or rat (24 +/- 6 mM) liver. Mouse lung cytosol (Vmax 38.5 +/- 2.5 nmol/mg protein/min, KM 1.70 +/- 0.37mM) is also more efficient in GSH conjugation than rat lung cytosol (Vmax 17.1 +/- 3.0 nmol/mg protein/min, KM +/- 1.7 mM). These results suggest that the higher BDE blood concentrations in mice compared with rats following inhalation exposure to BD are not due to differences in hepatic or pulmonary GSH conjugation of BDE. Also, considering the low oxidation rates of BD to BMO and of BMO to BDE in humans as compared to mice, the relatively low capacity of GSH conjugation of BDE in human liver will not necessarily lead to increased BDE blood levels in humans potentially exposed to BD.

Animals↗

The role of hydrolysis in the detoxification of 1,2:3,4-diepoxybutane by human, rat, and mouse liver and lung in vitro.

1,2:3,4-Diepoxybutane (BDE) is probably the ultimate genotoxic metabolite of the rodent carcinogen 1,3-butadiene (BD). The formation of BDE from BD has been characterized in vitro using tissues from rats, mice, and humans. For assessment of human risk following exposure to BD, a quantitative understanding between the balance of formation and inactivation of BDE is essential. BDE can be removed by glutathione (GSH) conjugation and by hydrolysis. Recently, significant species differences were reported in GSH conjugation of BDE in vitro, with rats being more efficient than humans and mice being much more efficient than either rats or humans (Boogaard et al., Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 136, 307, 1996). In the present study the microsomal hydrolysis of BDE was quantified using tissues of rats, mice, and humans. Hydrolysis of BDE was well described by Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Two metabolites, erythritol and anhydroerythritol, were identified following incubation of BDE with human microsomes, but these metabolites did not fully account for the disappearance of BDE, suggesting that there may be other as yet unidentified routes of metabolism. In contrast to GSH conjugation, which was most efficient in mice compared with rats or humans, the efficiency of hydrolysis as expressed by Vmax/Km was much lower in mouse (3.93 microl/min/mg protein) than in rat (19.2) or human (32.5) liver. Pulmonary hydrolysis was also most efficient in humans, with average Vmax/Km values of 7.7, 6.7, and 2.7 microl/min/mg protein for humans, mice, and rats, respectively. However, the interindividual variation among the human samples was considerable with individual Vmax/Km values varying from 17.9 to 49.5 microl/min/mg protein for liver and from 4.57 to 16.2 microl/min/mg protein for lung tissue. This means that the heterogeneity among humans in the formation as well as in the removal of BDE will be an important factor in human risk assessment. The present data, coupled with earlier studies on formation and removal of BDE and the observation that GSH conjugation of BDE is a potentially mutagenic pathway, explain the high susceptibility of mice to BD-induced carcinogenesis.

Animals↗

Metabolic interactions of 1,3-butadiene and styrene in male B6C3F1 mice.

Butadiene and styrene are a mixture of hazardous air pollutants found in the workplace of industries producing polymers such as styrene-butadiene rubber. Both butadiene and styrene require metabolic activation to exert their genotoxic effect; therefore metabolic interactions may influence their genotoxicity. Our objective was to quantitate potential metabolic interactions in mice exposed to a mixture of butadiene and styrene. The rate of metabolism of butadiene and styrene was estimated from the steady-state rate of uptake of the chemicals by male B6C3F1 mice exposed for 8 hr in a dynamic, whole-body inhalation system to 100 or 1000 ppm butadiene in combination with 0, 50, 100, or 250 ppm styrene. Styrene, styrene oxide, 1,2-epoxy-3-butene, and 1,2:3,4-diepoxybutane concentrations in blood were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry at 2, 4, 6, and 8 hr of exposure. As the styrene concentration in the mixture increased, the rate of butadiene metabolism was inhibited up to 48%. 1,2-Epoxy-3-butene blood concentrations were increased by approximately 1.5-fold; however, 1,2:3,4-diepoxybutane blood concentrations were unaffected. Styrene uptake in the inhalation system was inhibited slightly by exposure with butadiene, but styrene blood concentrations increased significantly as the butadiene concentration in the mixture increased to 1000 ppm. Blood concentrations of styrene oxide increased approximately 1.6-fold for the 250-ppm styrene exposures when the butadiene concentration was increased from 0 to 1000 ppm. The data suggest that metabolic interactions occurred among the reactive metabolites (e.g., competition for detoxication pathways) as well as between butadiene and styrene in mice exposed to mixtures of butadiene and styrene. However, metabolic interactions were significant only at concentrations of butadiene and styrene higher than those typically observed in the workplace of industries producing polymers of butadiene and styrene.

Animals↗