Biomedical subjects

P D Josephy

Publications and source records attributed to P D Josephy.

76 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Reevaluation of the effect of ellagic acid on N-methyl-N-nitrosourea DNA alkylation and mutagenicity.

N-Methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) is a reactive, mutagenic methylating agent. MNU methylates DNA at various sites, including guanine N7, guanine O6, and adenine N3. Dixit and Gold [(1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83, 8039-8043] reported that ellagic acid, a phenolic natural product, inhibited the mutagenicity of MNU in Salmonella typhimurium strain TA 100, inhibited salmon sperm DNA alkylation by [3H]MNU, and also greatly reduced the ratio of guanine O6 to guanine N7 alkylation. We have examined the MNU-induced alkylation of calf thymus DNA and evaluated the effect of ellagic acid on this binding. Ellagic acid had only a slight effect on total alkylation and did not alter the ratio of methylation at guanine-O6 and -N7 positions. In further experiments, ellagic acid did not significantly inhibit MNU mutagenicity. These findings do not support the potential use of ellagic acid as an inhibitor of biological damage induced by nitrosoureas.

Alkylation↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Mutagenic activation of benzidine requires prior bacterial acetylation and subsequent conversion by prostaglandin H synthase to 4-nitro-4'-(acetylamino)biphenyl.

We have used the Ames test in combination with prostaglandin H synthase (PHS) to study the bioactivation of benzidine as well as other aromatic amines. Previous investigations established that the formation of benzidine mutagens by PHS is dramatically enhanced in Salmonella typhimurium strains with high levels of acetyl CoA-dependent arylamine N-acetyltransferase/arylhydroxylamine O-acetyltransferase activity despite the fact that acetylation of aromatic amines decreases their susceptibility to oxidation by peroxidases. In this study, we used a new strain (YG1012) that has very high acetylation capability to investigate the metabolism and mutagenicity of benzidine and N-acetylbenzidine catalyzed by PHS (from ram seminal vesicle microsomes) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP). YG1012 bacteria rapidly acetylated benzidine to N-acetylbenzidine and N,N'-diacetylbenzidine. Preincubation of the bacteria with benzidine before addition of PHS increased the mutagenicity. Under conditions identical to those used to assess mutagenicity, PHS metabolized benzidine rapidly, but the substrate was not totally consumed, with about 40% of the original concentration remaining intact. These data suggest that conversion to N-acetylbenzidine may be the initial step in the bioactivation of benzidine in the PHS-mediated Ames assay. N-Acetylbenzidine is a cosubstrate for PHS peroxidase activity as measured by 5-phenyl-4-pentenyl hydroperoxide reduction, spectral changes, and formation of protein adducts. N-Acetylbenzidine was converted to mutagens by PHS but not HRP, with enhanced mutagenicity observed in bacteria with high acetylation activity. We used reverse- phase HPLC to characterize the metabolites of N-acetylbenzidine formed by PHS and HRP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acetamides↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Analysis of the lidocaine metabolite 2,6-dimethylaniline in bovine and human milk.

2,6-Dimethylaniline (2,6-xylidine; 2,6-DMA) is a nasal carcinogen in rats. Humans may be exposed to this compound via several routes: 2,6-DMA is found in cigarette smoke; it is a pharmacologically inactive metabolite of some drugs (e.g., the local anesthetic lidocaine) and pesticides (e.g., metalaxyl); and it is an impurity in technical grade metalaxyl. The potential transfer of 2,6-DMA from mother to nursing infant via milk is of toxicological concern. Solid-phase microextraction with separation and detection using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was optimized and used for the analysis of 2,6-DMA in milk. 2,6-DMA-d9 was synthesized and used for quantitation by the isotope ratio method. At a concentration of 5 ppb 2,6-DMA, the method detection limit was 0.20 ppb, and the relative standard deviation was 3.6%. Samples of milk were obtained from bovines administered lidocaine (2.9-3.9 mg/kg) during surgery. A breast milk sample was also obtained from a human donor who received 36 mg lidocaine during dental work. 2,6-DMA was present at levels ranging from 14.5 to 66.0 ppb in bovine milk and was detected at 1.6 ppb in the human milk sample. Our results demonstrate that 2,6-DMA, formed by the metabolism of lidocaine, is transferable to bovine and human milk.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The 1996 Veylien Henderson Award of the Society of Toxicology of Canada. Current concepts: neutrophils and the activation of carcinogens in the breast and other organs.

Many chemical carcinogens target epithelial tissues, but the biological and biochemical bases of carcinogen specificity remain largely unknown. Focusing on the mammary gland, we discuss the concept that neutrophils metabolize carcinogens to reactive species that damage adjacent epithelial cells. This mechanism may help to explain why epithelial cells are sensitive targets for chemical carcinogenesis, despite their limited bioactivation capacity.

Animals↗