Bioactivation of xenobiotics by prostaglandin H synthase

Prostaglandin H synthase (PHS) catalyzes the oxidation of arachidonic acid to prostaglandin H2 in reactions which utilize two activities, a cyclooxygenase and a peroxidase. These enzymatic activities generate enzyme- and substrate-derived free radical intermediates which can oxidize xenobiotics to biologically reactive intermediates. As a consequence, in the presence of arachidonic acid or a peroxide source, PHS can bioactivate many chemical carcinogens to their ultimate mutagenic and carcinogenic forms. In general, PHS-dependent bioactivation is most important in extrahepatic tissues with low monooxygenase activity such as the urinary bladder, renal medulla, skin and lung. Mutagenicity assays are useful in the detection of compounds which are converted to genotoxic metabolites during PHS oxidation. In addition, the oxidation of xenobiotics by PHS often form metabolites or adducts to cellular macromolecules which are specific for peroxidase- or peroxyl radical-dependent reactions. These specific metabolites and/or adducts have served as biological markers of xenobiotic bioactivation by PHS in certain tissues. Evidence is presented which supports a role for PHS in the bioactivation of several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and aromatic amines, two classes of carcinogens which induce extrahepatic neoplasia. It should be emphasized that the toxicities induced by PHS-dependent bioactivation of xenobiotics are not limited to carcinogenicity. Examples are given which demonstrate a role for PHS in pulmonary toxicity, teratogenicity, nephrotoxicity and myelotoxicity.     

Purified prostaglandin synthase activates aromatic amines to derivatives that are mutagenic to Salmonella typhimurium.

Prostaglandin H synthase (PHS) is widely distributed in mammalian tissues and has the ability to oxidize a variety of mutagens and carcinogens. It may therefore play a key role in the metabolic activation of xenobiotics. The present study documents that highly purified PHS can be used in conjunction with 5-phenyl-4-pentenyl-1-hydroperoxide (PPHP), a relatively stable and non-mutagenic hydroperoxide substrate, for the metabolic activation of aromatic amines to mutagenic derivatives that can be detected in short-term Salmonella typhimurium mutagenesis assays. The PHS-based activation system alone was not mutagenic for these tester strains, nor were the test compounds significantly toxic for the bacteria over the concentration range tested. When used in conjunction with Salmonella strains TA98 and TA100 in a modified Ames assay, this system should prove useful for screening of a wide range of compounds for metabolic activation by this mammalian peroxidase. The potential broad utility of this purified PHS-dependent metabolic activation system was investigated by evaluating the activation of 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) and 2-amino-3,4-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (MeIQ), which are representative of a group of mutagenic and carcinogenic heterocyclic arylamines to which humans are exposed via their diet. Both IQ and MeIQ were activated by PHS to potent mutagens and confirm the utility of the PPHP/PHS system for the activation of premutagens. Whereas the extent of activation of aromatic amines by S9-based systems is significantly greater than for the PHS activation system described herein, PHS may play a significant role in target tissues in which it is present at significantly greater levels than P450 isoenzymes. Moreover, it is likely that the substrate specificity of PHS differs sufficiently from that of P450 isoenzymes so that PHS may activate some compounds that are not efficiently activated by mixed-function oxidase based systems.     

Cytochrome P-450 dependent monooxygenases model system: rapid and efficient oxidation of primary aromatic amines to azo derivatives with sodium periodate catalyzed by manganese(III) Schiff base complexes

Rapid and efficient oxidation of primary aromatic amines was investigated. Mn(III)-salophen catalyst can catalyze the oxidation of primary aromatic amines to azo derivatives with sodium periodate. The ability of various Schiff base complexes in this oxidation system was also investigated.     

Prostaglandin H synthase-mediated reaction of carcinogenic arylamines with tRNA and homopolyribonucleotides

Prostaglandin H synthase mediates the reaction of an extensive series of carcinogenic arylamines with tRNA. Structure-activity relationships suggest that benzidine is especially reactive due to extended conjugation between the 4,4'-diamino groups. In trapping experiments with homopolyribonucleotides, benzidine reacts with polyguanylic acid but 4-aminobiphenyl reacts with polycytidylic acid. The nitrenium ion of 4-aminobiphenyl (formed by N,O-acyltransferase activation of N-hydroxy-4-acetylaminobiphenyl) reacts primarily with polyguanylic acid and to a lesser extent with polyadenylic acid. The results suggest that arylamine activation by prostaglandin H synthase does not involve nitrenium ion formation.     

Measurement of prostaglandin G/H synthase and lipoxygenase activity in the stomach wall by HPLC

A method for the determination of prostaglandin G/H synthase and lipoxygenase activities in tissues was developed and employed with rat gastric mucosa samples. Tissues and microsomes were incubated in a buffer containing nonionic detergent and 1.32 mM arachidonic acid for 10 min. Following extraction with ethyl acetate, the oxidation products of arachidonic acid were derivatized with panacyl bromide. A reversed-phase column and a quaternary mobile phase were used to separate and quantitate the panacyl bromide esters of prostaglandin E2 and leukotriene C4/D4. Prostaglandin G/H synthase and lipoxygenase activities were determined in gastric mucosa and were 371 +/- 66 and 173 +/- pg/mg/min, respectively.     

Studies on the reduction of endogenously generated prostaglandin G2 by prostaglandin H synthase

Prostaglandin H synthase oxidizes arachidonic acid to prostaglandin G2 (PGG2) via its cyclooxygenase activity and reduces PGG2 to prostaglandin H2 by its peroxidase activity. The purpose of this study was to determine if endogenously generated PGG2 is the preferred substrate for the peroxidase compared with exogenous PGG2. Arachidonic acid and varying concentrations of exogenous PGG2 were incubated with ram seminal vesicle microsomes or purified prostaglandin H synthase in the presence of the reducing cosubstrate, aminopyrine. The formation of the aminopyrine cation free radical (AP.+) served as an index of peroxide reduction. The simultaneous addition of PGG2 with arachidonic acid did not alter cyclooxygenase activity of ram seminal vesicle microsomes or the formation of the AP.+. This suggests that the formation of AP.+, catalyzed by the peroxidase, was supported by endogenous endoperoxide formed from arachidonic acid oxidation rather than by the reduction of exogenous PGG2. In addition to the AP.+ assay, the reduction of exogenous versus endogenous PGG2 was studied by using [5,6,8,9,11,12,14,15-2H]arachidonic acid and unlabeled PGG2 as substrates, with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques to measure the amount of reduction of endogenous versus exogenous PGG2. Two distinct results were observed. With ram seminal vesicle microsomes, little reduction of exogenous PGG2 was observed even under conditions in which all of the endogenous PGG2 was reduced. In contrast, studies with purified prostaglandin H synthase showed complete reduction of both exogenous and endogenous PGG2 using similar experimental conditions. Our findings indicate that PGG2 formed by the oxidation of arachidonic acid by prostaglandin H synthase in microsomal membranes is reduced preferentially by prostaglandin H synthase.     

Mammalian cell mutagenicity and metabolism of heterocyclic aromatic amines

Heterocyclic aromatic amines are bacterial mutagens which also induce DNA damage in mammalian cells. Damage has been demonstrated using a number of endpoints, including gene mutation, chromosome aberrations, sister-chromatid exchange, DNA-strand breaks, DNA repair and oncogene activation. Although the responses in mammalian cells are weak when compared to bacterial mutagenicity, heterocyclic aromatic amines are rodent carcinogens. Metabolic N-oxidation by cytochrome P450 is an initial activation step with subsequent transformation of the N-hydroxy metabolites to the ultimate mutagenic species by O-acetyltransferase or sulfotransferase. Major routes of detoxification include cytochrome P450-mediated ring oxidation followed by conjugation to glucuronic or sulfuric acid. Direct conjugation to the exocyclic amine group also occurs. Major reactions include N-glucuronidation and sulfamate formation.     

The free radical formed during the hydroperoxide-mediated deactivation of ram seminal vesicles is hemoprotein-derived

Prostaglandin synthase is a multi-enzyme complex which catalyzes the oxygenation of arachidonic acid to the various prostaglandins. During the oxygenation, the enzyme is self-deactivated and, on the basis of ESR data, it has been proposed to form a self-destructive free radical. The free radical was suggested to form from the oxygen lost from prostaglandin G2 during its reduction to prostaglandin H2, and the destructive species was therefore thought to be an oxygen-centered free radical, tentatively identified as the hydroxy radical. We have reinvestigated this ESR signal (g = 2.005) and have concluded, with the aid of the known ESR parameters for the hydroxy and other oxygen-centered free radicals, that the free radical formed during the oxygenation is neither a hydroxy nor any known oxygen-centred radical. Prostaglandin synthase is thought to be a hemoprotein, so this unknown ESR signal was compared with the previously observed free radical formed by the reaction of H2O2 with methemoglobin. This comparison indicates that the free radical formed by the reaction of prostaglandin G2 with ram seminal vesicles is hemoprotein-derived and may be formed by the oxidation of an amino acid(s) located near the iron of the heme.     

Prostaglandin synthase-catalyzed metabolic activation of some aromatic amines to genotoxic products

Cultured human fibroblasts were incubated with different aromatic amines in the presence of different activation systems and the induction of strand breaks in fibroblast DNA was studied. In the presence of ram seminal vesicle microsomes and arachidonic acid, DNA strand breaks were induced by 2-naphthylamine, 2,4-diaminotoluene and 4-methoxy-m-phenylenediamine. This effect was decreased when the prostaglandin synthase of the ram seminal vesicle microsomes was inhibited. The data suggest that metabolic activation catalyzed by prostaglandin synthase may be of importance in the formation of genotoxic products by certain urinary tract carcinogens.     

Covalent binding to proteins of reactive intermediates resulting from prostaglandin H synthase-catalyzed oxidation of stilbene and steroid estrogens

Prostaglandin H synthase (PSH) is known to metabolically activate a variety of xenobiotics in vitro by means of its peroxidase activity. Recently, stilbene and steroid estrogens have been found to be cooxidized by ram seminal vesical microsomes, a rich source of PHS, to nonextractable metabolites bound to microsomal protein. To investigate further the nature of this protein binding, different radiolabeled estrogens were incubated with purified PHS, holoenzyme in the presence of various amounts of albumin (BSA), and radioactivity bound to protein was determined after gel electrophoretic separation. Diethylstilbestrol (DES), its analog hexestrol, and the steroid estrogens estrone and 2-hydroxy-estrone were cooxidized by PHS in vitro to metabolites that bound covalently to PHS and to BSA. Although a preferential binding of DES to PHS was found in the presence of excess BSA, reactive intermediates derived from DES, or from the other estrogens, were sufficiently stable to react with the competing nucleophile BSA as well. With respect to the metabolic reactions catalyzed by PHS, in addition to one-electron oxidation of phenolic functions, PHS catalyzed the aromatic hydroxylation of synthetic and steroid estrogens as shown by 3H2O release from regiospecifically labeled compounds and confirmed by product identification. Although DES was extensively metabolized by PHS, its aromatic hydroxylation was minor by comparison to estradiol, a difference possibly related to the compounds' redox potentials. Thus, cooxidation of estrogens in vitro resulted in phenoxy radicals, semiquinones and quinones, reactive intermediates capable of protein binding that may contribute to the adverse effects of stilbene and steroid estrogen observed in vivo and in short-term assays.     

Peroxidase activity of catalase with respect to aromatic amines

The catalase dissociation into subunits has been studied at pH less than 3.5 and greater than 11.0. This process is characterized by pseudo-first order rate constants, depending on the initial concentrations of the enzyme and H+. At pH 2.85, the steady-state kinetics of five aromatic amines oxidation by catalase monomers has been studied for orthodianisidine (o-DA), 3,5,3',5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB), ortho- and para-phenylene diamine (p-PDA) and 5-aminosalycilic acid. The optimal substrates for catalase in acidic solutions are o-DA, TMB and p-PDA. A comparison has been carried out for the catalase peroxidative activity, and the catalytic characteristics of horseradish peroxidase in the oxidation of the same substrate. The mechanisms of peroxidatic amines oxidation by catalase and horseradish peroxidase are discussed.     

Lipopolysaccharide induces prostaglandin H synthase-2 in alveolar macrophages.

Prostaglandin H synthase is a key enzyme in the formation of prostaglandins and thromboxane from arachidonic acid. The recent cloning of a second prostaglandin H synthase gene, prostaglandin H synthase-2, which is distinct from the classic prostaglandin H synthase-1 gene, may dramatically alter our concept of how cells regulate prostanoid formation. We have recently shown that the enhanced production of prostanoids by lipopolysaccharide-primed alveolar macrophages involves the induction of a novel prostaglandin H synthase (J. Biol. Chem., (1992), 267, 14547-14550). We report here that the novel PGH synthase induced by lipopolysaccharide in alveolar macrophages is prostaglandin H synthase-2.     

Mutagenicity modulating effect of quercetin on aromatic amines and acetamides

The effect of quercetin on the mutagenicity of 32 kinds of aromatic amines and their acetamides were investigated using Salmonella typhimurium TA98 with a mammalian metabolic activation system (S9 mix). Quercetin enhanced the mutagenicity of the tricyclic aromatic amines (aminofluorene, aminoanthracene and aminophenanthrene) and their acetamides by 1.2-5.9-fold. Whereas, quercetin depressed the mutagenicity of aniline derivatives, biphenyl derivatives, and bi- and tetra-cyclic amino derivatives. The modulation of mutagenicity of Trp-P-1, Trp-P-2, Glu-P-1 and Glu-P-2 (heterocyclic amines) by quercetin were liable to be affected by the content of S9 in the S9 mix. It seems that quercetin does not have the same effect as norharman, because quercetin did not enhance the mutagenicity of aniline. It is suggested that the modulation of the mutagenicity of aromatic amines and acetamides is caused by the modulation of the balance between the mutagenic activation and inactivation in the metabolism of these amines and acetamides in the presence of quercetin. In this modulation, quercetin may participate through its effects on the promotion of N-hydroxylation and the inhibition of arylhydroxylation and transacylation. The presence of tricyclic aromatic rings of amines and acetamides is a structural requirement for the mutagenicity enhancement by quercetin.     

Peroxidative oxidation of leuco-dichlorofluorescein by prostaglandin H synthase in prostaglandin biosynthesis from polyunsaturated fatty acids

Prostaglandin H synthase can oxidize arachidonic acid with leuco-dichlorofluorescein as reducing cosubstrate. Addition of 0.5 mM phenol increases the oxidation of leuco-dichlorofluorescein 5-fold, probably by acting as a cyclic intermediate in the oxidation. Tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine is also oxidized as cosubstrate. Its oxidation is not influenced by phenol. A stoichiometry of close to one mole of tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine or leuco-dichlorofluorescein consumed per mole of arachidonic acid was found in the initial phase of the reaction. In the presence of phenol + leuco-dichlorofluorescein, the oxidation rate of arachidonic acid is about 40% lower than with phenol alone as cosubstrate. Since dichlorofluorescein has a molar extinction coefficient of 91 · 10³ at 502 nm, the oxidation of less than 1 μM leuco-dichlorofluorescein can be detected spectrophotometrically. The rate of extinction change with leuco-dichlorofluorescein (at 502 nm) is about 4-fold more rapid than with tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (at 611 nm). With this spectrophotometric assay we have confirmed that arachidonic acid, linolenic acid, adrenic acid, γ-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, are substrates for prostaglandin H synthase with decreasing reaction rates in the mentioned order. The same order of reaction rates were found when oxygen consumption was measured. The assay also shows that docosahexaenoic acid is substrate for the enzyme. The reaction rate of the enzyme evidently is decreased both by a n − 3 double bond and by deviation from a 20 carbon chain length of the fatty acid substrate.     

Formaldehyde-mediated modification of natural deoxyguanosine with amines: one-pot cyclization as a molecular model for genotoxicity

Stable cross-linked adducts, 3-(2-deoxy-beta-D-ribofuranosyl)-7-phenyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro[1,3,5]triazino[1,2-a]purin-10(3H)-one and 7-butyl-3-(2-deoxy-beta-D-ribofuranosyl)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro[1,3,5]triazino[1,2-a]purin-10(3H)-one, that formed chemically from natural deoxyguanosine and aniline or buthyl amine in the presence of formaldehyde were identified. This reaction appears to be a general reaction of deoxyguanosine and primary amines, and it may be a model of DNA modification with carcinogenic aromatic amines without metabolic activation, if formaldehyde is present.     

Enzymatic formation of prostamide F2alpha from anandamide involves a newly identified intermediate metabolite, prostamide H2

Prostaglandin F2alpha 1-ethanolamide (prostamide F2alpha) is a potent ocular hypotensive agent in animals and represents a new class of fatty acid amide compounds. Accumulated evidence indicated that anandamide, an endogenous bioactive ligand for cannabinoid receptors, may serve as a common substrate to produce all prostamides, including prostamide F2alpha. After incubation of anandamide with cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), the reaction mixture was profiled by HPLC and an intermediate metabolite was discovered and characterized as a cyclic endoperoxide ethanolamide using HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry. Formation of prostamide F2alpha was also demonstrated when the intermediate metabolite was isolated and incubated with prostaglandin F synthase (PGF synthase). These results suggest that the biosynthesis of prostamide F2alpha proceeds in two consecutive steps: oxidation of anandamide to form an endoperoxide intermediate by COX-2, and reduction of the endoperoxide intermediate to form prostamide F2alpha by PGF synthase. This endoperoxide ethanolamide intermediate has been proposed as prostamide H2.     

Enhanced biodegradation of aromatic pollutants in cocultures of anaerobic and aerobic bacterial consortia

Toxic aromatic pollutants, concentrated in industrial wastes and contaminated sites, can potentially be eliminated by low cost bioremediation systems. Most commonly, the goal of these treatment systems is directed at providing optimum environmental conditions for the mineralization of the pollutants by naturally occurring microflora. Electrophilic aromatic pollutants with multiple chloro, nitro and azo groups have proven to be persistent to biodegradation by aerobic bacteria. These compounds are readily reduced by anaerobic consortia to lower chlorinated aromatics or aromatic amines but are not mineralized further. The reduction increases the susceptibility of the aromatic molecule for oxygenolytic attack. Sequencing anaerobic and aerobic biotreatment steps provide enhanced mineralization of many electrophilic aromatic pollutants. The combined activity of anaerobic and aerobic bacteria can also be obtained in a single treatment step if the bacteria are immobilized in particulate matrices (e.g. biofilm, soil aggregate, etc.). Due to the rapid uptake of oxygen by aerobes and facultative bacteria compared to the slow diffusion of oxygen, oxygen penetration into active biofilms seldom exceeds several hundred micrometers. The anaerobic microniches established inside the biofilms can be applied to the reduction of electron withdrawing functional groups in order to prepare recalcitrant aromatic compounds for further mineralization in the aerobic outer layer of the biofilm.Aside from mineralization, polyhydroxylated and chlorinated phenols as well as nitroaromatics and aromatic amines are susceptible to polymerization in aerobic environments. Consequently, an alternative approach for bioremediation systems can be directed towards incorporating these aromatic pollutants into detoxified humic-like substances. The activation of aromatic pollutants for polymerization can potentially be encouraged by an anaerobic pretreatment step prior to oxidation. Anaerobic bacteria can modify aromatic pollutants by demethylating methoxy groups and reducing nitro groups. The resulting phenols and aromatic amines are readily polymerized in a subsequent aerobic step.     

Some observations on the periodate oxidation of amino compounds

Various aliphatic and aromatic amines are oxidized by sodium metaperiodate and these reactions have been studied quantitatively in acidic, unbuffered and basic media. Significant differences have been observed between the behaviour of aliphatic and aromatic amines. Certain compounds also behaved differently under acidic and basic conditions. These reactions are related to the periodate oxidation of amino acids and, from observations on a number of glycine derivatives, a reaction mechanism is proposed for this process.     

Substitution of tyrosine for the proximal histidine ligand to the heme of prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 2: implications for the mechanism of cyclooxygenase activation and catalysis

Prostaglandin H(2) synthesis by prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase (PGHS) requires the heme-dependent activation of the protein's cyclooxygenase activity. The PGHS heme participates in cyclooxygenase activation by accepting an electron from Tyr385 located in the cyclooxygenase active site. Two mechanisms have been proposed for the oxidation of Tyr385 by the heme iron: (1) ferric enzyme oxidizes a hydroperoxide activator and the incipient peroxyl radical oxidizes Tyr385, or (2) ferric enzyme reduces a hydroperoxide activator and the incipient ferryl-oxo heme oxidizes Tyr385. The participation of ferrous PGHS in cyclooxygenase activation was evaluated by determining the reduction potential of PGHS-2. Under all conditions tested, this potential (<-135 mV) was well below that required for reactions leading to cyclooxygenase activation. Substitution of the proximal heme ligand, His388, with tyrosine was used as a mechanistic probe of cyclooxygenase activation. His388Tyr PGHS-2, expressed in insect cells and purified to homogeneity, retained cyclooxygenase activity but its peroxidase activity was diminished more than 300-fold. Concordant with this poor peroxidase activity, an extensive lag in His388Tyr cyclooxygenase activity was observed. Addition of hydroperoxides resulted in a concentration-dependent decrease in lag time consistent with each peroxide's ability to act as a His388Tyr peroxidase substrate. However, hydroperoxide treatment had no effect on the maximal rate of arachidonate oxygenation. These data imply that the ferryl-oxo intermediates of peroxidase catalysis, but not the Fe(III)/Fe(II) couple of PGHS, are essential for cyclooxygenase activation. In addition, our findings are strongly supportive of a branched-chain mechanism of cyclooxygenase catalysis in which one activation event leads to many cyclooxygenase turnovers.     

Purification and characterization of prostaglandin F synthase from bovine liver.

Prostaglandin D2 11-ketoreductase activity of bovine liver was purified 340-fold to apparent homogeneity. The purified enzyme was a monomeric protein with a molecular weight of about 36 kDa, and had a broad substrate specificity for porstaglandins D1, D2, D3, and H2, and various carbonyl compounds (e.g., phenanthrenequinone and nitrobenzaldehyde, etc.). Prostaglandin D2 was reduced to 9 alpha,11 beta-prostaglandin F2 and prostaglandin H2 to prostaglandin F2 alpha with NADPH as a cofactor. Phenanthrenequinone competitively inhibited the reduction of prostaglandin D2, while it did not inhibit that of prostaglandin H2. Moreover, chloride ion stimulated the reduction of prostaglandin D2 and carbonyl compounds, while it had no effect on that of prostaglandin H2. Besides, the enzyme was inhibited by flavonoids (e.g., quercetin) that inhibit carbonyl reductase, but was not inhibited by barbital and sorbinil, which are the inhibitors of aldehyde and aldose reductases, respectively. These results indicate that the bovine liver enzyme has two different active sites, i.e., one for prostaglandin D2 and carbonyl compounds and the other for prostaglandin H2, and appears to be a kind of carbonyl reductase like bovine lung prostaglandin F synthase (Watanabe, K., Yoshida, R., Shimizu, T., and Hayaishi, O., 1985, J. Biol. Chem. 260, 7035-7041). However, the bovine liver enzyme was different from prostaglandin F synthase of bovine lung with regard to the Km value for prostaglandin D2 (10 microM for the liver enzyme and 120 microM for the lung enzyme), the sensitivity to chloride ion (threefold greater activation for the liver enzyme) and the inhibition by CuSO4 and HgCl2 (two orders of magnitude more resistant in the case of the liver enzyme). These results suggest that the bovine liver enzyme is a subtype of bovine lung prostaglandin F synthase.