Toxicity of 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide for Crithidia fasciculata.

Growth inhibition of Crithidia fasciculata by 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (NQO) was observed in defined and complex media at 28 C. Aromatic amino acids, cystein, and nicotinic acid, among several other substances, were ineffective in overcoming NQO toxicity. Dicoumarol and bovine albumin reversed NQO inhibition. While bovine albumin probably acted by the extra-cellular binding of NQO, dicoumarol inhibited the activity of DT-diaphorase, which reduces NQO to 4-hydroxyaminonitroquinoline 1-oxide (HAQO). The DT-diaphorase from C. fasciculata had the same characteristics as the enzyme from rat liver. The specific protection by dicoumarol against NQO inhibition suggests that HAQO is the active toxic substance for C. fasciculata.     

Inhibition of 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide induced unscheduled DNA synthesis in primary cultures of rat urothelial cells by dicumarol and pyrophosphate

Primary cultures of rat urothelial cells were exposed to hydroxyurea, [3H]thymidine, and 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (NQO) or N-hydroxy-4-aminoquinoline 1-oxide (HAQO) in a serum-free media for 2 h; unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) was measured by autoradiography. Both NQO and HAQO produced unscheduled DNA synthesis. Dicumarol, an inhibitor of NQO nitroreductase, inhibited the activity of NQO and, to a lesser extent, HAQO. Pyrophosphate, an inhibitor of seryl-AMP synthetase, inhibited the activity of both compounds. Neither dicumarol nor pyrophosphate, under similar experimental conditions, inhibited the activity of N-hydroxy-N-2-acetylaminofluorene (N-OH-AAF). These results support the idea that nitro-reductase and seryl-AMP synthetase may be involved in the activation of NQO.     

Increased sensitivity of xeroderma pigmentosum cells to some chemical carcinogens and mutagens

The clone-forming capacity and level of DNA repair was examined on normal human cells and repair-deficient Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) fibroblasts exposed to various chemical carcinogens and mutagens.The cultured fibroblasts were treated for 90 min with the carcinogenic and mutagenic 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO), 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide (4HAQO), 2-methyl-4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (2-Me-4NQO), 3-methyl-4-nitropyridine 1-oxide 3-Me-4NPO) and the non-carcinogenic 6-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (6NQO). The response of the cells to the N-oxides was compared to that induced by the mutagen and carcinogen N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and UV-irradiation.The XP cells showed (1) a reduced level of DNA repair synthesis when exposed to various carcinogenic N-oxides, (2) no unscheduled DNA synthesis following 6NQO and (3) a normal degree of DNA repair synthesis after treatment with MNNG.When the clone-forming capacity was examined the XP cells exhibited (1) a higher increased sensitivity to the various carcinogenic N-oxides, (2) no reduction in the clone formation following 6NQO and (3) a sensitivity virtually comparable to that of normal cells after treatment with MNNG.The results suggest a link between extent of DNA damage, level of DNA repair and degree of sensitivity in human cells exposed to various chemical carcinogens and which induce DNA alterations that cannot be repaired by DNA repair synthesis.     

Endoreduplication in cultured mammalian cells treated with 4-nitroquinoline I-oxide

Chinese hamster cells treated with 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO) developed diplochromosomes, indicating the induction of endoreduplication. The maximum ratio of diplochromosomes, about 3% of total mitoses, was reached 27 h after treatment with a concentration of 0.5 μg/ml (2.6·10^?6M) for 6 h. Various chromosomal aberrations other than changes in ploidy were observed in diplochromosomes. Spiral structures observed in diplochromosomes and the binding of 4NQO to proteins are discussed here.     

A UV-resistant mutant without an increased repair synthesis activity, established from a UV-sensitive human clonal cell line

When cells of a human clonal cell line, RSa, with high sensitivity to UV lethality, were treated with the mutagen, ethyl methanesulfonate, a variant cell strain, UVr-1, was established as a mutant resistant to 254-nm far-ultraviolet radiation (UV). Cell proliferation studies showed that UVr-1 cells survived and actively proliferated at doses of UV-irradiation that greatly suppressed the proliferation of RSa cells. Colony-formation assays also confirmed the increased resistance of UVr-1 cells to UV. The recovery from a UV-induced inhibition in DNA synthesis, as [methyl-3H]thymidine uptake into cellular DNA, was more pronounced in UVr-1 cells than in RSa cells. Nevertheless, there was no significant difference in the activity of UV-induced DNA repair synthesis in either cell line, as estimated by the extent of unscheduled DNA synthesis and DNA repair replication. UVr-1 cells were also more refractory to 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO), but the activity of DNA repair synthesis induced by 4NQO in UVr-1 cells was much the same as in the RSa cells. Both N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) sensitivity and MNNG-induced DNA repair synthesis activity in UVr-1 cells were similar to that of RSa cells. These characteristics of UVr-1 cells are discussed in the light of a previously reported UV-resistant variant, UVr-10, which had an increased DNA repair synthesis activity.     

4-Nitroquinoline I-oxide induced lethality and repair in the alga, Eudorina elegans

4-Nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO) causes an initial rapid inactivation of colony-forming ability of E. elegans but continued inactivation is not observed. The cessation of inactivation appears to be due to the metabolic activity of the organisms and the presumed conversion of 4NQO into non-lethal products. Neither visible light, starvation, nor liquid holding influence recovery from 4NQO damage. Recovery is also not affected by post-treatment growth on acridine-containing medium, but recovery is depressed by exposure to caffeine. It is concluded that Eudorina does no3 possess an excision-resynthesis-repair (ERR) system to overcome 4NQO induced damage, but that the possibly error-prone (i.e. mutant generating) post-replication repair system is operative to cope with the 4NQO induced damage.     

Metabolism of 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline-1-oxide and its binding to DNA in chick embryos

The metabolic pathway of 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline-1-oxide (4HAQO) and its binding to DNA was studied in 2-day chick embryos administered [G-3H]4HAQO in a shell-less culture. The 4HAQO rapidly metabolized into non-carcinogenic compounds and 1 h after administration only very small amounts of free 4HAQO could be detected in the embryo cells. The amount of DNA-bound 4HAQO in the embryo cells reached a maximum 2 h after administration, then began to decrease. The maximum extent (mu mol/mol P of nucleotide) was 18.2, equivalent to 1 molecule of 4HAQO-purine adducts per 2.8 X 10(4) base pairs of DNA. It was possible to detect removal of 4HAQO-purine adducts from DNA in chick embryo cells in a shell-less culture. A dose-response relationship for the killing effect of 4HAQO on 2-day embryos was observed in the range of 0.24-24 nmol 4HAQO per embryo. The practicality of the present method of administration of 4HAQO for 'flash administration' of compounds to chick embryo and the advantages of the shell-less culture method which provides access for biochemical and developmental studies of chick embryos were also discussed.     

Strand breaks of mammalian mitochondrial DNA induced by carcinogens.

Closed circular mitochondrial DNA in mammalian cells was degradated to the open circular form by exposure of the cells to the carcinogens N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO). MNNG caused more strand scission of mitochondrial DNA than 4NQO at the same concentration. The action of the carcinogens on mitochondrial DNA did not parallel that with nuclear DNA which was damaged by 4NQO more markedly than by MNNG. Mitochondrial DNA damaged by carcinogens was not repaired during 4-20 h of post-treatment incubation of the cells. Incorporation of labeled thymidine into the closed circular mitochondrial DNA, decreased by the treatment of cells with carcinogens, recovered during post-treatment incubation.     

High sensitivity but normal DNA-repair activity after UV irradiation in Epstein--Barr virus-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines from Chediak--Higashi syndrome

We established lymphoblastoid cell lines from 2 children with Chediak--Higashi syndrome (CHS), 2 xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) patients and control donors after transformation of peripheral lymphocytes by Epstein--Barr virus (EBV). We used these lymphoblastoid cell lines to investigate repair activity after ultraviolet irradiation. Cell survival of both CHS lymphoblastoid cell lines after irradiation by UV and treatment by 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO) fell between those of the XP and control cell lines. Unscheduled DNA synthesis of CHS cells after UV irradiation occurred at rates similar to those of control cells.     

Guanyl-C8-arylamination of DNA by the ultimate carcinogen of 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide: a spectrophotometric titration

Native and denatured DNAs and polynucleotides were modified by 4-acetoxyaminoquinoline-1-oxide, the ultimate carcinogen of 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4 NQO). The N-( deoxyguanosin -C8-yl)-4-aminoquinoline-1-oxide adduct, the so-called "dG III," was quantified on the DNA and on poly(dG-dC) in absorption spectroscopy, by using a spectral property of dG III, i.e., the variation of the absorption spectrum as a function of the pH. Using the "free-dG III" absorption reference spectra, a simple graphic determination of the percentage of dG III was established by recording the absorption spectra of the 4-acetoxyaminoquinoline-1-oxide-modified polymers. It was found that the dG III adduct accounts for about 30% of the total modification in the case of native modified DNA and poly(dG-dC) and for about 70% in the case of denatured modified DNA.     

Identification of 4-acetoxyaminoquinoline from the hydrolysis of 1-acetoxy-4-acetoxyimino-1,4-dihydroquinoline,in vitro and in vivo properties

4-Acetoxyaminoquinoline (Ac-4-HAQ) (1) was identified as a hydrolysis product of 1-acetoxy-4-acetoxyimino-1,4-dihydroquinoline (diAc-4-HAQO). The reaction allowing the obtention of (1) obeys to a reduction mechanism implying the N₁-O cleavage. The carcinogenic properties of (1) observed by Sato et al. (Japan J. Exp. Med., 40 (1970) 475) in mice were studied in rats with the in vivo system we used previously with 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4-NQO) and 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline-1-oxide (4-HAQO). In rats (1) does not covalently bind DNA. It was, therefore, possible to propose an interpretation of the results obtained by Enomoto et al. (Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med., 136 (1971) 1206) who injected diAc-4-HAQO s.c. to mice and rats. Compound 1 could be responsible for the carcinogenic effects observed through the following pathway: (1) should be formed by hydrolysis of diAc-4-HAQO and reactivated by an enzymatic system to N-oxide derivative, the 4-acetoxyaminoquinoline-1-oxide (Ac-4-HAQO), which constitutes an ultimate carcinogen model of 4-NQO.     

DNA excision in repair proficient and deficient human cells treated with a combination of ultraviolet radiation and acridine mustard (ICR-170) or 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide

Excision repair was measured in normal human and xeroderma pigmentosum group C fibroblasts treated with ultraviolet radiation and the carcinogens acridine mustard (ICR-170) or 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO) by the techniques of unscheduled synthesis, photolysis of bromodeoxyuridine incorporated into parental DNA during repair, and assays of sites sensitive to ultraviolet (UV)-endonuclease. Doses of ICR-170 and 4NQO, low enough not to inhibit unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS), caused damage to DNA that was repaired by a long patch type mechanism and the rates of UDS decreased rapidly in the first 12 h after treatment. Repair after a combined action of UV plus ICR-170 or UV plus 4NQO was additive in normal cells and no inhibition of loss of endonuclease sensitive sites was detected. In xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) C cells there was less repair after UV plus ICR-170 than after each treatment separately; whereas there was an additive effect after UV plus 4NQO and no inhibition of loss of endonuclease sensitive sites. The results indicate that in normal human fibroblasts there are different rate limiting steps for removal of chemical and physical damages from DNA and that XP cells have a different repair system for ICR-170, not just a lower level, than normal cells. Possibly the same long patch repair system works on 4NQO damage in both normal and XP cells.     

Reactive products formed by peroxidase catalyzed oxidation of p-phenetidine

The drug 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO) is a potent inhibitor of Dictyostelium discoideum spore germination. This inexpensive, water soluble drug is active at a concentration of 5 micrograms/ml (26 microM) and permeates the spore at all stages in germination. Spores subjected to 4NQO treatment exhibit an irreversible blockage of myxamoebae emergence, but spore activation, post-activation lag, and swelling are not affected. Swollen 4NQO-treated spores lose the outer two spore walls but lack the ability to degrade the innermost wall. The drug does not affect oxygen uptake during post-activation lag or swelling, and only a stage specific depression in O2 uptake is observed when control spores begin to release myxamoebae. When added early in germination, 4NQO blocks the incorporation of [3H] uracil into a cold trichloroacetic acid (TCA) insoluble fraction by 98%. However, when the drug is added midway through germination and followed by a pulse labelling period of 1 h, only 65% inhibition of RNA synthesis is observed. This lack of complete inhibition may occur because the drug requires metabolic activation; thus, new rounds of RNA synthesis may have initiated before the drug became fully activated. 4NQO also blocks the de novo expression of beta-glucosidase activity when added early in germination. Additionally, we observe that vegetative cellular slime mold cells are 100 times more resistant than spores to 4NQO-induced damage. Taken together, our results support the observation that RNA synthesis is only required for the emergence stage of germination and that dormant D. discoideum spores may lack efficient excision repair mechanisms.     

No mutations found in exon 2 of gene p16CDKN2A during rat tongue carcinogenesis induced by 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide

The medium-term tongue carcinogenesis assay is a useful model for studying oral squamous cell carcinomas phase by phase. The present study aimed to investigate mutations in exon 2 of gene p16CDKN2A during rat tongue carcinogenesis induced by 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO) using direct DNA-sequencing method. A total of 30 male Wistar rats were treated with 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO) in drinking water for 4, 12, and 20 weeks at 50 ppm dose. Ten animals were used as negative control. No histopathological changes in tongue epithelia were observed among controls or in the group treated for 4 weeks with 4NQO. Following 12-week treatment, hyperplasia and epithelial dysplasia were found in mild and moderate forms. At 20 weeks, the tongue presented moderate and/or severe oral dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma, with squamous cell carcinoma in the majority of animals. No mutations were found in any experimental period evaluated that corresponded to normal oral mucosa, hyperplasia, dysplasia and squamous cell carcinomas. Taken together, our results suggest that p16CDKN2A mutations in exon 2 are not involved in the multistep tongue carcinogenesis of Wistar rats induced by 4NQO.     

A note on the inhibition of DT-diaphorase by dicoumarol.

The participation of DT-diaphorase or NAD(P)H:(quinone acceptor) oxidoreductase (E.C. 1.6.99.2) in metabolism or in events leading to toxicity is often implied on the basis of the inhibitory effects of dicoumarol. DT-diaphorase functions via a ping pong bi-bi kinetic mechanism involving oxidized and reduced flavin forms of the free enzyme. Dicoumarol, a potent (Ki = 10 nM) inhibitor, binds to the oxidized form of the enzyme, competitively versus reduced pyridine nucleotide. Inhibition is effectively complete at 1 microM dicoumarol in typical studies using DCPIP, one of the best known substrates for the enzyme, as electron acceptor. The antitumor quinone Diaziquone (AZQ) is a poor substrate for DT-diaphorase relative to DCPIP, but effective inhibition of its reduction requires ten-fold higher concentrations of dicoumarol than for inhibition of DCPIP reduction under otherwise similar conditions. The variable inhibition of DT-diaphorase by dicoumarol dependent on the efficiency of the electron acceptor can be explained on the basis of the complete rate equation describing its ping pong type kinetic mechanism. Thus, the concentration of dicoumarol used to inhibit DT-diaphorase must be chosen carefully and consideration should be given to the efficiency of the electron acceptor. The absence of an inhibitory effect using low doses of dicoumarol cannot rule out a reaction mediated by DT-diaphorase. Although higher doses of dicoumarol may be required to inhibit DT-diaphorase mediated metabolism of less efficient electron acceptors, the use of such doses in cells may also affect biochemical processes other than DT-diaphorase and should be approached with caution.     

Molecular models of induced DNA premutational damage and mutational pathways for the carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide and its metabolites

The carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO) and its metabolites undergo intercalative or covalent binding with DNA. Recent evidence indicates that the latter binding pattern is probably facilitated by an initial weaker intercalative interaction that can align potentially reactive sites on a 4NQO-metabolite and adjacent stacked bases. In the present study, we have proposed numerous possible covalent reaction products between 4NQO and its metabolites with DNA mini-helices based on chemical properties and key 'short-contacts' after energy-minimization in 21 different intercalative-like complexes. It is known from numerous experimental studies that 90% of the quinoline-bound DNAs in vivo involve guanine with the remaining 10% apparently involving adenine residues. The results of the present study suggest that this trend is not due to the greater affinity of the quinolines for guanine, but instead results from secondary processes involving the preferential formation of apurinic sites at aralkyl-adenine residues over that of aralkyl-guanine residues. In addition, observed mutational patterns can be rationalized in terms of the proposed reaction-products. The role of DNA repair mechanisms in the removal and correction of the different proposed reaction products are discussed. The binding pattern of several other aromatic carcinogens are similar to those depicted in the present work for the 4NQO-metabolites; hence the present study may be of some general significance.     

Comparative studies of the effects of carcinogenic and antitumor agents on the DNA replication of cultured mammalian cells

Cultured mouse L₅₁₇8Y cells were exposed to several carcinogenic and antitumor agents. After exposure to one of the agents, the cells were label with [³H]-thymidine for 20 min, and the DNA was subjected to alkaline sucrose gradient centrifugation immediately or after a chase period. This led us to classify the agents into 3 groups: (1) UV, 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO), N-methyl-N′-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), nitrogen mustard and Mitomycin C. These were characterized by 20-min DNA labeling patterns showing the formation of small DNA and by the slowing down of their subsequent elongation. Replicated DNA strands would have gaps where “damage” was present on the parental strands. Subsequently, gap-filling replication would occur with or without repairing damage. (2) γ-rays. The 20-min DNA labeling profile displayed a larger size of DNA pieces and the subsequent elongation of this DNA was slightly affected. This probably due to a preferential depression of initiation DNA replication. (3) Methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) and low temperature (28°). The 20-min DNA labeling patterns were qualitatively similar to, but quantitatively different from those of non-irradiated control. The rate of DNA elongation was slightly retarded.     

A novel plasma membrane quinone reductase and NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 are upregulated by serum withdrawal in human promyelocytic HL-60 cells

We have studied changes in plasma membrane NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductases of HL-60 cells under serum withdrawal conditions, as a model to analyze cell responses to oxidative stress. Highly enriched plasma membrane fractions were obtained from cell homogenates. A major part of NADH-quinone oxidoreductase in the plasma membrane was insensitive to micromolar concentrations of dicumarol, a specific inhibitor of the NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1, DT-diaphorase), and only a minor portion was characterized as DT-diaphorase. An enzyme with properties of a cytochrome b ₅ reductase accounted for most dicumarol-resistant quinone reductase activity in HL-60 plasma membranes. The enzyme used mainly NADH as donor, it reduced coenzyme Q₀ through a one-electron mechanism with generation of superoxide, and its inhibition profile by p-hydroxymercuribenzoate was similar to that of authentic cytochrome b ₅ reductase. Both NQO1 and a novel dicumarol-insensitive quinone reductase that was not accounted by a cytochrome b ₅ reductase were significantly increased in plasma membranes after serum deprivation, showing a peak at 32 h of treatment. The reductase was specific for NADH, did not generate superoxide during quinone reduction, and was significantly resistant to p-hydroxymercuribenzoate. The function of this novel quinone reductase remains to be elucidated whereas dicumarol inhibition of NQO1 strongly potentiated growth arrest and decreased viability of HL-60 cells in the absence of serum. Our results demonstrate that upregulation of two-electron quinone reductases at the plasma membrane is a mechanism evoked by cells for defense against oxidative stress caused by serum withdrawal.     

The 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide mutational spectrum in single stranded DNA is characterized by guanine to pyrimidine transversions.

4-Nitroquinoline-1-oxide is a potent mutagen and carcinogen which induces two main guanine adducts at positions C8 and N2. In ds or ss damaged DNA the ratio C8/N2 adducts is 1:2 and 8-10:1, respectively. In bacteria and yeast 4NQO has been shown to be a base substitution mutagen acting at G residues inducing mainly G to A transitions. We determined the mutational spectrum induced by the 4NQO metabolite, acetoxy-4-aminoquinoline 1-oxide, in the M13lacZ'/E. coli lacZ delta M15 alpha complementation assay using ssDNA. Among 68 Ac-4HAQO induced mutants, G to Pyr transversion was the most frequent base substitution observed. By comparison with dsDNA based systems, our data suggest that dGuo-C8-AQO induces G to Pyr transversions. A mechanism to explain how this lesion may induce transversions is proposed.