The effect of N-nitroso carcinogens and triazenes on protein synthesis in cell-free systems

The effect of a series of carcinogenic nitrosamines, alkylnitrosoureas and alkaryltriazenes on enzymatic reactions involved in protein synthesis was studied in cell-free systems from rat liver. The addition of most compounds stimulated the formation of aminoacyl-tRNA complex in test systems from rat liver whereas analogous preparations from Escherichia coli did not show this effect. The polymerization of phenylalanine and the binding of aminoacyl-tRNA to ribosome were only slightly and apparently non-specifically inhibited in the presence of the test compounds. On the other hand, the binding of nRNA to ribosome was markedly stimulated after the addition of most carcinogens tested. It appears that the carcinogens intervene specifically with one of the early steps in peptide initiation. Since the binding of mRNA to ribosome is known to be an important rate-limiting step in protein synthesis, the N-nitroso carcinogens and triazenes may thus control the expression of genetic message at the translation level.     

Deacylation of carcinogenic 5-nitrofuran derivatives by mammalian tissues

The deacylations of N-[4-(5-nitro-2-furyl)-2-thiazolyl] fonnamide (FANFT), N-[4-(5-nitro-2-furyl)-2-thiazolyl] acetarnide (NFTA) and formic acid 2-[4-(5-nitro-2-furyl)-2-thiazolyl] hydrazide (FNT) by liver, kidney, small intestines and stomach of mouse, rat, hamster and guinea pig were investigated. FANFT was deformylated to 2-amino-4-(5-nitro-2-furyl)thiazole (ANFT). FANFT formamidase activity was higher in the liver and small intestines of mouse, hamster and guinea pig, and small intestines and stomach of rat. There was no detectable FANFT formamidase activity in the stomach of the mouse and hamster. Neither NFTA nor FNT was deacylated by the rodent tissue homogenates studied. It is suggested that (1)4 ANFT is a metabolite of FANFT but not NFTA; (2) 2-hydrazino-4-(5-nitro-2-furyl)thiazole (HNFT) may not be a metabolite of FNT; and (3) the induction of tumors by FANFT, NFTA and FNT may not be due to a common carcinogenic metabolite, although these chemicals demonstrate similar organ specificities in some of these rodents.     

Metabolic activation capabilities of S9 and hepatocytes from uninduced rats to convert carcinogenic N-nitrosamines to mutagens

6 carcinogenic nitrosamines were studied in Salmonella typhimurium TA1535 after activation by S9 and by hepatocytes. All nitrosamines were activated by S9 from induced rats, regardless of their organotropy. The hepatocarcinogenic nitrosamines (N-nitrosodimethylamine, NDMA; N-nitrosodiethylamine, NDEA; N-nitrosomorpholine, NM and N-nitrosodibutylamine, NDBA) were activated to mutagens by S9 and by hepatocytes both derived from noninduced rat livers, NDMA and NM inducing more his+ revertants in the presence of hepatocytes. The oesophageal carcinogenic nitrosamine N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBeA) and bladder organotrophic N-nitroso(4-hydroxybutyl)butylamine(NBBOH) were neither converted by liver preparations of uninduced rats into mutagenic intermediates nor by hepatocytes. This study indicates that isolated cells derived from untreated animals may be better suited to study liver specific activation in vitro than disrupted subcellular metabolizing systems from induced animals.     

Formation of electrophilic N-acetoxyarylamines in cytosols from rat mammary gland and other tissues by trans-acetylation from the carcinogen N-hydroxy-4-acetylaminobiphenyl

The 105 000 × g supernatant fractions of various rat tissues catalyze the transfer of the N-acetyl group of certain carcinogenic aromatic acethydroxamic acids to the O atom of aromatic hydroxylamines. The resulting N-acetoxyhydroxylamines are strongly electrophilic and have been detected and analyzed through their reaction with N-acetylmethionine to yield methylmercaptoaminoarenes.Of the rat tissues studied the liver had the highest activity; kidney and small intestinal mucosa were about 15–20% as active. The transacetylase activities of these tissues were similar with respect to their ability to use either N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene (N-hydroxy-AAF or N-hydroxy-4-acetylaminobiphenyl (N-hydroxy-AABP) as acetyl donors, their stability on storage at 2–3°C, and their elution patterns from Sephadex G-100 columns. Low transacetylase activity was found in spleen and muscle.Mammary tissue from 16–21 day pregnant rats had 20% of the transacetylase activity of rat liver when N-hydroxy-AABP was used as acetyl donor and N-hydroxy-4-aminobiphenyl (N-hydroxy-ABP) was the acetyl acceptor. This enzyme system from mammary tissue did not utilize the fluorene derivatives as either acetyl donor or acetyl acceptor, was much more labile than the liver, kidney, or intestinal mucosa systems, and had a pH optimum at 7.5, as compared to pH 6.8 for liver. The mammary tissue system was similar to the hepatic system in being inhibited by sulfhydryl reagents; it required a source of reduced pyridine nucleotides for maximum activity.     

An unusual effect of N-octylamine on the cytochrome b5 spectrum of insect and mammalian microsomes

The addition of n-octylamine to microsomes prepared from the midgut of tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) larvae causes an unusual spectral interaction. The initial optical difference spectrum appears to be the sum of reduced cytochrome b₅ and a type II difference spectrum of cytochrome P-450. This initial spectrum is unstable and diminishes in size, with a concurrent shift in peak (424 to 428 nm) and trough (409 and 392 to approx. 400 nm) positions, to yield a stable spectrum identical to the type II spectrum of cytochrome P-450. Thus, in addition to its interaction with cytochrome P-450, n-octylamine causes a reduction of cytochrome b₅ which subsequently becomes reoxidized.The casual factor for this unusual spectral interaction occurs in the cytoplasm and appears to be protein-bound. It was also present in similar preparations from the tobacco budworm (Heliothis virescens) but not in those from rat or mouse liver or abdomens from insecticide-resistant or susceptible houseflies (Musca domestica).Microsomes from rat and mouse liver, but not those from housefly abdomens, exhibit similar unusual spectral interactions with n-octylamine when supplemented with the soluble factor from the hornworm.     

Carcinogenesis and nucleic acid alkylation by some oxygenated nitrosamines in rats and hamsters

A comparison has been made of the carcinogenic effects of nitroso-2,6-dimethylmorpholine and several hydroxylated acyclic nitrosodialkylamines derived from it or related to it in rats and Syrian hamsters. In rats nitrosodimethylmorpholine was the most potent, inducing mainly esophageal tumors. Nitrosodiethanolamine was the weakest of the five nitrosamines in both rats and hamsters. Tumors of the pancreas ducts were induced by four of the five compounds, but only in hamsters, and esophageal tumors appeared only in rats. Most of the nitrosamines induced tumors of liver and lung in both rats and hamsters. A study of alkylation of nucleic acids of the liver following treatment of rats and hamsters with the radiolabeled nitrosamines showed that nitrosodiethanolamine alkylated liver nucleic acids in rats to only a very small extent. The other four nitrosamines all gave rise to 7-methylation and O6-methylation of guanine residues in DNA of hamster liver and all but nitrosodimethylmorpholine in rat liver DNA, which corresponded quite well with the induction of liver tumors in the two species. Quantitatively, however, there was not a good correlation between liver DNA alkylation and the potency of the nitrosamine in inducing tumors.     

Hamster hepatocyte-mediated activation of procarcinogens to mutagens in the L5178Y/TK mutation assay

Eight procarcinogens including three nitrosamines, three polycyclic hydrocarbons, and two aromatic amines were tested for mutagenic potential at the thymidine kinase (TK) locus in L5178Y mouse lymphoma cells co-cultivated with viable hamster hepatocytes. All eight chemicals produced substantial mutagenic activity as indicated by increased trifluorothymidine resistance in L5178Y cells treated in the presence of hepatocytes. Mutagenic responses to benzo[a]pyrene, 3-methyl-cholanthrene, N-nitrosodiethylamine, and N-nitrosodipropylamine first increased, then plateaued within the range of mutagen concentrations tested, while consistent dose-dependent increases in mutant frequencies were observed following 2-aminoanthracene, 2-aminofluorene, or N-nitrosodimethylamine treatments. The relatively flat portions of the mutant frequency curves for benzo[a]pyrene and 3-methylcholanthrene coincided with maximum chemical solubility as obvious from visible or microscopically detectable precipitate. These hamster cells readily facilitated the metabolism of 1,2-benzanthracene to a detectable mutagen and were especially competent in the activation of the two aromatic amines. Thus, cultured hamster hepatocytes can activate a variety of chemical carcinogens including polycyclic hydrocarbons to mutagens in a whole cell-mediated in vitro assay using L5178Y/TK^+/? cells as the target organism.     

Mutagenicity of aliphatic nitrosamines in Salmonella typhimurium.

25 aliphatic nitrosamines were examined in the Ames assay for bacterial mutagens, using rat liver "S-9" for activation. Of them, 8 carcinogens were mutagenic and 5 non-carcinogens were not mutagenic. However, 2 compounds not carcinogenic in rats were mutagenic and 9 carcinogens were not mutagenic, including 6 that are liver carcinogens in rats.     

Design,synthesis, and biological activities of 1-aryl-1,4-diazepan-2-one derivatives as novel triple reuptake inhibitors

A novel series of triple reuptake inhibitors were explored by ligand-based drug design. A cyclic structure was designed from cyclopropane derivative 5 using the core structure of reported monoamine reuptake inhibitors, leading to the formation of the 1-aryl-1,4-diazepan-2-one derivative 23j-S. Compound 23j-S was shown to act as a potent TRI with an excellent ADME-Tox profile. Oral administration of 23j-S significantly enhanced norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin levels in the mouse prefrontal cortex and showed significant antidepressant-like activity in tail suspension tests in mouse.     

Porphyrogenic effects and induction of heme oxygenase in vivo by δ-aminolevulinic acid

The effects of single large doses of the porphyrin-heme precursor ?d-aminolevulinic acid on tissue porphyrins and on δ-aminolevulinate synthase and heme oxygenase, the rate-living enzymes of liver heme synthesis and degradation respectively, were studied in the chick embryo in ovo, in the mouse and in the rat. δ-Aminolevulinic acid treatment produced a distinctive pattern characterized by extensive tissue porphyrin accumulation and alterations in these rate-limiting enzymes in the liver. Repression of basal or allylisopropylacetamide-induced liver δ-aminolevulinate synthase was observed and, in the mouse and the rat, induction of liver heme oxygenase after δ-aminolevulinic acid treatment, in a manner similar to the known effects of hemin on these enzymes. In the chick embryo liver in ovo heme oxygenase was substantially higher than in rat and mouse liver, and was not significantly induced by δ-aminolevulinic acid or other compounds, including hemin, CS₂ and CoCl₂. Levulinic acid, an analogue of δ-aminolevulinic acid, did not induce heme oxygenase in mouse liver. δ-Aminolevunilic acid treatment did not impair ferrochelatase activity but was associated with slight and variable decreases in liver cytochrome P-450. Treatment of chick embryos with a small ‘priming’ dose of 1,4-dihydro-3,5-dicarbethoxycollidine, which impairs liver ferrochelatase activity, accentuated porphyrin accumulation after δ-aminolevulinic acid in the liver. These observations indicate that exogenous δ-aminolevulinic acid is metabolized to porphyrins in a number of tissues and, at least in the liver, to a physiologically significant amount of heme, thereby producing an increase in the size of one or more of the heme pools that regulate both heme systhesis and degradation. It is also possible than when δ-aminolevulinic acid is markedly overproduced in vivo it may be transported to many tissues and re-enter the heme pathway and alter porphyrin-heme metabolism in cells and tissues other than those in which its overproduction primarily occurs.     

Mutagenicity of potentially carcinogenic mycotoxins produced byFusarium moniliforme

The mutagenic behaviour of two potentially carcinogenic mycotoxins produced byFusarium moniliforme was investigated in theSalmonella mutagenicity test using tester strains TA97a, TA98, TA100, and TA102. The mutagenic response obtained with fusarin C (1, 5, and 10μg/plate) against tester strains TA98 and TA100 in the presence of microsomal activation confirmed previous observations on the mutagenic behaviour of this mutagen while that obtained against TA97a is reported for the first time. No dose-response relationship could be detected for the concentration levels (0.2, 0.5, 1, 5, 10 mg/plate) tested for FB₁, FB₂, and FB₃ against any of the tester strains used in either the plate incorporation and / or the pre-incubation tests. A cytotoxic effect was obtained at concentration levels of 5 and 10mg/plate in the absence of the microsomal activation mixture. From the studies it became evident thatF moniliforme produces two compounds, a mutagenic compound, fusarin C which has been shown to lack carcinogenic activity in rats and the non-mutagenic fumonisin B mycotoxins of which FB₁ is known to be responsible for the hepatocarcinogenicity of the fungus in rats.     

Subnanogram estimation of the proximate carcinogen N-hydroxy-2-fluorenylacetamide by gas-liquid chromatography

A very sensitive method, using electron-capture gas chromatography, has been developed for the quantitative estimation of N-hydroxy-2-fluorenylacetamide, the proximal carcinogenic metabolite of N-2-fluorenylacetamide. After incubation of the carcinogenic parent arylamide with rat liver microsomes, the N-hydroxy derivative produced is converted into N-chloro-2-fluorenylamine by treatment with hydrochloric acid; the amine is extracted with cyclohexane and transformed into N-chloro-2-fluorenyltrifluoroacetamide with trifluoroacetic anhydride. As little as 0.06 ng of the latter compound can be readily detected by gas-liquid chromatography using an electron-capture detector.     

Catalytic activity and arrangement of subunit polypeptides in rat liver cytochrome c oxidase as studied by proteolysis

Cytochrome c oxidase from rat liver was incubated with various proteinases of different specificities and the enzymic activity was measured after various incubation times. A loss of catalytic activity was found after digestion with proteinase K, aminopeptidase M and a mitochondrial proteinase from rat liver. In each case the decrease in enzymic activity was compared with the changes in intensities of the polypeptide pattern obtained after sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The susceptibilities of the subunit polypeptides of the soluble cytochrome c oxidase to proteinases were very different. Whereas subunit I was most susceptible, subunits V–VII were rather resistant to degradation. From the relative inaccessibility of subunits V–VII to proteinases it is likely that these polypeptides are buried in the interior of the enzyme complex.     

The formation of methylated bases in DNA by dimethylnitrosamine and its relation to differences in the formation of tumours in the livers of GR and C3HF mice

Metabolism of and DNA methylation by dimethylnitrosamine (DMNA) were measured in the livers of GR male and C3Hf male and female mice which showed widely different susceptibilities to tumour formation by this hepatocarcinogen.It was previously shown that continuous DMNA administration results in vascular tumours in the livers of C3Hf female mice, whereas C3Hf males develop a high incidence of hepatomas both after continuous treatment and after a single injection of DMNA to adult animals. GR males showed a low susceptibility to the formation of liver tumours under these conditions.N-demethylation of DMNA by liver microsomes showed similar activity for both C3Hf sexes; but GR males were significantly more active.At 5 and 48 h after a single injection of [¹⁴C]DMNA, the amounts of O⁶-methylguanine (O⁶-MeGua), 7-methylguanine (7-MeGua), 1-methyladenine (1-MeAde) and 3-methyladenine (3-MeAde) were similar for C3Hf males and females, with the possible exception of 7-MeGua which seemed to be slightly higher in the female. O⁶ MeGua disappeared from C3Hf liver DNA with an apparent half-life time of about 24 h. Especially at 48 h after injection, GR liver DNA was methylated to a higher extent than was C3Hf liver DNA. This result, which antiparallels the tumour incidences, may be explained by the differences in rate of N-demethylation of DMNA. where higher 7-MeGua values were found for fasted animals under otherwise identical conditions.The general conclusior to be drawn is that neither the metabolism of DMNA nor DNA methylation by this carcinogen in the livers of male GR and C3Hf male and female mice correlates With the formation of hepatomas after DMNA administration. A possible explanation of the absence of such a correlation between DNA methylation and tumour formation might be that there exists no causal relationship between both events. However, a complicating factor is that the eventual development of a tumour may be influenced by a number of—sometimes decisive—secondary factors like hormonal²⁵ or immunological²⁶ status or the presence of cellular proliferation in target organs^27,28. Evidence from other systems suggests a relationship between inactivating, mutagenic or carcinogenic effects of alkylating agents and their ability to interact with nucleic acids, especially DNA^29,30.     

Immunological similarity between NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase of erythrocytes and liver microsomes

In a number of animal species soluble NADH-cytochrome b₅ reductase of erythrocytes was compared with membrane-bound NADH-cytochrome b₅ reductase of liver microsomes by using an antibody to purified NADH-cytochrome b₅ reductase from rat liver microsomes. The results obtained indicated clearly that they are immunologically very similar to each other. The data with erythrocyte ghosts suggested that cytochrome b₅ and NADH-cytochrome b₅ reductase are also present in the ghost.     

Genetic toxicity evaluation of McN-5195: A novel analgesic

McN-5195, (±)trans-3-(2-bromophenyl)octahydroindolizine, a novel analgesic, was tested for genotoxic potential in a battery of tests with endpoints of mutagenicity, chromosomal alterations and DNA damage/ repair. McN-5195 was not mutagenic when tested in the Ames test using strains TA98, TA100, TA1535, TA1537 and TA 1538, in the absence of metabolic activation and in the presence of Aroclor 1254-induced rat or hamster S-9. Negative results were also obtained in the mouse lymphoma assay in the absence of activation, but reproducible mutagenic responses were seen in this mammalian cell assay in the presence of rat S-9 at high levels of induced toxicity (reduced cell growth). Testing of the enantiomers of McN-5195 in this assay supported these findings. A predominance of small mutant colonies in the mouse lymphoma assay suggested a potential chromosomal effect of McN-5195. This was confirmed with positive findings in an in vitro cytogenetics assay using CHO cells, again at toxic exposure levels and only in the presence of S-9. McN-5195 did not induce DNA repair in the primary rat hepatocyte/DNA repair assay, nor did it induce alterations in vivo of chromosome structure or number when tested in a rat bone marrow cytogenetics assay. The findings from this battery of tests indicate that McN-5195 has modest genotoxic activity when tested in the presence of rat liver S-9 in in vitro systems sensitive to cytogenetic change. The absence of genotoxicity in vitro in Salmonella and intact liver cells and in vivo in rat bone marrow suggests that McN-5195 is unlikely to present a genotoxic risk to whole animals.Abbreviations 2-AA 2-anthramine - 9-AA 9-aminoacridine HCI - 2-AAF 2-acetylaminofluorene - AO acridine orange - CHO Chinese hamster ovary - CP cyclophosphamide - EMS ethylmethane sulfonate - ³H-dThd methyl-³H-thymidine - LDH lactate dehydrogenase - 3-MCA 3-methylcholanthrene - McN-5195 (±)-trans-3-(2-bromophenyl) octahydroindolizine - McN-5195-11 hydrochloride salt of McN-5195 - Na azide sodium azide - RCG relative clonal growth - RSG relative suspension growth - RTG relative total growth - SMF spontaneous mutation frequency - TEM triethylenemelamine - TFT trifluorothymidine     

In vitro metabolic activation of chemical mutagens. I. Development of an in vitro mutagenicity assay liver microsomal enzymes for the activation of dimethylnitrosamine to a mutagen

Qualitative and quantitative assay were developed to study the in vitro enzymatic activation of dimethylnitrosamine (DMNA) to its mutagenic form. Three different fractions from mouse liver homogenates, including purified microsomes, were employed for the activation, and several parameters of the assay were investigated. Qualitative tests were conducted to measure the ability of hepatic enzymes obtained from six mammalian specie to activate DMNA. A comparison between two inbred mouse strains using the in vitro activation assay demonstrated that this technique might be a useful tool in quantitatively measuring differences in genetically influenced levels of DMNA metabolism in individual animals and their tissues.     

In vitro binding of labeled 20-methylcholanthrene to a specific cytosol-protein

In vitro binding kinetics and specificity of [20-³H]methylcholanthrene ([³H]MC) interaction with mouse epidermal cytosol in the presence or absence of microsomal metabolizing systems were investigated. After an incubation period of 30 roin at 22°, the samples were dialyzed, subjected to gel filtration, ultrafiltration, and analyzed by 7 % basic polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A major portion of the binding appeared in a single peak on the gel which had the same mobility as bovine or mouse serum albumin. In vitro competition by other hydrocarbons or by promoters for binding of MC to this cytosol receptor protein showed an impressive correlation to carcinogenic and promoting activities. Essentially 100% of the MC bound to cytosol without a microsomal metabolizing system was non-covalent. However, binding Of MC to cytosol in the presence of microsomes plus reduced NADPH was party covalent which has previously been reported by Grover and Sims and Meunier and Chaveau. When bovine (BSA) or mouse serum albumin (MSA) was incubated with radioactive MC in the presence of competing non-radioactive carcinogens or promoters, little or no inhibition of binding was found. The finding that both a powerful tumor promoter and a strong carcinogen are competitors for the specific MC binding to the cytosol receptor protein indicates that it may represent a critical interaction for the promoting stage of chemical carcinogenesis in mouse skin.     

Initiation of olfactory placode development and neurogenesis is blocked in mice lacking both Six1 and Six4

Mouse olfactory epithelium (OE) originates from ectodermally derived placode, the olfactory placode that arises at the anterior end of the neural plate. Tissue grafting and recombination experiments suggest that the placode is derived from a common preplacodal domain around the neural plate and its development is directed by signals arising from the underlying mesoderm and adjacent neuroectoderm. In mice, loss of Six1 affects OE morphogenesis but not placode formation. We show here that embryos lacking both Six1 and Six4 failed to form the olfactory placode but the preplacodal region appeared to be specified as judged by the expression of Eya2, which marks the common preplacodal domain, suggesting a synergistic requirement of Six1 and Six4 in patterning the preplacodal ectoderm to a morphologic placode. Our results show that Six1 and Six4 are coexpressed in the preplacodal ectoderm from E8.0. In the olfactory pit, Six4 expression was observed in the peripheral precursors that overlap with Mash1-expressing cells, the early committed neuronal lineage. In contrast, Six1 is highly distributed in the peripheral regions where stem cells reside at E10.5 and it overlaps with Sox2 expression. Both genes are expressed in the basal and apical neuronal progenitors in the OE. Analyses of Six1;Six4 double mutant embryos demonstrated that the slightly thickened epithelium observed in the mutant was not induced for neuronal development. In contrast, in Six1^−/− embryos, all neuronal lineage markers were initially expressed but the pattern of their expression was altered. Although very few, the pioneer neurons were initially present in the Six1 mutant OE. However, neurogenesis ceased by E12.5 due to markedly increased cell apoptosis and reduced proliferation, thus defining the cellular defects occurring in Six1^−/− OE that have not been previously observed. Our findings demonstrate that Six1/4 function at the top of early events controlling olfactory placode formation and neuronal development. Our analyses show that the threshold of Six1/4 may be crucial for the expression of olfactory specific genes and that Six1 and Six4 may act synergistically to mediate olfactory placode specification and patterning through Fgf and Bmp signaling pathways.