Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A Castonguay.
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The tissue distribution of the tobacco-specific N-nitrosamine, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), in the F344 rat was studied by whole-body autoradiography and high-performance liquid chromatography. The results of the wholebody autoradiography experiments indicate that the substance is able to freely cross biological membranes and reach all tissues of the body. A high level of tissue-bound metabolites occurred in the mucosa of the ethmoturbinates, in the lung, and the liver, which are the targets for the carcinogenicity of NNK in F344 rats. However, tissue-bound radioactivity was also present in non-target tissues such as the lateral nasal gland(Steno's gland), the tracheal mucosa, and the mucosa of the nasopharyngeal duct. A high level of unbound radioactivity occurred in the preputial gland, submaxillary and adrenal glands, and the urinary and gastrointestinal systems. High localization of unbound radioactivity was observed in the stomach lumen not only after p.o. but also after i.v. administration of NNK. Analysis of extracts of the stomach contents by high-performance liquid chromatography indicated that, due to their basicity, NNK and its metabolites were trapped in the gastric juice and later reabsorbed from the intestinal tract. Analysis of unbound metabolites in various tissues and in the urine after i.v. or p.o. administration of [carbonyl-14C]NNK indicated metabolism and excretion of products resulting from alpha-carbon hydroxylation, carbonyl reduction, and pyridine N-oxidation of NNK. After p.o. administration of [14CH3]NNK, 47% of the dose was recovered as 14CO2. [carbonyl-14C]NNK, however, was not metabolized to 14CO2. Levels of in vitro metabolism of [14CH3]-NNK to 14CO2 or incorporation of radioactivity into the acid-insoluble material after incubation with [carbonyl-14C]NNK were the highest in the nasal mucosa. Thus, the high activity of NNK-activating enzymes present in the nasal cavity is apparently an important factor in the etiology of NNK-induced neuroepitheliomas. In vitro autoradiography experiments showed that NNK is metabolized in the mucosa of the ethmoturbinates, the lung, and the liver, suggesting that the tumors are induced by metabolites formed locally in the target tissues. In the lung, the labeling was higher in the bronchial tree than in the lung parenchyma.
The metabolism of two nasal carcinogens, N'-nitrosonornicotine (NNN) and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), was investigated using cultured nasal septa of F344 rats. The explants were cultured with 14C-labeled N-nitrosamines, and unbound metabolites present in the medium were quantitated by high-performance liquid chromatography. The results indicated that the mucosa of the nasal septum had a marked capacity to metabolize NNN and NNK to hydroxylated products which were released into the culture media. Extensive activation by alpha-carbon hydroxylation of NNN (preferentially 2'-carbon hydroxylation) and NNK was observed, whereas no deactivation by pyridine N-oxidation could be detected. Microautoradiographic studies of explants showed that binding of radioactivity occurred preferentially in the respiratory and olfactory epithelia and in the subepithelial glands of the nasal mucosa. The results suggest that reactive metabolites of NNN and NNK are formed within the target tissue rather than being transported from the liver to the nasal mucosa. The results also show that the culture of nasal septa can be used to ascertain the role of the nasal mucosa in the activation of nasal-specific carcinogens.
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The tobacco-specific nitrosamines 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) and N'-nitrosonornicotine (NNN) were tested for carcinogenic activity in Syrian golden hamsters. In Assay A, 30 hamsters were each given 19 s.c. injections of 0.048 mmol of NNK or NNN. In Assay B, 20 hamsters each received 75 s.c. injections of 0.012 mmol of NNK or NNN. Among the NNK-treated hamsters in Assay A, three developed carcinomas of the nasal cavity, and 19 had adenomas and/or adenocarcinomas of the lung. In the NNN group, one hamster developed a lung adenoma, and five had tracheal papillomas. In Assay B, 11 of the NNK-treated hamsters developed carcinomas of the nasal cavity, 16 had lung adenomas and/or adenocarcinomas, and seven had tracheal papillomas; in the NNN group, we recorded only one hamster with a lung adenoma and one with a tracheal papilloma. These findings in the Syrian golden hamster confirm that NNK is a more powerful carcinogen than NNN, as was shown previously in assays with rats and mice. In metabolism studies, 96 to 98% of the radioactivity of the injected [1-14C]NNK was recovered in the urine, 4% was recovered in the feces, and less than 0.5% was recovered as exhaled 14CO2. The corresponding distribution for [2'-14C]NNN was 62 to 78% in urine, 10% in feces, and less than 0.5% in respiratory 14CO2. The levels of binding of [1-14C]NNK and [2'-14C]NNN to the trichloroacetic acid-insoluble fractions were highest in liver, lung, kidney, and adrenals. The urinary metabolites of NNK and NNN resulted from alpha-hydroxylation, from N-oxidation of NNN to N'-nitrosonornicotine-1-N-oxide, and from reduction of NNK to 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)butan-1-ol.
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A series of substituted 5alpha-androstan-17beta-ols was synthesized and evaluated for their potential use in the development of a prostate imaging agent. The ability of the synthesized compounds to compete with [3H]-5alpha-dihydrotestosterone for rat prostate androgen receptor protein served as the screening assay. For 3-substituted derivatives, the order of binding to the androgen receptor protein was =O greater than -OH greater than H approximately or equal to F. 3beta-Fluoro-5alpha-androstan-17beta-ol was found to have approximately 5% the androgenic activity of testosterone propionate in the castrated rat. The low biological activity for the 3beta-fluoro derivatives, coupled with the synthetic obstacles associated with introducing fluorine-18, has led us to search for more suitable halo steroids as potential radiodiagnostics.
The ability of five chemopreventive agents to inhibit 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK)-induced lung tumors in A/J mice was determined. The carcinogen was administered in the drinking water during 7 weeks (at doses of 9.2 to 3.1 mg/mouse). Three chemopreventive agents: (dose, g/kg diet) ellagic acid (4.0), 2(3)-BHA (5.0), and sulindac (0.13) inhibited the multiplicity of lung adenomas by 52, 88, and 52%, respectively, when compared to NNK controls. beta-Carotene + retinol (2.14 + 0.009), in combination, and selenium (0.0022) were ineffective. NNK was absorbed more rapidly from the duodenum than from the stomach and was metabolized in both tissues. The activation of NNK by alpha-carbon hydroxylation and its deactivation by pyridine N-oxidation was more extensive in the duodenum than in the stomach. Carbonyl reduction of NNK was 10 times higher in the duodenum. Liver microsomes were more active than lung microsomes in the alpha-carbon hydroxylation of NNK, suggesting that some liver isozymes of cytochrome P-450 have a high affinity for NNK. Pyridine N-oxidation was five times more extensive in lung microsomes than in liver microsomes. Collectively, these results demonstrate that NNK given orally to A/J mice provides a suitable model from which to assess the relative activity and mechanisms of action of chemopreventive agents in pulmonary carcinogenesis.
A 7-week treatment with the tobacco carcinogen NNK induced 8-10 lung adenomas per A/J mouse. NNK suppressed humoral and cellular immune responses and increased plasma PGE2 and LTB4 levels. This protocol is particularly suitable for testing NSAIDs and lipoxygenase inhibitors as cancer preventive agents. Sulindac and ASA inhibited lung tumorigenesis by 52 and 60%, respectively, attenuated the suppressive effect of NNK, and lowered the plasma PGE2 to basal levels. In contrast, naproxen neither inhibited lung tumorigenesis nor increased NNK-suppressed NK cell cytotoxicity. NSAIDs and lipoxygenase inhibitors had additive preventive efficacies against NNK-induced lung tumorigenesis. However, sulindac was not effective in preventing lung tumorigenesis induced by B[a]P, which lacks immunosuppressive activity. These results and those published by other investigators lead to the following hypothesis: Reactive intermediates derived from NNK interfere with the stimulation of the complex NF-kappa B/I kappa B. NF-kappa B is involved in the regulation of immune and inflammatory responses. The authors propose that NNK-derived intermediates induce the expression of COX-2 and lipoxygenase involved in NNK activation. This hypothesis provides a rationale for the lack of efficacy of naproxen to prevent tumorigenesis, to attenuate NNK-induced synthesis of PGE2, and to increase NK cell cytotoxicity. According to this hypothesis, PGE2 synthesis and induction of apoptosis contribute to varying degrees to the mechanism of cancer prevention.
The tobacco-specific N-nitrosamino 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) is a potent carcinogen in adult Syrian golden hamsters and causes a high incidence of tumors in the offspring of hamsters after in utero exposure. We have investigated how pregnancy and/or ethanol treatment modulates the microsomal metabolism of NNK. Pregnancy decreased the alpha-carbon hydroxylation (activation) of NNK, whereas it increased both the pyridine N-oxidation and carbonyl reduction of NNK in liver microsomes, but not in the lung. Ethanol treatment of nonpregnant hamsters induced both the hepatic microsomal alpha-carbon hydroxylation and pyridine N-oxidation of NNK, but it increased only the formation of NNAL, the N-nitroso alcohol NNAL, in the lung. Ethanol-consuming pregnant hamsters showed no changes in the hepatic or pulmonary metabolism of NNK. In contrast, fetal hamsters exposed in utero to ethanol showed a general increase in the rate of metabolism of NNK. Immunoblot analyses demonstrated a reduction in the P-450IIE1 and total P450IIB1/IIB2 protein levels in the liver of pregnant hamsters, whereas a moderate increase of P-450IIB1 was observed in the lung. Moreover, ethanol treatment increased the amount of immunodetectable P-450IIE1 and total P-450IIB1/IIB2 in the liver of nonpregnant hamsters, but only the hepatic P-450IIE1 was induced by ethanol in pregnant hamsters. The P-450IIB1 protein levels were not affected by ethanol treatment in the lung of nonpregnant, pregnant, or fetal hamsters. In contrast, the fetal hepatic P-450IIE1 and P-450IIB1/IIB2 protein levels were increased by transplacental ethanol exposure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Our previous study showed that the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), sulindac, inhibited lung tumorigenesis induced by the tobacco-specific carcinogen 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK). In this paper, we describe the metabolism of sulindac and its sulfide metabolite and their inhibition of NNK metabolism in lung tissues cultured in vitro. The extent of oxidation of sulindac to the sulfone metabolite was linear with time (0 to 16 hr) and with concentration (0 to 1 mM). The sulfide metabolite was oxidized to sulindac more rapidly than sulindac was oxidized to the sulfone metabolite. The three metabolic pathways of 2.36 microM NNK in lung tissues are alpha-carbon hydroxylation, pyridine N-oxidation, and carbonyl reduction. alpha-Carbon hydroxylation and pyridine N-oxidation were not significantly inhibited by 100 microM sulindac. In contrast, 100 microM sulfide metabolite inhibited overall alpha-carbon hydroxylation by 35% (p < 0.001) and pyridine N-oxidation by 32% (p < 0.001). The sulfide had no effect on carbonyl reduction. We conclude that the sulfide is competing with NNK for the same monooxygenase enzyme system. We have compared the extent of inhibition of 2.36 microM NNK metabolism by 5 NSAIDs. Sulindac was the least effective and naproxen and ibuprofen were the most effective. Naproxen and ibuprofen inhibited the alpha-carbon hydroxylation of NNK by 72%. Inhibition of this pathway by indomethacin and piroxicam was 32% and 28%, respectively. Inhibition by sulindac (20%) was not statistically significant. These results indicate that NSAIDs inhibit carcinogen activation in target tissues.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The tobacco-specific N-nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) is a potent carcinogen in Syrian golden hamsters exposed pre- or postnatally to NNK. NNK requires metabolic activation, mainly by the cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase system, to exert its carcinogenic activity. Along with carcinogens, tobacco smoke contains other biologically active substances such as enzyme inducers and inhibitors. In this study, we have investigated the effects of tobacco smoke condensate (TSC) on microsomal metabolism of NNK in hamsters. TSC was instilled intratracheally to non-pregnant and pregnant hamsters on days 12, 13, and 14 of gestation. Following euthanasia on day 15 of gestation, liver and lung microsomes from adult and fetal hamsters were prepared, and the metabolism of NNK was analyzed by HPLC. Although TSC tended to increase the formation of some alpha-carbon hydroxylation metabolites with liver microsomes from adult hamsters, none of the metabolic pathways of NNK showed a statistically significant increase or decrease caused by TSC exposure. Similarly, no significant alterations of NNK metabolism were observed with lung microsomes from TSC-treated adult hamsters, as well as with liver or lung microsomes from fetal hamsters exposed in utero to TSC. As shown by Western blotting analyses, the protein levels of the P-450 enzymes most likely involved in NNK metabolism (i.e. P-450IIB1 and P-450IIE1) remained almost unchanged in liver or lung microsomes from TSC-exposed hamsters. Interestingly, the P-450IIB1 protein content was increased in lung microsomes from TSC-treated pregnant hamsters, an effect likely related to the altered hormonal status of these animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)