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Biomedical subjects

F E Evans

Publications and source records attributed to F E Evans.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Life-threatening acute respiratory distress in late pregnancy.

Acute severe ventilatory failure from any cause is always a critical emergency. In advanced pregnancy, such an episode is particularly hazardous. The management of a pregnant patient who presented with an acute episode of respiratory distress is described. Although this was though initially to be an asthmatic attack, there was evidence of upper airway obstruction caused by an enlarged thyroid. The major complicating factors and aetiology are discussed.

Acute Disease

Fungal metabolism of acenaphthene by Cunninghamella elegans.

The filamentous fungus Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 36112 metabolized within 72 h of incubation approximately 64% of the [1,8-14C]acenaphthene added. The radioactive metabolites were extracted with ethyl acetate and separated by thin-layer chromatography and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Seven metabolites were identified by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance, UV, and mass spectral techniques as 6-hydroxyacenaphthenone (24.8%), 1,2-acenaphthenedione (19.9%), trans-1,2-dihydroxyacenaphthene (10.3%), 1,5-dihydroxyacenaphthene (2.7%), 1-acenaphthenol (2.4%), 1-acenaphthenone (2.1%), and cis-1,2-dihydroxyacenaphthene (1.8%). Parallel experiments with rat liver microsomes indicated that the major metabolite formed from acenaphthene by rat liver microsomes was 1-acenaphthenone. The fungal metabolism of acenaphthene was similar to bacterial and mammalian metabolism, since the primary site of enzymatic attack was on the two carbons of the five-member ring.

Acenaphthenes

Correlation between NMR spectral parameters of nucleosides and its implication to the conformation about the glycosyl bond.

Analyses of high resolution proton and carbon NMR spectra of a series of guanine nucleosides in DMSO have revealed a near linear correlation between the chemical shift of the H2, atom of the sugar moiety and the vicinal coupling constant 3JC4-H1'. This unexpected result provides evidence that the variations in the glycosyl torsion angle between nucleosides in solution are less that those which have previously been reported in crystals and it is an experimental basis for analyzing the syn and anti populations from chemical shift and coupling constant data.

Guanosine

Structure of oxidatively damaged nucleic acid adducts. 3. Tautomerism, ionization and protonation of 8-hydroxyadenosine studied by 15N NMR spectroscopy.

Natural abundance 15N NMR spectroscopy and ancillary spectroscopic techniques have been employed to study the solution structure of 8-hydroxyadenosine. 8-Hydroxyadenosine is a naturally occurring oxidized nucleic acid adduct that is generally implied to have an 8-hydroxy tautomeric structure. 15N NMR chemical shifts and coupling constants, however, indicate that the modified base exists as an 8-keto tautomer. The pH dependence of 15N NMR and UV spectra showed the presence of two pKa's, at 2.9 and 8.7, corresponding to protonation at N1 and ionization at N7, respectively. The latter results in the formation of an 8-enolate structure. Unusual upfield shifts of the 1H and 15N resonances of the NH2 group, and a reduction in the one-bond coupling constant 1JN6-H6, is indicative of an unfavorable steric or electronic interaction between the NH2 group and the adjacent N7-H proton. This interaction results in a subtle change in the structure of the NH2 group. In addition to being a possible mechanism for alteration of hydrogen bonding in oxidized DNA, this type of interaction gives a better understanding into N7-N9 tautomerism of adenine. Furthermore, the structure of 8-hydroxyadenosine has been related to possible mechanisms for mutations.

Adenosine

Structural characterization of the major adducts formed by reaction of 4,5-epoxy-4,5-dihydro-1-nitropyrene with DNA.

The only available marker of DNA adducts formed from 1-nitropyrene (1-NP) and DNA, N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-1-aminopyrene, is derived from the nitroreduction pathway. Our studies, as well as those of others, have indicated that multiple DNA adducts are formed from 1-NP in vivo and in vitro. Thus the need for additional DNA adduct markers was apparent. Therefore, it was our goal to characterize the DNA adducts formed from 4,5-epoxy-4,5-dihydro-1-nitropyrene, a metabolite of 1-NP. The epoxide was incubated with calf thymus DNA (pH 5.4). The DNA was enzymatically hydrolyzed to deoxyribonucleosides which were analyzed by reverse phase HPLC. Three major peaks were obtained in yields less than 5%. The structural assignment of these adducts was made by comparison of their proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra with those of cis- and trans-4,5-dihydro-4.5-dihydroxy-1-nitropyrene, and by long range coupling constants, decoupling experiments, D2O exchange, partitions and acid hydrolysis. Two adducts result from trans and one from cis addition of the N2-exocyclic amino group of deoxyguanosine to the C5-benzylic carbon of the epoxide ring. This is the first report that describes the structure of the DNA adducts formed with a ring-oxidized metabolite of 1-NP. On the basis of this finding we suggest that K-region oxides of 1-NP may be responsible for the formation of the putative 1-NP-DNA adducts in vivo.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid

Formation of C8-modified deoxyguanosine and C8-modified deoxyadenosine as major DNA adducts from 2-nitropyrene metabolism mediated by rat and mouse liver microsomes and cytosols.

2-Nitropyrene, the geometric isomer of the most studied nitropolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (nitro-PAH), 1-nitropyrene, is an environmental contaminant detected in ambient air and a potent direct-acting mutagen. Its metabolic activation leading to the formation of DNA adducts was studied. The activated metabolite, N-hydroxy-2-aminopyrene, was prepared and reacted with calf thymus DNA. Upon enzymatic hydrolysis of the DNA, the resulting nucleosides were separated by HPLC, and the adducts were characterized by mass and proton NMR spectral analysis. Both N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminopyrene and N-(deoxyadenosin-8-yl)-2-aminopyrene, in a 5:2 ratio, were identified. These adducts were then utilized as standards to identify the DNA adducts formed from reaction of [3H]2-nitropyrene with DNA mediated by liver microsomes and cytosols of mouse and rat. In all cases, both adducts were formed. The quantities of the two adducts formed in each system were: mouse liver microsomes (11.3 pmol [3H]2-nitropyrene/mg DNA), rat liver microsomes (23), mouse liver cytosol (11.4) and rat liver cytosol (5.1). Thus, these adducts were formed in highest yield from rat liver microsomes and the lowest from rat liver cytosol. The deoxyguanosine/deoxyadenosine adduct ratio was higher from rat and mouse liver microsomes (7.8:9.2) than from rat and mouse liver cytosols (2.5:3.1). Our results represent the first direct demonstration of a C8-deoxyadenosine adduct being formed as a major product from the reaction of a nitro-PAH metabolite with DNA.

Animals

Metabolism of phenanthrene by Phanerochaete chrysosporium.

The white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium metabolized phenanthrene when it was grown for 7 days at 37 degrees C in a medium containing malt extract, D-glucose, D-maltose, yeast extract, and Tween 80. After cultures were grown with [9-14C]phenanthrene, radioactive metabolites were extracted from the medium with ethyl acetate, separated by high-performance liquid chromatography, and detected by liquid scintillation counting. Metabolites from cultures grown with unlabeled phenanthrene were identified as phenanthrene trans-9,10-dihydrodiol, phenanthrene trans-3,4-dihydrodiol, 9-phenanthrol, 3-phenanthrol, 4-phenanthrol, and the novel conjugate 9-phenanthryl beta-D-glucopyranoside. Identification of the compounds was based on their UV absorption, mass, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. Since lignin peroxidase was not detected in the culture medium, these results suggest the involvement of monooxygenase and epoxide hydrolase activity in the initial oxidation and hydration of phenanthrene by P. chrysosporium.

Basidiomycota

Lack of efficacy of water-suppressed proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of plasma for the detection of malignant tumors.

Water-suppressed proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of plasma has been proposed by Fossel et al. (N Engl J Med 1986; 315:1369-76) as a technique for detecting malignant tumors. In their analysis, plasma samples from patients with cancer were clearly distinguished from those of normal subjects by measuring and averaging the methyl and methylene line widths of plasma lipoproteins in NMR spectrums. To evaluate this diagnostic procedure further, we collected and analyzed by NMR spectroscopy 145 samples of plasma from patients who served as controls, most of whom were undergoing orthopedic or cardiac surgery (n = 66); patients with a variety of untreated malignant tumors (n = 25) or treated malignant tumors (n = 18); and patients with hyperplastic or "premalignant" diseases, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia and ulcerative colitis (n = 36). All the samples were coded, and NMR spectroscopy was performed without knowledge of the patients' clinical status. There were no significant differences in the NMR line widths among the four study groups (P greater than 0.05 for all pairwise comparisons). The specificity and sensitivity of this method for distinguishing the control patients (mean line width [+/- SD], 44.0 +/- 7.4 Hz) from those with untreated cancer (43.8 +/- 6.9 Hz) were poor, with a false positive rate of 52 percent (34 of 66) and a false negative rate of 56 percent (14 of 25). Inverse correlations of line widths with age (P less than 0.01) and with the plasma triglyceride level (P less than 0.001) were detected. We conclude that NMR spectroscopy of plasma is not an accurate test for the detection of malignant tumors.

False Negative Reactions

Fungal transformation of fluoranthene.

The fungus Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 36112 metabolized approximately 80% of the 3-14C-labeled fluoranthene (FA) added within 72 h of incubation. C. elegans metabolized FA to trans-2,3-dihydroxy-2,3-dihydrofluoranthene (trans-2,3-dihydrodiol), 8- and 9-hydroxyfluoranthene trans-2,3-dihydrodiol, 3-fluoranthene-beta-glucopyranoside, and 3-(8-hydroxyfluoranthene)-beta-glucopyranoside. These metabolites were separated by thin-layer and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and identified by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance, UV, and mass spectral techniques. The major pathway involved hydroxylation to form a glucoside conjugate of 3-hydroxyfluoranthene and a glucoside conjugate of 3,8-dihydroxyfluoranthene which together accounted for 52% of the total ethyl acetate-soluble metabolites. C. elegans initially metabolized FA in the 2,3 position to form fluoranthene trans-2,3-dihydrodiol, which has previously been shown to be a biologically active compound in mammalian and bacterial genotoxicity tests. However, C. elegans formed predominantly glucoside conjugates of the phenolic derivatives of FA, which suggests that this fungus has the potential to detoxify FA.

Biotransformation

Stereoselective fungal metabolism of methylated anthracenes.

The metabolism of 9-methylanthracene (9-MA), 9-hydroxymethylanthracene (9-OHMA), and 9,10-dimethylanthracene (9,10-DMA) by the fungus Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 36112 is described. The metabolites were isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography and characterized by UV-visible, mass, and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectral techniques. The compounds 9-MA and 9,10-DMA were metabolized by two pathways, one involving initial hydroxylation of the methyl group(s) and the other involving epoxidation of the 1,2- and 3,4- aromatic double bond positions, followed by enzymatic hydration to form hydroxymethyl trans-dihydrodiols. For 9-MA metabolism, the major metabolites identified were trans-1,2-dihydro-1,2-dihydroxy and trans-3,4-dihydro-3,4-dihydroxy derivatives of 9-MA and 9-OHMA. 9-OHMA was also metabolized to trans-1,2- and 3,4-dihydrodiol derivatives. The absolute configuration and optical purity were determined for each of the trans-dihydrodiols formed by fungal metabolism and compared with previously published circular dichroism spectral data obtained from rat liver microsomal metabolism of 9-MA, 9-OHMA, and 9,10-DMA. Circular dichroism spectral analysis revealed that the major enantiomer for each dihydrodiol was predominantly in the S,S configuration, in contrast to the predominantly R,R configuration of the trans-dihydrodiol formed by mammalian enzyme systems. These results indicate that C. elegans metabolizes methylated anthracenes in a highly stereoselective manner that is different from that reported for rat liver microsomes.

Animals

Identification of a novel metabolite in phenanthrene metabolism by the fungus Cunninghamella elegans.

The metabolism of phenanthrene by the fungus Cunninghamella elegans was investigated. Kinetic experiments using [9-14C]phenanthrene showed that after 72 h, 53% of the total radioactivity was associated with a glucoside conjugate of 1-hydroxyphenanthrene (phenanthrene 1-O-beta-glucose). This metabolite was isolated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and characterized by the application of UV absorption, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectral techniques. The results show that aromatic ring oxidation followed by glucosylation is a predominant pathway in the metabolism of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon phenanthrene by C. elegans.

Acetylation

NMR study of stacking interactions and conformational adjustments in the dinucleotide-carcinogen adduct 2'-deoxycytidylyl-(3----5)-2'-deoxy-8-(N-fluoren-2-ylac etamido)guanosi ne.

The conformation and dynamics of the dinucleotide d-CpG modified at the C(8) position of the guanine ring by the carcinogen 2-(acetylamino)fluorene has been investigated by high-field 1H NMR spectroscopy. A two-state analysis of chemical shift data has enabled estimation of the extent of intramolecular stacking in aqueous solution as a function of temperature. The stacking, which is mostly fluorene-cytosine, is virtually complete in the low-temperature range. The 500-MHz 1H NMR spectrum consists of two subspectra near ambient temperatures due to a 14.3 +/- 0.3 kcal/mol barrier to internal rotation about the amide bond in the stacked form. A large barrier to internal rotation about the guanyl-nitrogen bond at C(8) has also been ascertained, but separate NMR subspectra were not detected due to the predominance of one of the torsional diastereomers (alpha' = 90 degrees) in the fully stacked state. Problems of self-association and chemical exchange were identified and overcome to enable analysis of the sugar-phosphate backbone conformation utilizing coupling constants. For the exocyclic C(4')-C(5') bond of the deoxyguanosine moiety, there is a high gauche+ (gamma = 60 degrees) conformer population, which is uncommon for a purine nucleotide with a syn orientation about the glycosyl bond. The gauche- conformation (gamma = 300 degrees), which is normally present in syn purine nucleotides in solution, was not detected. The exocyclic C(5')-O(5') torsion of the deoxy-guanosine moiety remains near the classical energy minimum (beta = 180 degrees) in the major stacked conformations. The sugar ring of the deoxycytidine moiety is predominantly in the C2'-endo conformation, while the deoxyguanosine ring is a mixture of conformations, one of which appears to be unusually puckered. The results support intercalation models of modified DNA and suggest a looped-out structure, with the modified guanine being the first base in the loop. Such structures could explain the relatively rapid rate of repair and the frame-shift mutations of this type of adduct.

2-Acetylaminofluorene

Microsomal metabolism of 1-nitrobenzo[e]pyrene to a highly mutagenic K-region dihydrodiol.

Aerobic metabolism of 1-nitrobenzo[e]pyrene (1-nitro-BeP) by rat liver microsomes produced 1-nitro-BeP trans-4,5-dihydrodiol, 6-hydroxy-1-nitro-BeP, and 8-hydroxy-1-nitro-BeP. When 3,3,3-trichloropropylene 1,2-oxide was incorporated into the metabolism, 1-nitro-BeP 4,5-oxide was the predominant metabolite, and 1-nitro-BeP trans-4,5-dihydrodiol was not detected. All of the metabolites were purified by both reversed- and normal-phase HPLC and characterized by analysis of their mass and 500 MHz proton NMR spectral data. 1-Nitro-BeP was not metabolized under hypoxic conditions. 1-Nitro-BeP and its four metabolites were assayed in Salmonella typhimurium tester strains TA98, TA98NR and TA98/1,8-DNP6, both in the presence and absence of S9 activation. As predicted, 1-nitro-BeP was a weak mutagen without S9 (2 revertants/micrograms in TA98); the addition of S9 resulted in approximately 18, 17 and 4 revertants/micrograms in TA98, TA98NR and TA98/1,8-DNP6 respectively. The two phenolic metabolites were mutagenic both in the presence and absence of S9, producing moderate responses (19-84 revertants/micrograms). In addition, while the 1-nitro-BeP 4,5-oxide was only weakly mutagenic in TA98 (6-14 revertants/micrograms), 1-nitro-BeP trans-4,5-dihydrodiol was unexpectedly potent (approximately 300 revertants/micrograms both with and without S9). These results indicate that microsomal epoxidation of 1-nitro-BeP followed by epoxide hydrolase-catalyzed hydrolysis of the resulting epoxide to the 1-nitro-BeP trans-4,5-dihydrodiol results in the most potent mutagenic derivatives. The weak mutagenicity of 1-nitro-BeP 4,5-oxide demonstrates that not all epoxides of nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are more mutagenic than the corresponding parent nitro-PAHs. Also, the lower S9-mediated mutagenicity of 1-nitro-BeP in TA98/1,8-DNP6 compared with TA98 indicates that the mutagenicity of 1-nitro-BeP is dependent upon nitroreduction and transesterification. Finally, we previously hypothesized that nitrated PAHs with their nitro substituents perpendicular or nearly perpendicular to the aromatic rings are very weak or nondirect-acting mutagens in Salmonella typhimurium tester strains. The results reported in this communication demonstrate that ring-oxidized derivatives of nitro-PAHs do not always follow this structure--mutagenicity correlation.

Aerobiosis

A probe for the mutagenic activity of the carcinogen 4-aminobiphenyl: synthesis and characterization of an M13mp10 genome containing the major carcinogen-DNA adduct at a unique site.

The duplex genome of Escherichia coli virus M13mp10 was modified at a unique site to contain N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-4-aminobiphenyl (dG8-ABP), the major carcinogen-DNA adduct of the human bladder carcinogen 4-aminobiphenyl. A tetradeoxynucleotide containing a single dG8-ABP residue was synthesized by reacting 5'-d(TpGpCpA)-3' with N-acetoxy-N-(trifluoracetyl)-4-aminobiphenyl, followed by high-performance liquid chromatography purification of the principal reaction product 5'-d(TpG8-ABPpCpA)-3' (yield 15-30%). Characterization by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry confirmed the structure as an intact 4-aminobiphenyl-modified tetranucleotide, while 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy established the site of substitution and the existence of ring stacking between the carcinogen residue and DNA bases. Both 5'-d(TpG8-ABPpCpA)-3' and 5'-d(TpGpCpA)-3' were 5'-phosphorylated by use of bacteriophage T4 polynucleotide kinase and were incorporated into a four-base gap uniquely positioned in the center of the recognition site for the restriction endonuclease PstI, in an otherwise duplex genome of M13mp10. In the case of the adducted tetranucleotide, dG8-ABP was located in the minus strand at genome position 6270. Experiments in which the tetranucleotides were 5' end labeled with [32P]phosphate revealed the following: the adducted oligomer, when incubated in a 1000-fold molar excess in the presence of T4 DNA ligase and ATP, was found to be incorporated into the gapped DNA molecules with an efficiency of approximately 30%, as compared to the unadducted d(pTpGpCpA), which was incorporated with 60% ligation efficiency; radioactivity from the 5' end of each tetranucleotide was physically mapped to a restriction fragment that contained the PstI site and represented 0.2% of the genome; the presence of the lesion within the PstI recognition site inhibited the ability of PstI to cleave the genome at this site; in genomes in which ligation occurred, T4 DNA ligase was capable of covalently joining both modified and unmodified tetranucleotides to the gapped structures on both the 5' and the 3' ends with at least 90% efficiency. Evidence also is presented showing that the dG8-ABP-modified tetranucleotide was stable to the conditions of the recombinant DNA techniques used to insert it into the viral genome.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Aminobiphenyl Compounds

High resolution mass spectrometric and high-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic studies of the herbicide propanil, its N-oxidative decomposition products and related compounds.

A number of compounds associated with dichloroaniline-based herbicides were examined by high resolution mass spectrometry and high-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. These compounds included the herbicide propanil (N-propionyl-3,4-dichloroaniline) and the related compound N-acetyl-3,4-dichloroaniline. Several possible oxidative metabolic products, including N-hydroxy-3,4-dichloroaniline, nitroso-3,4-dichlorobenzene, N-hydroxy-N-propionyl-3,4-dichloroaniline and N-hydroxy-N-acetyl-3,4-dichloroaniline were also investigated. Mass spectral fragmentation schemes were proposed, based on exact mass measurements for fragment ions from these related compounds. The change in fragmentation behavior upon oxidation of the N-acyl compounds to N-hydroxy-N-acyl derivatives was found to be quite significant. The N-hydroxy-substituted compounds showed extensive fragmentation while the analogous non-hydroxylated compounds and nitroso-3,4-dichlorobenzene showed little fragmentation. Line broadening detected in several of the high-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectra was attributed to cis-trans isomerization. The highly toxic 3,3',4,4'-tetrachloroazobenzene and 3,3',4,4'-tetrachloroazoxybenzene were also examined by high resolution mass spectrometry.

Anilides

Conformation and configuration at the central amine nitrogen of a nucleotide adduct of the carcinogen 2-(acetylamino)fluorene as studied by 13C and 15N NMR spectroscopy.

The conformation and configuration at the central nitrogen of the adduct 8-(N-fluoren-2-ylamino)-2'-deoxyguanosine 5'-monophosphate has been investigated by high-field 13C and 15N NMR spectroscopy. One-bond nitrogen-hydrogen coupling constants and 13C chemical shifts for the adduct as well as for the model compounds diphenylamine, 4-nitrodiphenylamine and 2-aminofluorene have been measured in nonaqueous solutions. The data indicate a near planar configuration at the amine nitrogen that links the guanine and fluorene rings of the adduct. The orientations about the guanyl-nitrogen and fluorenyl-nitrogen bonds place the two ring systems in either perpendicular (Type A) or helical (Type B) conformations. It is suggested, based on structural similarities to diarylamines, that the G-N-C bond angle of the adduct is greater than 120 degrees in order to reduce unfavorable steric interactions between the two ring systems. Space-filling molecular models of the adduct in duplex DNA show that the aminofluorene moiety can be oriented into both Type A and Type B conformations within the major groove. The configuration at nitrogen of diphenylamine, 4-nitrodiphenylamine and 2-aminofluorene has also been examined.

2-Acetylaminofluorene