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Biomedical subjects

L Shugart

Publications and source records attributed to L Shugart.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

Quantifying adductive modification of hemoglobin from mice exposed to benzo[a]pyrene.

The present work describes a method for the detection of minute amounts of benzo[a]pyrene, as the diolepoxide metabolite, bound covalently to the hemoglobin of erythrocytes isolated from mice previously exposed to the carcinogen. The technique consists of the acid-induced removal of the pyrenyl moiety from the hemoglobin as the strongly fluorescent free tetrols and their isolation by bonded-phase extraction methods and subsequent quantitation by fluorescence/HPLC. With this procedure as little as 5 pg of tetrol can be detected. The assay was used to determine the amount of benzo[a]pyrene-hemoglobin adduct formation in mice bearing a carcinogen-induced fibrosarcoma.

Animals

Quantitating exposure to chemical carcinogens: in vivo alkylation of hemoglobin by benzo[a]pyrene.

Mild acid hydrolysis of globin preparations from erythrocytes of mice, previously exposed topically to benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), releases tetrols which are detectable by HPLC/fluorescence analysis. If the mouse is exposed to radiolabelled BaP, radioactivity can be found in the acid-releasable tetrols. Treatment of the globin preparations prior to acid hydrolysis with proteolytic enzymes, but not enzymes that degrade nucleic acids, followed by dialysis, reduces the amount of tetrols that can be detected. Because the procedure used for the isolation of globin preparations from mouse blood precludes the presence of non-covalently bound BaP or its cellular metabolites, it is concluded that prior to acid hydrolysis, the tetrols were covalently attached to the hemoglobin, most probably as a result of the metabolic conversion of the applied carcinogen to the chemically reactive anti-diol epoxide. There is a dose response relationship between the amount of BaP applied to the skin of the mouse and the occurrence, 24 h later, of BaP adducts to hemoglobin, while the adduct, once formed, disappears with a half-life of 6 days. The amount of anti-benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide (anti-BaPDE) binding to DNA and hemoglobin at various doses of BaP appears to be qualitatively similar.

Alkylating Agents

Adduct formation in hemoglobin of the newborn mouse exposed in utero to benzo[a]pyrene.

The administration of benzo[a]pyrene topically to pregnant mice during days 13-17 of gestation results in adduct formation in the hemoglobin of the mother and progeny. Thus, exposure to a total maternal body burden of 500 micrograms of benzo[a]pyrene during the last 5 days before delivery resulted in an average level of 6.35 (+/- 0.70 S.E.M.) pg of anti-diolepoxide metabolite covalently attached per mg of hemoglobin analyzed in the mother and 1.40 (+/- 0.23 S.E.M.) in the newborn animals. These data indicate that benzo[a]pyrene administered to the skin of the mother passed across the placental membrane, either as benzo[a]pyrene or some metabolite(s), and was present in the fetal tissue as the "ultimate" carcinogenic form (anti-diolepoxide metabolite) before binding to the hemoglobin. Concomitant adduct formation in the DNA of the skin with benzo[a]pyrene in the progeny was not observed and was probably due to the small amount of carcinogen applied to the mother. The data obtained, along with previously published results [Toxicology, 34 (1985) 211], suggest the suitability of hemoglobin as a molecular dosimeter for estimating carcinogenic risk to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

7,8-Dihydro-7,8-dihydroxybenzo(a)pyrene 9,10-oxide

Covalent binding of benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide to DNA of mouse skin: in vivo persistence of adducts formation.

In the first 9 d after topical application of a single dose of benzo[a]pyrene to the dorsal skin of C3H mice, the half-lives of benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide-DNA adducts and of DNA were determined to be approximately 5 d. These data indicate that, in proliferating mouse skin, benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide-DNA lesions are not repaired, but are diluted from the genome at a rate equivalent to DNA turnover (i.e., replication versus degradation). Subsequent to this initial period, benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide-DNA adduct removal continues, but at a much reduced rate. At 30 d posttreatment with benzo[a]pyrene, approximately 15% of the adducts are still detectable; however, their half-lives had increased to 30 d. Similar experiments with a hairless mouse showed that, although the amount of adduct formation was lower initially, the kinetics of adduct disappearance and persistence were essentially the same as found with the C3H mouse. The data obtained in this work are consistent with the hypothesis that benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide adducts persist in a subpopulation of skin cells long after their disappearance by DNA turnover would predict.

7,8-Dihydro-7,8-dihydroxybenzo(a)pyrene 9,10-oxide

Examination of adduct formation in vivo in the mouse between benzo(a)pyrene and DNA of skin and hemoglobin of red blood cells.

We are interested in devising techniques which will allow us to measure and quantitate exposure to chemical carcinogens and which eventually can be used in risk analysis with humans. Our recent research with HPLC/fluorescence has demonstrated that we can detect, identify, and quantitate the binding of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) with DNA of mouse skin. The technique not only allows femtomole amounts of BaPDE associated with DNA isolated from a single mouse skin to be detected using conventional instrumentation, but also establishes the stereochemical origin of the adduct, and has been employed in the investigation reported here to estimate the concomitant binding of BaP to hemoglobin in vivo. The temporal existence of BaPDE/DNA adducts in mouse skin over a 5-week period showed that at 35 days after treatment, approximately 15% of the initial adducts were still detectable even though DNA turnover would predict that they should have been deleted from the genome. The concentration of the major covalently bound adduct, anti-BaPDE/deoxyguanosine, relative to the total BaPDE/DNA adduct population remained essentially constant during the 5-week period. It is known that topically applied BaP is absorbed, metabolized, and excreted by the mouse. Examination of hemoglobin of mouse RBCs 24 hr after BaP treatment revealed covalent adduct formation exclusively via anti-BaPDE. The dose response of adduct binding to hemoglobin and DNA appeared to be similar.

Animals

Escherichia coli tRNA (uracil-5-)-methyltransferase: Inhibition by analogues of adenosylhomocysteine.

Structural analogues of adenosylhomocysteine (AdoHcy) have been tested as inhibitors of a tRNA(uracil-5-)-methyltransferase preparation obtained from Escherichia coli. All analogues tested gave linear competitive inhibition kinetics with adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) as the variable substrate. Comparison of the Ki values obtained leads to the following conclusions concerning the specificity of the AdoMet-AdoHcy binding site on the enzyme: (i) the terminal amino group of the amino acid moiety is necessary for activity; (ii) both a chiral change of the asymmetric carbon atom of homocysteine and the presence of the terminal carboxyl group contribute little towards inhibitory activity; (iii) analogues in which the amino function of the adenyl moiety is modified or substituted are still potent inhibitors; (iv) inhibitor specificity is considerably reduced when adenine is replaced by a pyrimidine base.

Amino Acids

Kinetic studies of Escherichia coli transfer RNA (uracil-5-)-methyltransferase.

The kinetic mechanism of a semipurified tRNA (uracil-5-)-methyltransferase (EC 2.1.1.35) preparation obtained from Escherichia coli has been studied at pH 9.0 in the presence and absence of products. The initial velocity and product inhibition patterns are consistent with a random order of addition of adenosylmethionine and transfer RNA to separate and independent binding sites on the enzyme. Values have been determined for the Michaelis and product inhibitor constants.

Escherichia coli

Selective methylation: an incorrect hypothesis.

"Selective methylation," a hypothesis proposed to explain the discrepancy found in the degree of methyl deficiency of transfer ribonucleic acid, cannot be explained on the basis of some biological phenomenon.

Cell-Free System