Biomedical subjects

Marina V Evans

Publications and source records attributed to Marina V Evans.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Comments on article "Applying mode-of-action and pharmacokinetic considerations in contemporary cancer risk assessments: an example with trichloroethylene" by Clewell and Andersen.

In their 2004 article, Clewell and Andersen provide their perspective on the application of mode-of-action (MOA) and pharmacokinetic considerations in contemporary cancer risk assessment using trichloroethylene (TCE) as a case example. TCE is a complex chemical toxicologically, with multiple metabolites, multiple sites of observed toxicity, and multiple potential MOAs. As scientists who are responsible for revising the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's draft risk assessment of TCE, we welcome input of the quality to which the Agency is held accountable. However, in our view, Clewell and Andersen do not present a sufficiently current, complete, accurate, and transparent review of the pertinent scientific literature. In particular, their article would need to incorporate substantial recently published scientific information, better support its conclusions about MOA and choice of linear or nonlinear dose-response extrapolation, and increase its transparency as to quantitative analyses in order to make a significant contribution to the scientific discussion of TCE health risks.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Issues in the pharmacokinetics of trichloroethylene and its metabolites.

Much progress has been made in understanding the complex pharmacokinetics of trichloroethylene (TCE) . Qualitatively, it is clear that TCE is metabolized to multiple metabolites either locally or into systemic circulation. Many of these metabolites are thought to have toxicologic importance. In addition, efforts to develop physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models have led to a better quantitative assessment of the dosimetry of TCE and several of its metabolites. As part of a mini-monograph on key issues in the health risk assessment of TCE, this article is a review of a number of the current scientific issues in TCE pharmacokinetics and recent PBPK modeling efforts with a focus on literature published since 2000. Particular attention is paid to factors affecting PBPK modeling for application to risk assessment. Recent TCE PBPK modeling efforts, coupled with methodologic advances in characterizing uncertainty and variability, suggest that rigorous application of PBPK modeling to TCE risk assessment appears feasible at least for TCE and its major oxidative metabolites trichloroacetic acid and trichloroethanol. However, a number of basic structural hypotheses such as enterohepatic recirculation, plasma binding, and flow- or diffusion-limited treatment of tissue distribution require additional evaluation and analysis. Moreover, there are a number of metabolites of potential toxicologic interest, such as chloral, dichloroacetic acid, and those derived from glutathione conjugation, for which reliable pharmacokinetic data is sparse because of analytical difficulties or low concentrations in systemic circulation. It will be a challenge to develop reliable dosimetry for such cases.

Environmental Exposure↗

PubMed2005

Genotoxicity and metabolism of the source-water contaminant 1,1-dichloropropene: activation by GSTT1-1 and structure-activity considerations.

1,1-Dichloropropene (1,1-DCPe) is a contaminant of some source waters used to make drinking water. Because of this and the fact that no toxicological data were available for this compound, which is structurally similar to the rodent carcinogen 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-DCPe), 1,1-DCPe was placed on the Contaminant Candidate List of the US Environmental Protection Agency. Consequently, we have performed a hazard characterization of 1,1-DCPe by evaluating its mutagenicity in the Salmonella assay and its DNA damaging (comet assay) and apoptotic (caspase assay) activities in human lymphoblastoid cells. In Salmonella, 1,1-DCPe was not mutagenic in strains TA98, TA100, TA1535, or TA104 +/-S9 mix. However, it was clearly mutagenic in strain RSJ100, which expresses the rat GSTT1-1 gene. 1,1-DCPe did not induce DNA damage in GSTT1-1-deficient human lymphoblastoid cells, and it induced apoptosis in these cells only at 5 mM. Consistent with its mutagenesis in RSJ100, 1,1-DCPe reacted with glutathione (GSH) in vitro, suggesting an addition-elimination mechanism to account for the detected GSH conjugate. 1,1-DCPe was approximately 5000 times more mutagenic than its ethene congener 1,1-dichloroethylene (1,1-DCE or vinylidene chloride). Neither 1,1-DCE nor 1,3-DCPe showed enhanced mutagenicity in strain RSJ100, indicating a lack of activation of these congeners by GSTT1-1. Thus, 1,1-DCPe is a base-substitution mutagen requiring activation by GSTT1-1, possibly involving the production of a reactive episulfonium ion. This bioactivation mechanism of 1,1-DCPe is different from that of its congeners 1,1-DCE and 1,3-DCPe. The presence of 1,1-DCPe in source waters could pose an ecological or human health risk. Occurrence data for 1,1-DCPe in finished drinking water are needed to estimate human exposure to, and possible health risks from, this mutagenic compound.

Allyl Compounds↗

PubMed2005

Duration adjustment of acute exposure guideline level values for trichloroethylene using a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic model.

Acute Exposure Guideline Level (AEGL) recommendations are developed for 10-minute, 30-minute, 1-hour, 4-hours, and 8-hours exposure durations and are designated for three levels of severity: AEGL-1 represents concentrations above which acute exposures may cause noticeable discomfort including irritation; AEGL-2 represents concentrations above which acute exposure may cause irreversible health effects or impaired ability to escape; and AEGL-3 represents concentrations above which exposure may cause life-threatening health effects or death. The default procedure for setting AEGL values across durations when applicable data are unavailable involves estimation based on Haber's rule, which has an underlying assumption that cumulative exposure is the determinant of toxicity. For acute exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE), however, experimental data indicate that momentary tissue concentration, and not the cumulative amount of exposure, is important. We employed an alternative approach to duration adjustments in which a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was used to predict the arterial blood concentrations [TCE(a)] associated with adverse outcomes appropriate for AEGL-1, -2, or -3-level effects. The PBPK model was then used to estimate the atmospheric concentration that produces equivalent [TCE(a)] at each of the AEGL-specific exposure durations. This approach yielded [TCE(a)] values of 4.89 mg/l for AEGL-1, 18.7 mg/l for AEGL-2, and 310 mg/l for AEGL-3. Duration adjustments based on equivalent target tissue doses should provide similar degrees of toxicity protection at different exposure durations.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

The metabolic rate constants and specific activity of human and rat hepatic cytochrome P-450 2E1 toward toluene and chloroform.

Chloroform (CHCl3) is a near-ubiquitous environmental contaminant, a by-product of the disinfection of drinking water sources and a commercially important compound. Standards for safe exposure have been established based on information defining its toxicity, which is mediated by metabolites. The metabolism of CHCl3 is via cytochrome P-450 2E1 (CYP2E1)-mediated oxidation to phosgene, which is known to obey a saturable mechanism. CYP2E1 is a highly conserved form, expressed in all mammalian systems studied, and is responsible for the metabolism of a great many low-molecular-weight (halogenated) compounds. However, the Michaelis-Menten rate constants for CHCl3 oxidation have not been derived in vitro, and the specific activity of CYP2E1 toward CHCl3 has not been reported. In this investigation with microsomal protein (MSP), apparent Vmax values of 27.6 and 28.3 nmol/h/mg MSP and apparent K(m) values of 1 and 0.15 microM in rats and human organ donors, respectively, were demonstrated. The specific activity of CYP2E1 toward CHCl3 in rats and humans was 5.29 and 5.24 pmol/min/pmol CYP2E1, respectively. Toluene metabolism to benzyl alcohol (BA), another CYP2E1-dependent reaction, was also highly dependent on CYP2E1 content in humans, and was more efficient than was CHCl3 metabolism. The specific activity of human CYP2E1 toward toluene metabolism in human MSP was 23 pmol/min/pmol CYP2E1. These results demonstrate that differences in CYP2E1 content of MSP among individuals and between species are largely responsible for observed differences in toluene and CHCl3 metabolism in vitro.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Kinetic modeling of beta-chloroprene metabolism: II. The application of physiologically based modeling for cancer dose response analysis.

beta-Chloroprene (2-chloro-1,3-butadiene; CD), which is used in the synthesis of polychloroprene, caused significant incidences of several tumor types in B6C3F1 mice and Fischer rats, but not in Wistar rats or Syrian hamsters. This project investigates the relevance of the bioassay lung tumor findings to human health risk by developing a physiologically based toxicokinetic (PBTK) model and exploring a tissue specific exposure-dose-response relationship. Key steps included identification of the plausible genotoxic mode of action, experimental quantification of tissue-to-air partition coefficients, scaling of in vitro parameters of CD metabolism for input into the PBTK model, comparing the model with in vivo experimental gas uptake data, selecting an appropriate tissue dosimetric, and predicting a corresponding human exposure concentration. The total daily milligram amount of CD metabolized per gram of lung was compared with the animal bioassay response data, specifically combined bronchiolar adenoma/carcinoma. The faster rate of metabolism in mouse lung agreed with the markedly greater incidence of lung tumors compared with the other rodent species. A lung tissue dose was predicted for the combined rodent lung tumor bioassay data at a 10% benchmark response. A human version of the PBTK model predicted that the lung tissue dose in humans would be equivalent to continuous lifetime daily exposure of 23 ppm CD. PBTK model sensitivity analysis indicated greater dependence of model predictions of dosimetry on physiological than biochemical parameters. The combined analysis of lung tumor response across species using the PBTK-derived internal dose provides an improved alternative to default pharmacokinetic interspecies adjustments for application to human health risk assessment.

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMed2004

Visualization-based analysis for a mixed-inhibition binary PBPK model: determination of inhibition mechanism.

A physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model incorporating mixed enzyme inhibition was used to determine the mechanism of metabolic interactions occurring during simultaneous exposures to the organic solvents chloroform and trichloroethylene (TCE). Visualization-based sensitivity and identifiability analyses of the model were performed to determine the conditions under which four inhibitory parameters describing inhibitor binding could be estimated. The sensitivity methods were used to reduce the 4-parameter estimation problem into two distinct 2-parameter problems. The inhibitory parameters were then estimated from multiple closed-chamber gas-uptake experiments using graphical methods. The estimated values of the four inhibitory parameters predicted that chloroform and TCE interact in a competitive manner. Based on the model analysis, we present recommendations for the design of experiments for determination of inhibition mechanism in binary chemical mixtures. We assert that a thorough analysis of the parameter-dependent sensitivity and identifiability characteristics can be used to plan efficient experimental protocols for the quantitative analysis of inhalation pharmacokinetics.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Metabolism and mutagenicity of source water contaminants 1,3-dichloropropane and 2,2-dichloropropane.

Cytochrome P450-dependent oxidation and glutathione (GSH)-dependent conjugation are the primary routes of metabolism of haloalkanes. Using rat liver microsomes and cytosol, we investigated the metabolism of two halopropanes found on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Contaminant Candidate List, 1,3-dichloropropane (1,3-DCP) and 2,2-dichloropropane (2,2-DCP). An automated headspace technique using gas chromatography was developed to determine rates of metabolism. Additional dihaloalkanes (1,2-dichloroethane, 1,2-dichloropropane, 1,4-dichlorobutane, 1,2-dibromoethane, 1,2-dibromopropane, 1,4-dibromobutane) were evaluated to assess structure-activity relationships. In general, brominated dihaloalkanes were eliminated from rat cytosol faster than chlorinated dihaloalkanes, reflecting the expected halide order of reactivity (Br > Cl). Furthermore, the rate of GSH conjugation was proportional to alpha,omega-haloalkane chain length. The clearance of 1,3-DCP via the GSH conjugation pathway (1.6 x 10(-4) l/h/mg cytosol protein) was minor relative to the P450 pathway (2.8 x 10(-2) l/h/mg microsomal protein). In contrast, we did not observe metabolism of 2,2-DCP via the GSH-dependent conjugation pathway and observed only a minor level of clearance via the P450 pathway (7 x 10(-4) l/h/mg microsomal protein). Neither compound was mutagenic in various strains of Salmonella, including those containing GSTT1-1, indicating that GSTT1-1 does not metabolize 1,3-DCP or 2,2-DCP to mutagens. Analysis of the reaction products of 1,3-DCP and GSH in cytosol by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry revealed significant production of S-(3-chloropropyl) glutathione conjugate, indicating that the conjugate half-mustard does not rearrange to form a sulfonium ion, as typically occurs with vicinal dihaloalkanes.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Pharmacokinetic modeling of arsenite uptake and metabolism in hepatocytes--mechanistic insights and implications for further experiments.

Arsenic (iAs) is a known human carcinogen and widespread contaminant in drinking water. To provide a quantitative framework for experimental design and hypothesis testing, we developed a pharmacokinetic model describing the uptake and methylation of arsenite (AsIII) in primary rat hepatocytes. Measured metabolites were inorganic As (iAs), mono-methylated As (MMA), and di-methylated As (DMA) concentration in cells and media. Transport and methylation parameters were estimated from time course data for iAs, MMA, and DMA at three initial media As(III) concentrations (0.1, 0.4, 1.0 microM). Inhibition of the formation DMA from MMA by As(III) was necessary to adequately describe the data. The data were consistent with multiple types of inhibition, although uncompetitive inhibition provided a slightly better fit. Model simulations indicate that cellular MMA (cMMA) is a key arsenical to measure; measurement of cMMA in the 4-6 hr time range using an initial concentration of 1.4 microM AsIII would provide the best experimental conditions to distinguish uncompetitive from other types of inhibition. Due to the large number of model parameters estimated from the data, we used sensitivity analysis to determine the influential parameters. Use of sensitivity surfaces facilitated the comparison of parameters over time and across doses. Predicted model responses were most sensitive to influx and efflux parameters, suggesting that transport processes are critical in determining cellular arsenical concentrations. These high sensitivities imply that independent experiments to estimate these parameters with greater certainty may be crucialfor refinement of this model and to extend this model to describe methylation and transport in human hepatocytes.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Moving from external exposure concentration to internal dose: duration extrapolation based on physiologically based pharmacokinetic derived estimates of internal dose.

The potential human health risk(s) from chemical exposure must frequently be assessed under conditions for which adequate human or animal data are not available. The default method for exposure-duration adjustment, based on Haber's rule, C (external exposure concentration) or C(n) (the ten Berge modification) x t (exposure duration) = K (a constant toxic effect), has been criticized for prediction errors. A promising alternative approach to duration adjustment is based on equivalence of internal dose, that is, target-tissue dose levels, across different exposure durations. A proposed methodology for dose-duration adjustments for acute exposure guideline levels (AEGLs) based on physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) estimates of dose is illustrated with trichloroethylene (TCE). Steps in this methodology include: (1) selection and evaluation, or development and evaluation, of an appropriate PBPK model; (2) determination of an appropriate measure of internal dose; (3) estimation with the PBPK model of the tissue dose (the target tissue dose) resulting from the external exposure conditions (concentration, duration) of the critical effect; (4) estimation of the external exposure concentrations required to achieve tissue doses equivalent to the target tissue dose at exposure durations of interest; and (5) evaluation of sources of variability and uncertainty. For TCE, this PBPK modeling approach has allowed determination of dose metrics predictive of the acute neurotoxic effects of TCE and dose-duration adjustments based on estimates of internal dose.

Computer Simulation↗