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W Levin

Publications and source records attributed to W Levin.

At least 289 records · Page 16Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

Comparison of the hydroxylation of zoxazolamine and benzo[a]pyrene in human placenta: effect of cigarette smoking.

The in vitro hydroxylation of zoxazolamine was compared with the hydroxylation of benzo[a]pyrene (BP) in full-term placentas from 11 nonsmokers and from 13 women who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy. Cigarette smoking increased the average zoxazolamine and benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylase activities 13- and 39-fold, respectively. A 59-fold range in benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylase activity and a 28-fold range in zoxazolamine hydroxylase activity were found in the placentas of cigarette smokers. A plot of these two enzyme activities showed that zoxazolamine hydroxylase activity was highly correlated, with benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylase activity in the 24 placentas studied (r = 0.98; p less than 0.001). A strong correlation between the above enzymatic activities was also found in 8 placentas which had been stored for 2 yr at -20 degrees C (r = 0.95; p less than 0.001). The results suggest that benzo[a]pyrene and zoxazolamine are metabolized in the human placenta by the same enzyme or by different systems that are under the same regulatory control.

Benzopyrene Hydroxylase↗
PubMed1976

Carcinogenicity of benzo[a]pyrene 4,5-, 7,8-, and 9,10-oxides on mouse skin.

Benzo[a]pyrene and three arene oxides of benzo[a]pyrene (benzo[a]pyrene 4,5-, 7,8-, and 9,10-oxides) have been tested for carcinogenicity in mice by topical application of each compound (0.1 or 0.4 mumol) once every 2 weeks for 60 weeks. At the high dose, benzo[a]pyrene and the 7,8-oxide were highly carcinogenic, whereas the 4,5-oxide (K-region oxide) was weakly active and the 9,10-oxide was inactive. At the low dose, only benzo[a]pyrene was highly carcinogenic. The carcinogenic activities of the three arene oxides of benzo[a]pyrene were not correlated with their stabilities or mutagenic activities.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Metabolism of benzo[a]pyrene: conversion of (+/-)-trans-7,8-dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene to highly mutagenic 7,8-diol-9,10-epoxides.

Metabolites of (+/-)-trans 7,8-dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene formed by a rat liver microsomes and by a highly purified monoxygenase system were analyzed by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Four stereoisomeric tetraols of 7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene, known solvolysis products of the two highly mutagenic stereoisomers of the 9,10-epoxide of the 7,8-dihydrodiol, were identified as products. The ratio of the two highly unstable diol epoxides formed (7 beta,8alpha-dihydroxy-9beta,10beta-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene, diol epoxide 1; 7beta,8alpha-dihydroxy-9alpha,10alpha-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene, diol epoxide 2) ranged from about 1.7 to 0.4. The diol epoxides are sufficiently reactive to alkylate phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) at 37 degrees. Microsomes, particularly those from control animals, formed a substantial amount of an additional metabolite that appears to be phenolic. In analogy to benzo[a]pyrene, the metabolism of the 7,8-dihydrodiol shows similar induction after pretreatment of rats with phenobarbital or 3-methylcholanthrene. Neither diol epoxide appears to be a substrate for epoxide hydrase based on the ratis of tetraols formed in the presence or absence of epoxide hydrase. In view of the known carcinogenicity of benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-oxide and 7,8-dihydrodiol and of the marked mutagenicity of the stereoisomeric diol epoxides, both of these diol epoxides qualify for consideration as "ultimate carcinogen(s)" of benzo[a]pyrene.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

(+/-)-trans-7,8-dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo (a)pyrene: a potent skin carcinogen when applied topically to mice.

(+/-)-trans-7,8-Dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]-pyrene, a known metabolite of benzo [a]pyrene, has been tested for carcinogenic activity on mouse skin by topical application of 0.15 or 0.30 mumol every 2 weeks for 60 weeks. At the low dose (0.15 mumol), the compound was equipotent to the parent hydrocarbon, benzo[a]pyrene, and considerably more potent than its metabolic precursor, benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-oxide, in eliciting tumors, as determined by both the onset of tumors and the total number of animals developing carcinomas. Application of 7,8-epoxy-,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (0.30 mumol every 2 weeks), a compound related to the carcinogenic benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-oxide but with the double bond removed from the 9,10-position of the molecule, did not elicit any tumors. The above results indicate that the (+/-)-trans-7,8-dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene is a more proximate carcinogen than benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-oxide and that the carcinogenicity of benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-oxide and (+/-)trans-7,8-digydrobenzo[a]pyrene may be due to metabolic conversion of these compounds to the highly reactive and mutagenic stereoisomers of 7,8-digydroxy-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of benzo(a)pyrene arene oxides, phenols, quinones, and dihydrodiols in bacterial and mammalian cells.

Twenty-nine benzo(a)pyrene derivatives were tested for mutagenic acitivity without metabolic activation in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98, TA100, and TA1538 and in Chinese hamster V79 cells. The compounds studied included 4 arene oxides, all 12 isomeric phenols, 5 quinones, and 8 dihydrodiols. Benzo(a)pyrene 4,5-oxide was the most mutagenic of the compounds tested in both the bacterial and mammalian systems. The other arene oxides [benzo(a)pyrene 7,8-, 9,10-, and 11,12-oxides] were only weakly mutagenic in the S. typhimurium strains. However, in Chinese hamster V79 cells benzo(a)pyrene 11,12-oxide. Among the phenols, 6-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene and 12-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene were moderately mutagenic in strain TA98 of S. typhimurium, and 6-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene was moderately mutagenic in V79 cells. The other 10 phenols, 5 quinones [benzo(a)pyrene 1,6-, 3,6-, 4,5-, 6, 12-, and 11,12-quinones] and 8 dihydrodiols [benzo(a)pyrene cis-4,5,trans-4,5-, cis-7,8-, trans-7,8-, cis-9,10-, trans-9,10-, cis-11,12-, and trans-11, 12-dihydrodiols] were eitherinactive or only weekly mutagenic. 1-Hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene and 3-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene were weakly mutagenic in strain TA98 of S. typhimurium, and benzo(a)pyrene 7,8-dihydrodiol was weakly mutagenic in V79 cells. Benzo(a)pyrene 11,12-quinone was extremely cytotoxic to the V79 cells but had no observable toxicity in the bacterial strains.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of benzo(a)pyrene benzo-ring epoxides.

Four benzo-ring epoxides of the environmental carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene (BP) were tested for mutagenic and cytotoxic activity in 3 strains of Salmonella typhimurium (TA1538, TA98, and TA100) and in Chinese hamster V79 cells. Although very unstable in aqueous solution, 7beta,8alpha-dihydroxy-0beta,10beta-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene (diol epoxide 1), with the 7-hydroxyl group on the same face of the molecule as the epoxide oxygen, was 1.5 to 4 times as mutagenic in the bacterial strains as was its more stable stereoisomer 7beta,8alpha-dihydroxy-9alpha,10beta-epoxy-7,8,9.10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene (diol epoxide 2). In V79 cells, diol epoxide 1 had one-third the mutagenic activity of diol epoxide 2 but was at least 10 times more labile than diol epoxide 2 in the tissue culture medium. The half-life of diol epoxide 1 in tissue culture medium was about 30 sec, whereas the half-life of diol epoxide 2 was between 6 and 12 min. 9,10-Epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene, which is saturated in the benzo ring, is also very unstable and has mutagenic activity equal to or greater than diol epoxide 1 in the bacterial and mammalian cells. 7,8-Epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene was more stable in aqueous solution than any of the 9,10-epoxides of BP but was much less mutagenic in both the bacterial and mammalian cells. In v79 cells, diol epoxides 1 and 2 and 9,10-opoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene were more than 40 times more cytotoxic than 7,8-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene. The mutagenicity of the 2 tetrahydro epoxides toward strain TA98 of S. typhimurium was readily abolished by purified epoxide hydrase, whereas the mutagenic activity of the 2 diol epoxides was relatively unaffected by coincubation with the enzyme.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Lack of carcinogenicity of 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-, and 10-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene on mouse skin.

Seven phenols of benzo(a)pyrene (4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-, and 10-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene) were tested for carcinogenicity on mouse skin by application of 0.4 mumole of compound once every two weeks for 56 weeks. None of the seven phenols tested was carcinogenic to mouse skin, while treatment with the same dose of benzo(a)pyrene produced tumors in 92% of the treated animals. The lack of carcinogenicity of 7- and 8-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene indicates that the strong carcinogenic activity previously reported for benzo(a)pyrene 7,8-oxide was not due to either phenolic isomerization product of this arene oxide.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Liver microsomal expoxide hydrase. Solubilization, purification, and characterization.

Epoxide hydrase was solubilized from liver microsomes of phenobarbital-treated rats by treatment with cholate and purified to apparent homogeneity by ammonium sulfate fractionation and column chromatography in the presence of the nonionic detergent Emulgen 911 on DEAE-cellulose and hydroxylapatite. The purified enzyme preparation had a single major band with a molecular weight of 53,000 to 54,000 on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Other studies indicated that in the absence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, purified epoxide hydrase exists as high molecular weight aggregates. The preparation was essentially free of heme and flavin, but still contained small amounts of lipids and Emulgen 911.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1975

Multiple forms of cytochrome P-450 in phenobarbital- and 3-methylcholanthrene-treated rats. Separation and spectral properties.

Multiple forms of liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 isolated from immature male rats pretreated with phenobarbital or 3-methylcholanthrene are described. Afraction of low specific content (Fraction A. 1.7 TO 4.0 nmol of cytochrome P-450 per mg of protein) and a fraction substantially purified (Fraction B, 9.0 TO 11.0 NMOL of cytochrome P-450 per mg of protein) are obtained by DEAE-cellulose chromatography of a partially purified cytochrome P-450 preparation in the presence of Emulgen 911. Shifts in the absorption maxima in the CO-reduced and ethyl isocyanide difference spectra are observed in the fractions derived from 3-methylcholanthrene-treated rats. The fractions derived from phenobarbital-treated rats exhibit different 455:430 ratios and pH intercepts in the ethyl isocyanide difference spectra. The absolute oxidized spectra and n-octylamine binding spectra at room temperature and EPR analysis at the temperature of liquid helium characterize all the fractions, except the Fraction A from 3-methylcholanthrene-treated rats, as low spin ferric hemeproteins. The A hemeprotein fractions from both 3-methylcholanthrene- and phenobarbital-treated rats have poor catalytic activity for the metabolism of benzphentamine and 3,4-benzo-[a]pyrene in comparison to the B hemeprotein fractions which may be due to the presence of a high concentration of Emulgen 911 in the A fractions. However, the presence of Emulgen 911 cannot account for the spectral differences among the fractions.

Amines↗
PubMed1975

Partial purification and separation of multiple forms of cytochrome. P-450 and cytochrome P-448 from rat liver microsomes.

1. Partial purification of liver microsomal cytochrome p-450 results in the separation of two forms of cytochrome p-450 from phenobarbital-treated rats and two forms of cytochrome p-44, from 3-methylcholanthrene-treated rats. 2. Each of the four cytochrome fractions had different spectral properties (absolute spectra, CO differences spectra, and ethylisocyanide difference spectra). 3. The hemeprotein in fractions which elute from a DEAE-cellulose column at 100 mKM KCl fraction IV B) are more highly purified than the hemeproteins (fraction IV A) that elute in the column volume. 4. The more highly purified cytochrome fractions (IV B) contain 9-11 moles of cytochrome P-450 or P-448 per mg protein (an approximately 5-7 fold purification over microsomes) and are enzymatically active in the metabolism of a variety of substrates when combined with lipid and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase. These hemeprotein fractions are free of cytochrome b5 and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase, and the hemeproteins are purified approximately 100-fold with respect to phospholipid. The cytochrome P-450 and P-448 are virtually free of epoxide hydrase.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Studies on the spin state of 3-methylcholanthrene induced cytochrome P-450 from rat liver.

The time course of infuction of rat liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 by the polycyclic hydrocarbon 3-methylcholanthrene was followed by measuring the specific content of cytochrome P-450, benzpyrene hydroxylase activity, and the percent of cytochrome P-450 existing as the high-spin form (g equal to 7.9, 3.7 and 1.7) as determined by low temperature EPR spectroscopy. Significant increases in benzpyrene hydroxylase, cytochrome P-450 and high-spin ferric hemoprotein are seen twenty-four hours following 3-methylcholanthrene treatment. Administration of DL-ethionine prior to 3-methylcholanthrene treatment effectively blocks any increase in benzypyrene hydroxylase and cytochrome P-450 but not the increase in the levels of the high-spin species of the hemoprotein normally seen following 3-methylcholanthrene induction. In addition, partially purified cytochrome P-450 can be isolated from liver microsomes of 3-methylcholanthrene treated rats as low-spin ferric hemoprotein containing essentially no high-spin species (smaller than 1 per cent). This partially purified hemoprotein has the same substrate specificity as the microsomes from which it was derived. It is therefore concluded that the appearance of the high-spin form of cytochrome P-450, as quantitated by EPR, does not correlate with the induction of cytochrome P-450 and benezpyrene hydroxylase activity by 3-methylcholanthrene.

Animals↗