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Enzymatic and non-enzymatic formation of free radicals from aflatoxin B1.

Formation of free radicals from aflatoxin B1 was demonstrated in systems of a) NADPH/microsome, b) H2O2/peroxidase, c) UV irradiation, d) silver oxide oxidation and e) alkaline dimethyl sulfoxide. In a) to c), radical spots were detected in thin-layer chromatograms. Among several known metabolites of aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin M1 was active in generation of free radical. These results suggest a possible role of free radical metabolites in the cytotoxicity of this hepatocarcinogen.

Aflatoxin B1↗

Effect of ethanol on hepatotoxicity and hepatic DNA-binding of aflatoxin B1 in rats.

The hepatocarcinogen aflatoxin B1 is converted to reactive metabolites that bind covalently to cellular macromolecules. These metabolites may also react with glutathione, resulting in the formation of glutathione conjugates and detoxication of the reactive metabolite. When rats were pretreated with ethanol by gastric intubation at a dose of 100 mmol/kg, 6 hr (the time of maximal GSH depletion) before the administration of aflatoxin B1, the covalent binding of 8,9-epoxide-aflatoxin B1 to DNA in vivo was increased by 47% and the hepatotoxicity was also potentiated. However, the covalent binding was not increased by pretreatment with ethanol 18 hr (time with approximately normal GSH levels) before administration of the toxin, and no potentiation of hepatotoxicity was observed. Pretreatment with a non-toxic dose of ethanol had no effects on the activity of glutathione S-transferase and glutathione peroxidase. These results suggest that the depletion of GSH and the increased formation of DNA-adduct from the liver constitute an important mechanism for the potentiation of aflatoxin B1-induced hepatotoxicity by ethanol.

Aflatoxin B1↗

Metabolic basis of the species difference to aflatoxin B1 induced hepatotoxicity.

Primary metabolism of aflatoxin B1 by the liver microsomal enzymes from a range of animal species showed both quantitative and qualitative differences. Quail was shown to have the most rapid metabolism of aflatoxin B1. The major product of metabolism in this case was found to be aflatoxin B1-8,9-dihydrodiol suggesting that the quail microsomes produced high levels of the proposed reactive intermediate aflatoxin B1-8,9-epoxide. Using this system to generate the epoxide, the ability of the cytosol prepared from each species to conjugate epoxide with reduced glutathione was investigated. Large differences in ability to conjugate were observed ranging from 0 to 72% for quail and mouse respectively. Differences in both primary and secondary metabolism of AFB1 were noted between male and female Fischer 344 rats.

Aflatoxin B1↗

Epoxidation of aflatoxin B1 by Aspergillus flavus microsomes in vitro: interaction with DNA and formation of aflatoxin B1-glutathione conjugate.

Metabolism of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) by subcellular preparations of Aspergillus flavus is least understood. The results reported here have demonstrated for the first time the epoxidation of AFB1 and subsequent conjugation with glutathione (GSH). Microsomes prepared from toxigenic mycelia catalysed [3H]AFB1 to calf thymus DNA to a greater extent (approximately 2-fold) as compared to that of non-toxigenic. The binding of [3H]AFB1 to exogenous and A. flavus nuclear DNA catalyzed by A. flavus microsomes was found to be comparable with that of mammalian extrahepatic tissue such as lung. Addition of phenobarbitone to the growing cultures resulted in 1.5-fold increase in [3H]AFB1-DNA binding mediated by microsomes prepared from either of the two strains. Tolnaftate, an inhibitor of aflatoxin synthesis enhanced the epoxidation rate in a dose-related manner. The binding of [3H]AFB1 to DNA catalyzed by A. flavus microsomes was significantly reduced (50% of control) upon addition of hamster liver cytosol, thereby substantiating the formation of the carcinogen adduct with DNA as reported in mammalian tissues. The metabolite formed by subcellular preparation of A. flavus was found to be AFB1-GSH having Rf value (6.5) similar to that obtained for mammalian liver preparations.

Aflatoxin B1↗

Aflatoxin B1 metabolism in the rat: polyhalogenated biphenyl enhanced conversion to aflatoxin M1.

The effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) on the formation in vitro of aflatoxin Q1 and aflatoxin M1 from aflatoxin B1 by rat-liver microsomes were investigated. AFB1 metabolism by hepatic microsomes from PBB- and PCB-treated rats resulted in 16- and 30-fold increases, respectively, in levels of aflatoxin M1. The enhanced formation of aflatoxin M1 did not correlate with PBB and PCB stimulation of benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylase (AHH) activity. Studies in vivo clearly demonstrated enhanced secretion of aflatoxin M1 by female lactating rats with prior exposure to PCBs. PCB pretreatment enhanced the activity of mammary as well as hepatic tissue microsomal preparations in converting aflatoxin B1 to aflatoxin M1. Our findings indicate that PCB exposure increases the production of aflatoxin M1 in vitro and also increases the levels of aflatoxin M1 released into the milk.

Aflatoxin B1↗

Metabolism of aflatoxin B1 in the isolated nuclei of rat liver.

The nuclear biotransformation of aflatoxin B1 in vitro was observed with regard to inducer specificity, pH dependency, time course, kinetics, inhibitor sensitivity, and nuclear localization, and these data were compared with those from the microsomal transformation of aflatoxin B1. The nuclei and microsomes are capable of metabolizing aflatoxin B1 into aflatoxin M1, aflatoxin Q1, and two unidentified fluorescent compounds in the presence of fortified NADPH generating system. Pretreatments of rats by 3-methylcholanthrene or polychlorinated biphenyl enhanced both the nuclear and microsomal C-9 alpha-hydroxylation of aflatoxin B1 into aflatoxin M1 and phenobarbital or polychlorinated biphenyl induced aflatoxin Q1 production. The optimal pHs for aflatoxin M1 and Q1 were 8.3 and 7.4, respectively, both in the nuclei and microsomes. Kinetic analysis revealed the Km of aflatoxin M1 formation in methylcholanthrene-induced nuclei was 9.4 x 10(-5) M, and this value was very close to that obtained with the microsomes. Inhibitor experiments revealed a high sensitivity of aflatoxin M1 formation to 7,8-benzoflavone and a low sensitivity of aflatoxin Q1 to SKF 525A. These findings and data on the detergent treatment of nuclei suggest that the nuclear cytochrome P-448 system, induced by 3-methylcholanthrene and localized in the outer membrane, catalyzes the aflatoxin M1 formation, and the cytochrome P-450 system induced by phenobarbital biotransforms aflatoxin B1 into aflatoxin Q1. Pretreatment of rats by phenobarbital was found to induce microsomal degradation or detoxication of aflatoxin B1 into water-soluble metabolites, and no such an induction was observed in the nuclei.

Aflatoxin B1↗

The neurotoxicity of aflatoxin B1 in the rat.

The effects of repeated intraperitoneal administration of aflatoxin B1 on the peripheral and central nervous systems of rats were investigated. Biochemical markers of neurotoxicity were monitored in nervous tissues following aflatoxin B1 dosage and after the cessation of aflatoxin B1 administration. Aflatoxin B1 increased the activities of beta-glucuronidase and beta-galactosidase in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Repeated exposure of rats to aflatoxin B1 also activated Na+ K+-ATPase and inhibited Mg2+-ATPase. Nervous tissue levels of DNA and total protein increased while the concentrations of RNA and phospholipid were depressed by aflatoxin B1. The alterations in these parameters were specific for each of the tissues examined during the recovery of the rats. The findings indicate that the repeated administration of aflatoxin B1 to rats results in degeneration in the central and peripheral nervous systems that may be related to the overt toxicity observed following aflatoxin administration.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Activation and deactivation of aflatoxin B1 in isolated rat hepatocytes.

Isolated rat hepatocytes took up [3H]-aflatoxin B1 during incubation with fifty percent of the aflatoxin B1 covalantly bound to cellular macromolecules. The amount of bound-aflatoxin B1 was proportional to the medium concentration of aflatoxin B1. The specific radioactivity (pmole/mg) of aflatoxin B1 found in the DNA fraction was 20 fold greater than that associated with protein. Metyrapone (0.75 mM) inhibited significantly the uptake and binding whereas 1,2-epoxy-3,3,3-trichloropropane (0.5 mM) enhanced 2-3 fold both the uptake and binding. Glutathione (0.25 mM) reduced these processes. Results indicate that a transformation of aflatoxin B1 is catalyzed by cytochrome P-450 mixed function oxidase and aflatoxin B1-2,3-epoxide so formed is primarily deactivated by epoxide hydrolase. In the isolated hepatocyte depletion of the epoxide by glutathione apparently has an insignificant role in aflatoxin detoxication.

Aflatoxin B1↗

Growth and morphology of Streptococcus bovis and of mixed rumen bacteria in the presence of aflatoxin B1, in vitro.

The metabolism of aflatoxin B1 to other fluorescent compounds was studied in rumen organisms. No fluorescent metabolites were found by chromatographic procedures which separate aflatoxin B1 from them. Rumen bacteria (mixtures and Streptococcus bovis) incubated with aflatoxin B1 grew in long chains whereas cells in control cultures were mainly doublets with some short chains. Growth of mixed rumen bacteria and Streptococcus bovis cultures was inhibited by aflatoxin B1 as measured by change in optical density and by incorporation of [carbon-14] adenine into nucleic acids.

Aflatoxins↗

Steroidogenic and spermatogenic potentials of the male rat after acute treatment with aflatoxin B1.

150 microgram of aflatoxin B1 were injected i.p]. to male rats on three occasions at intervals 48 h. Sperm production and plasma and testicular testosterone concentrations were determined in rats killed 24 h after the last dose of aflatoxin with or without stimulation with human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). Neither sperm production nor testosterone secreting capacity was significantly depressed by the acute aflatoxin treatment. The Leydig cell function was however impaired as indicated by the extremely reduced responsiveness of the Leydig cells of the aflatoxin-pretreated rats to HCG stimulation. It may be concluded that the disruption of spermatogenesis by chronic aflatoxin treatment is preceded and caused by the impairment of the Leydig cell function and the resultant drop in testosterone in the testis.

Aflatoxin B1↗

Prostaglandin H synthase-dependent epoxidation of aflatoxin B1.

This report demonstrates that aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is cooxidized by prostaglandin H (PGH) synthase to form 2,3-dihydro-2,3-epoxy-aflatoxin B1 oxide. Using ram seminal vesicle microsomes as a source of PGH synthase, our results demonstrate that AFB1 is converted to a mutagen during arachidonate turnover that we identify as the epoxide by isolating adducts formed to DNA. The efficiency of AFB1 epoxidation by PGH synthase is assessed and compared with mixed-function oxidase-dependent metabolic activation of this compound.

Aflatoxin B1↗

Inactivation of aflatoxin B1 mutagenicity by thiols.

The mutagenicity of aflatoxin B1 to Salmonella typhimurium strain TA98 decreased rapidly upon exposure of aflatoxin B1 to various thiols in aqueous solution. Mutagenic activity was reduced to control values within 24 hr with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), N-2-mercaptopropionylglycine (MPG), mercaptoethanol, reduced glutathione or mercaptopropionic acid at pH values near 4. Mercaptoacetic acid, mercaptosuccinic acid, cysteine, acetyl-D,L-homocysteine thiolactone, cysteine methyl ester, D-penicillamine and beta-mercaptoethylamine were less effective. Relatively high thiol concentrations (greater than or equal to 0 . 25 M) were required to achieve complete inactivation within 24 hr with the thiols tested. The inactivation rate was strongly dependent on thiol concentration and pH, but was relatively independent of the aflatoxin concentration under the conditions examined. With MPG and NAC reaction rates were much slower at neutral pH values than at pH's between 3 and 4. HPLC and thin-layer chromatographic examination of aflatoxin B1 solutions partially inactivated with NAC revealed the formation of a new product at a rate that correlated with the disappearance of aflatoxin B1 and the loss of mutagenic activity. This reaction product has not yet been identified, but the evidence suggests that it is the product of an addition of the thiol at the difuran region of the aflatoxin.

Aflatoxin B1↗

Induced reactivity of UV-damaged phage gamma in E. coli K12 host cells treated with aflatoxin B1 metabolites.

The metabolites of aflatoxin B1, the most potent hepatocarcinogen so far known, promote in E. coli K12 cells the reactivation of phage lambda damaged by ultraviolet (UV) radiation. This reactivation process is error prone; 25% of the phage DNA lesions are repaired, but mutagenesis, scored as clear plaque formation, is increased as much as 10-fold. Such reactivation of UV-damaged phage lambda, which occurs in wild-type and in uvrA but not in recA bacteria, is inducible: phage reactivation is obtained even after a long delay following treatment of the host by the short-lived metabolites. This induced reactivation of UV-damaged phage in hosts treated with metabolites of aflatoxin B1 is similar to direct of indirect UV reactivation. Metabolites of aflatoxin B1 produce induced phage reactivation as well as prophage lambda induction in lysogens and cell filamentation in non-lysogens. These cellular events are also triggered by DNA lesions caused by UV radiation and result from the induction of a metabolic pathway (SOS functions). We postulate that, in eucaryotes, carcinogens may induce cellular SOS functions similar to those in E. coli. Induction of such functions might be responsible for the transformation of mammalian cells.

Aflatoxins↗

Promutagen activation in parasite-infected organisms: preliminary observations with Fasciola hepatica-infected mice and aflatoxin B1.

Mutagenic activity of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was followed in the Ames Salmonella/microsome test using liver S-9 from uninfected and Fasciola hepatica infected mice. The S-9 preparations from parasite-infected animals were capable of inducing significantly greater AFB1 mutagenic activity to strain TA100 than S-9 preparations from either control, uninfected mice or Aroclor 1254-induced mice. The differences in activity between infected and uninfected mice were consistent between sex and strains of mice studied. The observed increase in biological activity was apparently due to an induction phenomenon in the host tissues rather than due to metabolism of AFB1 by F. hepatica enzymes.

Aflatoxin B1↗

Indirect immunoperoxidase localization of aflatoxin B1 in rat liver.

Aflatoxin B2a (AFB2a) antibody was used as a histochemical probe in the indirect immunoperoxidase localization of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) bound to rat liver. The efficacy of the indirect method was initially demonstrated by detecting AFB1 covalently bound to DNA in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. AFB1-modified DNA was attached to a polystyrene microtissue culture plate (solid phase) and then subjected to sequential incubation with AFB2a antiserum followed by goat anti-rabbit peroxidase conjugate. Assays for bound peroxidase revealed that the AFB2a antiserum could be diluted 200,000-fold and still yield a signal-to-noise ratio of 10 when compared to an unmodified DNA control. When the same indirect immunoperoxidase protocol was applied to the light-microscopic localization of AFB1 in liver sections of rats treated in vivo with the mycotoxin, bound toxin could be identified in excellent detail in tissues fixed with periodate-lysine-paraformaldehyde and embedded in glycol methacrylate, but was detectable with only poor resolution in unfixed cryostat sections. Peroxidase-positive reactions in hepatocytes typically exhibited strong nuclear and relatively lighter cytoplasmic staining. Greater concentrations of peroxidase-positive hepatocytes were detected in the periportal area than in the area of the central vein, suggesting a circulatory pattern for AFB1 binding in the liver.

Aflatoxin B1↗

Biocontrol of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2, and fumonisin B1 with 6,7-dimethoxycoumarin, a phytoalexin from Citrus sinensis.

Phytoalexins (stress-induced compounds) from Citrus sinensis cultivar Valencia were screened for antifungal and antimycotoxic activity against a test organism (Cladosporium cladosporoides) and mycotoxin-producing fungi Fusarium verticillioides and Aspergillus parasiticus. The active compound, a member of the coumarin family of compounds, has antifungal and antimycotoxic activities and was chemically identified. High-performance liquid chromatography results indicated that Valencia oranges contain a trace amount (0.36 microg/g) of scoparone in untreated fruit, but concentrations increased in UV-irradiated fruit (15.2 microg/g). Infection with Penicillium digitatum, a natural spoilage mold of citrus fruit, caused a 35.51-microg/g increase in the phytoalexin. UV absorption, infrared absorption, and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed that this phytoalexin is identical to 6,7-dimethoxycoumarin. This is the first report indicating that the stress-induced compound, 6,7-dimethoxycoumarin, isolated from P. digitatum-infected Valencia fruit confers resistance against the mycotoxigenic fungi A. parasiticus and F. verticillioides and causes a reduction in production of fumonisin B1 and aflatoxins G1, G2, B1, and B2.

Aflatoxin B1↗

Aflatoxicol and aflatoxins B1 and M1 in the tissues of pigs receiving aflatoxin.

Aflatoxicol (AFL) and aflatoxins B1 and M1 were found in tissues (kidney, liver, and muscle) of feeder pigs given an estimated LD50 oral dose of B1 (1.0 mg/kg body weight) provided as a rice culture of Aspergillus flavus and of market-weight pigs fed a naturally contaminated feed, containing aflatoxin B1 at a level of 400 ng/g from corn, for 14 days. The residues in all tissues decreased with time after treatment in both groups, with no detectable residues (approximate detection limits, ng/g, B1 0.03, M1 0.05, AFL 0.01) in pig tissues from the feeding experiment 24 h after withdrawal of aflatoxin-contaminated feed. B1 and M1, when found in the feeding experiment, were at about the same levels in all tissues except the kidney, in which M1 was the dominant aflatoxin. The level of AFL, when detected, was about 10% of the B1 level.

Aflatoxin B1↗