Telih Boyiri

Glucuronidation of Active Tamoxifen Metabolites by the Human UDP Glucuronosyltransferases

Tamoxifen (TAM) is an antiestrogen that has been widely used in the treatment and prevention of breast cancer in women. One of the major mechanisms of metabolism and elimination of TAM and its major active metabolites 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-OH-TAM) and 4-OH-N-desmethyl-TAM (endoxifen; 4-hydroxy-N-desmethyl-tamoxifen) is via glucuronidation. Although limited studies have been performed characterizing the glucuronidation of 4-OH-TAM, no studies have been performed on endoxifen. In the present study, characterization of the glucuronidating activities of human UDP glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) against isomers of 4-OH-TAM and endoxifen was performed. Using homogenates of individual UGT-overexpressing cell lines, UGTs 2B7 ∼ 1A8 > UGT1A10 exhibited the highest overall O-glucuronidating activity against trans-4-OH-TAM as determined by Vmax/KM, with the hepatic enzyme UGT2B7 exhibiting the highest binding affinity and lowest KM (3.7 μM). As determined by Vmax/KM, UGT1A10 exhibited the highest overall O-glucuronidating activity against cis-4-OH-TAM, 10-fold higher than the next-most active UGTs 1A1 and 2B7, but with UGT1A7 exhibiting the lowest KM. Although both N- and O-glucuronidation occurred for 4-OH-TAM in human liver microsomes, only O-glucuronidating activity was observed for endoxifen; no endoxifen-N-glucuronidation was observed for any UGT tested. UGTs 1A10 ∼ 1A8 > UGT2B7 exhibited the highest overall glucuronidating activities as determined by Vmax/KM for trans-endoxifen, with the extrahepatic enzyme UGT1A10 exhibiting the highest binding affinity and lowest KM (39.9 μM). Similar to that observed for cis-4-OH-TAM, UGT1A10 also exhibited the highest activity for cis-endoxifen. These data suggest that several UGTs, including UGTs 1A10, 2B7, and 1A8 play an important role in the metabolism of 4-OH-TAM and endoxifen.

Identification of 5-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydro-6-aminochrysene as the major DNA lesion in the mammary gland of rats treated with the environmental pollutant 6-nitrochrysene

The environmental pollutant 6-nitrochrysene (6-NC) is a potent carcinogen in several animal models including the rat mammary gland. 6-NC can be activated to intermediates that can damage DNA by simple nitroreduction, ring oxidation, or a combination of ring oxidation and nitroreduction. Only the first pathway (nitroreduction) has been clearly established, and DNA adducts derived from this pathway have been fully characterized in in vitro systems. We also showed previously that the second pathway, ring oxidation leading to the formation of the bay region diol epoxide of 6-NC, is not responsible for the formation of the major DNA adduct in the mammary gland of rats treated with 6-NC. Therefore, in the present study, we explored the validity of the third pathway that involves the combination of both ring oxidation and nitroreduction of 6-NC to form trans-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydro-6-hydroxylaminochrysene (1,2-DHD-6-NHOH-C). During the course of this study, we synthesized for the first time 1,2-DHD-6-NHOH-C, N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-6-aminochrysene, and N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydro-6-aminochrysene. Incubation of 1,2-DHD-6-NHOH-C with calf thymus DNA resulted in the formation of three adducts. Upon LC/MS combined with 1H NMR analyses, the first eluting adduct was identified as 5-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydro-6-aminochrysene [5-(dG-N2-yl)-1,2-DHD-6-AC], the second eluting adduct was identified as N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydro-6-aminochrysene, and the last was identified as N-(deoxyinosin-8-yl)-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydro-6-aminochrysene. We also report here for the first time that among those adducts identified in vitro, only 5-(dG-N2-yl)-1,2-DHD-6-AC is the major DNA lesion detected in the mammary glands of rats treated with 6-NC.

Modulations of benzo[a]pyrene-induced DNA adduct, cyclin D1 and PCNA in oral tissue by 1,4-phenylenebis(methylene)selenocyanate

Tobacco smoking is an important cause of human oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Tobacco smoke contains multiple carcinogens include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons typified by benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P). Surgery is the conventional treatment approach for SCC, but it remains imperfect. However, chemoprevention is a plausible strategy and we had previously demonstrated that 1,4-phenylenebis(methylene)selenocyanate (p-XSC) significantly inhibited tongue tumors-induced by the synthetic 4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide (not present in tobacco smoke). In this study, we demonstrated that p-XSC is capable of inhibiting B[a]P-DNA adduct formation, cell proliferation, cyclin D1 expression in human oral cells in vitro. In addition, we showed that dietary p-XSC inhibits B[a]P-DNA adduct formation, cell proliferation and cyclin D1 protein expression in the mouse tongue in vivo. The results of this study are encouraging to further evaluate the chemopreventive efficacy of p-XSC initially against B[a]P-induced tongue tumors in mice and ultimately in the clinic.

Metabolism and DNA binding of the environmental pollutant 6-nitrochrysene in primary culture of human breast cells and in cultured MCF-10A, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-435s cell lines

The environmental pollutant 6‐nitrochrysene (6‐NC) is a potent mammary carcinogen in the rat. To determine if the results obtained in 6‐NC‐treated rodents can be applicable to humans, we examined its metabolic activation in primary cultures of human breast cells prepared from tissues obtained from reduction mammoplasty from 3 women and in a cultured, immortalized human mammary epithelial cell line (MCF‐10A), as well as estrogen‐dependent (MCF‐7) and estrogen‐independent (MDA‐MB‐435s) human breast cancer cell lines. Metabolites identified following 24 hr incubations of [3H]6‐NC (2.5, 5.0 and 10 μM) with human breast cells were derived from ring‐oxidation (trans‐1,2‐dihydroxy‐1,2‐dihydro‐6‐nitrochrysene [1,2‐DHD‐6‐NC]) and nitro‐reduction (6‐aminochrysene [6‐AC]); chrysene‐5,6‐quinone (C‐5,6‐Q) was also detected. Levels of metabolites (pmol/mg protein) varied greatly depending on the concentration of 6‐NC and the individual breast tissue used; 1,2‐DHD‐6‐NC, ranged from not detected to 15.6 ± 1.0; 6‐AC, from 11.5 ± 4.0 to 155 ± 10.2; C‐5,6‐Q, from 18.3 ± 10.8 to 196.7 ± 15.4. Qualitatively similar metabolic profiles were obtained upon incubation of [3H]6‐NC with MCF‐10A, MCF‐7 and MDA‐MB‐435s. We also detected 1,2‐dihydroxy‐6‐aminochrysene (1,2‐DH‐6‐AC; ranged from not detected to 50.4 ± 9.8). Some of the metabolites identified in our study are known to be proximate carcinogenic forms of 6‐NC in rodents. MCF‐7 was the most efficient cell line in catalyzing 6‐NC to genotoxic metabolites, and we demonstrated that the major DNA adduct is chromatographically identical to that found in the mammary gland of rats treated by gavage with 6‐NC and that obtained from the incubation of [3H]1,2‐DHD‐6‐NC with MCF7 cells or from nitro‐reduction of 1,2‐DHD‐6‐NC in the presence of 2′‐deoxyguanosine 5′‐monophosphate in vitro. This is the first report to demonstrate the ability of human breast cells, MCF‐10A, and breast cancer cell lines to activate 6‐NC to metabolites that can damage DNA.

Mechanisms underlying the varied mammary carcinogenicity of the environmental pollutant 6-nitrochrysene and its metabolites (-)-[R,R]- and (+)-[S,S]-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydro-6-nitrochrysene in the rat.

The mechanisms that can account for the remarkable mammary carcinogenicity of the environmental pollutant 6-nitrochrysene (6-NC) in the rat remain elusive. In our previous studies, we identified several 6-NC-derived DNA adducts in the rat mammary gland; one major adduct was derived from (±)-trans-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydro-6-nitrochrysene (1,2-DHD-6-NC). In the present study, we resolved the racemic (±)-1,2-DHD-6-NC into (-)-[R,R]- and (+)-[S,S]-1,2-DHD-6-NC and compared their in vivo mutagenicity and carcinogenicity in the mammary glands of female transgenic (BigBlue F344 × Sprague-Dawley)F1 rats harboring lacI/cII and Sprague-Dawley rats, respectively. Both [R,R]- and [S,S]-isomers exerted similar mutagenicity and carcinogenicity but were less potent than 6-NC. Additional in vivo and in vitro studies were then performed to explore possible mechanisms that can explain the higher potency of 6-NC than 1,2-DHD-6-NC. Using ELISA, we found that neither 6-NC nor 1,2-DHD-6-NC increased the levels of several inflammatory cytokines in plasma obtained from rats 24 h after treatment. In MCF-7 cells, as determined by immunoblotting, the effects of 6-NC and 1,2-DHD-6-NC on protein expression (p53, Akt, p38, JNK, c-myc, bcl-2, PCNA, and ERβ) were comparable; however, the expressions of AhR and ERα proteins were decreased by 6-NC but not 1,2-DHD-6-NC. The expression of both receptors was decreased in mammary tissues of rats treated with 6-NC. Our findings suggest that the differential effects of 6-NC and 1,2-DHD-6-NC on AhR and ERα could potentially account for the higher carcinogenicity of 6-NC in the rat mammary gland.

Stereoselective metabolism of the environmental mammary carcinogen 6-nitrochrysene to trans-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydro-6-nitrochrysene by aroclor 1254-treated rat liver microsomes and their comparative mutation profiles in a laci mammary epithelial cell line.

The environmental pollutant 6-nitrochrysene (6-NC) is a powerful mammary carcinogen and mutagen in rats. Our previous studies have shown that 6-NC is metabolized to trans-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydro-6-nitrochrysene (1,2-DHD-6-NC) in rats and in several in vitro systems, including human breast tissue, and the latter is the proximate carcinogenic form in the rat mammary gland. Because optically active enantiomers of numerous polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolites including chrysene have different biological activities, we hypothesized that the stereochemical course of 6-NC metabolism might play a significant role in the carcinogenic/mutagenic activities of the parent 6-NC. The goal of this study is to evaluate the effect of stereochemistry on the mutagenicity of 1,2-DHD-6-NC using the cII gene of lacI mammary epithelial cells in vitro. Resolution of (+/-)-1,2-DHD-6-NC was obtained by either nonchiral or chiral stationary phase HPLC methods. We determined that the ratio of (-)-[R,R]- and (+)-[S,S]-1,2-DHD-6-NC formed in the metabolism of 6-NC by rat liver microsomes is 88:12. The mutation fractions and mutation spectra of [R,R] and [S,S]-enantiomers were examined. Our results showed that the [R,R]-isomer is a significantly (p < 0.01) more potent mutagen than the [S,S]-isomer. The major types of mutation induced by the [R,R]-enantiomer are AT > GC, AT > TA, and GC > TA substitutions, and these are similar to those obtained from 6-NC in vivo in the mammary glands of rats treated with 6-NC. The mutation spectra of the [S,S]-isomer were similar to the [R,R]-isomer, but a higher percentage of AT > GC substitutions in the [R,R]-isomer was noted. On the basis of the results of the present study, we hypothesize that [R,R]-1,2-DHD-6-NC is the proximate carcinogen of 6-NC in the rat mammary gland in vivo and will test this hypothesis in a future study.

Abstract 3244: Supplementation with selenium-enriched yeast but not selenomethionine reduces oxidative stress in healthy men in a randomized clinical trial

Epidemiological and laboratory studies indicate that dietary selenium is protective against prostate cancer. Results from clinical trials suggest that selenium-enriched yeast (SY) but not selenomethionine (SeMet) may be effective at reducing prostate cancer risk. Our objectives were to directly compare for the first time the effects of SeMet and SY on prostate cancer relevant biomarkers in men. We performed a randomized double blind, placebo-controlled trial of SY (200 or 285 μg/day) and SeMet (200 μg/day) administered for 9 months in 69 healthy adult males. Biomarkers including blood selenium, glucose, PSA and glutathione (GSH) and urine 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and 8-iso-prostaglandin-F2α (8-iso-PGF2α) were measured at baseline and various times thereafter. Compliance was high in all groups (>95%). Plasma selenium levels were increased 93%, 54%, and 86% after 9 months in the SeMet and low and high dose SY groups, respectively, and returned to baseline levels after a 3 month washout (P Citation Format: Matt G. Kaag, John P. Richie, Arun Das, Ana Calcagnotto, Raghu Sinha, Wanda Neidig, Jiangang Liao, Eugene J. Lengreich, Arthur Berg, Terryl J. Hartman, Amy Ciccarella, Aaron Baker, Telih Boyiri, Susan Goodin, Robert S. DiPaola, Karam El-Bayoumy. Supplementation with selenium-enriched yeast but not selenomethionine reduces oxidative stress in healthy men in a randomized clinical trial. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 3244. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-3244