Xinru Wang

Gender-related differences in stereoselective degradation of flutriafol in rabbits.

The stereoselective pharmacokinetics of flutriafol were investigated in male and female adult Japanese white rabbits. Following intravenous administration of rac-flutriafol to rabbits at 5 mg/kg (bd wt), the concentrations of the enantiomers in plasma were determined by a HLPC-UV method using a CDMPC-CSP chiral column. R-Flutriafol exhibited a shorter distribution half-life but a longer elimination half-life than the S-isomer. In female rabbits, the distribution half-lives of R- and S-flutriafol were found to be 0.09 and 0.18 h, respectively, significantly shorter than those in male rabbits, but the volume of distribution and elimination half-life for flutriafol enantiomers in both sexes of rabbit showed no significant differences. Female rabbits had a higher clearance for both flutriafol enantiomers. The protein binding value was high for both isomers, with enantioselectivity, but no gender difference. It was an important factor in modulating the disposition of flutriafol. Flutriafol concentrations in kidney, liver, fat, and lung were higher than in other tissues at 10 h after administration, and the concentrations of R-flutriafol were higher in all tissues than those of its antipode. However, gender difference in flutriafol residues in tissues was not observed. It is concluded that the stereoselectivity of flutriafol on distribution and elimination in rabbits mainly depends upon gender.

Stereoselective Toxicity and Metabolism of Lactofen in Primary Hepatocytes From Rat

The stereoselective metabolism of lactofen in primary rat hepatocytes was studied using a chiral high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method. Rac-lactofen and its two enantiomers, S-(+)- and R-(-)-lactofen, as well as two of its major metabolites, acifluorfen, S-(+)- and R-(-)-desethyl lactofen, were used as substrates,. The single and joint cytotoxicity of parent compounds and the metabolites were assessed by coincubation with rat hepatocytes as target cells. Cytotoxicity was determined by the methyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. In hepatocyte incubations, S-(+)-lactofen was degraded more rapidly than R-(-)-lactofen, and a stereospecific formation of S-(+)-desethyl lactofen was detected. Metabolism of lactofen to desethyl lactofen was processed with the retention of configuration, and the achiral compound, acifluorfen, was the shared metabolite generated from both S-(+)- and R-(-)-lactofen. There was no chiral conversion of lactofen or desethyl lactofen enantiomers during the incubation. For the cytotoxicity research, the calculated EC50 values indicated that when being applied individually, the parent compound was less toxic than its metabolites, while the combination with metabolites enhanced its cytotoxic effects. The data presented here would be helpful for a more comprehensive assessment of the ecotoxicological and environmental risks of lactofen.

Stereoselective degradation of metalaxyl and its enantiomers in rat and rabbit hepatic microsomes in vitro

The stereoselective degradations of racemate metalaxyl (rac-MX) and its single enantiomers in rat and rabbit hepatic microsomes were assayed by a chiral high-performance liquid chromatography method. The t1/2 of (+)-S-MX in rat liver microsomes was between 7–8 min tested by rac-MX and the individual (+)-S-enantiomer, respectively, and that for (−)-R-MX was 15–16 min. In contrast, t1/2 in rabbit liver microsomes was much longer and showed great difference when using racemate and single enantiomer, which was similar to the results of in vivo study. The enantioselectivity in rat hepatic microsomes was more evident and the degradations of MX enantiomers in rat and rabbit hepatic microsomes were Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-dependent. Michaelis constant (Km) and intrinsic metabolic clearance (CLint) of (+)-S-MX were larger than that of (−)-R-MX and there was no chiral inversion from (+)-S-MX to (−)-R-MX or vice versa in both rat and rabbit hepatic microsomes.

Evaluating the enantioselective degradation and novel metabolites following a single oral dose of metalaxyl in mice.

Metalaxyl [N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-N-(methoxyacetyl)-D,L-alaninemethylester] is a systemic fungicide widely used in agriculture. In this study, the enantioselective distribution, degradation and excretion of metalaxyl were investigated after oral gavage administration of rac-metalaxyl to mice. Concentration of metalaxyl and its enantiomers was determined by HPLC-MS/MS. The results showed that R-metalaxyl was much higher than S-metalaxyl in heart, liver, lung, urine and feces. As for the strong first pass effect, concentrations of metalaxyl in liver were much higher than those in other tissues. The total body clearance (CL) of metalaxyl in mice was 1.77 L h(-1 )kg(-1) and degradation half-lives of (t1/2) of S-metalaxyl and R-metalaxyl in liver were 2.2 h and 3.0 h, respectively. Such results indicated the enantioselectivity of metalaxyl lies in distribution, degradation and excretion processes in mice. Main metabolites were also determined and biotransformation reactions were hydroxylation, demethylation and didemethylation. Furthermore, metabolite concentrations in urine and feces were much higher than those in tissues. These results may have potential implications to predict toxicity and provide additional information associated with adverse health effects for risk assessment of metalaxyl.

Stereoselective Degradation of Chiral Fungicide Myclobutanil in Rat Liver Microsomes

Myclobutanil, (RS)-2-(4-chlorophenyl)-2-(1H-1, 2, 4-triazol-1-ylmethyl)hexanenitrile is a broad-spectrum systemic triazole fungicide which consists of a pair of enantiomers. The stereoselective degradation of myclobutanil was investigated in rat liver microsomes. The concentrations of myclobutanil enantiomers were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a cellulose-tris-(3,5-dimethyl-phenylcarbamate)-based chiral stationary phase (CDMPC-CSP) under reversed phase condition. The t(1/2) of (+)-myclobutanil is 8.49 min, while the t(1/2) of (-)-myclobutanil is 96.27 min. Such consequences clearly indicated that the degradation of myclobutanil in rat liver microsomes was stereoselective and the degradation rate of (+)-myclobutanil was much faster than (-)-myclobutanil. In addition, significant differences between two enantiomers were also observed in enzyme kinetic parameters. The V(max) of (+)-myclobutanil was about 4-fold of (-)-myclobutanil and the CL(int) of (+)-myclobutanil was three times as much as (-)-myclobutanil after incubation in rat liver microsomes. Corresponding consequences may shed light on the environmental and ecological risk assessment for myclobutanil and may improve human health.

NMR- and LC–MS/MS-based urine metabolomic investigation of the subacute effects of hexabromocyclododecane in mice

In the present study, both untargeted and targeted metabolomics approaches were used to evaluate the subacute effects of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) on mice urine metabolome. Untargeted metabolomics based on 1H NMR showed that HBCD exposure disturbed mice metabolism in both dosed groups, especially in high dosed group. The low-dose HBCD led to a decrease in alanine, malonic acid, and trimethylamine (TMA). High-dose HBCD-treated mice developed high levels of citric acid and 2-ketoglutarate, together with decreased alanine, acetate, formate, TMA, 3-hydroxybutyrate, and malonic acid. Targeted metabolomics for metabolic profiling of 20 amino acids identified alanine, lysine, and phenylalanine as significantly disturbed metabolites. These results indicated that subchronic exposure to HBCD caused a disturbance of mice metabolism, especially in TCA cycle, lipid metabolism, gut microbial metabolism, and homeostasis of amino acids, and the application of untargeted and targeted metabolomics combined with conventional toxicology approaches to evaluate the subacute effects of pollutants will provide more comprehensive information and aid in predicting health risk of these pollutants.

Monitoring tryptophan metabolism after exposure to hexaconazole and the enantioselective metabolism of hexaconazole in rat hepatocytes in vitro

In the present study, the enantioselective metabolism, cytotoxicity of hexaconazole and its influence on tryptophan metabolism in rat hepatocytes in vitro were investigated. Following the exposure of primary rat hepatocytes to rac-hexaconazole, the concentrations of its enantiomers in the media were determined by chiral high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The half-lives (t1/2) of (+)-hexaconazole and (-)-hexaconazole were 5.17 h and 19.80 h, respectively, indicating that the metabolic process was enantioselective with (-)-hexaconazole enrichment. Using the MTT method, the EC50 values of rac-hexaconazole, (+)-hexaconazole and (-)-hexaconazole after 12h of exposure were determined to be 71.62, 62.71 and 67.94 μM, respectively. Tryptophan metabolism was monitored using metabolomics profiling techniques. Hexaconazole and its enantiomers caused the down-regulation of tryptophan levels and the up-regulation of kynurenine (KYN) levels, suggesting a role for hexaconazole in the activation of the KYN pathway and providing information for the mechanism of its toxicity.

Rapid metabolite discovery, identification, and accurate comparison of the stereoselective metabolism of metalaxyl in rat hepatic microsomes.

Metabolite identification and quantitation impose great challenges on risk assessment of agrochemicals, as many metabolite standards are generally unavailable. In this study, metalaxyl metabolites were identified by time-of-flight mass spectrometry and semiquantified by triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry with self-prepared (13)C-labeled metalaxyl metabolites as internal standards. Such methodology was employed to characterize the stereoselective metabolism of metalaxyl in rat hepatic microsomes successfully. Metabolites derived from hydroxylation, demethylation, and didemethylation were identified and semiquantified. The results indicated that (+)-S-metalaxyl eliminated preferentially as the enantiomer fraction was 0.32 after 60 min incubation. The amounts of hydroxymetalaxyl and demethylmetalaxyl derived from (-)-R-metalaxyl were 1.76 and 1.82 times higher than that of (+)-S-metalaxyl, whereas didemethylmetalaxyl derived from (+)-S-metalaxyl was 1.44 times larger than that from (-)-R-metalaxyl. This study highlights a new quantitation approach for stereoselective metabolism of chiral agrochemicals and provides more knowledge on metalaxyl risk assessment.

Enantioselective Metabolism and Interference on Tryptophan Metabolism of Myclobutanil in Rat Hepatocytes

Myclobutanil, (RS)-2-(4-chlorophenyl)-2-(1H-1, 2, 4-triazol-1-ylmethyl) hexanenitrile is a widely used triazole fungicide. In this study, enantioselective metabolism and cytotoxicity were investigated in rat hepatocytes by chiral HPLC-MS/MS and the methyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay, respectively. Furthermore, tryptophan metabolism disturbance in rat hepatocytes after myclobutanil exposure was also evaluated by target metabolomics method. The half-life (t1/2) of (+)-myclobutanil was 10.66 h, whereas that for (-)-myclobutanil was 15.07 h. Such results indicated that the metabolic process of myclobutanil in rat hepatocytes was enantioselective with an enrichment of (-)-myclobutanil. For the cytotoxicity research, the calculated EC50 (12 h) values for rac-myclobutanil, (+)- and (-)-myclobutanil were 123.65, 150.65 and 152.60 µM, respectively. The results of tryptophan metabolites profiling showed that the levels of kynurenine (KYN) and XA were both up-regulated compared to the control, suggesting the activation effect of the KYN pathway by myclobutanil and its enantiomers which may provide an important insight into its toxicity mechanism. The data presented here could be useful for the environmental hazard assessment of myclobutanil.

Study of the enantioselective interaction of diclofop and human serum albumin by spectroscopic and molecular modeling approaches in vitro.

In this contribution, the enantioselective interactions between diclofop (DC) and human serum albumin (HSA) were explored by steady-state and 3D fluorescence, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), and molecular modeling. The binding constants between R-DC and HSA were 0.9213 × 10(5), 0.9118 × 10(5), and 0.9009 × 10(5) L · mol(-1) at 293, 303, 313 K, respectively. Moreover, the binding constants of S-DC for HSA were 1.4766 × 10(5), 1.2899 × 10(5), and 1.0882 × 10(5) L · mol(-1) at 293, 303, and 313 K individually. Such consequences markedly implied the binding between DC enantiomers and HSA were enantioselective with higher affinity for S-DC. Steady-state fluorescence study evidenced the formation of DC-HSA complex and there was a single class of binding site on HSA. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔH, ΔS, ΔG) of the reaction clearly indicated that hydrophobic effects and H-bonds contribute to the formation of DC-HSA complex, which was in excellent agreement with molecular simulations. In addition, both site-competitive replacement and molecular modeling suggested that DC enantiomers were located within the binding pocket of Sudlows site II. Furthermore, the alterations of HSA secondary structure in the presence of DC enantiomers were verified by UV-vis absorption and 3D fluorescence spectroscopy. This study can provide important insight into the enantioselective interaction of physiological protein HSA with chiral aryloxyphenoxy propionate herbicides and gives support to the use of HSA for chiral pesticides ecotoxicology and environmental risk assessment.