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Dysregulated intracellular iron homeostasis has been found not only in rodent and human hepatocellular carcinomas but also in several preneoplastic pathological states associated with hepatocarcinogenesis; however, the precise underlying mechanisms of metabolic iron disturbances in preneoplastic liver and the role of these disturbances remain unexplored. In the present study, using an in vivo model of rat hepatocarcinogenesis induced by 2-acetylaminofluorene, we found extensive alterations in cellular iron metabolism at preneoplastic stages of liver carcinogenesis. These were characterized by a substantial decrease in the levels of cytoplasmic non-heme iron in foci of initiated hepatocytes and altered expression of the major genes responsible for the proper maintenance of intracellular iron homeostasis. Gene expression analysis revealed that the decreased intracellular levels of iron in preneoplastic foci might be attributed to increased iron export from the cells, driven by upregulation of ferroportin (Fpn1), the only known non-heme iron exporter. Likewise, increased Fpn1 gene expression was found in vitro in TRL1215 rat liver cells with an acquired malignant phenotype, suggesting that upregulation of Fpn1 might be a specific feature of neoplastically transformed cells. Other changes observed in vivo included the downregulation of hepcidin (Hamp) gene, a key regulator of Fpn1, and this was accompanied by decreased levels of CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins alpha and beta, especially at the Hamp promoter. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the significance of altered intracellular iron metabolism in the progression of liver carcinogenesis and suggest that correction of these alterations could possibly affect liver cancer development.

It is well established that genotoxic reactivity of chemical carcinogens or their metabolites is a critical event in the initiation of tumorigenesis. However, the underlying mechanisms of events following initiation are less well understood, and with respect to genotoxic liver carcinogenesis, it is largely unknown how the initiated cells progress to form preneoplastic hepatic foci. In the present study, we investigated the underlying events associated with tumor-promoting activity of 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF), a powerful complete genotoxic rat liver carcinogen. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed NIH-31 diet containing 0.02% of 2-AAF for 24 weeks, and the status of cytosine DNA methylation, histone methylation, and microRNA expression was determined in the livers of control and 2-AAF-fed rats. The results demonstrate that stages of multistage carcinogenesis following the initiation are driven primarily by carcinogen-induced epigenetic alterations. This was evidenced by altered global histone lysine methylation patterns, increased histone H3 lysine 9 and histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation in the promoter regions of Rassf1a, p16(INK4a), Socs1, Cdh1, and Cx26 tumor suppressor genes, early Rassf1a and p16(INK4a) promoter CpG island hypermethylation, and altered microRNA expression in preneoplastic livers of rats exposed to 2-AAF. These changes were accompanied by dysregulation of the balance between cell proliferation and apoptosis, a fundamental pro-tumorigenic event in hepatocarcinogenesis. These results signify the fundamental role of epigenetic alterations in genotoxic liver carcinogenesis., (Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The aromatic amine 2-acetylaminofluore (2-AAF) is a powerful complete genotoxic rat liver carcinogen that induces tumors without any additional interventions. While the tumor-initiating genotoxic activity of 2-AAF is well established, its tumor-promotion activity is far less understood. It is believed that the tumor-promoting property of 2-AAF is associated with selective enhancement of cell replication and sustained suppression of apoptosis in initiated cells. In the present study, we investigated the underlying mechanisms of tumor-promoting events induced by 2-AAF-exposure. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed NIH-31 diet containing 0.02% of 2-AAF for 12 and 24 weeks, and the expression pattern of genes associated with the p53-signaling pathway and microRNA genes was determined in the livers of control and 2-AAF-fed rats. The results indicate that the tumor-promoting property of 2-AAF during hepatocarcinogenesis is associated predominantly with the up-regulation of anti-apoptotic growth-related genes and down-regulation of expression of pro-apoptotic genes. This disrupts the balance between cell proliferation and apoptosis, which leads to consequential unrestricted cell proliferation, especially of initiated cells. Also, the long-term-administration of 2-AAF resulted in disruption of regulatory miR-34a-p53 feed-back loop that mediates apoptosis. This was evidenced by an increased expression of miR-34a in response to genotoxic effects of 2-AAF in the absence of p53 up-regulation, and loss of regulatory control of mir-34a on SIRT1 function. Additionally, the livers of 2-AAF-exposed rats were characterized by the substantial deregulation of expression of miR-18, miR-21, miR-182, and miR-200 family, microRNAs involved in control of apoptosis/cell proliferation and cell-cell contact pathways, two major pathways disrupted during the promotion stage of hepatocarcinogenesis.

Genotoxic carcinogens, including 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF), in addition to exerting their genotoxic effects, often cause a variety of non-genotoxic alterations in cells. It is believed that these non-genotoxic effects may be indispensable events in tumorigenesis; however, there is insufficient knowledge to clarify the role of carcinogens in both the genetic and epigenetic changes in premalignant tissues and a lack of conclusive information on the link between epigenetic alterations and carcinogenic exposure. In the current study, we investigated whether or not the mechanism of 2-AAF-induced hepatocarcinogenesis consists of both genotoxic (genetic) and non-genotoxic (epigenetic) alterations. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed NIH-31 diet containing 0.02% of 2-AAF for 6, 12, 18 or 24 weeks. The levels of DNA adducts obtained from 2-AAF in liver and kidney tissues were assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography combined with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ES-MS/MS). N-(Deoxyguanosine-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene was the major adduct detected at all time points in both tissues. Global DNA methylation in the livers and kidneys, as determined by an HpaII-based cytosine extension assay and by HPLC-ES-MS/MS, did not change over the 24-week period. In the livers of male rats, there was a progressive decrease of global and long interspersed nucleotide element-1-associated histone H4 lysine 20 trimethylation, as well as hypermethylation of the p16(INK4A) gene. These epigenetic changes were not observed in the livers of female rats or the kidneys of both sexes. Importantly, morphological evidence of formation and progression of neoplastic process was observed in the liver of male rats only. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that exposure of rats to genotoxic hepatocarcinogen 2-AAF, in addition to formation of 2-AAF-specific DNA lesions, resulted in substantial alterations in cellular epigenetic status.

Rats fed the hepatocarcinogen 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) have a low, but significantly increased, frequency of lymphocyte Hprt mutants. In this study, mutants from 2-AAF-fed and control F344 rats were examined for mutations in the Hprt gene in order to determine if the 2-AAF treatment resulted in an agent-specific mutation profile. The most common mutation from 2-AAF-treated rats was G:C-->T:A transversion (32% of all mutations) followed by 1-basepair (bp) deletion (19%); there were very few (5%) G:C-->A:T transitions. Among mutations from control rats, G:C-->A:T transition was the most common (43%), and there were very few G:C-->T:A transversions (5%) and no 1-bp deletions. The profile of mutations from 2-AAF-fed rats was significantly different from control rats (P = 0.003) and was consistent with the types of mutations produced by 2-AAF in vitro. The results of this study indicate that even weak mutational responses in the lymphocyte Hprt assay are capable of producing mutation profiles that reflect the DNA damage inducing them.

The lymphocyte hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (Hprt) assay is frequently used as a biomarker for the exposure of both humans and laboratory animals to potentially carcinogenic agents. To obtain information concerning the sensitivity of the rat Hprt lymphocyte assay toward aromatic amine carcinogens, male F344 rats were fed 0.02% 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) for 1 month and then returned to control diet for 2 months. At 4, 27, 48, 62, and 90 days after the initiation of 2-AAF-feeding, the frequency of mutants in the Hprt gene was determined. In addition, DNA was isolated from liver nuclei, spleen lymphocytes, bone marrow, and thymus, and DNA adducts were analyzed by 32P-postlabeling. 2-AAF feeding resulted in a significant induction of 6-thioguanine-resistant T-lymphocytes and the mutant frequency continued to increase after the 2-AAF feeding was stopped. The same major DNA adduct, N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene, was detected in liver, spleen lymphocytes, bone marrow, and thymus. DNA adduct levels were greatest in the tumor target tissue (liver) but occurred in all T-lymphocyte compartments, being highest in spleen lymphocytes. The DNA adduct levels were highest at the end of the 1-month 2-AAF feeding period and decreased rapidly in all tissues. The data indicate that the Hprt lymphocyte mutagenesis assay detects arylamine carcinogens, but with relatively low sensitivity.

Biphasic removal of DNA adducts has previously been demonstrated by radioimmunoassay in whole liver DNA from rats chronically fed 2-acetylaminofluorene for 28 days. In the present study, removal of N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene was observed in situ by microfluorometry. Frozen liver sections from animals fed 0.02% 2-acetylaminofluorene for 28 days, followed by a control diet for 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days, were examined immunohistochemically for localization of N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene with fluorescein-conjugated secondary antiserum. In addition, bile ducts and oval cells were stained with antibodies to keratins using Texas red-labeled indirect immunofluorescence. Hoechst dye was used to identify DNA in nuclei. During the 28 days on the control diet, after 28 days of feeding 2-acetylaminofluorene, the DNA adduct concentrations of parenchymal liver cells were reduced by 85%, as compared to animals fed only the carcinogen for 28 days. Periportal hepatocytes exhibited biphasic (fast and slow) adduct removal. Only fast adduct removal was demonstrated in midzonal and centrilobular hepatocytes, since the adduct levels were below the detectable range in these regions after 7 days on the control diet. After 28 days on the control diet, N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene was detected in approximately 50% of periportal hepatocytes. These results are compatible with the previously observed biphasic removal profile determined by radioimmunoassay of whole liver DNA adducts and indicate that periportal hepatocytes remove adducts from two distinct genomic compartments.

In an attempt to elucidate the relationship between DNA adduct formation and tumorigenesis, DNA adducts were measured in the livers and bladders of mice during chronic exposure to several different doses of 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) and 4-aminobiphenyl (4-ABP). Continuous oral administration of these compounds for 4 weeks produced an increase in DNA adduct formation during the first 2 weeks, followed by a plateau, which presumably occurred because the rate of adduct removal offset the rate of adduct formation. The quantity of DNA adducts present at equilibrium correlated directly with the carcinogen concentration; therefore, when exposure was continued for 4 weeks, DNA adducts that reflected the plateau level at each dose could be expressed as a function of dose. Liver and bladder DNA adduct profiles thus obtained during administration of multiple doses of 2-AAF (to female mice) and 4-ABP (to male and female mice) were compared to profiles for tumor incidences obtained during lifetime exposures to the same doses. These experiments demonstrated similar profiles for DNA adduct formation and tumorigenesis in liver. In the bladder, DNA adducts were linear, but tumors only appeared at the higher doses in conjunction with cell proliferation. In addition to these aromatic amines, similar data are available for aflatoxin B1, diethylnitrosamine, and (methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (also known as nicotine-derived nitrosoketone). Of the nine different biological situations (carcinogen/species/sex/organ) for which data are available, correlations between steady-state DNA adduct levels and tumorigenic response at the different doses were linear in five of the nine biological models.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Dietary administration of the hepatocarcinogen 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) to rats results in the formation of a major hepatic DNA adduct, N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene (dG-C8-AF). In liver DNA, dG-C8-AF reaches steady-state conditions after approximately 2 weeks of feeding and is removed in a biphasic manner. In these experiments, we have quantified adduct concentrations in a 370 base-pair repetitive DNA fragment to determine if the adduct levels and kinetics of adduct removal were similar to those found in total genomic DNA. Male F344 rats were fed 0.02% 2-AAF for 28 days and were sacrificed at intermittent times up to 56 days after being returned to the control diet. Hepatic DNA adduct levels were measured by 32P-postlabeling or radioimmunoassay (RIA) in total genomic DNA and in a 370 base-pair fragment obtained by digesting genomic DNA with Hind III. Biphasic removal of dG-C8-AF, which composed about 90% of the total adducts measured, was observed in total genomic DNA, with comparable rate constants being detected by both 32P-postlabeling and RIA. 32P-Postlabeling also showed analogous biphasic removal of dG-C8-AF in the 370 base-pair fragment. A second adduct, 3-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-2-AAF (dG-N2-AAF), which accounted for about 10% of the total adducts measured, showed similar biphasic removal kinetics in the total genomic DNA and the 370 base-pair fragment; however, as compared to dG-C8-AF, little removal of dG-N2-AAF was observed during the slow phase.

Female BALB/c mice continuously fed 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) develop liver and bladder tumors. The incidence of liver tumors is linearly related to the carcinogen concentration in the diet, while the tumor response in the bladder is markedly non-linear. In the current experiments, liver and bladder DNA adducts were measured in female BALB/c mice fed several different concentrations of AAF for 28 days. The adduct concentrations were then compared to the previously reported incidences of neoplastic and preneoplastic lesions in these tissues. In initial experiments, mice were fed either 30 or 150 mg [ring-3H]AAF/kg diet for 21 days. Liver DNA adducts were identified by HPLC, which indicated the presence of one major adduct, N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene (dG-C8-AF). This adduct was also the major product detected by 32P-postlabeling in liver and bladder DNA from mice fed the same concentrations of AAF for 28 days. Radioimmunoassays, conducted with an antibody specific for dG-C8-AF, showed that steady-state concentrations of dG-C8-AF were obtained at 28 days of AAF feeding; thus, this time point was used to determine the relationship between the dose of AAF and the adduct levels. In mice fed nine concentrations of AAF (5-150 mg AAF/kg diet), the adduct concentrations after 28 days of feeding were linearly related to dose in both the liver and bladder, with the adduct concentration being approximately 3-fold greater in the bladder. These results indicate that a linear correlation exists between the hepatic concentration of dG-C8-AF and the liver tumor incidence. In the bladder however, a linear relationship was not observed, which suggests that additional tissue-specific factors, such as toxicity, are essential components for tumorigenesis in this tissue.

Continuous dietary administration of the hepatocarcinogen 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) to rats produces a gradual increase in hepatic DNA adducts until a plateau is reached after approximately 2 weeks. The rate of DNA adduct formation remains constant through 1 month of AAF feeding, while adduct removal profiles are biphasic during both carcinogen feeding and subsequent time on control diet. In the present experiments, we tested the hypothesis that biphasic adduct removal is due to differential repair kinetics taking place in different chromatin fractions. Rats were fed 0.02% AAF for times up to 30 days and control diet for a subsequent 28 days. HPLC analysis of nuclear DNA indicated that the deacetylated adduct, N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene, comprised approximately 90% of the total C8-substituted deoxyguanosine adducts after 3 days of feeding and greater than 98% after 20 days. The nuclear DNA was partitioned into endogenous nuclease sensitive (approximately 2%), low salt soluble (approximately 70%), high salt soluble (approximately 20%) and nuclear matrix (approximately 8%) fractions. During 28 days of AAF feeding, each fraction showed a profile of adduct formation similar to that observed in whole nuclei; however, the adduct concentration in nuclear matrix-associated DNA was consistently less than that in the other fractions. In rats fed AAF for 28 days followed by control diet, adduct removal in each of the fractions showed biphasic kinetics that were similar to those observed in nuclear DNA. When rats were fed AAF for 7 days, however, adduct removal kinetics could be best described by a single first-order rate constant. These data indicate that biphasic adduct removal may be due to the presence of particular nucleotide sequences that are common to all fractions and are relatively resistant to adduct formation and removal. The low concentration of adducts found in the nuclear matrix may be due to a decreased rate of adduct formation in this region and/or the proximity of membrane-bound beta-polymerases that are responsible for repair.

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were exposed to 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) and 2-aminofluorene (2-AF), and several of their N-oxidized metabolites in order to study the mechanisms by which arylamides and arylamines produce mutations in mammalian cells. The number of mutations induced at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase locus by each compound (mutants/10(6) CHO cells/nmol compound/ml) was estimated to be: N-acetoxy-2-AAF, 310; N-hydroxy-2-AF, 3; N-hydroxy-2-AAF (with and without hepatic S9 activation), 0.7; 2-AAF (with S9), 0.1; and 2-AF (with S9), 0.09. With each compound, DNA adducts were also identified and quantified, and in all cases the major adduct was N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-AF. 2-AAF and N-hydroxy-2-AAF also formed minor amounts of N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-AAF and 3-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-2-AAF. The relationship between mutation induction and adduct formation for each of the derivatives was similar to that previously reported for N-hydroxy-2-AF. Inclusion of the deacetylase inhibitor, paraoxon, reduced the mutagenicity of 2-AAF, N-hydroxy-2-AAF and N-acetoxy-2-AAF, and the DNA adducts produced by N-acetoxy-2-AAF to background levels. Acetyl coenzyme A increased the mutations and CHO cytosol-mediated DNA binding of N-hydroxy-2-AAF, but did not substantially increase these responses from N-hydroxy-2-AF. N-Hydroxy-2-AAF was not detectably metabolized by CHO cells. Taken together, these data indicate that CHO cells metabolized N-acetoxy-2-AAF to a reactive derivative by N-deacetylation to N-acetoxy-2-AF, while N-hydroxy-2-AF reacted directly with DNA. The major pathway of N-hydroxy-2-AAF activation appeared to be an initial O-acetylation to N-acetoxy-2-AAF and this occurred to only a limited extent in the CHO cells. N-Hydroxy-2-AAF also seemed to form an additional unknown ester intermediate that gave rise to acetylated DNA adducts. The initial step in the activation of 2-AAF and 2-AF was an N-oxidation to N-hydroxy-2-AAF and N-hydroxy-2-AF, respectively. The limited O-acetylase activity in CHO cells appeared to contribute to the low sensitivity of these cells toward mutation induction by arylamines and arylamides.

N-Hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene (N-OH-AAf) is metabolically converted into reactive N,O-esters which are capable of forming covalent adducts with DNA in rat liver in vivo. The effect of inhibiting one of the proposed pathways, N-O-sulfation, on DNA adduct formation was studied by using a specific sulfotransferase inhibitor, pentachlorophenol. Rats were pretreated with pentachlorophenol and, after 45 min, N-OH-AAF was administered. Four hours after dosing the animals were sacrificed and hepatic DNA was isolated. In DNA from control livers two acetylaminofluorene-and one aminofluorene-substituted deoxyguanosine adducts were found. The acetylaminofluorene derivatives, N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2--acetylaminofluorene and 3-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-2acetylaminofluorene, accounted for 40% of the total binding in the hydrolyzed DNA. The aminofluorene adduct, N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene, accounted for the remainder. In rats that were pretreated with pentacholorphenol, total DNA binding was decreased by 26%. The same three adducts were found, but the acetylaminofluorene adducts were now only 13% of the total, while the aminofluorene adduct accounted for 87%. The absolute amount of aminofluorene adduct was not altered as compared to control rats. These data demonstrate the involvement of N-O-sulfation in carcinogen-DNA binding and indicate that at least 70% of the acetylaminofluorene bound to deoxyguanosine in rat liver DNA, in vivo, is formed through N-O-sulfation of N-OH-AAF.

Male Wistar-Furth rats were fed 0.02% 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) for 3 days or 0.02% AAF for 25 days followed by 0.02% [ring-3H]AAF for an additional 3 days. The concentration of hepatic DNA adducts was then monitored by both radioimmunoassay and radiolabeling during 28 days of control diet. This approach allowed comparisons to be made of adduct accumulation, removal and persistence at both the beginning and end of a four week carcinogen feeding period. DNA adduct formation remained constant during the month of AAF administration with an accumulation rate of 157 fmol adduct/micrograms DNA during days 1-3 and days 25-28 of the experiment. Furthermore, the rate of removal of adducts formed during these three day periods was similar when both groups were fed control diets for 28 additional days. Continued AAF administration resulted in a slow accumulation of persistent adducts; thus, 91 +/- 6% of the adducts detected after 3 days of AAF feeding were removed during a subsequent month of control diet, while only 65 +/- 11% of the adducts detected after 28 days of AAF diet were removed when rats were fed control diet for an additional 28 days. In a second experiment, the removal of adducts was compared in animals fed control or AAF diet after previously being fed 0.02% AAF for 17 days. Similar removal curves were observed in both groups; therefore, continued ingestion of AAF did not affect the rate of adduct removal. In both experiments, biphasic repair curves were observed. These data were used to develop a pharmacokinetic model. Two genomic regions were postulated, an area susceptible to fast repair and a region more resistant to the removal of AAF adducts. At equilibrium, which was reached after 2-3 weeks of AAF feeding, the concentration of adducts in each region was similar with approximately 150 fmol adduct/micrograms DNA. Although the total number of adducts formed in the fast repair region during one month of AAF administration was five times greater than in the resistant region, the model predicted that the adducts localized in regions resistant to repair were the persistent adducts detected after one month of control diet. Overall, the removal of adducts formed during chronic AAF feeding was very efficient since greater than 93% of the adducts were removed by the end of a subsequent month of control diet.

The conformation of N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-acetylaminofluorene and N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene was investigated by 1H n.m.r. spectroscopy. There was rotation about the glycosyl bond and preference for either the anti or syn conformation depended on whether or not the 8-arylamino nitrogen was acetylated. The unacetylated adduct existed preferentially in the anti form and the acetylated adduct existed preferentially in the alternate syn form. There was also rotation about the backbone C4' -C5' bond. The unacetylated adduct was mainly in the gauche-gauche conformation about C4'-C5', while the acetylated adduct was mainly in the alternate gauche-trans/trans-gauche form. Using space filling models with the conformation of the unacetylated adduct conserved in the helix, a possible structure of modified DNA was proposed which had less perturbation of the helix than that of the acetylated adduct. This was consistent with single strand endonuclease hydrolysis data. The acetylated and unacetylated adducts may cause entirely different types of local conformational changes in DNA because of major differences in interactions between the base and the sugar moiety at the modified nucleoside level.

N-Hydroxyarylamides are metabolically activated to nucleic acid-binding species by the action of N,O-acyltransferase (AT). The substrate specificity of these enzymes in rat, guinea pig, monkey, baboon, pig, and human liver has been examined by measuring the AT-mediated nucleic acid binding of the N-formyl, N-acetyl, and N-propionyl derivatives of N-hydroxy-2-aminofluorene. Human and pig enzymes catalyzed binding in the order formyl greater than acetyl greater than propionyl, while for the other species the order was acetyl greater than propionyl greater than formyl. Ammonium sulfate fractionation of the cytosols suggested that the baboon and rat have at least two different AT's: one with a higher specificity for the formyl derivative; the other with a marked preference for acetyl and propionyl compounds. Only one form, with a high formyl group specificity, was detected from human liver. The identity of the in vitro AT-mediated DNA adducts from rat, baboon, and human liver was established. In each instance, one adduct accounted for greater than 75% of the bound 2-aminofluorene (AF) residues. This product had a high-pressure liquid chromatography retention time and pH-dependent partition characteristics identical to those of an adduct synthesized by an acid-dependent (pH 4.6) reaction of N-hydroxy-2-aminofluorene with calf thymus DNA. This synthetic adduct has been identified as N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene by nuclear magnetic resonance, mass, and ultraviolet light spectroscopy. Moreover, it was identical to the product obtained from the alkaline (pH 12) hydrolysis of N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-acetylaminofluorene. Since an arylaminated (i.e., aminofluorene) residue(s) is the major product found in rat liver DNA following administration of N-hydroxy-N-acetyl-2-aminofluorene, these data suggest that AT may play a major role in the formation of this DNA-carcinogen adduct.

Primary cultures of rat hepatocytes were exposed to [ring-3H]-N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene (N-OH-AAF) for 4 h, and the RNA and DNA nucleoside adducts were isolated and identified by h.p.l.c. The DNA adducts were shown to be N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-acetylaminofluorene (dG-C8-AAF), N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene (dG-C8-AF), and 3-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-2-acetylaminofluorene (dG-N2-AAF), while the RNA adducts were N-(guanosin-8-yl)-2-acetyl-aminofluorene, and N-(guanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene. The removal of these adducts was measured up to 38 h following the cessation of exposure of the hepatocytes to N-OH-AAF. The dG-C8-AAF adduct was removed with a half-life of approximately 10 h, while dG-N2-AAF and dG-C8-AF remained constant for 14 h, followed by a slow rate of removal. The dG-C8-AAF adduct initially composed about 60% of the total DNA adducts of primary hepatocytes in contrast to the 20% found in liver in vivo. The formation of the 3 DNA adducts and the different rates of repair indicate that primary cultured rat hepatocytes may be a valuable system to study initiation of liver carcinogenesis by N-OH-AAF.

Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were treated by gastric intubation either 1, 2, 3, or 4 times at biweekly intervals with 10-mg/kg doses of the hepatocarcinogen of N-[ring-3H]-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene. Then either 1 or 14 days following the last treatment, the concentrations of 2-aminofluorene and 2-acetylaminofluorene adducts in liver and kidney DNA were established. 2-Acetylaminofluorene adducts were found in male rat liver DNA only. The C-8-acetylated adduct, N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-acetylaminofluorene, was detected only on the day following treatment at a concentration between 1.0 and 2.4 pmol/mg DNA. A second acetylated adduct, 3-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-2-acetylaminofluorene, was found at both 1 and 14 days after treatment and, as a result, increased in concentration with repeated doses, from 0.2 pmol/mg DNA after one dose to 2.8 pmol/mg DNA after four treatments. The major adduct detected in male rat liver and the only adduct found in female rat liver and in kidney from either sex was N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene. This adduct was slowly lost from the DNA and therefore increased in concentration with repetitive treatments as follows: male liver, 4.0 to 9.4 pmol/mg DNA; female liver, 11.4 to 30.6 pmol/mg DNA; male kidney, 1.1 to 1.8 pmol/mg DNA; and female kidney, 1.8 to 17.7 pmol/mg DNA. These data indicate that certain DNA adducts can accumulate in both target and non-target tissues and therefore suggest that persistence of DNA adducts per se is not sufficient for tumor induction.

A linear relationship was observed between the administered dose and DNA adduct levels in the livers and bladders of BALB/c mice fed the carcinogen, 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF), continuously for one month. A similar linear correlation was found between the probit of the liver tumour incidence and the log of the liver DNA adduct levels; however, because there is a no-observable-effect level for bladder tumour induction, the relationship between the probit of the bladder tumour incidence and bladder DNA adduct levels was not linear. These data suggest that the relationship between DNA adduct formation and tumour incidence may be tissue specific.

Rats which had received N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene (N-OH-AAF) excreted two glutathione conjugates in the bile. Pretreatment with the sulphotransferase inhibitor pentachlorophenol reduced the amounts excreted by 50% suggesting that these conjugates were formed in vivo from the highly reactive N-O-sulphate ester of N-OH-AAF (AAF-N-sulphate). In order to identify these biliary conjugates synthetic GSH conjugates were prepared by the reaction of N-acetoxy-AAF, (a model compound for AAF-N-sulphate), with GSH. Four conjugates were isolated and characterized by ultraviolet, proton magnetic resonance, mass spectroscopy and by the determination of their amino acid composition. These conjugates were identified as 1-, 3-, 4- and 7-(glutathion-S-yl)-N-acetyl-2-aminofluorene, respectively. The two biliary conjugates were identified as 1- and 3-(glutathion-S-yl)-N-acetyl-2-aminofluorene.

The hepatocarcinogen N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene forms two C8-substituted deoxyguanosine adducts in vivo. The conformation of these adducts, as well as 2'-deoxyguanosine and 8-amino-2'-deoxyguanosine has been studied with Allinger's force field. Using the glycoside rotation as a reaction coordinate, multidimensional potential energy surface were determined by relaxing all internal degrees of freedom. The calculations indicate the 2'-deoxyguanosine should exist as a mixture of syn and anti forms, that the syn form is slightly favored for 8-amino-2'-deoxyguanosine, that N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-acetylaminofluorene (dG-C8-AAF) will only be found in the syn conformation and that, although the syn form is also more stable for N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene (dG-C8-AF), it will have a substantially greater proportion of the anti-conformer than is found with dG-C8-AAF. The results of the force field calculations are discussed in relation to the effects these adducts may have on DNA structure.

The concentration of DNA adducts in specific hepatic cell types has been determined in F344 rats fed 0.02% 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) for 28 days followed by control diet for an additional 28 days. In animals killed at 28 days of AAF feeding, the major DNA adduct, N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene, was present in each cell type in the order: hepatocytes (282 +/- 28 fmol/micrograms DNA) greater than whole liver (232 +/- 33 fmol/micrograms DNA) greater than nonparenchymal cells (128 +/- 30 fmol/micrograms DNA) greater than bile duct fraction (60 +/- 12 fmol/micrograms DNA). After an additional 28 days on control diet, the adduct level in each cell fraction was 30-40 fmol/micrograms DNA. Adduct removal was biphasic in whole liver, hepatocytes and nonparenchymal cells, with a fast phase apparent until the adduct concentration reached approximately 60 fmol/micrograms DNA. In whole liver and hepatocytes this level was obtained in approximately seven days, and in nonparenchymal cells the fast phase was complete in about two days. Adduct removal in the bile duct fraction exhibited only a single slow phase. At the end of the AAF feeding, hepatocytes accounted for 86% of the total liver DNA adducts. After an additional 28 days on control diet, hepatocyte adducts still contributed a major fraction (67%) of the total persistent adduct population. Thus, hepatocytes, the target cell for AAF-induced hepatic tumors, dominate the adduct formation and removal profile observed in whole liver.

The rat mammary carcinogen, N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene (N-hydroxy-2-AAF), has been proposed to be metabolically activated by mammary cytosolic N,O-acetyltransferase to a DNA binding species. To test this hypothesis, adult female Sprague-Dawley derived CD rats were treated, i.p., with 4.0 mg/kg [ring-3H]N-hydroxy-2-AAF. After 4 h, 1, 3, 14, and 28 days, the animals were killed, the mammary epithelium DNA was isolated and the carcinogen-deoxyribonucleoside adducts present were analyzed by high pressure liquid chromatography. At each time, only one adduct was detected and it was chromatographically identical to N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene. The level of the adduct was maximal at 4 h (1.5 adducts/10(6) nucleotides) and then decreased, following first order kinetics with a t1/2 of 14.2 days. The detection of a single non-acetylated aminofluorene adduct is consistent with N,O-acyltransferase being involved in the metabolic activation of N-hydroxy-2-AAF in the rat mammary gland.

The carcinogens N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminofluorene (N-acetoxy-AAF) and N-hydroxy-2-aminofluorene (N-hydroxy-AF) were incubated with calf thymus DNA to determine if reaction occurred preferentially with discrete regions within the DNA. Derivative melting profiles indicated that both compounds decreased satellite transitions and that N-acetoxy-AAF depressed the melting of higher temperature regions. These data suggest that N-acetoxy-AAF reacted to a greater extent with G + C-rich regions and, because the resulting adduct disrupted the helix, the cooperativity of melting decreased. Reaction of N-acetoxy-AAF with purified satellite III DNA confirmed the preferential interaction of this carcinogen with G + C-rich regions as compared to main component DNA. The derivative melting profile of lambda DNA in the presence of actinomycin D further demonstrated that this type of analysis can detect preferential interactions with specific DNA sequences.

The DNA adducts formed during incubation of the hepatocarcinogen N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene with Salmonella typhimurium tester strain TA1538 were investigated to determine if the covalently bound products were identical to those adducts found in rat liver DNA and to establish the biological significance of the adducts in a mutational assay. When bacteria were exposed to N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene in the presence of a 9,000 x g supernatant from a rat liver homogenate (S9), only one adduct was detected. This adduct had chromatographic, pH-dependent partitioning, and UV spectral characteristics identical to those of N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene. In the absence of S9 activation the same product was detected, but at a 85-90% lower level, which indicates that S. typhimurium also may be capable of metabolizing N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene to a reactive electrophile. When incubations were conducted with N-hydroxy-2-aminofluorene in the absence of the activation system, N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene again was the major adduct. At equimolar concentrations, the arylhydroxylamine was approximately 10 times more efficient than the arylhydroxamic acid in inducing reversions in the bacteria. Comparison of the mutation rate to the level of binding in bacterial DNA gave a linear relationship with a slope of 0.96 and a correlation coefficient of 0.92. These data support previous suggestions that N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene is deacetylated by rat liver S9 to the ultimate mutagen, N-hydroxy-2-aminofluorene, and also indicate that S. typhimurium can mediate this reaction. The correlation between mutagenicity and the extent of N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene adduct formation, coupled with the observation that this adduct is the major DNA adduct found in rat liver in vivo, suggests that N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene may be a critical lesion for the initiation of hepatic tumorigenesis.

Computer models of three deoxyguanosine-carcinogen adducts in double-helical DNA are presented. The carcinogen moiety is rotated and the best fit within the double helix is evaluated. The 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) derivative, 3-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-AAF, is found to be situated within the minor groove, has very little freedom of rotation and causes little helical distortion. The (+)-anti-benzo[a]-pyrene (BP)-diol epoxide-N2 adduct, 10beta-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-7beta, 8alpha,9alpha-trihydroxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-BP, has a similar fit with a greater degree of steric interaction, suggesting that this adduct could cause some local destabilization. The 1-naphthylamine (NA) derivative, N1-(deoxyguanosine-O6-yl)-1-NA, resides within the major groove, does not perturb the helix and has considerable freedom of movement.