Identification of the principal aflatoxin B1-DNA adduct formed in vivo in rat liver.

The products of in vivo covalent binding of activated aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) to DNA have been investigated in rats. The principal covalent product formed in liver DNA of rats treated with AFB1 has been identified as 2,3-dihydro-2-(N7-guanyl)-3-hydroxy-aflatoxin B1. This compound was isolated from the liver DNA of rats dosed with AFB1 (2.0 mg/kg) in sufficient quantity for characterization by physicochemical techniques, including field-desorption mass spectrometry. This information together with results of chemical methylation of the compound proved that the major adduct formed between DNA and AFB1 in vivo is identical to that produced in vitro when AFB1 is incubated with DNA in the presence of a rat liver microsomal activating system. Quantitative studies of formation of this compound revealed a dose-dependent relationship between the level of its occurence in liver DNA and AFB1 doses over the range 0.125-1.0 mg/kg.