Background 1,3-Butadiene (BD) is an important carcinogen in tobacco smoke that undergoes metabolic activation to DNA-reactive epoxides. These species can be detoxified via glutathione conjugation and excreted in urine as the corresponding N-acetylcysteine conjugates. We hypothesize that single nucleotide polymorphisms in BD-metabolizing genes may change the balance of BD bioactivation and detoxification in White, Japanese American, and African American smokers, potentially contributing to ethnic differences in lung cancer risk. Methods We measured the levels of BD metabolites, 1- and 2-(N-acetyl-L-cystein-S-yl)-1-hydroxybut-3-ene (MHBMA) and N-acetyl-S-(3,4-dihydroxybutyl)-L-cysteine (DHBMA), in urine samples from a total of 1,072 White, Japanese American, and African American smokers and adjusted these values for body mass index, age, batch, and total nicotine equivalents. We also conducted a genome wide association study to identify genetic determinants of BD metabolism. Results We found that mean urinary MHBMA concentrations differed significantly by ethnicity (p = 4.0 × 10−25). African Americans excreted the highest levels of MHBMA followed by Whites and Japanese Americans. MHBMA levels were affected by GSTT1 gene copy number (p < 0.0001); conditional on GSTT1, no other polymorphisms showed a significant association. Urinary DHBMA levels also differed between ethnic groups (p = 3.3 ×10−4), but were not affected by GSTT1 copy number (p = 0.226). Conclusions GSTT1 gene deletion has a strong effect on urinary MHBMA levels, and therefore BD metabolism, in smokers. Impact Our results show that the order of MHBMA levels among ethnic groups is consistent with their respective lung cancer risk and can be partially explained by GSTT1 genotype.

Human carcinogen 1,3-butadiene (BD) undergoes metabolic activation to 3,4-epoxy-1-butene (EB), hydroxymethylvinyl ketone (HMVK), 3,4-epoxy-1,2-butanediol (EBD) and 1,2,3,4-diepoxybutane (DEB). Among these, DEB is by far the most genotoxic metabolite and is considered the ultimate carcinogenic species of BD. We have shown previously that BD-exposed laboratory mice form 8- to 10-fold more DEB-DNA adducts than rats exposed at the same conditions, which may be responsible for the enhanced sensitivity of mice to BD-mediated cancer. In the present study, we have identified 1,4-bis-(N-acetyl-L-cystein-S-yl)butane-2,3-diol (bis-BDMA) as a novel DEB-specific urinary biomarker. Isotope dilution high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry was employed to quantify bis-BDMA and three other BD-mercapturic acids, 2-(N-acetyl-L-cystein-S-yl)-1-hydroxybut-3-ene/1-(N-acetyl-L-cystein-S-yl)-2-hydroxy-but-3-ene (MHBMA, from EB), 4-(N-acetyl-L-cystein-S-yl)-1,2-dihydroxybutane (DHBMA, from HMVK) and 4-(N-acetyl-L-cystein-S-yl)-1,2,3-trihydroxybutane (THBMA, from EBD), in urine of confirmed smokers, occupationally exposed workers and BD-exposed laboratory rats. Bis-BDMA was formed in a dose-dependent manner in urine of rats exposed to 0-200 p.p.m. BD by inhalation, although it was a minor metabolite (1%) as compared with DHBMA (47%) and THBMA (37%). In humans, DHBMA was the most abundant BD-mercapturic acid excreted (93%), followed by THBMA (5%) and MHBMA (2%), whereas no bis-BDMA was detected. These results reveal significant differences in metabolism of BD between rats and humans.

N 6-(2-Hydroxy-3-buten-1-yl)-2′-deoxyadenosine (N6-HB-dA I) and N6,N6-(2,3-dihydroxybutan-1,4-diyl)-2′-deoxyadenosine (N6,N6-DHB-dA) are exocyclic DNA adducts formed upon alkylation of the N6 position of adenine in DNA by epoxide metabolites of 1,3-butadiene (BD), a common industrial and environmental chemical classified as a human and animal carcinogen. Since the N6-H atom of adenine is required for Watson-Crick hydrogen bonding with thymine, N6-alkylation can prevent adenine from normal pairing with thymine, potentially compromising the accuracy of DNA replication. To evaluate the ability of BD-derived N6-alkyladenine lesions to induce mutations, synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides containing site-specific (S)-N6-HB-dA I and (R,R)-N6,N6-DHB-dA adducts were subjected to in vitro translesion synthesis in the presence of human DNA polymerases β, η, ι, and κ. While (S)-N6-HB-dA I was readily bypassed by all four enzymes, only polymerases η and κ were able to carry out DNA synthesis past (R,R)-N6,N6-DHB-dA. Steady-state kinetic analyses indicated that all four DNA polymerases preferentially incorporated the correct base (T) opposite (S)-N6-HB-dA I. In contrast, hPol β was completely blocked by (R,R)-N6,N6-DHB-dA, while hPol η and κ inserted A, G, C, or T opposite the adduct with similar frequency. HPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis of primer extension products confirmed that while translesion synthesis past (S)-N6-HB-dA I was mostly error-free, replication of DNA containing (R,R)-N6,N6-DHB-dA induced significant numbers of A, C, and G insertions and small deletions. These results indicate that singly substituted (S)-N6-HB-dA I lesions are not miscoding, but exocyclic (R,R)-N6,N6-DHB-dA adducts are strongly mispairing, probably due to their inability to form stable Watson-Crick pairs with dT.

1,3-Butadiene is an important industrial and environmental carcinogen present in cigarette smoke, automobile exhaust, and urban air. The major urinary metabolites of BD in humans are 2-(N-acetyl-L-cystein-S-yl)-1-hydroxybut-3-ene/1-(N-acetyl-L-cystein-S-yl)-2-hydroxybut-3-ene (MHBMA), 4-(N-acetyl-L-cystein-S-yl)-1,2-dihydroxybutane (DHBMA), and 4-(N-acetyl-L-cystein-S-yl)-1,2,3-trihydroxybutyl mercapturic acid (THBMA), which are formed from the electrophilic metabolites of BD, 3,4-epoxy-1-butene (EB), hydroxymethyl vinyl ketone (HMVK), and 3,4-epoxy-1,2-diol (EBD), respectively. In the present work, a sensitive high-throughput HPLC-ESI−MS/MS method was developed for simultaneous quantification of MHBMA and DHBMA in small volumes of human urine (200 µl). The method employs a 96 well Oasis HLB SPE enrichment step, followed by isotope dilution HPLC-ESI−-MS/MS analysis on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The validated method was used to quantify MHBMA and DHBMA in urine of workers from a BD monomer and styrene-butadiene rubber production facility (40 controls and 32 occupationally exposed to BD). Urinary THBMA concentrations were also determined in the same samples. The concentrations of all three BD-mercapturic acids and the metabolic ratio (MHBMA/ (MHBMA+DHBMA+THBMA)) were significantly higher in the occupationally exposed group as compared to controls and correlated with BD exposure, with each other, and with BD-hemoglobin biomarkers. This improved high throughput methodology for MHBMA and DHBMA will be useful for future epidemiological studies in smokers and in occupationally exposed workers.