Several nontoxic purinethiols have been shown to block the ability of the carcinogen 7-r,8-t-dihydroxy-9-t,10-t-oxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (BPDE) to bind covalently to DNA in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Two of these compounds also block BPDE-induced tumorigenesis in a two-stage mouse skin carcinogenesis model. The suggested mode of action of the purinethiols is through scavenging the electrophilic carcinogen by way of covalent reaction with the purinethiol. In the present work, we demonstrate that a series of five purinethiols (2,6-dithiopurine, thiopurinol, 6-thioxanthine, 2-mercaptopurine, and 9-methyl-6-mercaptopurine) react covalently in vitro with BPDE. The adducts formed have been characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, solvent partitioning, and NMR spectroscopy; they result from addition of the thiol moiety at the 10-carbon of BPDE. Studies of the effects of Tris buffer and temperature on product ratios at completion of reaction indicate that the two major reaction pathways, hydrolysis of the epoxide and adduct formation, do not share a common rate-determining step. This suggests that the reaction mechanism for adduct formation is through SN2 attack of the thiol moiety at the 10 position of BPDE. The activation energies for the reaction of 5-purinethiols with various combinations of substituents at the 2 and 6 positions are all very similar, implying closely similar transition states. For compounds with a low pKa (2,6-dithiopurine, 2-mercaptopurine, and 6-thioxanthine) the most important reactant at physiological pH is the thiolate anion. However, for compounds with pKa's above 8, the physiologically important reactions appear to be more complicated.
A metabolite of benzo[a]pyrene, 9-r,10-t-dihydroxy-7,8-c-oxy-7,8,9,10- tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (BPDE-III), that is not thought to be involved in carcinogenesis has nevertheless been shown to bind extensively to DNA in vitro. The adducts formed by this non-bay-region diol epoxide in Chinese hamster ovary cells are much less mutagenic than those formed by an isomeric diol epoxide that is carcinogenic. We have isolated and characterized three major adducts formed by in vitro reaction of BPDE-III with DNA. The major adduct, accounting for over half of the total is formed by reaction of BPDE-III with the N7 position of dGuo and is recovered after enzymatic digestion as an N7-Gua adduct. A second major adduct involves the N2 position of dGuo, while the third adduct is tentatively identified as a C8-substituted dGuo. Little or no reaction with deoxyadenosine residues is detected. The N7 adduct is unstable in DNA at 37 degrees C and is released as the modified base with a half-life of about 24 h. This adduct lability apparently leads to single-strand breaks and alkali-sensitive sites in the DNA and may account in part for some of the biological properties of BPDE-III adducts. This represents the first description of an N7-dGuo adduct that is formed in DNA as the major adduct by a diol epoxide derived from a carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.
The chemotherapeutic agent 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) has been shown to react covalently with the ultimate carcinogenic metabolite of benzo[a]pyrene, 7-r,8-t-dihydroxy-9-t,10-t-oxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (BPDE), in aqueous solution, forming a single adduct. NMR studies of the HPLC-purified product were consistent with its identification as 10(S)-(6'-mercaptopurinyl)-7,8,9-trihydroxy-7,8,9,10- tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene. Reaction kinetics were analyzed by using both HPLC separation of the products formed and a spectrophotometric assay for adduct formation. A simple model in which direct reaction between 6-MP and BPDE takes place without formation of a physical complex was found to adequately predict the dependence of product ratios on 6-MP concentration. Variations in the observed rate constant for this reaction with changes in temperature, pH, and buffer concentration were determined and compared to the effects of these variables on the observed rate constant for BPDE hydrolysis. In each case, the processes were affected quite differently, suggesting that different rate-determining steps are involved. The data suggest that the reaction mechanism involves SN2 attack of the anion of 6-MP, formed by ionization of the sulfhydryl group, on carbon 10 of BPDE, resulting in a trans-9,10 reaction product.
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