The characterization of eight benzo[a]pyrene-deoxyribonucleoside adducts derived from reaction of the anti-dihydrodiol epoxide and deoxyguanylic and deoxyadenylic acids is described. It is reported that the epoxide ring is opened by the purine amino groups to yield similar amounts of both cis and trans products. NMR data show that the 7- and 8-hydroxyl groups are pseudodiaxial in the cis products and pseudodiequatorial in the trans products, and we suggest that these products arise from reaction with the diaxial and diequatorial conformers of the dihydrodiol epoxides, respectively. The chiral nature of the interactions of these metabolites with DNA restricts the range of products formed with this macromolecule, and a trans product with deoxyguanosine is the major product formed with either enantiomer of the anti-dihydrodiol epoxide.
Reactions of diol epoxide metabolites of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with DNA are thought to initiate the carcinogenic process. Although formation of a benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) diol epoxide-deoxyguanosine adduct has been held responsible for biological activity, the more potent carcinogen, 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) binds extensively to deoxyadenosine residues in DNA, suggesting that hydrocarbon carcinogen-deoxyadenosine adducts may be instrumental in tumour initiation. Because the bay region diol epoxides of benzo[c]phenanthrene (BcPh) are very active tumour initiators, and the relative activities of the four configurationally isomeric 3,4-diol 1,2-epoxides (Fig. 1) are known, we examined their reactions with DNA. Each BcPh diol epoxide isomer exhibits a remarkable preference for covalent binding to DNA over hydrolysis, each yields a unique distribution of products with the nucleosides of DNA and each reacts extensively with deoxyadenosine residues in DNA. The relative tumour initiating activities of these stereoisomers is best reflected by the relative yields of one of the deoxyadenosine adducts formed.
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