Heterocyclic amines (HAs) are formed as pyrolysis products during the cooking of meats/fish. These substances are potent mutagens in the Ames/Salmonella assay and are also carcinogens in laboratory animals. In order to assess the magnitude of the cancer risk posed by their presence in the US diet, we estimated the average intakes of HAs, based on analyses of the concentrations of HAs in cooked foods and data from a dietary survey of the US population and quantified the cancer potencies of the individual compounds using dose-response data from animal bioassays. Measured concentrations of HAs in cooked foods were taken from a major review of the open literature. Only those concentrations that were associated with normal cooking conditions were chosen for use in estimating dietary intakes. The average consumption of HA-bearing foods was determined by analyzing statistically the intakes of 3563 individuals who provided 3 day dietary records in a USDA sponsored random survey of the US population during 1989. Dietary intakes of the five principal HAs in descending order were 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo [4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) > 2-amino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (A alpha C) > 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx) > 2-amino-3,4,8-trimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (DiMeIQx) > 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ). The carcinogenic potencies, in contrast, were almost the reverse order: IQ > DiMeIQx > MeIQx > PhIP > A alpha C. An upper-bound estimate of the incremental cancer risk is 1.1 x 10(-4), using cancer potencies based on a body surface area basis. Nearly half (46%) of the incremental risk was due to ingestion of PhIP. Consumption of meat and fish products contributed the most (approximately 80%) to total risk.

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In oxygenic photosynthetic organisms, photosystem II (PSII) is a unique membrane protein complex that catalyzes light-driven oxidation of water. PSII undergoes frequent damage due to its demanding photochemistry. It must undergo a repair and reassembly process following photodamage, many facets of which remain unknown. We have discovered a PSII subcomplex that lacks 5 key PSII core reaction center polypeptides: D1, D2, PsbE, PsbF, and PsbI. This pigment–protein complex does contain the PSII core antenna proteins CP47 and CP43, as well as most of their associated low molecular mass subunits, and the assembly factor Psb27. Immunoblotting, mass spectrometry, and ultrafast spectroscopic results support the absence of a functional reaction center in this complex, which we call the “no reaction center” complex (NRC). Analytical ultracentrifugation and clear native PAGE analysis show that NRC is a stable pigment–protein complex and not a mixture of free CP47 and CP43 proteins. NRC appears in higher abundance in cells exposed to high light and impaired protein synthesis, and genetic deletion of PsbO on the PSII luminal side results in an increased NRC population, indicative that NRC forms in response to photodamage as part of the PSII repair process. Our finding challenges the current model of the PSII repair cycle and implies an alternative PSII repair strategy. Formation of this complex may maximize PSII repair economy by preserving intact PSII core antennas in a single complex available for PSII reassembly, minimizing the risk of randomly diluting multiple recycling components in the thylakoid membrane following a photodamage event.

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