Carcinogens, metabolic activation

In recent years, it has become evident that for many well-studied chemical carcinogens, metabolic activation to a reactive intermediate in the host is required in order for reaction with DNA and other cellular macromolecules to occur (31, 32). Thus, many carcinogens appear to be precarcinogens, which are metabolized vivo to their reactive forms, or ultimate... 

C research includes the following areas 1. etiology, including epidemiology and prevention 2. transformation of cells in culture 3. genetics and phenotypes of C. cells 4. carcinogens, metabolic activation of carcinogens and tumor promotion 5. treatment of CThe... 

Alternative pathways of activation of nitrosamines, including 3-hydroxylation followed by sulfate conjugation and the formation of alkoxydiazen-ium ions are discussed. The formation of alkyldiazo-nium ions from trialkyltriazenes is presented to show that the formation of the putative ultimate carcinogens from nitrosamines can be studied in a system not requiring metabolic activation,... 

These nltrosated amides, In contrast to the nltrosamlnes, do not require metabolic activation in order to alkylate cellular nucleophilic targets. Thus, many of these substances are directly acting mutagens and also carcinogens (38. ... 

There is much evidence to suggest that carcinogenic N-nitros-amines are metabolised by an oxidative process to produce an alkylating agent (J f2) One potential metabolite is therefore the corresponding N-nitrosamide resulting from 2-electron oxidation at the oc-carbon atom, and, indeed, such compounds appear to induce tumours at the site of application without metabolic activation (3) It follows that the chemical properties of N-nitrosamides are relevant to the etiology of cancer ... 

The Ames test involves the reversion from a his— to his+ phenotype in any one of multiple bacterial strains (usually five strains are tested simultaneously). If the addition of test compound to a his— strain of bacteria allows them to grow on histidine deficient media, the obvious conclusion is compound-induced mutagenesis and a high potential hazard for the compound being carcinogenic. This test can also be conducted in the presence or absence of metabolic activation, in order to provide more information on potential risks (i.e., the parent compound may not be mutagenic, but the primary metabolite may present a safety risk). In practice, a positive Ames test almost always leads to discontinuing work on a compound of interest, and so these data are always collected prior to nomination of a compound for development. 

Tetrachoroethylene (perchloroethylene, PCE) is the only chlorinated ethene that resists aerobic biodegradation. This compound can be dechlorinated to less- or nonchlorinated ethenes only under anaerobic conditions. This process, known as reductive dehalogenation, was initially thought to be a co-metabolic activity. Recently, however, it was shown that some bacteria species can use PCE as terminal electron acceptor in their basic metabolism i.e., they couple their growth with the reductive dechlorination of PCE.35 Reductive dehalogenation is a promising method for the remediation of PCE-contaminated sites, provided that the process is well controlled to prevent the buildup of even more toxic intermediates, such as the vinyl chloride, a proven carcinogen. 

Certain molecules from the environment becomes carcinogenic by activation through metabolic processes that are normally involved in preparing them for excretion. 

Lawrence N, McGregor DB. 1985. Assays for the induction of morphological transformation in C3H/10T1/2 cells in culture with and without S9-mediated metabolic activation. In Ashby J, de Serres FJ, et al., eds. Progress in mutation research. Vol. 5. Evaluation of short-term tests for carcinogens. Amsterdam, The Netherlands Elsevier Science Publishers, 651-658. 

The developments which led to the present day concepts of the metabolic activation of hydrocarbons did not arise from the classical approach of identifying metabolites of greater biological potency than the parent compound, but from an approach dependent upon the assumption (or presumption) that the interaction of carcinogens with DNA is a key event in the initiation of the carcinogenic process. Brookes and Lawley (49) found in 1964 that when radioactive hydrocarbons are applied to the skin of mice, they become covalently bound to the DNA of the skin. Moreover, the extents of binding to DNA for various hydrocarbons followed fairly closely their relative carcinogenic activities. 

Covalent binding of chemical carcinogens to cellular macromolecules, DNA, RNA and protein, is wel1-accepted to be the first step in the tumor initiation process ( 1, 2). Most carcinogens, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), require metabolic activation to produce the ultimate electrophilic species which react with cellular macromolecules. Understanding the mechanisms of activation and the enzymes which catalyze them is critical to elucidating the tumor initiation process. 

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