Development of an immunochemical detection method for atrazine-induced albumin adducts

Atrazine (2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine) is one of the most commonly used herbicides in the United States. Exposures in rodent models have led to a host of biological effects, most notably the suppression of luteinizing hormone surge. Previously, we have reported that diaminochlorotriazine (DACT), an atrazine metabolite, forms a covalent adduct with rat hemoglobin at Cys-125. In the present study, we investigated the formation of a similar covalent adduct at Cys-34 of rat and human albumins following atrazine exposure using MALDI-TOF/TOF MS and adduct-specific immunochemical detection. Using mass spectrometry, a covalent adduct with a mass of 110 Da was located on Cys-34 of albumin from rats exposed to 20, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg atrazine as well as rat and human albumins exposed in vitro to 90 microg/mL DACT. On the basis of the formation of the adduct in vitro, the adduct structure is a dechlorinated diaminochlorotriazine. To further study this unique protein adduction, we collaborated with Strategic Biosolutions Inc. to generate a polyclonal antibody specific for the DACT adduct and report its use for immunochemical detection. We detected adduct formation in purified serum albumin samples from rats given 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg atrazine as well as rat and human albumins exposed in vitro to 90 microg/mL DACT by using immunochemical analysis. No adducts were detected in control animals or in the in vitro controls using our immunochemical detection method. In summary, these data report the development of a novel immunochemical detection system that could provide a rapid screening methodology for the detection of atrazine in exposed human populations.