Serological characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon diolepoxide-DNA adducts using monoclonal antibodies

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of structurally related compounds that are present in the environment in complex mixtures as common pollutants. These compounds have been studied extensively because of their carcinogenic and toxic properties to humans. We reported previously that humans exposed to certain PAHs produce antibodies that bind to different PAH diolepoxide-DNA (PAH-DNA) adducts. The ability to detect and measure antibodies to PAH-DNA adducts in human blood samples could prove useful as a biological dosimeter for identifying persons that have been exposed to high levels of PAHs, i.e. persons who may be at high cancer risk. In our initial studies we found that it was common for persons who were exposed to PAH to produce antibodies against PAH-DNA adducts. However, we were unable to identify the actual chemical types of PAH-DNA adducts that were recognized by the serum antibodies because many serum samples contained antibody activity to more than one adduct. These data indicate that different PAH-DNA adducts may be serologically similar or that humans actually produce immune responses against more than a single PAH-DNA adduct. We have used monoclonal antibody technology to determine the extent to which different PAH-DNA adducts share serologically recognized epitopes. Monoclonal antibodies were produced against two different PAH-DNA adducts, benzo[a]pyrene diolepoxide-DNA (BPDE-DNA) and benz[a]anthracene diolepoxide-DNA (BADE-DNA). The binding of these antibodies to five PAH-DNA adduct preparations and to soluble PAHs was assessed. We found that most monoclonal antibodies bound to more than a single type of PAH-DNA adduct, documenting the serological relatedness of different PAH-DNA adducts. However, two monoclonal antibodies were produced that bound only to BPDE-DNA. Soluble non-metabolized PAHs and PAH tetraols were not recognized by these antibodies, thus demonstrating their specificity for PAH-DNA adducts and not the PAHs alone. Monoclonal antibodies produced against BADE-DNA also bound to chrysene diolepoxide-DNA but not to BPDE-DNA or to two other PAH-DNA adducts. These data demonstrate that significant serological cross-reactivity exists between different PAH-DNA adducts and support our contention that human antibodies to PAH-DNA can often bind to more than a single type of PAH-DNA adduct. However, our ability to produce monoclonal antibodies with restricted specificity suggest that the production of highly monoclonal antibody reagents for use in assays designed to measure PAH-DNA adducts in biological samples is feasible.