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Nitroreduction of 6-nitrobenzo[a]pyrene: a potential activation pathway in humans
P P Fu1, C E Cerniglia, K E Richardson
1National Center for Toxicological Research, Jefferson, AR 72079.
Mutation Research
|November 1, 1988
Abstract:
6-Nitrobenzo[a]pyrene, an environmental pollutant, was metabolized by human intestinal microflora to 6-nitrosobenzo[a]pyrene and 6-aminobenzo[a]pyrene. The two-electron reduction product 6-nitrosobenzo[a]pyrene exhibited strong direct-acting mutagenicity in the Salmonella typhimurium assay. These results imply that 6-nitrobenzo[a]pyrene can be hazardous to human health via a nitroreduction activation pathway and opens the possibility that other nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that are not direct-acting mutagens may be activated in vivo by a similar mechanism.