The microsomal metabolism of pentachlorophenol and its covalent binding to protein and DNA

The microsomal metabolism of pentachlorophenol (PCP) was investigated, with special attention to the conversion dependent covalent binding to protein and DNA. The two metabolites detected were tetrachloro-1,2- and tetrachloro-1,4-hydroquinone. Microsomes from isosafrole (ISF)-induced rats were by far the most effective in catalyzing the reaction: the rate of conversion was increased 7-fold over control microsomes. All other inducers tested (hexachlorobenzene (HCB), phenobarbital (PB) and 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC) gave 2--3-fold increases over control. There are indications that the 1,2- and 1,4-isomers are produced in different ratio's by various cytochrome P-450 isoenzymes: Microsomes from PB- and HCB-treated rats produced the tetrachloro-1,4- and tetrachloro-1,2-hydroquinone in a ratio of about 2, while microsomes from rats induced with 3 MC and ISF showed a ratio of about 1.3. When PCP was incubated with microsomes from rats treated with HCB, a mixed type inducer of P-450, the ratio between formation of the 1,4- and 1,2-isomers decreased with increasing concentration of PCP, suggesting the involvement of at least two P-450 isoenzymes with different Km-values. The overall apparent Km-value for HCB-microsomes was 13 microM both for the formation of the soluble metabolites and the covalent binding to microsomal protein, suggesting both stem from the same reaction. The covalent binding could be inhibited by ascorbic acid and this inhibition was accompanied by an increase in formation of tetrachlorohydroquinones (TCHQ). Although a large variation was observed in rates of conversion between microsomes treated with different (or no) inducers, the rate of covalent binding to microsomal protein was remarkably constant. A conversion-dependent covalent binding to DNA was observed in incubations with added DNA which was 0.2 times the amount of binding to protein (37 pmol/mg DNA).