Development of methods to monitor exposure to 1-nitropyrene

On the basis of 32P-postlabeling analysis, treatment of rats with 1-nitropyrene (1-NP) resulted in the formation of multiple DNA adducts in the liver, mammary glands, and peripheral lymphocytes. The one adduct resulting from nitroreduction, N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-1-aminopyrene, constitutes only a minor component among the adducts. In the present study, incubation of calf thymus DNA with mutagenic ring-oxidized metabolites of 1-NP in vitro in the presence and absence of xanthine oxidase also resulted in the formation of multiple adducts. On the basis of their chromatographic behavior, it appears that DNA adducts derived from such metabolites may have been formed in vivo; however, this needs to be confirmed. [3H]1-NP was given to male and female F344 rats and Sprague-Dawley rats by gavage at five dose levels in the range of 0.1 to 1000 micrograms/kg bw. This led to stable hemoglobin adducts accounting for 0.08 +/- 0.05% of the dose (n = 3 rats). The radioactivity associated with hemoglobin following administration of [3H]1-NP was cleared with a half-life of about 14 days, which is faster than that of unmodified erythrocytes in the rat (t1/2 = 30 days). Treatment of the hemoglobin with 1% HCl in acetone, to precipitate the globin, released the radioactivity; it was all bound to the heme moiety. The structures of the heme adducts have not been elucidated; yet, because of their stability, they may be useful as dosimeters for human exposure to 1-NP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)