Urinary markers for exposures to alkylating or nitrosating agents

Investigation of urinary markers as indices of endogenous nitrosation and of gastric cancer etiology has been a major focus of our work. As part of this effort, studies have been carried out on a Colombian population at high risk for gastric cancer. In this group, nitrosoproline excretion was highly correlated with nitrate excretion in the subpopulation with advanced gastric pathology, but not in control subpopulations with more normal stomachs. Neither urinary 7-methylguanine nor 3-methyladenine was strongly related to gastric pathology or to urinary nitrate or nitrosoproline levels. More recently, as evidence has accumulated concerning the importance of nitric oxide as a cellular messenger, we have begun research toward developing markers for the presence of nitric oxide and for endogenous nitrosation via this compound. Nitric oxide is formed from arginine by activated endothelial cells as a messenger for vasodilation. We have shown that prolonged exercise leads to increased urinary nitrate and that when 15N-arginine is ingested by humans, 15N-nitrate levels increase in 24-hr urine collections. Nitrosohydroxyethylglycine and 3-nitrotyrosine were evaluated as indices for the formation of N-nitrosomorpholine and for the nitration of protein, respectively, under experimental conditions (e.g., immunostimulation) expected to enhance nitric oxide formation. Nitrotyrosine has not proved useful as a biomarker for nitration/nitrosation reactions in immunostimulated rats. Immunostimulation of rats following administration of morpholine led to increases in urinary nitrate and nitrosohydroxyethylglycine. This procedure, however, would not be appropriate for humans due to the toxicity of morpholine and the carcinogenicity of N-nitrosomorpholine.