Evidence for endogenous formation of tobacco-specific nitrosamines in rats treated with tobacco alkaloids and sodium nitrite.

Carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines are present in tobacco products and are believed to play a significant role in human cancers associated with tobacco use. Additional amounts of tobacco-specific nitrosamines could be formed endogenously. We tested this hypothesis by treating rats with nicotine and sodium nitrite and analyzing their urine. Initially, we treated groups of rats with (S)-nicotine (60 micromol/kg) and NaNO2 (180 micromol/kg), (S)-nicotine alone, NaNO2 alone or 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK, 12 nmol/kg) by gavage twice daily for 4 days. We collected urine and analyzed for two metabolites of NNK; 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol and its glucuronide. We did not detect these metabolites in the urine of rats treated with nicotine alone or nicotine plus NaNO2, indicating that endogenous conversion of nicotine to NNK did not occur. However, the urine did contain N'-nitrosonornicotine (NNN), N'-nitrosoanabasine (NAB) and N'-nitrosoanatabine (NAT). Analysis of the (S)-nicotine used in this experiment demonstrated that it contained trace amounts of nornicotine, anabasine and anatabine. In a second experiment, we used an identical protocol to compare the endogenous nitrosation of this (S)-nicotine with that of synthetic (R,S)-nicotine, which did not contain detectable amounts of nornicotine, anabasine or anatabine. NNN (0.53 x 10(-3)% of nicotine dose), NAB (0.68%) and NAT (2.1%) were detected in the urine of the rats treated with the (S)-nicotine and NaNO2. NNN (0.47 x 10(-3)% of dose), but not NAB or NAT, was present in the urine of the rats treated with synthetic (R,S)-nicotine and NaNO2. NNN probably formed via nitrosation of metabolically formed nornicotine. These results demonstrate for the first time that endogenous formation of tobacco-specific nitrosamines occurs in rats treated with tobacco alkaloids and NaNO2. The potential significance of the results with respect to nitrosamine formation in people who use tobacco products or nicotine replacement therapy is discussed.

Analysis of human urine for pyridine-N-oxide metabolites of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone, a tobacco-specific lung carcinogen.

4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) is a potent pulmonary carcinogen in rodents and is believed to be a causative factor for lung cancer in smokers. NNK also may be involved in oral cancer etiology in users of smokeless tobacco products. Pyridine-N-oxidation of NNK and its major metabolite, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL), produces NNK-N-oxide and NNAL-N-oxide, respectively, which are detoxification products of NNK metabolism and are excreted in the urine of rodents and primates. Our goal is to develop a panel of urinary biomarkers to assess the metabolic activation and detoxification of NNK in humans. In this study, we developed methodology to analyze human urine for NNK-N-oxide and NNAL-N-oxide. The key step in the method was conversion of the N-oxides to NNK and NNAL by treatment with Proteus mirabilis. The resulting samples were then analyzed essentially by methods that we have described previously. 4-(Methylnitrosamino)-4-(3-pyridyl-N-oxide)-1-butanol (iso-NNAL-N-oxide) was used as internal standard. Levels of NNAL-N-oxide in smokers' urine ranged from 0.06 to 1.4 pmol/mg creatinine, mean +/- SD 0.53 +/- 0.36 pmol/mg creatinine. Its presence was confirmed by high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry. NNK-N-oxide was not detected in smokers' urine. Levels of NNAL-N-oxide in the urine of smokeless tobacco users ranged from 0.02 to 1.2 pmol/mg creatinine, mean +/- SD 0.41 +/- 0.35 pmol/mg creatinine. The amounts of NNAL-N-oxide in urine were less than 20% of those of [4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)but-1-yl]-beta-O-D-glucosiduronic acid (NNAL-Gluc) and were approximately 50% as great as those of free NNAL. These results demonstrate that pyridine-N-oxidation is a relatively minor detoxification pathway of NNK and NNAL in humans. The method was applied to analysis of urine from 11 smokers who consumed a diet containing watercress. In an earlier study (S.S. Hecht et al., Cancer Epidemiol., Biomarkers & Prev., 4: 877-884, 1995), we showed that consumption of watercress, a source of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), caused an increase in urinary excretion of NNAL plus NNAL-Gluc. This was attributed to inhibition of alpha-hydroxylation of NNK by PEITC, as seen in rodents in which PEITC also inhibits the pulmonary carcinogenicity of NNK. However, PEITC also could have inhibited pyridine-N-oxidation of NNK and NNAL. The urine of these smokers was analyzed for NNAL-N-oxide. The results demonstrated that watercress consumption had no effect on levels of NNAL-N-oxide in urine, supporting the conclusion that PEITC does inhibit the metabolic activation of NNK in humans.

Inhibitory effects of 6-phenylhexyl isothiocyanate on 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone metabolic activation and lung tumorigenesis in rats.

This study examined the effects of 6-phenylhexyl isothiocyanate (PHITC) on lung tumorigenesis in F344 rats induced by the tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK). Two biomarkers of NNK metabolism, 4-hydroxy-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (HPB)-releasing hemoglobin adducts and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) and its glucuronide (NNAL-Gluc) in urine, were also quantified during the course of the tumor induction experiment. Rats were divided into groups as follows: (1) NNK, 2 p.p.m. in drinking water, 60 rats; (2) NNK, 2 p.p.m. in drinking water and PHITC, 1 micromol/g NIH-07 diet, 60 rats; (3) PHITC, 1 micromol/g NIH-07 diet, 20 rats; (4) control, 20 rats. PHITC was added to the diet for 1 week prior to and during 111 weeks of NNK treatment. There were no effects of PHITC on body weight, mortality, blood chemistry or hematology. Seventy percent of the rats treated with NNK had adenoma or adenocarcinoma of the lung. In the rats treated with NNK plus PHITC, the total percent incidence of lung tumors was 26% (P < 0.01 compared with NNK). PHITC had no effect on the total incidence of exocrine pancreatic tumors induced by NNK. The rats treated with PHITC and NNK had significantly lower levels of HPB-releasing hemoglobin adducts throughout the course of the bioassay than did those treated with NNK alone and significantly higher levels of NNAL plus NNAL-Gluc excreted in urine at two time points during the bioassay. These results demonstrate that near lifetime administration of PHITC to rats strongly inhibits the metabolic activation and lung tumorigenicity of NNK.

Complete inhibition of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone-induced rat lung tumorigenesis and favorable modification of biomarkers by phenethyl isothiocyanate.

Phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), which occurs in certain cruciferous vegetables, was tested for its ability to inhibit lung tumorigenesis in rats induced by the tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) in a study involving virtually lifelong administration of both compounds. In addition, two biomarkers of NNK metabolism [4-hydroxy-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone-releasing hemoglobin adducts and 4-(methylnitrosamino-1-3-pyridyl-1-butanol and its glucuronide in urine] were quantified in randomly selected rats during the course of the study. The rats were assigned to groups as follows: NNK, 2 ppm in drinking water, 60 rats; NNK, 2 ppm in drinking water and PEITC, 3 micromol/g NIH-07 diet, 60 rats; PEITC, 3 micromol/g NIH-07 diet, 20 rats; and untreated controls, 20 rats. NNK was added to the drinking water for 111 weeks and PEITC to the diet for 1 prior to NNK administration and then throughout the 111-week course of treatment. There were no significant differences in body weights or survival among the groups. There were no significant effects of PEITC on blood chemistry or hematology. NNK induced lung tumors (adenoma and/or adenocarcinoma) in 70% of the rats. In the group treated with NNK plus PEITC, 5% of the rats had lung tumors, which was not different from that of control rats. PEITC also appeared to inhibit progression of benign to malignant pancreatic tumors. At intervals during the study, blood was withdrawn from selected rats, and 4-hydroxy-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone-releasing hemoglobin adducts, which are formed upon metabolic activation of NNK, were quantified. The hemoglobin adducts were significantly repressed throughout the study in the rats treated with NNK plus PEITC compared to those treated with NNK. The 24-h urine sample of several rats was analyzed for 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol glucuronide. A 4-6-fold increase in the sum of these metabolites was observed in the rats treated with NNK plus PEITC compared to those treated with NNK. This is also consistent with inhibition of metabolic activation of NNK by PEITC. Collectively, the results of this study provide strong evidence for the efficacy of PEITC as a chemopreventive agent against NNK-induced pulmonary carcinogenesis in rats and indicate that two biomarkers of NNK metabolism, measurable in tobacco consumers, can be modulated in a predictable way by PEITC administration.

Metabolites of a tobacco-specific nitrosamine, 4-(methylnitrosamino)- 1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), in the urine of smokeless tobacco users: relationship between urinary biomarkers and oral leukoplakia.

Two metabolites of the carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone were quantified in the urine of smokeless tobacco users. The metabolites are 4-(methylnitrosamino) -1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) and [4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl) but-1-yl]-beta-O-D-glucosiduronic acid (NNAL-Gluc). The study population consisted of 47 male nonsmokers, of whom 23 were snuff dippers, 13 were tobacco chewers, 3 were users of both products, and 8 were nonusers. The levels of NNAL-Gluc in urine ranged from 0.14-30.3 pmol/mg creatinine with a mean +/- SD of 3.47 +/- 5.86, whereas the levels of NNAL ranged from 0.02-8.73 pmol/mg creatinine with a mean +/- SD of 0.92 +/- 1.59. The mean levels of NNAL-Gluc and NNAL were not significantly different from those measured in a previous study of smokers. The levels of NNAL-Gluc were significantly higher in snuff dippers than in tobacco chewers. The ratio of NNAL-Gluc:NNAL was higher in snuff dippers than in tobacco chewers or smokers. There was no indication of two phenotypes of the NNAL-Gluc:NNAL ratio in smokeless tobacco users, in contrast to previous observations in smokers. Of the 39 smokeless tobacco users in this study, 16 presented with oral leukoplakia. When the total levels of NNAL-Gluc, NNAL, or NNAL-Gluc + NNAL were divided into tertiles, there was a significant association between the presence of leukoplakia and increasing levels of these metabolites; a similar relationship was found between urinary cotinine and leukoplakia. The results of this study demonstrate that there is significant uptake of carcinogenic nitrosamines in smokeless tobacco users, and that such products are not harmless alternatives to cigarettes. Moreover, the urinary biomarkers NNAL-Gluc, NNAL, and cotinine were associated with the presence of leukoplakia, which provides biochemical support for the role of smokeless tobacco products as a cause of oral leukoplakia.

Effects of watercress consumption on metabolism of a tobacco-specific lung carcinogen in smokers.

Epidemiological studies indicate that vegetable consumption protects against lung cancer in humans, but the protective constituents have not been identified. Phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), which is release upon chewing of watercress (nasturtium officinale), is a chemopreventive agent against lung cancer induced by the tobacco-specific lung carcinogen 4- (methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl-1-butanone (NNK) in rats and mice. PEITC inhibits the carcinogenicity of NNK by inhibiting its metabolic activation and thereby increasing the levels of detoxified metabolites excreted in urine. In this study, our goal was to determine whether watercress consumption would modify NNK metabolism in smokers. Eleven smokers maintained constant smoking habits and avoided cruciferous vegetables and other sources of isothiocyanates throughout the study. They donated 24-h urine samples on 3 consecutive days (baseline period). One to 3 days later, they consumed 2 ounces (56.8 g) of watercress at each meal for 3 days and donated 24-h urine samples on each of these days (watercress consumption period). One and 2 weeks later, they again donated 24-h urine samples on 2-3 consecutive days (follow-up periods). The samples were analyzed for two metabolites of NNK; 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) and [4-methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)but-1-yl]-beta-omega-D-glucosiduro nic acid (NNAL- Gluc). NNAL-Gluc is believed to be a detoxification product of NNK. The urine samples were also analyzed for PEITC-NAC, a metabolite of PEITC. Minimum exposure to PEITC during the watercress consumption period averaged 19-38 mg/day. Seven of the 11 subjects had increased levels of urinary NNAL plus NNAL-Gluc on days 2 and 3 of the watercress consumption period, compared to the baseline period. Overall, the increase in urinary NNAL plus NNAL-Gluc in this period was significant [mean +/- SD 0.924 +/- 1.12 nmol/24 h (33.5%); P < 0.01]. Urinary levels of NNAl plus NNAL-Gluc returned to near baseline levels in the follow-up periods. The percentage of increase in urinary NNAL plus NNAL-Gluc during days 2 and 3 of the watercress consumption period correlated with intake of PEITC during this period, as measured by total urinary PEITC-NAC (r = 0.62; P = 0.04). The results of this study support our hypothesis that PEITC inhibits this oxidative metabolism of NNK in humans, as seen in rodents, and support further development of PEITC as a chemopreventive agent against lung cancer. This is the first study to report an effect of vegetable consumption on metabolism of a lung carcinogen in humans.