Effects of dioxane on cytochrome P450 enzymes in liver, kidney, lung and nasal mucosa of rat.

The effect of acute and chronic dioxane administration on hepatic, renal, pulmonary and nasal mucosa P450 enzymes and liver toxicity were investigated in male rats. The acute treatment consisted of two doses (2 g/kg) of dioxane given for 2 days by gavage, whereas the chronic treatment consisted of 1.5% of dioxane in drinking water for 10 days. Both the acute and chronic dioxane treatments induced cytochrome P450 2B1/2- and P450 2E1-dependent microsomal monooxygenase activities (pentoxyresorufin O-depentylase and p-nitrophenol hydroxylase) in the liver, whereas in the kidney and nasal mucosa, only the 2E1 marker activities were enhanced. In addition in the liver, an induction of 2alpha-testosterone hydroxylase (associated with the constitutive and hormone-dependent P450 2C11) was also revealed, whereas the hepatic P450 4A-dependent omega-lauric acid hydroxylase was not enhanced by any dioxane treatment. These inductions were mostly confirmed by western blot analysis of liver, kidney and nasal mucosa microsomes. In the lung, no alteration of P450 activities was observed. To assess the mechanism of 2E1 induction, the hepatic, renal and nasal mucosa 2E1 mRNA levels were also examined. Following two kinds of dioxane administration, in the liver the 2E1 induction was not accompanied by a significant alteration of 2E1 mRNA levels, while both in the kidney and nasal mucosa the 2E1 mRNA increased about 2- to 3-fold, indicating an organ-specific regulation of this P450 isoform. Furthermore, dioxane was unable to alter the plasma alanine aminotransferase activity and hepatic glutathione (GSH) content, examined as an index of toxicity, when it was administered into rats with P450 2B1/2 and 2E1 preinduced by phenobarbital or fasting pretreatment. These results support the lack of or a poor formation of reactive and toxic intermediates during the biotrasformation of this solvent, even when its metabolism was enhanced by P450 inducers. The chronic administration of dioxane was also unable to induce the palmitoyl CoA oxidase, a marker of peroxisome proliferation, excluding this as a way to explain its toxicity. Thus, although the mechanism of dioxane carcinogenicity remains unclear, the present results suggest that the induction of 2E1 following a prolonged administration of dioxane might provide oxygen radical species, and thereby contribute to its organ-specific toxicity.

Stereochemical aspects in the 4-vinylcyclohexene biotransformation with rat liver microsomes and purified p450s. monoepoxides and diols.

The stereochemical course of the biotransformation of 4-vinylcyclohexene (VCH, 1) by liver microsomes from male and female control and induced rats and purified rat P450 2B1 and 2E1 has been determined. The epoxidation of 1, catalyzed by male microsomes, occurs on both the endo- and exocyclic double bond to give four isomeric epoxides, cis-4-vinylcyclohexene 1,2-epoxide (2), trans-4-vinylcyclohexene 1,2-epoxide (3), (4R*,7S*)-4-vinylcyclohexene 7,8-epoxide (4), and (4R*,7R*)-4-vinylcyclohexene 7,8-epoxide (5). On the other hand, microsomes from female rats catalyzed primarily the endocyclic epoxidation. The stereoselectivity of this process was strongly dependent on gender and P450 induction. Only the phenobarbital and pyrazole, at lower levels, were able to enhance the epoxidation of 1 and mostly on the endocyclic double bond. Also, P450 2E1 and 2B1 in a reconstituted system were able to perform the epoxidation of 1 primarily on its endocyclic double bond. The metabolites, cis- and trans-4-vinylcyclohexene 1,2-epoxide (2 and 3, respectively) and the isomeric 4-vinylcyclohexene 7,8-epoxides (4 and 5), were rapidly biotransformed into the corresponding vicinal diols by mEH-catalyzed hydrolysis. The reaction of the endocyclic epoxides occurred with good substrate diastereo- and enantioselectivity favoring the hydrolysis of epoxides (1S,2R,4S)-3 and (1R,2S,4S)-2 to give, before 50% conversion, selectively (1R,2R,4S)-diol (6). At variance, the hydrolysis of the exocyclic epoxides was characterized by a high level of substrate enantioselection associated with a very low, if any, level of substrate diastereoselection, the two epoxides, (4R,7S)-4 and (4R,7R)-5, being hydrolyzed practically with the same rate. On the basis of the major resistance to mEH hydrolysis, the endocyclic epoxides, (1R,2S,4R)-3 and (1S,2R,4R)-2, are expected to be further oxidized, in a stereochemical manner, to the specific mutagenic diepoxides which are thought to play a crucial role in VCH ovotoxicity. Thus, VCH ovotoxicity may be markedly affected by the reactivity of the diepoxidic stereoisomers formed and detoxicated.

Stereochemical course of the biotransformation of isoprene monoepoxides and of the corresponding diols with liver microsomes from control and induced rats.

The stereochemical course of the biotransformation of isoprene by liver enzymes from control and induced rats has been determined. Between the two primarily formed metabolites, 2-methyl-2-vinyloxirane (2) and isopropenyloxirane (3), epoxide 2 is rapidly transformed into the corresponding vicinal racemic diol 4, predominantly through a nonenzymatic hydrolysis reaction. At variance, epoxide 3 is mainly biotransformed into the diol 5 by microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEH) to give, before 50% conversion, selectively (R)-3-methyl-3-butene-1,2-diol, 5. The hydrolysis competes with the oxidation of the monoepoxide 3 to the corresponding diepoxides 6. Epoxidation of 3 catalyzed by P450 is characterized by a moderate stereoselectivity which, however, was strongly dependent on P450 induction. Treatment of rats with phenobarbital (PB) (an inducer of P450 2B1 and 3A) leads to threo-(2R,2'R)-6 with a high selectivity, while with pyrazole (Pyr) (an inducer of P450 2E1), the formation of both erythro-(2S,2'R)- and threo-(2R,2'R)-6 is favored. The mEH-catalyzed hydrolysis of diepoxides 6 proceeds, although with a moderate turnover rate, with substrate and product diastereo- and enantioselection by nucleophilic attack on the more substituted oxirane ring to give selectively (2R,3S)-3,4-epoxy-2-methyl-1,2-diol (7). Both diols 4 and 5 may be further oxidized on their double bond by P450. These reactions, which occur at a slow rate and are dependent on P450 induction with PB and Pyr, may be negligible in the overall isoprene biotransformation. On the other hand, the epoxydiol 7, which is formed by hydrolysis of diepoxides 6 but it is itself not hydrolyzable, may play an important role in the isoprene toxicity.

Steric strain and reactivity: electrophilic bromination of trans-(1-methyl-2-adamantylidene)-1-methyladamantane

trans-(1-Methyl-2-adamantylidene)-1-methyladamantane (DMAD, 1b) reacts with Br(2) in chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents to give either a bromonium polybromide ion pair or a substitution product, depending on bromine concentration. The first intermediate is a 1:1 pi-complex having K(f) = 1.85(0.19) x 10(3) M(-)(1) at 25 degrees C, which rapidly evolves to the bromonium tribromide ion pair. At high bromine concentration, which shifts all equilibria involving the counteranion of the ion pair intermediate toward the pentabromide species, this bromonium ion is stable and unable to further evolve into products. Temperature-dependent NMR spectra indicate chemical exchange of Br(+) between the sides of the plane containing the two carbons of the bromonium ion. At very low bromine concentration, no ionic intermediate is detected and the reaction rapidly yields a rearranged substitution product, identified as 10. Under these conditions the disappearance of the pi-complex follows a first-order rate law, and the observed rate constant increases with increasing olefin concentration, showing that product formation implies Br(-) as counteranion of the ionic intermediate, whose formation is a reversible process. A comparison of the results reported here for the bromination of 1b with those previously found for the parent olefin, adamantylideneadamantane (1a), shows that steric strain markedly affects the reactivity of the double bond.

Substituent dependence of the diastereofacial selectivity in iodination and bromination of glycals and related cyclic enol ethers.

The stereochemical course of the electrophilic iodination and bromination of tri-O-benzyl-D-glucal under various conditions has been compared to that of substituted dihydropyrans 2-5. IN(3) addition in acetonitrile affords trans-alpha-iodoazides (80-87%), besides small amounts of trans-beta-adducts, in the presence or the absence of benzyloxy substituents at C-3 or C-4, and in agreement with bridged iodonium ion intermediates. In contrast, the diastereofacial selectivity of bromine addition in dichloroethane going through open bromo oxocarbenium ions depends strongly on the substituents. Whereas the trans-alpha-dibromides are the main (85-95%) adducts in the absence of C-4 and C-5 substituents, in their presence a moderate to exclusive selectivity for cis-alpha-addition (60-99%) is observed. The predominance of trans-alpha-addition is again observed whatever the substituents when the bromination is carried out in the same solvent but with a tribromide ion salt, supporting a concerted addition of the two bromine atoms under these conditions. Finally, bromine addition in methanol exhibits a completely different behavior with the nonselective formation of trans-alpha- and trans-beta-methoxybromides and a small dependence on the substituents. In agreement with the absence of azide trapping of any cationic intermediate, it is concluded that these brominations which do not go through an ionic intermediate are concerted additions of bromine and methanol with very loose rate- and product-determining transition states. Finally, the substituent conformation at C-4 influences drastically the stereoselectivity in all these brominations. Evidence for alpha-anomeric control of the nucleophile approach at C-1 is given by the highly predominant formation of alpha-adducts, except in the methanolic bromination. The factors determining the versatile selectivity of the electrophile approach are discussed in terms of PPFMO theory and of the special mechanisms of glycal reactions.

Stereochemistry of the biotransformation of 1-hexene and 2-methyl-1-hexene with rat liver microsomes and purified P450s of rats and humans.

The epoxidation of 1-hexene (1a) and 2-methyl-1-hexene (1b), two hydrocarbons present in the ambient air as pollutants, is catalyzed by some human and rat P450 enzymes. The enantioselectivities of these processes, when the reactions were carried out using rat and human liver microsomal preparations, were modest and dependent on both P450 composition and substrate concentrations. Various P450 isoforms (rat P450 2B1 and human P450 2C10 and 2A6) catalyzed the double bond oxidation of 1a and 1b with different product enantioselectivities. In the case of 1a, a moderately enantioselective hydroxylation at the allylic C(3) with the formation of 1-hexen-3-ol (4a) by microsomes from control or preinduced rats was also observed. The oxidation of this metabolite was, in turn, catalyzed by rat liver microsomes and mainly by rat P450 2C11, leading exclusively to the formation of 1-hexen-3-one, with no double bond epoxidation being observed. The stereochemical course of the microsomal epoxide hydrolase-catalyzed hydrolysis of the epoxy alcohols, threo-(+/-)- and erythro-(+/-)-1, 2-epoxyhexan-3-ol, theoretically expected to be formed from 4a, has been investigated.