Urinary metabolites of workers exposed to nitrotoluenes.

Nitrotoluenes are important intermediates in the chemical industry. 2,6-Dinitrotoluene (26DNT), 2,4-dinitrotoluene (24DNT) and 2-nitrotoluene (2NT) are carcinogenic in animals and possibly carcinogenic in humans. Thus, it is important to develop methods to biomonitor workers exposed to such chemicals. The authors have monitored the air and urine metabolite levels for a group of workers in China exposed to 24DNT, 26DNT, 2NT and 4-nitrotoluene (4NT). The metabolites 2,4-dinitrobenzylalcohol (24DNBAlc), 2-amino-4-nitrobenzoic acid (2A4NBA), 4-amino-2-nitrobenzoic acid (4A2NBA) and 2,4-dinitrobenzoic acid (24DNBA) resulting from exposure to 24DNT were found in 89, 88, 91 and 78% of the exposed workers, respectively. The metabolites 2,6-dinitrobenzylalcohol (26DNBAlc) and 2,6-dinitrobenzoic acid resulting from 26DNT exposure were found in 99 and 86% of the exposed workers, respectively. Quantitatively, 2A4NBA, 4A2NBA and 26DNBAlc were the major metabolites. The nitrobenzoic acids were the major metabolites resulting from exposure to 2NT and 4NT and were present in 96 and 73% of the exposed workers, respectively. Air concentrations of DNT and 2NT did not correlate with the levels of metabolites in the urine. In conclusion, the dinitrobenzyl alcohols and aminonitrobenzoic acids determined in the urine provided a good marker for recently absorbed dose and were intrinsically related to the bioactivation and detoxification pathways of DNT. Air measurements were not a good measure to predict internal exposure.

Dermal absorption and disposition of musk ambrette, musk ketone and musk xylene in human subjects.

Musk ambrette, musk ketone and musk xylene have a long history of use as fragrance ingredients, although musk ambrette is no longer used in fragrances. As part of the review of the safety of these uses, it is important to consider the systemic exposure that results from these uses. Since the primary route of exposure to fragrances is on the skin, dermal doses of carbon-14 labelled musk ambrette, musk ketone and musk xylene were applied to the backs (100 cm2) of healthy human volunteers (two to three subjects) at a nominal dose level of 10-20 microg/cm2 and excess material removed at 6 h. Means of 2.0% musk ambrette, 0.5% musk ketone and 0.3% musk xylene were absorbed based on the amounts excreted in urine and faeces during 5 days. Most of the material was excreted in the urine with less than 10% of the amount excreted being found in faeces. No radioactivity was detected in any plasma sample, consistent with low absorption, and no radioactivity was detected (<0.02% dose) in skin strips taken at 120 h. Analysis of urine samples indicated that all three compounds were excreted mainly as single glucuronide conjugates. The aglycones were chromatographically different, but of similar polarity, to the major rat metabolites excreted in bile also as glucuronides.

Pharmacokinetic studies of the herbicide and antitumor compound oryzalin in mice.

Oryzalin [3,5-dinitro-N,N-di(n-propyl)benzensulfanilamide] is a widely used sulfonamide herbicide that selectively inhibits microtubule formation in algae and higher plants. Oryzalin has also been found to be an inhibitor of intracellular free Ca2+ signaling in mammalian cells and to have antitumor activity in animals. Despite its widespread use there have been no reports of the pharmacokinetics of oryzalin in animals or man. A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed to measure oryzalin in biological fluids. Following repeated daily administration of oryzalin to mice by the i.p. route at 200 mg/kg, or the p.o. route at 300 mg/kg, peak plasma concentrations of up to 25 micrograms/ml were achieved. The half life for oryzalin in plasma of mice given i.p. oryzalin was 14.3 h with a clearance of 0.07 l/h. A major metabolite of oryzalin, N-depropyloryzalin, was identified in plasma and its structure confirmed by mass spectral analysis (M+H+ = 305). This metabolite was cleared more rapidly than oryzalin with a half life of 1.15 h and a clearance of 0.17 l/h. N-Depropyloryzalin caused similar inhibition of colony formation by HT-29 colon cancer cells as oryzalin with IC50 = 8 micrograms/ml. The results suggest that oryzalin and its N-depropyl metabolite can inhibit tumor colony formation at pharmacologically achievable levels.

Hepatic DNA adducts and production of mutagenic urine in 2,6-dinitrotoluene-treated B6C3F1 male mice.

The hepatocarcinogen 2,6-dinitrotoluene (2,6-DNT) is an intermediate in the chemical synthesis of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene and polyurethane products and can contaminate the waste stream emitted by these industries. In this study, the production of mutagenic urine metabolites and the formation of hepatic DNA adducts is examined in the B6C3F1 male mouse. Animals were administered 50 mg/kg 2,6-DNT by gavage for 3 consecutive days. No body or liver weight effects were observed in treated animals. Following sacrifice, the livers were excised and DNA isolated for examination of 2,6-DNT-derived DNA adducts. During 2,6-DNT treatment, urine was collected, concentrated, and tested for mutagenicity in the Salmonella reversion bioassay. Mutagenic urine metabolites (469+/-53 revertants/ml urine) were excreted from B6C3F1 mice treated with 2,6-DNT and were comparable to results obtained for CD-1 mice and Fischer 344 rats. Two distinct hepatic DNA adducts (0.8+/-0.1 and 0.6+/-0.1 RAL/10(8) nucleotides) were detected in B6C3F1 mice by (32)P-postlabeling and thin layer chromatography which differed from the four adducts observed in hepatic DNA from 2,6-DNT-treated Fischer 344 rats.

Further studies on the urinary metabolites of 2,4-dinitrotoluene and 2,6-dinitrotoluene in the male Wistar rat.

1. Conjugates of 2,4-dinitrobenzyl alcohol (2,4-DNB) and 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol (2,6-DNB), which were major urinary metabolites of the male Wistar rat dosed orally with 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT) or 2,6-dinitrotoluene (2,6-DNT), were examined by hplc using potassium 2,4-dinitrobenzyl glucuronide (2,4-DNB-G), potassium 2,6-dinitrobenzyl glucuronide (2,6-DNB-G), pyridinium 2,4-dinitrobenzyl sulphate (2,4-DNB-S), and pyridinium 2,6-dinitrobenzyl sulphate (2,6-DNB-S) as authentic compounds. Other metabolites were also examined by hplc. 2. Conjugates detected from urine following administration of 2,4-DNT and 2,6-DNT were 2,4-DNB-G and 2,6-DNB-G, which accounted for about 10.7 and 17.4% of the administered dose respectively. No peaks corresponding to pyridinium 2,4-DNB-S and pyridinium 2,6-DNB-S were detected in urine samples. 3. 2-Amino-4-nitrobenzoic acid (0.71%), 4-amino-2-nitrobenzoic acid (0.52%) and 4-acetylamino-2-nitrobenzoic acid (3.9%), in addition to known metabolites 4-amino-2-nitrotoluene (0.04%), 2,4-DNB (0.25%), 2,4-dinitrobenzoic acid (6.9%) and 4-acetylamino-2-aminobenzoic acid (3.4%), were detected in ether extracts of urine of rat given 2,4-DNT. 2,6-Dinitrobenzoic acid (0.17%) and two known metabolites, 2-amino-6-nitrotoluene (0.44%) and 2,6-DNB (0.53%), were detected in ether extracts of urine of rat given 2,6-DNT.

Monitoring of Dinitrotoluene and its metabolites in urine by spectrophotometry of their coupled aryldiazonium salts.

A rapid, accurate method was developed for monitoring employee absorption of dinitrotoluene (DNT). The method reduces DNT and its metabolites in urine to primary arylamines, diazotizes them with nitrous acid, then couples the diazo compounds with N-(1-Naphthyl)ethylenediamine, producing a colored complex. Spectrophotometric analysis of the colored complexes at 550 nm provides a measure of DNT absorption. The chemistry prevents interferences from all but primary arylamines and compounds reduced to primary arylamines. A six-month monitoring program of employees at a DNT manufacturing facility was conducted. Control samples from individuals not exposed to DNT were used to define an exposure indication level. The exposure indication level was used to correlate DNT exposure with job description or individual activity and was defined as apparent DNT and metabolite concentrations greater than 38 micrograms/ml. Group exposure also was indicated and associated with plant activity. Job description were ranked according to a rational evaluation of exposure potential and correlated well with monitoring data.

Atrazine treatment potentiates excretion of mutagenic urine in 2,6-dinitrotoluene-treated Fischer 344 rats.

Atrazine (ATZ), an s-triazine herbicide, is a widespread environmental contaminant. The hepatocarcinogenic component of technical grade dinitrotoluene, 2,6-dinitrotoluene (2,6-DNT, 19.5%), is a byproduct of trinitrotoluene synthesis and is found at production sites. This study explores the effect of ATZ treatment on the bioactivation of the promutagen, 2,6-DNT. Male Fischer 344 rats (5 weeks old) were administered 50 mg/kg of ATZ by gavage for 5 weeks. At 1, 3, and 5 weeks, both DMSO-control and ATZ-pretreated rats were treated p.o. with 75 mg/kg of 2,6-DNT and were housed in metabolism cages for urine collection. Sulfatase- and beta-glucuronidase-treated, concentrated urine was bioassayed for urinary mutagens in a microsuspension modification of the Salmonella assay with and without metabolic activation. No significant change in mutagen excretion was observed in ATZ-treated rats; however, an elevation in direct-acting urine mutagens from rats receiving ATZ and 2,6-DNT at weeks 1 (359 +/- 68 vs. 621 +/- 96 revertants/ml) and 5 (278 +/- 46 vs. 667 +/- 109 revertants/ml) of treatment was observed. The increase in production of urinary mutagens was accompanied by an elevation in small intestinal nitroreductase activity. Increases in large intestinal nitroreductase and beta-glucuronidase were observed after 5 weeks. There was no apparent effect of ATZ following 5 weeks of treatment on the production of 2,6-DNT-derived hepatic DNA adducts. ATZ treatment modifies intestinal enzymes responsible for promutagen bioactivation, and potentiates the excretion of mutagenic urine in 2,6-DNT-treated animals.

Role of the intestinal microbiota in the activation of the promutagen 2,6-dinitrotoluene to mutagenic urine metabolites and comparison of GI enzyme activities in germ-free and conventionalized male Fischer 344 rats.

After male germ-free and conventionalized Fischer 344 rats were administered per os (p.o.) 75 mg/kg 2,6-DNT, intestinal nitroreductase, beta-glucuronidase, and azo reductase activities were lower in the cecum and large intestine of germ-free animals. However, there was no significant difference in the small intestinal nitroreductase and azo reductase compared to the conventionalized counterparts. This indicated a potential mucosal source for the enzymes. Urines from germ-free rats (1144 +/- 64 revertants/ml) were less mutagenic than those from conventionalized animals (1467 +/- 171 revertants/ml) in Salmonella typhimurium strain TA98 without S9. In the presence of S9, urine from conventionalized animals (894 +/- 56 revertants/ml) was more mutagenic than that from germ-free rats (686 +/- 60 revertants/ml). The presence of the intestinal flora plays an important role in the activation of 2,6-DNT but other metabolic pathways, such as the small intestinal mucosal and/or hepatic enzymes, are present that can generate excreted genotoxicants.

Urinary creatinine excretion is not stable: a new method for assessing urinary toxic substance concentrations.

Urinary concentrations of toxic substances require correction to adjust for the misleading effects of varying states of hydration. The most common method in current use involves calculation of substance-to-creatinine concentration ratios. For accuracy, this method assumes creatinine excretion rates to be stable despite varying rates of urinary flow. However, this underlying assumption has been challenged in recent studies. Our evaluation of separate data regarding individual voids confirmed that creatinine excretion rate depends significantly (p less than .0001) on urinary flow. We calculated a logarithmic regression model identical to one reported previously. The partial correlation coefficient for log flow was .21 after adjusting for inter-individual differences in creatinine excretion rates. We propose a simple method to correct creatinine concentrations in "spot" urine samples for the effects of varying hydration. The new method retains many benefits of the classical correction by substance-creatinine ratios.

Metabolism of 2,6-dinitrotoluene in male Wistar rat.

1. Unchanged 2,6-dinitrotoluene (2,6-DNT), 2-amino-6-nitrotoluene, 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol, 2-amino-6-nitrobenzyl alcohol, conjugated 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol and conjugated 2-amino-6-nitrobenzyl alcohol were detected in urine of male Wistar rats dosed with 2,6-DNT. The major metabolite was conjugated 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol, which accounted for about 1.5% of the dose. 2. Unchanged 2,6-DNT, 2-amino-6-nitrotoluene, 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol, and conjugates of 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol, 2-amino-6-nitrotoluene and 2,6-dinitrobenzaldehyde were detected in the bile of rats dosed with 2,6-DNT. The major metabolite was conjugated 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol, which accounted for 30% of the dose. Conjugates of 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol (major) and 2,6-dinitrobenzaldehyde (minor) were common biliary metabolites in rats dosed with 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol or 2,6-dinitrobenzaldehyde. 3. 2,6-Dinitrobenzyl alcohol and 2,6-dinitrobenzaldehyde were detected by incubating bile from rats given 2,6-DNT with rat intestinal contents under N2. 4. Incubation of 2,6-DNT with hepatic microsomal preparations gave 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol. Incubation of 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol with microsomal plus cytosol preparations gave 2,6-dinitrobenzaldehyde. Incubation of 2,6-dinitrobenzaldehyde with cytosol preparations gave 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol and 2,6-dinitrobenzoic acid. The activities of 2,6-DNT oxidation to 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol, 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol oxidation to 2,6-dinitrobenzaldehyde, 2,6-dinitrobenzaldehyde oxidation to 2,6-dinitrobenzoic acid, and 2,6-dinitrobenzaldehyde reduction to 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol were 22.0, 4.7, 1.3, and 23.3 nmol formed/g liver per min, respectively. 5. These results indicate that 2,6-dinitrobenzaldehyde, an intermediary metabolite of 2,6-DNT in male Wistar rats, is produced either by oxidation of 2,6-DNT in the liver, or by oxidation of 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol formed by hydrolysis of 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol conjugates excreted in the bile, and further indicate that enterohepatic circulation of 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol and 2,6-dinitrobenzaldehyde occurs. This result, together with previous findings, shows that there are metabolic differences, including the biliary excretion of a diol glucuronide of 2,6-dinitrobenzaldehyde and the lack of urinary excretion of 2,6-dinitrobenzoic acid, between 2,4-DNT and 2,6-DNT in male Wistar rat.

Assessing exposure to dinitrotoluene using a biological monitor.

Exposure of workers to dinitrotoluene (DNT) was evaluated at a DNT manufacturing plant. Urine was collected over 72 hours; work diaries were prepared dialy; breathing zone air was sampled; and skin and environmental surfaces were wiped. Chemical analysis was performed using gas chromatography or gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Proportions of urinary DNT and metabolites deviated substantially from those reported in rats exposed to 2,4-DNT; but as with rats, females appeared to excrete considerably more dinitrobenzyl glucuronide. Between persons on any one day and within persons on different days, considerable variation existed in the proportions of metabolites excreted. The peak rate of excretion was likely to occur toward the end of a work shift or shortly afterward. Most urinary metabolites related to exposure during an eight-hour shift had been excreted by the start of work the following day. Estimates of the maximum one-day exposure incurred by a participant in this study ranged from 0.24 to 1.00 mg of technical-grade DNT per kilogram of body weight. A large proportion of the DNT absorbed by DNT operators and loaders, it is suggested, may have entered through the skin or the gastrointestinal tract.

Identification and quantification of urinary metabolites of dinitrotoluenes in occupationally exposed humans.

Rats exposed to technical grade dinitrotoluene (DNT) develop hepatocellular carcinomas. Humans may be exposed to DNT during its manufacture and use. To permit comparisons of human excretion patterns of DNT metabolites with those previously observed in rats, urine specimens were collected over a 72-hr period from workers at a DNT manufacturing plant. Samples were analyzed for 2,4- and 2,6-DNT and putative metabolites by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Urine from workers exposed to DNT contained 2,4- and 2,6-DNT, 2,4- and 2,6-dinitrobenzoic acid, 2,4- and 2,6-dinitrobenzyl glucuronide, 2-amino-4-nitrobenzoic acid, and 2-(N-acetyl)amino-4-nitrobenzoic acid. Excretion of these metabolites peaked near the end of the workshift, but declined to either very low or undetectable concentrations by the start of work the following day. The calculated half-times for elimination of total DNT-related material detected in urine ranged from 1.0 to 2.7 hr, and those of individual metabolites from 0.8 to 4.5 hr. The most abundant metabolites were 2,4-dinitrobenzoic acid and 2-amino-4-nitrobenzoic acid, collectively accounting for 74 to 86% of the DNT metabolites detected. The data indicate that urinary metabolites of DNT in humans are qualitatively similar to those found in rats, but quantitative differences exist in the relative amounts of each metabolite excreted.

Gastrointestinal uptake and blood clearance of antigen in the presence of IgA antibodies.

In selected experiments, IgA antibodies with specificity for dinitrophenyl (DNP) groups appeared to prevent gastrointestinal passage of antigenic fragments of DNP-conjugated protein given orally to mice. The antigen did not, however, pass across the gut as an intact macromolecule even in control animals. IgA was not found to increase the blood clearance of DNP-conjugated protein given intravenously and it is concluded that IgA probably does not have any important role in mediating elimination of macromolecular antigens from the blood.

Biliary excretion and enterohepatic circulation of 2,4-dinitrotoluene metabolites in Fischer-344 rats.

Technical grade dinitrotoluene (DNT) is hepatocarcinogenic when fed to rats. DNT is oxidatively metabolized by hepatic enzymes and reductively metabolized by rat intestinal microflora in vitro. The objectives of the present studies were to determine the importance of bile as a route of excretion for DNT metabolites and to investigate the role of enterohepatic circulation in the metabolism of DNT. The common bile ducts of male and female F-344 rats were cannulated with an uninterrupted cannula at the hepatic and ileal ends. After 24 hr, male rats were given a po dose of 35, 63, or 100 mg 2,4-[14C]DNT/kg; female rats received 35 mg 2,4-[14C]DNT/kg. Immediately prior to dosing, the cannula was snipped and bile was allowed to collect in a glass reservoir, surgically implanted in the peritoneal cavity, which could be sampled externally. In males, excretion of 14C in bile was linearly related to dose. From 9.2 to 29.2 mumol eq of [14C]DNT (approximately 25% of the dose) appeared in bile within 24 hr. Females dosed with 35 mg/kg excreted only 18% of the dose in the bile. Over 90% of the radioactivity in the bile was the glucuronide conjugate of 2,4-dinitrobenzyl alcohol (DNBAlc-G). In comparison to control rats, in which bile flow to the small intestine was uninterrupted, collection of bile decreased the amount of 14C excreted in urine. In both males and females most of the 2,4-DNT dose excreted in the urine was in the form of the oxidized metabolites DNBAlc-G and 2,4-dinitrobenzoic acid. These results indicate that bile is an important route of excretion for 2,4-DNT metabolites and that metabolites excreted in the bile can be reabsorbed from the gut.

Tissue distribution of intravenously injected dinitrophenylated human serum albumin. Effects of specific IgG and IgA antibodies.

After intravenous injection into mice, human serum albumin (HSA) substituted with 35 dinitrophenyl (DNP) groups per molecule rapidly became deposited on and endocytosed by non-parenchymal liver cells. Much was also found outside the reticuloendothelial system, e.g. in heart and skeletal muscle. The relative amount of circulating DNP35HSA taken up diminished with increasing amounts injected. The capacity of DNP35HSA clearance could not be saturated, however. Injection of small amounts (0.14 mg) of DNP35HSA did not result in glomerular deposition, whereas injection of slightly larger amounts (0.7 mg) did. Rabbit IgG anti-DNP increased the entrapment of DNP35HSA in the liver, whereas mouse IgA anti-DNP had less pronounced effects. DNP-HSA conjugates with lesser degree of DNP substitution, which are cleared from the blood at slower rates, became located to the liver to a lesser extent than was DNP35HSA. Rabbit IgG anti-DNP increased the amount taken up by the non-parenchymal liver cells. Mouse IgA anti-DNP did not alter the antigen distribution within the liver; that is, immune complexes formed between IgA anti-DNP and DNP-HSA became located virtually exclusively to the non-parenchymal liver cells.

Metabolism and excretion of 2,4-dinitrotoluene in male and female Fischer 344 rats after different doses.

Female Fischer 344 rats are less susceptible to the hepatocarcinogenic effects of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT) than males. This study is a comparison of the metabolism and excretion of 2,4-DNT in male and female rats after oral doses of 10, 35, or 100 mg of 14C-2,4-DNT per kg. The major route of elimination of 14C after all doses was the urine. 4-(N-Acetyl)amino-2-nitrobenzoic acid (4Ac2NBAcid), 2,4-dinitrobenzoic acid (2,4-DNMBAcid), 2-amino-4-nitrobenzoic acid (2A4NBAcid), and 2,4-dinitrobenzyl alcohol glucuronide (2,4-DNBAlcG) were identified in urine of rats. These four compounds accounted for greater than 85% of the radioactivity excreted in urine. Female rats excreted a significantly greater percentage of the dose in the urine as 2,4-DNBAlcG at doses of 10 or 35 mg/kg when compared to males. Both sexes showed dose-dependent changes in urinary excretion of 2,4-DNT metabolites. Males excreted a smaller percentage of the dose as 2,4-DNBAcid at 100 mg/kg than at 10 or 35 mg/kg. Females excreted less of the dose as 2,4-DNBAcid and 2,4-DNBAlcG at 100 mg/kg than at 10 or 35 mg/kg. The only sex difference in 2,4-DNT metabolism or excretion of sufficient magnitude to account for the sex difference in susceptibility to the hepatocarcinogenic effects of 2,4-DNT was the greater percentage of 2,4-DNT excreted as 2,4-DNBAlcG by female rats at 10 or 35 mg/kg.