New Aminobiphenylcysteine Derivatives in Globin and Urine of Rats Dosed with 4‑Aminobiphenyl, a Tobacco Smoke Carcinogen

• Published in: Chemical research in toxicology 2023-03, Vol.36 (3), p.430-437
• Main Authors: Linhart, Igor, Hanzlíková, Iveta, Mráz, Jaroslav, Dušková, Šárka
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aminobiphenyl Compounds - chemistry; Animals; Carcinogens - chemistry; Cysteine - chemistry; Globins - chemistry; Rats; Smoke; Tobacco Smoke Pollution
• ISSN: 0893-228X; 1520-5010; 1520-5010
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrestox.2c00366

The 4-biphenylnitrenium ion (BPN), a reactive metabolic intermediate of the tobacco smoke carcinogen 4-aminobiphenyl (4-ABP), can react with nucleophilic sulfanyl groups in glutathione (GSH) as well as in proteins. The main site of attack of these S-nucleophiles was predicted using simple orientational rules of aromatic nucleophilic substitution. Thereafter, a series of presumptive 4-ABP metabolites and adducts with cysteine were synthesized, namely, S-(4-amino-3-biphenyl)­cysteine (ABPC), N-acetyl-S-(4-amino-3-biphenyl)­cysteine (4-amino-3-biphenylmercapturic acid, ABPMA), S-(4-acetamido-3-biphenyl)­cysteine (AcABPC), and N-acetyl-S-(4-acetamido-3-biphenyl)­cysteine (4-acetamido-3-biphenylmercapturic acid, AcABPMA). Then, globin and urine of rats dosed with a single ip dose of 4-ABP (27 mg/kg b.w.) was analyzed by HPLC-ESI-MS2. ABPC was identified in acid-hydrolyzed globin at levels of 3.52 ± 0.50, 2.74 ± 0.51, and 1.25 ± 0.12 nmol/g globin (mean ± S.D.; n = 6) on days 1, 3, and 8 after dosing, respectively. In the urine collected on day 1 (0–24 h) after dosing, excretion of ABPMA, AcABPMA, and AcABPC amounted to 1.97 ± 0.88, 3.09 ± 0.75, and 3.69 ± 1.49 nmol/kg b.w. (mean ± S.D.; n = 6), respectively. On day 2, excretion of the metabolites decreased by one order of magnitude followed by a slower decrease on day 8. Regarding the possible formation of AcABPC from ABPC, N-acetylation of the amino group at the biphenyl moiety prior to that at cysteine appears to be very unlikely. Thus, the structure of AcABPC indicates the involvement of N-acetyl-4-biphenylnitrenium ion (AcBPN) and/or its reactive ester precursors in in vivo reactions with GSH and protein-bound cysteine. ABPC in globin might become an alternative biomarker of the dose of toxicologically relevant metabolic intermediates of 4-ABP.