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Mice given one of several widely consumed cola drinks in place of drinking water for up to 8 weeks developed significant levels of covalent liver DNA adducts in a time dependent manner, as measured by 32P-postlabeling. These adducts were not detected in mice given tap water or one of 3 non-cola beverages. Adducts chromatographically identical to those induced by cola drinks were detected in mice treated with extracts of nutmeg or mace, spices from the nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans Houttuyn), or with myristicin (1-allyl-5-methoxy-3,4-methylenedioxybenzene), the major spice constituent of nutmeg. In addition, small amounts of adducts derived from the hepatocarcinogen safrole (1-allyl-3,4-methylenedioxybenzene), a minor constituent of nutmeg, were observed. Liver DNA adducts were also detected in fetal liver when pregnant mice were intubated with myristicin. Possible implications of these findings for human health are discussed.

Brain DNA from 20 humans ranging in age from neonatal to 100 years was analyzed by the nuclease P1-enhanced version of the 32P-postlabeling assay for bulky covalently modified nucleotides. A reproducible pattern of three 32P-labeled spots was obtained by thin-layer chromatography followed by autoradiography. Two of these spots increased with age (Mann-Whitney U-test; P < 0.001; comparison of ages < or = 60 years and ages > 60 years). Thus, these spots met the definition of I-compounds. Rat brain DNA exhibited the same two I-spots, whose intensities also increased with animal age (1, 4, and 10 months). In humans, considerable individual variation of brain I-compound levels was observed, especially at ages > 60 years, presumably reflecting environmental, life-style, or genetic factors. This variation was not noted for brain DNA of laboratory rats. Thus, human brain DNA undergoes progressive covalent modifications with aging.

The effect of environmental pollution on DNA adducts in humans was analysed in a highly industrialized area of Poland. Coded samples of white blood cell DNA were analysed by 32P-postlabelling and immunoassay from three populations: coke workers, exposed occupationally to high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); residents of the towns around cokeries (local controls); and residents from rural Poland (countryside controls). Local controls exhibited adduct levels and patterns similar to those of coke workers, while the levels in rural controls were 2-3 times lower. The results, based on coded samples and two different assays, suggest that environmental pollution is likely to contribute to the adduct levels in local controls. Furthermore, the results show that the levels of aromatic adducts in white blood cell DNA do not linearily relate to ambient air levels of PAHs but other sources such as food may be important contributors.

The effects of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and related compounds on the specific patterns of age-dependent I-compound DNA adducts in the liver of male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were determined by the 32P-postlabeling assay. In female rats, TCDD causes a dose-dependent decrease of several individual and total hepatic I-compound levels after administration of 1 and 5 micrograms/kg per week for 4 weeks. In contrast, no such effects were observed in male Sprague-Dawley rats treated with the 5 micrograms/kg dose level of TCDD. The relative effects of TCDD, 1,2,3,7,8-pentachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD) and 1,2,4,7,8-PCDD on hepatic I-compound levels in the susceptible female Sprague-Dawley rats were determined using a dose of 5 micrograms/kg per week for 4 weeks. The two compounds which are substituted in all four lateral positions, namely TCDD and 1,2,3,7,8-PCDD, caused a significant decrease in hepatic I-compound levels, whereas 1,2,4,7,8-PCDD which is substituted in only three lateral positions was inactive. The structure-activity relationships observed for the effects of these compounds on hepatic I-compounds correlated with their corresponding structure-Ah receptor binding and structure-toxicity relationships. The results are therefore consistent with a role for the Ah receptor in the TCDD-mediated reduction in hepatic I-compound levels in female Sprague-Dawley rats. These results and data from previous studies demonstrate a correlation between the susceptibility of an organ/species to the carcinogenic effects of TCDD and the reduction of I-compound levels. The significance of this correlation in the development of TCDD-induced carcinogenesis has not been delineated.

White blood cell DNA adducts were measured in coke workers, local controls and countryside controls using the 32P-postlabelling technique and immunoassay. The methods detected aromatic adducts, including those formed by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Coke workers are heavily exposed to aromatic compounds, which are also emitted in large amounts into the environment. The two techniques detected a large difference in adduct levels between the coke workers and the countryside controls. The adduct levels in the local controls were substantially higher than those in the countryside controls. As occupational exposure did not account for such a difference, the data suggest that the source of aromatic adducts in local controls is environmental pollution.

2-Amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ), a potent bacterial mutagen present in broiled sardines, cooked beef and beef extract, is a carcinogen in the F-344 rat, affecting mainly the liver and small and large intestines. Using 32P-postlabeling assays, the formation of IQ-DNA adducts was examined in male F-344 rats. Twenty-four hours after i.p. doses (5-50 mg IQ/kg) the liver, small and large intestine each showed the presence of 5 adducts, the liver and large intestine having an average of 18.1 and 2.4 times as many adducts, respectively, as the small intestine. None of these adducts could be detected in vehicle-treated animals. It is concluded that IQ forms specific DNA adducts in target tissues of the F-344 rat.

Effects of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), a potent hepatocarcinogen, and 1,2,3,7,8-pentachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD) on liver and kidney DNA of female Sprague-Dawley rats were investigated by 32P-post-labeling assay. The compounds were administered by gavage [1 microgram/kg/week in corn oil (5 ml/kg)] to the animals for up to 6 months. No exposure-related 32P-labeled spots indicative of TCDD or PCDD covalent DNA adducts were noted on the chromatograms of kidney or liver DNA nucleotides from the rats exposed to the toxins for 2 and 6 months. Corn-oil treated control animals exhibited the characteristic tissue- and age-specific patterns of 32P-labeled I-spots in liver and kidney DNA which are associated with specific DNA modifications of unknown origin and function. Treatment with either TCDD or PCDD resulted in a substantial reduction of the levels of I-compounds in liver, a target organ for TCDD carcinogenesis. After 6 months of exposure to TCDD the reductions in the amounts of individual hepatic I-compounds ranged from 37 to 77% and decreased levels were also observed after 2 months of treatment. It was apparent that PCDD was not as effective as TCDD in reducing hepatic I-compound levels and this corresponded with the lower aryl hydrocarbon receptor binding activity of the former compound. In contrast, TCDD and PCDD did not cause any significant decrease of I-compounds in the kidney which is not a site of TCDD-mediated carcinogenicity in female Sprague-Dawley rats. Whether I-compound deficiency contributes to TCDD-mediated hepatocarcinogenesis (e.g. by facilitating DNA replication) needs to be investigated.

Analysis by nuclease P1-enhanced 32P-postlabelling assay of DNA isolated from the white blood cells of 53 iron foundry workers was carried out independently in 3 laboratories, and the presence of aromatic DNA adducts was detected. The mean adduct levels in foundry workers varied from 9.2 +/- 23 (laboratory 3) and 12 +/- 10 (laboratory 2) to 26 +/- 43 (laboratory 1) and for the controls from 1.7 +/- 0.7 (laboratory 3) to 3.1 +/- 1.7 (laboratory 1) adducts per 10(8) nucleotides. No effect of smoking was observed in the present study. Each laboratory observed large interindividual variations of adduct levels. Good correlations were found between the results of the 32P-postlabelling assays carried out in the 3 laboratories; the correlation coefficients between laboratories 1 and 2, 1 and 3, and 2 and 3 were 0.61, 0.62, and 0.45, respectively, all being statistically highly significant (p less than 0.01). This interlaboratory comparison of the 32P-postlabelling method indicates the reproducibility of the method and its applicability in occupational exposure monitoring.

A new sensitive 32P-postlabeling assay for DNA adducts has been developed in which DNA is hydrolyzed initially by nuclease P1 and prostatic acid phosphatase instead of micrococcal nuclease and spleen phosphodiesterase as employed in previous postlabeling procedures. When DNA containing bulky adducts, X1, X2, .....Xn, is digested with nuclease P1 at pH 5, normal nucleotides are released as 5'-monophosphates, pN, while adducts are excised as 5'-phosphorylated dinucleotides, pXipN, because internucleotide linkages on the 3' side of X resist attack by nuclease P1. Addition of prostatic acid phosphatase to such a digest results in 5'-dephosphorylation of the nucleotides to normal nucleosides, N, and adducted dinucleotides, XipN, carrying a 5'-terminal free hydroxyl group. The dinucleotides but not nucleosides are converted to 5'-32P-labeled dinucleotides, [32P]pXipN, by T4 polynucleotide kinase-catalyzed [32P]phosphate transfer from [gamma-32P]ATP. Upon mapping on polyethyleneimine--cellulose anion-exchange TLC, the labeled dinucleotide adducts produce characteristic autoradiographic fingerprints. Alternatively, they are further digested with snake venom phosphodiesterase to yield 5'-monophosphates, [32P]pXi and pN. TLC profiles of the monophosphate adducts are distinct from those of the dinucleotides. These reactions provide the basis of the new 32P-postlabeling scheme, which is compared in this paper with a previously reported protocol yielding adducts in the form of 5'-32P-labeled 3',5'-bisphosphates, [32P]pXip. The results show that the availability of three different types of 32P-postlabeled derivatives for the same adduct aids in the analysis and chromatographic characterization of DNA adducts from diverse exogenous and endogenous sources.