The covalent binding of the hepatocarcinogen aflatoxin B1by rat liver microsomes to calf thymus DNA resulted in a binding level equal to one aflatoxin residue per 60 DNA nucleotides. An aflatoxin ...derivative-guanine adduct was efficiently liberated from DNA with formic acid. Analytical reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography of the DNA hydrolysate revealed that approximately 90% of the carcinogen bound to DNA could be accounted for as a single component. Preparative high-pressure liquid chromatography was used to isolate sufficient quantities of the adduct for structural analysis from large quantities (340 mg) of DNA. A combination of spectral and chemical data indicates that the major product of the interaction of metabolically activated aflatoxin B1and DNA is 2,3-dihydro-2-(N7-guanyl)-3-hydroxyaflatoxin B1with the guanine and hydroxyl functions possessing a trans configuration. The structural data support the hypothesis that the putative 2,3-oxide of aflatoxin B1is quantitatively important as an intermediate in the binding of aflatoxin B1to nucleic acids.
