The nuclear receptor family member constitutive activated receptor (CAR) is activated by structurally diverse drugs and environmentally-relevant chemicals leading to transcriptional regulation of ...genes involved in xenobiotic metabolism and transport. Chronic activation of CAR increases liver cancer incidence in rodents, whereas suppression of CAR can lead to steatosis and insulin insensitivity. Here, analytical methods were developed to screen for chemical treatments in a gene expression compendium that lead to alteration of CAR activity. A gene expression biomarker signature of 83 CAR-dependent genes was identified using microarray profiles from the livers of wild-type and CAR-null mice after exposure to three structurally-diverse CAR activators (CITCO, phenobarbital, TCPOBOP). A rank-based algorithm (Running Fisher's algorithm (p-value ≤ 10(-4))) was used to evaluate the similarity between the CAR biomarker signature and a test set of 28 and 32 comparisons positive or negative, respectively, for CAR activation; the test resulted in a balanced accuracy of 97%. The biomarker signature was used to identify chemicals that activate or suppress CAR in an annotated mouse liver/primary hepatocyte gene expression database of ~1850 comparisons. CAR was activated by 1) activators of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in wild-type but not AhR-null mice, 2) pregnane X receptor (PXR) activators in wild-type and to lesser extents in PXR-null mice, and 3) activators of PPARα in wild-type and PPARα-null mice. CAR was consistently activated by five conazole fungicides and four perfluorinated compounds. Comparison of effects in wild-type and CAR-null mice showed that the fungicide propiconazole increased liver weight and hepatocyte proliferation in a CAR-dependent manner, whereas the perfluorinated compound perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) increased these endpoints in a CAR-independent manner. A number of compounds suppressed CAR coincident with increases in markers of inflammation including acetaminophen, concanavalin A, lipopolysaccharide, and 300 nm silica particles. In conclusion, we have shown that a CAR biomarker signature coupled with a rank-based similarity method accurately predicts CAR activation. This analytical approach, when applied to a gene expression compendium, increased the universe of known chemicals that directly or indirectly activate CAR, highlighting the promiscuous nature of CAR activation and signaling through activation of other xenobiotic-activated receptors.
Highlights ► A mechanism for the hepatocarcinogenic activity of propiconazole has been developed. ► Toxicological and omic (gene and protein expression and metabolomics) data were amalgamated into a ...cohesive description of the cancer process. ► Independent experimental proof provided a validation of the interpretation of the omic data. ► The relevance of this mechanism of action in mice to humans is discussed.
The field of mechanistic chemical carcinogenesis has evolved with the advent and advances in genomic, proteomic and metabolomic technologies. These advances allow mechanistic events along the process ...of exposure to frank tumors to be studied in great detail. Herein is reviewed an example of this approach using, propiconazole, a triazole-containing antifungal agent that is a mouse hepatocarcinogen. This review will highlight those toxicological, genomic, proteomic and metabolomic findings in mice that were used to describe a set of linked events that lead to propiconazole-induced hepatocarcinogenesis. Independent experimental proof of many of these events is presented that solidified this proposed mechanism of carcinogenic action for propiconazole.
Propiconazole is a
N-substituted triazole used as a fungicide on fruits, grains, seeds, hardwoods, and conifers. In the present study, propiconazole was examined for its effects on the expression of ...hepatic cytochrome P450 genes and on the activities of P450 enzymes in male Sprague-Dawley rats and male CD-1 mice. Rats and mice were administered propiconazole by gavage daily for 14 days at doses of 10, 75, and 150
mg/kg body weight/day. Quantitative real time RT-PCR assays of rat hepatic RNA samples from animals treated at the 150
mg/kg body weight/day dose revealed significant mRNA overexpression of the following genes compared to control: CYP1A2 (1.62-fold), CYP2B1 (10.8-fold), CYP3A1/CYP3A23 (2.78-fold), and CYP3A2 (1.84-fold). In mouse liver, propiconazole produced mRNA overexpression of
Cyp2b10 (2.39-fold) and
Cyp3a11 (5.19-fold). mRNA expression of CYP1A1 was not detected in liver tissues from treated or controls animals from either species. Propiconazole significantly induced both pentoxyresorufin
O-dealkylation (PROD) and methoxyresorufin
O-dealkylation (MROD) activities in both rat and mouse liver at the 150
mg/kg body weight/day and 75
mg/kg body weight/day doses. In summary, these results indicated that propiconazole induced CYP1A2 in rat liver and CYP2B and CYP3A families of isoforms in rat and mouse liver.
Four triazole fungicides used in agricultural or pharmaceutical applications were examined for hepatotoxic effects in mouse liver. Besides organ weight, histopathology, and cytochrome P450 (CYP) ...enzyme induction, DNA microarrays were used to generate gene expression profiles and hypotheses on potential mechanisms of action for this class of chemicals. Adult male CD-1 mice were exposed daily for 14 days to fluconazole, myclobutanil, propiconazole, or triadimefon at three dose levels by oral gavage. Doses were based on previous studies that resulted in liver hypertrophy or hepatotoxicity. All four triazoles caused hepatocyte hypertrophy, and all except triadimefon increased relative liver/body weight ratios at the middle and high dose levels. CYP enzyme activities were also induced by all four triazoles at the middle and high doses as measured by the dealkylations of four alkoxyresorufins, although some differences in substrate specificity were observed. Consistent with this common histopathology and biochemistry, several CYP and xenobiotic metabolizing enzyme (XME) genes were differentially expressed in response to all four (Cyp2d26 and Cyp3a11), or three of the four (Cyp2c40, Cyp2c55, Ces2, Slco1a4) triazoles. Differential expression of numerous other CYP and XME genes discriminated between the various triazoles, consistent with differences in CYP enzyme activities, and indicative of possible differences in mechanisms of hepatotoxicity or dose response. Multiple isoforms of Cyp1a, 2b, 2c, 3a, and other CYP and XME genes regulated by the nuclear receptors constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) and pregnane X receptor (PXR) were differentially expressed following triazole exposure. Based on these results, we expanded on our original hypothesis that triazole hepatotoxicity was mediated by CYP induction, to include additional XME genes, many of which are modulated by CAR and PXR.
Benzoapyrene (BaP) is an archetypal member of the family of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and is a widely distributed environmental pollutant. BaP is known to induce cancer in animals, and ...BaP-containing complex mixtures are human carcinogens. BaP exerts its genotoxic and carcinogenic effects through metabolic activation forming reactive intermediates that damage DNA. DNA adduction by BaP is a complex phenomenon that involves the formation of both stable and unstable (depurinating) adducts. One pathway by which BaP can mediate genotoxicity is through the enzymatic formation of BaP-7,8-quinone (BPQ) from BaP-7,8-diol by members of the aldo-keto-reductase (AKR) family. Once formed, BPQ can act as a reactive Michael acceptor that can alkylate cellular nucleophiles including DNA and peptides. Earlier studies have reported on the formation of stable and depurinating adducts from the reaction of BPQ with DNA and nucleosides, respectively. However, the syntheses and characterization of the stable adducts from these interactions have not been addressed. In this study, the reactivity of BPQ toward 2‘-deoxyguanosine (dG) and 2‘-deoxyadenosine (dA) nucleosides under physiological pH conditions is examined. The identification and characterization of six novel BPQ-nucleoside adducts obtained from the reaction of BPQ and dG or dA in a mixture of phosphate buffer and dimethylformamide are reported. The structures of these adducts were determined by ultraviolet spectroscopy, electrospray mass spectrometry, and NMR experiments including 1H, 13C, two-dimensional COSY, one-dimensional NOE, ROESY, HMQC, HSQC, and HMBC. The reaction of BPQ with dG afforded four unique Michael addition products: two diastereomers of 8-N 1,9-N 2-deoxyguanosyl-8,10-dihydroxy-9,10-dihydrobenzoapyren-7(8H)-one (BPQ-dG1,2) and two diastereomers of 10-(N 2-deoxyguanosyl)-9,10-dihydro-9-hydroxybenzoapyrene-7,8-dione (BPQ-dG3,4). The BPQ-dG1,2 adducts suggest a 1,6-Michael addition reaction of dG, an oxidation of the hydroquinone to the quinone, a 1,4-Michael addition of water, and an internal cyclization. The BPQ-dG3,4 adducts suggest a 1,4-Michael addition reaction of dG, an oxidation of the hydroquinone to the quinone, and a 1,6-Michael addition of water. Under similar but extended reaction conditions, the reaction of BPQ with dA produced only one diastereomeric pair of adducts identified as 8-N 6,10-N 1-deoxyadenosyl-8,9-dihydroxy-9,10-dihydrobenzoapyren-7(8H)-one (BPQ-dA1,2). The BPQ-dA1,2 adducts suggest a 1,4-Michael addition reaction of dA, an oxidation of the hydroquinone to the quinone, a 1,6-Michael addition of water, and an internal cyclization. As considerable efforts have been placed in documenting the genotoxic effects of BPQ, this first report of the identification and characterization of these stable adducts of BPQ formed under physiological pH conditions is expected to contribute significantly to the area of BPQ-mediated genotoxicity and carcinogenesis.
Here we show that several cell signaling inhibitors have effect on cyp1a1 expression and the metabolism of benzo
apyrene (B
aP) in Hepa1c1c7 cells. The CYP1A1 inhibitor α-naphthoflavone (α-NF), the ...p53 inhibitor pifithrin-α (PFT-α), the ERK inhibitors PD98059 and U0126, and the p38 MAPK inhibitors SB202190 and PD169316 induced the expression and level of cyp1a1 protein. On the other hand, during the first h the inhibitors appeared to reduce the metabolism of B
aP as measured by the generation of tetrols and by covalent binding of B
aP to macromolecules. In contrast, the phosphatidylinositol-3 (PI-3) kinase inhibitor wortmannin, had neither an effect on the cyp1a1 expression nor the B
aP-metabolism. In order to avoid these unspecific effects, we characterized the mechanisms involved in the apoptotic effects of B
aP-metabolites. B
aP and the B
aP-metabolites B
aP-7,8-DHD and BPDE-I induced apoptosis, whereas B
aP-4,5-DHD had no effect. B
aP, B
aP-7,8-DHD and BPDE-I induced an accumulation and phosphorylation of p53, while the Bcl-2 proteins Bcl-xl, Bad and Bid were down-regulated. Interestingly, the levels of anti-apoptotic phospho-Bad were up-regulated in response to B
aP as well as to B
aP-7,8-DHD and BPDE-I. Both p38 MAPK and JNK were activated, but the p38 MAPK inhibitors were not able to inhibit BPDE-I-induced apoptosis. PFT-α reduced the BPDE-I-induced apoptosis, while both the PI-3 kinase inhibitor and the ERK inhibitors increased the apoptosis in combination with BPDE-I. BPDE-I also triggered apoptosis in primary cultures of rat lung cells. In conclusion, often used cell signaling inhibitors both enhanced the expression and the level of cyp1a1 and more directly acted as inhibitors of cyp1a1 metabolism of B
aP. However, studies with the B
aP-metabolite BPDE-I supported the previous suggestion that p53 has a role in the pro-apoptotic signaling pathway induced by B
aP. Furthermore, these studies also show that the reactive metabolites of B
aP induce the anti-apoptotic signals, Akt and ERK. Neither the induction nor the activity of p38 MAPK and JNK seems to be of major importance for the B
aP-induced apoptosis.
The ability to anchor chemical class-based gene expression changes to phenotypic lesions and to describe these changes as a function of dose and time informs mode-of-action determinations and ...improves quantitative risk assessments. Previous global expression profiling identified a 330-probe cluster differentially expressed and commonly responsive to 3 hepatotumorigenic conazoles (cyproconazole, epoxiconazole, and propiconazole) at 30 days. Extended to 2 more conazoles (triadimefon and myclobutanil), the present assessment encompasses 4 tumorigenic and 1 nontumorigenic conazole. Transcriptional benchmark dose levels (BMDL(T)) were estimated for a subset of the cluster with dose-responsive behavior and a ≥ 5-fold increase or decrease in signal intensity at the highest dose. These genes primarily encompassed CAR/RXR activation, P450 metabolism, liver hypertrophy- glutathione depletion, LPS/IL-1-mediated inhibition of RXR, and NRF2-mediated oxidative stress pathways. Median BMDL(T) estimates from the subset were concordant (within a factor of 2.4) with apical benchmark doses (BMDL(A)) for increased liver weight at 30 days for the 5 conazoles. The 30-day median BMDL(T) estimates were within one-half order of magnitude of the chronic BMDLA for hepatocellular tumors. Potency differences seen in the dose-responsive transcription of certain phase II metabolism, bile acid detoxification, and lipid oxidation genes mirrored each conazole's tumorigenic potency. The 30-day BMDL(T) corresponded to tumorigenic potency on a milligram per kilogram day basis with cyproconazole > epoxiconazole > propiconazole > triadimefon > myclobutanil (nontumorigenic). These results support the utility of measuring short-term gene expression changes to inform quantitative risk assessments from long-term exposures.
Propiconazole, a widely used fungicide, is hepatotoxic and hepatotumorigenic in mice. Previous genomic analysis of liver tissues from propiconazole-treated mice identified genes and pathways involved ...in oxidative stress, suggesting that oxidative stress may play a role in propiconazole-induced toxicity. To understand the contribution of oxidative stress on toxicity at the protein level, we developed an integrated approach for the systematic measurement of protein oxidation in the livers from propiconazole-treated mice. Liver protein carbonylation increased significantly after treatment with propiconazole, demonstrating propiconazole-associated induction of oxidative stress. Utilizing two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE), immunoblotting, and mass spectrometry, we identified 17 carbonylated proteins that were altered with varying intensities by propiconazole treatment. The potential effects of protein carbonylation on protein functions and cellular activities in the liver of propiconazole-treated mice were further investigated. A significant negative correlation between protein carbonylation and cytochrome c reductase activity was found. We conclude that glycolysis, mitochondrial respiratory chain, ATP production, amino acid metabolism, CO2 hydration, cellular antioxidant defense and detoxification system, and tetrahydrobiopterin pathways are affected by oxygen radicals in the livers of propiconazole-treated mice. This study suggests a mode of propiconazole-induced toxicity in mouse liver which primarily involves oxidative damage to cellular proteins.
Propiconazole is a mouse hepatotumorigenic fungicide and has been the subject of recent investigations into its carcinogenic mechanism of action. The goals of this study were (1) to identify ...metabolomic changes induced in the liver by increasing doses of propiconazole in mice, (2) to interpret these results with key previously reported biochemical, transcriptomic, and proteomic findings obtained from mouse liver under the same treatment conditions, and (3) to relate these alterations to those associated with the carcinogenesis process. Propiconazole was administered to male CD-1 mice in the feed for 4 days with six mice per feed level (500, 1250, and 2500 ppm). The 2500 ppm dose level had previously been shown to induce both adenocarcinomas and adenomas in mouse liver after a 2-year continuous feed regimen. Endogenous biochemicals were profiled using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry methods and 261 were detected. The most populous biochemical class detected was lipids, followed by amino acids and then carbohydrates. Nucleotides, cofactors and vitamins, energy, peptides, and xenobiotics were also represented. Of the biochemicals detected, 159 were significantly altered by at least one dose of propiconazole and many showed strong dose responses. Many alterations in the levels of biochemicals were found in the glycogen metabolism, glycolysis, lipolysis, carnitine, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle pathways Several groups of metabolomic responses were ascribed to the metabolism and clearance of propiconazole: glucuronate, glutathione, and cysteine pathways. Groups of metabolic responses supported previous hypotheses on key events that can lead to propiconazole-induced tumorigenesis: oxidative stress and increases in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. Groups of metabolomic responses identified biomarkers associated with neoplasia: increases in glycolysis and increases in the levels of spermidine, sarcosine, and pseudouridine. These results extended the companion transcriptomic and proteomic studies and provided a more complete understanding of propiconazole's effects in mouse liver.
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