A multihit, multistage model of chemical carcinogenesis. (9/704)

Carcinogenesis involves the accumulation of genetic changes within a single cell. Tumor promotion functions in the initial clonal expansion of an initiated cell but is generally not considered to influence later stages. To investigate whether tumor promotion can influence later stages of carcinogenesis we developed a two-hit 7, 12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (D) protocol designed to enrich for keratinocytes that contain at least two D-induced genetic alterations. FVB/N mice were initiated with D and promoted with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (T) or treated with acetone (A) vehicle for 6 weeks. At 7 weeks after the start of promotion, but before visible papilloma development, groups of mice were treated with a second dose of D or A and 1 week later T promotion was resumed. D/T/A/T mice developed 2.8 papillomas/mouse and D/A/D/T mice demonstrated an additive tumor response and developed 5.8 papillomas/mouse. Importantly, D/T/D/T mice developed 12.4 papillomas/mouse, thereby demonstrating a synergistic tumor response compared with D/A/D/T and D/T/A/T mice. D/T/D/T papillomas exhibited increases in suprabasal S phase cells and keratin 13 expression when compared with D/T/A/T papillomas. D/T/D/T mice developed squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) 10 weeks earlier than D/T/A/T mice and demonstrated a 96% malignancy incidence and 1.71 SCC/mouse compared with D/T/A/T mice, which demonstrated a 28% malignancy incidence and 0.32 SCC/mouse. Greater than 90% of D/T/A/T and D/T/D/T papillomas and SCCs contained mutant Ha-ras, while a normal Ha-ras allele persisted in all cases, indicating that a gene other than the remaining normal allele of Ha-ras was a target gene for the second D hit. These data demonstrate that: (i) promotion between the first and second hits has a profound outcome on carcinogenesis, presumably by increasing the probability that a second hit will occur in a previously initiated cell; (ii) continued promotion after the second hit is required for full expression of malignancy; (iii) the classic initiation-promotion protocol can be extended to a multihit, multistage model.  (+info)

Hyperketonemia can increase lipid peroxidation and lower glutathione levels in human erythrocytes in vitro and in type 1 diabetic patients. (10/704)

Recent studies have suggested that elevated cellular lipid peroxidation may play a role in the development of cellular dysfunction and other complications of diabetes. People with type 1 diabetes frequently encounter elevated levels of the ketone bodies acetoacetate (AA), beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), and acetone (ACE). This study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that ketosis might increase lipid peroxidation and lower glutathione (GSH) levels of red blood cells (RBCs) in diabetic patients. This study demonstrates that incubation of AA with normal RBCs in phosphate-buffered saline (37 degrees C for 24 h) resulted in marked GSH depletion, oxidized glutathione accumulation, hydroxyl radical generation, and increased membrane lipid peroxidation. Increases in oxygen radicals and lipid peroxidation and depletion of GSH in RBCs were not observed with BHB or ACE treatments. Similarly, there was a significant generation of superoxide ion radicals even in a cell-free buffer solution of AA, but not in that of BHB. The presence of BHB together with AA did not influence the capacity of AA to generate oxygen radicals in a cell-free solution or the increase in lipid peroxidation of RBCs incubated with AA. The antioxidants vitamin E and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) blocked increase in lipid peroxidation in AA-treated RBCs. To examine the effects of ketone bodies in vivo, studies were performed that showed a significant decrease in GSH and an increase in lipid peroxidation levels in RBCs of hyperketonemic diabetic patients, but not in normoketonemic type 1 diabetic patients, when compared with age-matched normal subjects. This study demonstrates that elevated levels of the ketone body AA can increase lipid peroxidation and lower GSH levels of RBCs in people with type 1 diabetes.  (+info)

Actographic analysis of the effects of an esterase inhibitor on male moth responses to sex pheromone. (11/704)

The effects of 3-octylthio-1,1,1-trifluoropropan-2-one (OTFP), a trifluoromethyl ketone that inhibits antennal esterases, on male Mamestra brassicae responses to the main pheromone component have been investigated using an actograph. This actograph used a movement detector based on the Doppler effect. The signal from the detector was digitalized and analysed on a PC microcomputer to quantify male activity. When added to the air flowing through the observation chamber, OTFP inhibited the responses of male moths to the pheromone. The number of males responding to the pheromone and the intensity of the response were decreased by OTFP. The latency of the response was increased and its duration decreased. These effects on the kinetics of the behavioural response cannot be directly correlated to the inhibition of pheromone catabolism by OTFP and other targets must be involved. The high level of inhibition of behaviour observed in presence of OTFP demonstrates the interest of trifluoromethyl ketones as mating disruption agents for pest control.  (+info)

Distribution and skewness of occupational exposure sets of measurements in the Norwegian industry. (12/704)

Aggregated occupational sets of exposure measurements from the Norwegian industry registered in the exposure database EXPO at The National Institute of Occupational Health, Oslo were examined with respect to distributions and skewness. Data for lead in blood show a truncated almost normal distribution because of regulations for workers with high lead in blood concentrations. The styrene, dichloromethane and acetone measurements show quasi log-normal distributions possibly because of over-representation of worst-case measurements. The other personal and stationary measurements are relatively good fitted to a log-normal model. The stationary measurements indicate generally lower mean levels than the corresponding personal measurements. The statistical parameter skewness is valuable in connection with an exposure database as a distribution test for raw data and log-transformed data.  (+info)

Sensory nerve-mediated immediate nasal responses to inspired acrolein. (13/704)

To investigate the role of sensory C-fiber stimulation and tachykinin release in the immediate nasal responses to the sensory irritant acrolein, the upper respiratory tract of the urethan-anesthetized male Fischer 344 rat was isolated via insertion of an endotracheal tube, and acrolein-laden air [2, 5, 10, or 20 parts/million (ppm)] was drawn continuously through that site at a flow rate of 100 ml/min for 50 min. Uptake of the inert vapor acetone was measured throughout the exposure to assess nasal vascular function. Plasma protein extravasation into nasal tissue and nasal lavage fluid was also assessed via injection of Evans blue dye. At 20 ppm, acrolein induced 1) a twofold increase in acetone uptake, indicative of vasodilation, followed by a progressive decline toward basal levels and 2) increased plasma protein extravasation, as indicated by dye leakage into nasal tissue and nasal lavage. These responses were inhibited by capsaicin pretreatment and the neurokinin type 1 antagonist N-acetyltrifluoromethyl tryptophan benzyl ester and were potentiated by the peptidase inhibitors phosphoramidon and captopril, suggesting that these responses were mediated by tachykinin. At lower exposure concentrations, acrolein was without effect on dye leakage but produced vasodilation, as indicated by increased acetone uptake. The responses at the lower concentrations were inhibited by capsaicin pretreatment, implicating nasal sensory C-fiber involvement, but were not influenced by N-acetyltrifluoromethyl tryptophan benzyl ester, phosphoramidon, or captopril, suggesting the involvement of a mediator other than the tachykinins substance P and neurokinin A.  (+info)

Acetone formation in the Vibrio family: a new pathway for bacterial leucine catabolism. (14/704)

There is current interest in biological sources of acetone, a volatile organic compound that impacts atmospheric chemistry. Here, we determined that leucine-dependent acetone formation is widespread in the Vibrionaceae. Sixteen Vibrio isolates, two Listonella species, and two Photobacterium angustum isolates produced acetone in the presence of L-leucine. Shewanella isolates produced much less acetone. Growth of Vibrio splendidus and P. angustum in a fermentor with controlled aeration revealed that acetone was produced after a lag in late logarithmic or stationary phase of growth, depending on the medium, and was not derived from acetoacetate by nonenzymatic decarboxylation in the medium. L-Leucine, but not D-leucine, was converted to acetone with a stoichiometry of approximately 0.61 mol of acetone per mol of L-leucine. Testing various potential leucine catabolites as precursors of acetone showed that only alpha-ketoisocaproate was efficiently converted by whole cells to acetone. Acetone production was blocked by a nitrogen atmosphere but not by electron transport inhibitors, suggesting that an oxygen-dependent reaction is required for leucine catabolism. Metabolic labeling with deuterated (isopropyl-d(7))-L-leucine revealed that the isopropyl carbons give rise to acetone with full retention of deuterium in each methyl group. These results suggest the operation of a new catabolic pathway for leucine in vibrios that is distinct from the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A pathway seen in pseudomonads.  (+info)

Stimulation of tolbutamide hydroxylation by acetone and acetonitrile in human liver microsomes and in a cytochrome P-450 2C9-reconstituted system. (15/704)

Organic solvents are often used to solubilize lipophilic new chemical entities before their addition to in vitro test systems such as microsomal stability or cytochrome P-450 (CYP) inhibition. However, the effect of these organic solvents on the test systems is not usually characterized. This study was initiated to evaluate the effect of acetonitrile and acetone, in addition to other organic solvents, on the tolbutamide hydroxylation activity of CYP2C9 in both human liver microsomes and a CYP2C9-reconstituted system. Both acetonitrile and acetone significantly stimulated the NADPH-dependent tolbutamide hydroxylation by nearly 2- to 3-fold in human liver microsomes and CYP2C9-reconstituted system when incubated at 2 and 4% final solvent concentrations. When cumene hydroperoxide was used instead of NADPH, both acetone and acetonitrile significantly inhibited tolbutamide hydroxylation. This NADPH-dependent stimulatory effect was further evaluated by examining the effect of a series of other organic solvents with different carbon chain lengths and various functional groups, including hydroxyl, ketone, and aldehyde. Unlike acetone, two other ketone-containing solvents, methyl ethyl ketone (2-butanone) and diethyl ketone (3-pentanone) failed to significantly enhance tolbutamide hydroxylation. Other solvents tested, including methanol, ethanol, propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, 1-pentanol, 2-pentanol, acetaldehyde, and dimethyl sulfoxide significantly inhibited NADPH-dependent tolbutamide hydroxylation. Overall, the stimulatory effect of both acetonitrile and acetone on tolbutamide hydroxylation was found to be primarily due to a consistent increase in V(max), whereas K(m) was unchanged in both human liver microsomes and the reconstituted CYP2C9 system. These data suggest that acetone and acetonitrile stimulate NADPH-mediated tolbutamide hydroxylation via the CYP reductase and not by modifying the affinity of tolbutamide for the CYP2C9 enzyme.  (+info)

Elimination half-life of acetone in humans: case reports and review of the literature. (16/704)

Two instances of finding abnormally high concentrations of acetone in urine (0.10 g/dL and 0.052 g/dL) without any measurable amounts of ethanol (<0.005 g/dL) or isopropanol (<0.005 g/dL) prompted a survey of the elimination kinetics of isopropanol and its metabolite acetone in humans. In a hospital patient who had ingested denatured alcohol, the elimination half-life (t(1/2)) of acetone during detoxification was 27 h and not 3-5 h as reported by other workers. Several other literature reports of individuals who had ingested isopropanol as well as controlled studies after administration of moderate amounts of acetone and/or isopropanol support the notion of a long elimination half-life of 17-27 h for acetone compared with a t(1/2) of 1-3 h for isopropanol.  (+info)