J. Padros et E. Pelletier, In vivo formation of (+)-anti-benzo[a]pyrene diol-epoxide-plasma albumin adducts in fish, MAR ENV RES, 50(1-5), 2000, pp. 347-351
Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a procarcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PA
H), is bioactivated to BaP diol-epoxides (BPDEs) that can form adducts with
DNA and blood proteins. We report here for the first time the in vivo form
ation of adducts between BPDE and plasma albumin (Alb) from two fish specie
s experimentally exposed to BaP. Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) receiv
ed either a single i.p. dose (10 mg/kg) or two separate i.p. doses (25 mg/k
g; 7 days apart) of BaP, and blood was collected 2 (single exposure) or 3 (
multiple exposure) days post-treatment. Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) r
eceived 10 i.p. doses (3 mg/kg; a single dose every 6 days), and blood was
collected 2 days after the second, sixth, and 10th injections. BPDE-Alb add
ucts were measured by an improved HPLC/fluorescence method developed to det
ect and quantify BaP-tetrols released after acid hydrolysis of adducted Alb
. HPLC/fluorescence chromatograms of Alb from BaP-treated fish revealed onl
y BaP-tetrol I-1, thus indicating the formation of adducts exclusively via
the (+)-anti-BPDE metabolite. Levels of (+)-anti-BPDE-Alb adduct ranged fro
m 0.68 to 19.6 ng of tetrol I-1 per gram of Alb. Notably, adduct level was
not related to BaP dose and there was no accumulation of adducts with repea
ted exposure, which may indicate a very short half-life (< 2 days) of plasm
a Alb in fsh. The data suggest that BPDE-Alb adducts in fish could be usefu
l as a non-destructive biomarker of recent exposure to bioactivated BaP. (C
) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.