Acrylamide (AM), which is used to manufacture polymers, is carcinogenic and a reproductive and neurological toxicant. The objective of this study was to compare the metabolism of AM administered orally (po), dermally, intraperitoneally (ip), or by inhalation, and to measure the hemoglobin adducts produced. Rats and mice were exposed to 2.9 ppm [1,2,3-13C] and [2,3-14C]AM for 6 h. [2,3-14C]AM (162 mg/kg) or [1,2,3-13C]AM (13 8 mg/kg) in water was administered dermally to rats for 24 h, and [1,2,3-13C]AM was administered ip (47 mg/kg). Urine and feces were collected for 24 h. Urine was the major elimination route in rats (ip, 62% and po, 53% of the dose; dermal, 44% of the absorbed dose; inhalation, 31% of the recovered radioactivity) and mice (inhalation, 27% of the recovered radioactivity). Signals in the 13C-NMR spectra of urine were assigned to previously identified metabolites derived from AM glutathione conjugation (AM-GSH) and conversion to glycidamide (GA). AM-GSH was a major metabolic route in rats accounting for 69% (ip), 71% (po), 52% (dermal), and 64% (inhalation). In mice, AM-GSH accounted for only 27% (inhalation) of the total urinary metabolites. The remaining urinary metabolites were derived from GA. Valine hemoglobin adducts of AM and GA were characterized using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The ratio of AM to GA adducts paralleled the flux through pathways based on urinary metabolites. This study demonstrates marked species differences in the metabolism and internal dose (Hb-adducts) of AM following inhalation exposure and marked differences in uptake comparing dermal with po and ip administration.

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Human exposure to phthalic acid diesters occurs through a variety of pathways as a result of their widespread use in plastics. Repeated doses of di-n-butylphthalate (DBP) from gestation day (GD) 12 to 19 disrupt testosterone synthesis and male sexual development in the fetal rat. To gain a better understanding of the relationship of the target tissue (testes) dose to observed developmental effects, the pharmacokinetics of monobutyl phthalate (MBP) and its glucuronide (MBP-G) were examined in pregnant and fetal rats following single and repeated administration of DBP from GD 12-19. These data, together with results from previously published studies, were used to develop a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model for DBP and its metabolites in the male, pregnant and fetal rat. The model structure accounts for the major metabolic (hydrolysis, glucuronidation, oxidative metabolism) and transport processes (enterohepatic recirculation, urinary and fecal excretion, placental transfer). Extrapolation of the validated adult male rat model to gestation successfully predicts MBP and MBP-G levels in maternal plasma, placenta and urine, as well as the fetal plasma and testes. Sensitivity analysis indicates that plasma MBP kinetics are particularly sensitive to glucuronidation and enterohepatic recirculation: a decrease in the uridine 5'-diphospho-glucuronosyltransferase (UDPGT) capacity during gestation results in an increased MBP residence time, and saturation of UDPGT at the highest doses (> 100 mg/kg/day) causes a flattening out of the plasma time course data. Oxidative metabolism plays a significant role in elimination only at low doses (< 50 mg/kg DBP). Insights gained from modeling of the rat data will be used to support development of a human PBPK model for DBP.

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