Covalent adducts formed by the reaction of DNA with chemical carcinogens and mutagens may be detected by a 32P-labeling test. DNA preparations exposed to chemicals known to bind covalently to DNA [N-methyl-N-nitrosourea, dimethyl sulfate, formaldehyde, -propiolactone, propylene oxide, streptozotocin, nitrogen mustard, and 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosou-

The purpose of this research was to develop a matrix-type transdermal therapeutic system containing carvedilol with different ratios of hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymeric combinations by the solvent evaporation technique. The physicochemical compatibility of the drug and the polymers was studied by infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The results suggested no physicochemical incompatibility between the drug and the polymers. In vitro permeation studies were performed by using Franz diffusion cells. The results followed Higuchi kinetics (r = 0.9953-0.9979), and the mechanism of release was diffusion mediated. Based on physicochemical and in vitro skin permeation studies, patches coded as F3 (ethyl cellulose:polyvinylpyrrolidone, 7.5:2.5) and F6 (Eudragit RL:Eudragit RS, 8:2) were chosen for further in vivo studies. The bioavailability studies in rats indicated that the carvedilol transdermal patches provided steady-state plasma concentrations with minimal fluctuations and improved bioavailability of 71% (for F3) and 62% (for F6) in comparison with oral administration. The antihypertensive activity of the patches in comparison with that of oral carvedilol was studied using methyl prednisolone acetate-induced hypertensive rats. It was observed that both the patches significantly controlled hypertension from the first hour (P < .05). The developed transdermal patches increase the efficacy of carvedilol for the therapy of hypertension.

The carcinogenicity of benzene has been considered to be in part mediated by its chemically reactive metabolic product benzoquinone (BQ), which is formed from the intermediary metabolites phenol and hydroquinone (HQ). We have evaluated the DNA-binding capability of these chemicals in vitro and in vivo by postlabeling. Treatment of rat Zymbal glands in culture with phenol and HQ or direct reaction of BQ with DNA produced DNA adducts, which were detectable by the nuclease P1-enhanced 32P-postlabeling assay as 5'-32P-labeled 3',5'-bisphosphate products. The enhancement of sensitivity in this assay is based on the previous finding that nuclease P1 hydrolyzes the phosphate attached to the 3' side of normal nucleotides but not the corresponding phosphate of most aromatic/bulky adducted nucleotides. Also based on this hydrolytic property of nuclease P1, we developed an additional sensitive procedure that permitted the detection of DNA lesions as 5'-32P-labeled products of dinucleotides, pXpN, or of nucleoside monophosphates, pX, where X and N indicate an adducted nucleoside and a normal nucleoside respectively. In the latter assay, adducted DNA was first digested with nuclease P1 and acid phosphatase to yield XpN and N. The latter were then 32P-labeled to yield [5'-32P] pXpN or 32P-labeled and treated with venom phosphodiesterase to obtain [5'-32P]pX. After optimization of enzymatic conditions, the modified nuclease P1 assay yielded adduct recoveries similar to those obtained by the bisphosphate assay for in vitro phenol-, HQ- and BQ-DNA adducts. Neither of the nuclease P1-enhanced postlabeling procedures showed exposure-specific adducts in vivo in the bone marrow, Zymbal gland, liver and spleen of female Sprague-Dawley rats at 24 h after the last of four single, daily p.o. doses of 75 mg/kg phenol or 150 mg/kg phenol/HQ (1:1). Our results show that phenol, HQ and BQ produce adducts in vitro, but corresponding adducts are not detected in vivo with phenol and phenol/HQ, even when measured by the standard and modified nuclease P1 postlabeling methods capable of detecting 1 adduct in 10(9-10) DNA bases.

Solid tumors have been reported in the Zymbal gland, oral and nasal cavities, liver, and mammary gland of Sprague-Dawley rats following chronic, high-dose administration of benzene. The carcinogenic activity of benzene is thought to be caused by activation to toxic metabolites that can interact with DNA, forming covalent adducts. A nuclease P1-enhanced 32P-postlabeling assay, having a sensitivity limit of 1 adduct in 10(9-10) DNA nucleotides, was found suitable for measuring aromatic DNA adducts derived in vitro from catechol, benzenetriol (BT), phenol, hydroquinone (HQ), and benzoquinone (BQ), potential metabolites of benzene. When DNA specimens isolated from tissues of female Sprague-Dawley rats at 24 hr after an oral gavage dose of 200 to 500 mg/kg, 5 days/week, in olive oil (3 mL/kg) for 1 day, 1 week, 5 weeks, and 10 weeks were analyzed by the 32P-postlabeling procedure, no aromatic adducts were detected unequivocally with DNA samples of liver, kidney, bone marrow, and mammary gland. With Zymbal gland DNA, three weak spots at levels totaling four lesions per 10(9) DNA nucleotides were seen only after 10 weeks of treatment, and these adducts did not correspond chromatographically to major adducts in vitro from the above specified compounds. Consequently, this finding requires confirmatory experiments. This distinct adduct pattern may relate to tumor induction in this organ following benzene administration. Our results also indicate that DNA adducts derived from catechol, BT, phenol, HQ, and BQ are either not formed in vivo with benzene or formed at levels below the detection limit of 1 adduct per 10(9-10) DNA nucleotides.ImagesFIGURE 1.FIGURE 2.FIGURE 3.

Treatment of DNA digests with nuclease P1 prior to 32P-labeling of adducts has previously been shown to enhance the sensitivity of the 32P-postlabeling assay for the detection of aromatic carcinogen-DNA adducts. The enhancement was based on the ability of nuclease P1 to remove the 3'-phosphate from normal nucleotides but not the corresponding phosphate from most aromatic adducted nucleotides. We investigated the utility of another 3'-dephosphorylating enzyme, nuclease S1, for this purpose, and found it to be as effective as nuclease P1. The recovery of DNA adducts derived from benzo[a]-pyrene (B[a]P), benzoquinone (BQ) and 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) was comparable after enhancement with either enzyme. Some differences were, however, observed. Recovery of a minor B[a]P adduct was 1.5 times higher by the S1 procedure. Among minor adducts of BQ, two showed higher values (2.8- and 6.1-fold) by the S1 procedure and one by the P1 procedure (2.4-fold). The major AAF adduct, deoxyguanosine-C8-AF, exhibited poorer recovery (1-11%) by either procedure, while the minor adducts, deoxyguanosine-N2-AAF and deoxyguanosine-C8-AAF, showed better recovery (2-3 times) than by the enhancement procedure involving extraction of adducts into butanol. Our results show that the nuclease S1 assay can complement the nuclease P1 assay, with improved recoveries for some adducts. Considering the complexity of the postlabeling assay, this additional variant may prove useful in unequivocal detection of DNA adducts.