Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) that has been implicated in modulating aromatase enzyme function with the potential to interrupt normal reproductive function. The aim of this study was to use a fish model, Fundulus heteroclitus, to assess whether BaP exposure adversely impacts reproduction. Adult fish were exposed to waterborne BaP nominal concentrations of (0, 1...

The need to understand chemical uptake, distribution, and metabolism in embryonic and larval fish derives from the fact that these early life stages often exhibit greater sensitivity to xenobiotic compounds than do adult animals. In this study, a 6-h acute waterborne exposure immediately after fertilization was used to quickly load the egg with benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). This exposure was used to mi...

Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), a primary component of tobacco smoke, is activated by cytochrome P450 1B1 (CYP1B1). Smokers homozygous for the C-allele (*1/*1) at the CYP1B1 Leu432Val polymorphism have shown increased CYP1B1 expression, compared to smokers homozygous for the G-allele *3/*3. Since no difference has been shown in CYP1B1 expression between both genotypes in non-smokers, we assumed that the ...

The high prevalence of liver neoplasms in English sole (Parophrys vetulus) and substantially lower prevalence of neoplasms in a closely related species, starry flounder (Platichthys stellatus) captured from industrialized waterways, provide a unique opportunity to compare biochemical processes involved in chemical carcinogenesis in feral fish species. Because levels of aromatic hydrocarbons (AH...

Previous studies in this laboratory have demonstrated that transcriptional deregulation of c-Ha-ras expression is associated with the induction and maintenance of proliferative vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) phenotypes by benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). We examined previously undescribed cis-acting elements within the proximal 5' regulatory region of c-Ha-ras (-550 to +220) for their ability to influe...

Assessment of cancer risk from exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been traditionally conducted by applying the conservative linearized multistage (LMS) model to animal tumor data for benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), considered the most potent carcinogen in PAH mixtures. Because it has been argued that LMS use of 95% lower confidence limits on dose is unnecessarily conservative, that a...

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon ubiquitously existing in the environment. Its metabolites have been shown to cause DNA damage and cellular dysfunction in humans. Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer is a Chinese medicinal herb, and ginsenosides are the main active constituent of ginseng. Accumulating evidence had indicated that ginseng extract and ginsenosides possess cytoprotecti...

Sulfonation is a major phase II biotransformation reaction. In this study, we found that several polychlorobiphenylols (OH-PCBs) inhibited the sulfonation of 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene (3-OH-BaP) by human liver cytosol and some cDNA-expressed sulfotransferases. At concentrations > 0.15 microM, 3-OH-BaP inhibited its own sulfonation in cytosol fractions that were genotyped for SULT1A1 variants, as ...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals are often environmental cocontaminants, yet there have been relatively few studies of combined effects of PAHs and metals on cytochrome P450 (P450)-catalyzed metabolism. We examined the effects of NaAsO(2) in combination with benzo[a]pyrene (BAP) on CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 in T-47D human breast cancer cells by using estrogen metabolism as a probe of ...

In the accompanying report (p. 1031), we showed that a novel dioxin-inducible cytochrome P450, CYP2S1, efficiently metabolizes benzo[a]pyrene-trans-7,8-dihydrodiol (BaP-7,8-diol) into the highly mutagenic and carcinogenic benzo[a]pyrene-r-7,t-8-dihydrodiol-t-9,10-epoxide (BaP-diol-t-epoxide), using cumene hydroperoxide in lieu of NADPH/O(2). Lipid hydroperoxide-supported P450 oxidation has been...