title: Arachidonic acid metabolism by dioxin-induced cytochrome P-450: a new hypothesis on the role of P-450 in dioxin toxicity.
abstract: Dioxin (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, TCDD) is a highly potent inducer of cytochrome P-450. The role of the induced P-450 in TCDD toxicity has been obscure as P-450 neither detoxifies TCDD nor activates it to genotoxic or cytotoxic metabolites. We show, using a chick embryo model, that TCDD causes major increases in the NADPH dependent metabolism of arachidonic acid (AA), a predominant cell membrane fatty acid, that it does so with extremely high potency (ED50, 6.3 pmol per egg) and that this metabolism is catalyzed by TCDD-induced cytochrome P-450 species. Thus, TCDD treatment increased by six to ten fold the P-450 mediated hepatic microsomal metabolism of AA to epoxides and monohydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids, products whose diverse biological activities suggest links to TCDD's toxic effects. In contrast only x and x-1 hydroxy AA, inactive products, were significantly formed by the controls. These findings open a new perspective on how P-450 induction could be related to the diverse toxic effects of TCDD. They lead to the novel hypothesis that TCDD-induced cytochrome P-450 metabolizes an endogenous fatty acid to reactive products that in turn mediate or modulate varied manifestations of TCDD toxicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Cornell University Medical College, New York, New York 10021.
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Rifkind
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gannon
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Gross
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D001095:Arachidonic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D004487:Edema / Q000139:chemically induced; D004790:Enzyme Induction / Q000187:drug effects; D008862:Microsomes, Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D001095:Arachidonic Acids; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System