Persistence of benzo[a]pyrene and 7,8-dihydro-7,8-dihydroxybenzo[a] pyrene in Fischer 344 rats: time distribution of total metabolites in blood, urine and feces.
A comparison of the rates of elimination of [3H]benzo[a] pyrene (BaP) and 7,8-dihydro-7,8-diol-[3H]benzo[a]pyrene (BPD), after subcutaneous injection into Fischer 344 rats, shows they are both eliminated at about the same rates and with the same pattern over at least 7 days post-exposure. The end-rate of combined urinary and fecal excretion was approximately 40 nmol/day. About 20% of the injected BaP and approximately 3% of the injected BPD remained at the site of injection for at least 9 days. The remainder was distributed throughout the animal. If the rate of excretion continued at the observed steady-state rates, the BaP and BPD could persist for up to 40 days for each milligram of injected substance. The concentration of excretion products were highest during day 1 and day 2 following exposure, decreased exponentially to a concentration of approximately 0.5 microM (mixed metabolites) by day 5 following exposure, and then continued to be excreted at that rate. Feces contained the highest total amounts of radioactivity, which were approximately 2- to 4-fold higher than the amounts in urine and approximately 15- to 50-fold higher than in total blood. The conversion of organic 3H to 3H2O during the experimental period indicates that whole-body phenol(quinone) formation was significant for BaP metabolism, but was much less for BPD metabolism. When BaP was injected, both blood and urine contained water-soluble, volatile tritium counts (3H2O). Injection of BPD resulted in volatile 3H2O in urine but not in blood. The persistence of BaP and BPD metabolites in skin, blood, urine and feces compartments indicates there is a substantial reservoir of the chemical(s) that could be used to replenish repaired or discarded DNA adducts.
Uziel
M
M
Health and Safety Research Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN 37831-6101.
Haglund
R
R
D000818:Animals; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000652:urine; D004101:Dihydroxydihydrobenzopyrenes / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000652:urine; D005243:Feces / Q000032:analysis; D008658:Inactivation, Metabolic; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D013997:Time Factors
D004101:Dihydroxydihydrobenzopyrenes; C017228:benzo(a)pyrene 7,8-dihydrodiol; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene