Effect of phytochemical intervention on dibenzo[a,l]pyrene-induced DNA adduct formation

• Measure potential of test agents to inhibit phase I metabolizing enzymes.
• Utilization of DNA adduct measurement provides clues to multiple mechanisms.
• Ellagic acid and olitpraz have shown potential to study further for in vivo efficacy.
• Ellagic acid demonstrated significant reduction in CYP1A2 and CYP1B1 activity and also scavenged electrophilic metabolite.
• Oltipraz did not scavenge electrophilic metabolite, but inhibited CYP1A1 and CYP1B1.

Dibenzo[a,l]pyrene (DBP) has been found to be the most potent carcinogen of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Primary sources for DBP in the environment are combustion of wood and coal burning, gasoline and diesel exhaust, and tires. Given the likelihood of environmental exposure to DBP and strong experimental evidence of its potency, it is likely to contribute to lung cancer development. Intervention with compounds of natural origin (“phytochemicals”) is considered an effective means to prevent cancer development and favorably modulate the underlying mechanisms, including DNA adduct formation. In this study, several agents have been identified that inhibit environmental carcinogen-induced DNA adduct formation using a cell-free microsomal system. Of the ten agents tested, resveratrol (648 ± 26 adducts/109 nucleotides), oltipraz (1007 ± 348 adducts/109 nucleotides), delphinidin (1252 ± 142 adducts/109 nucleotides), tanshinone I (1981 ± 213 adducts/109 nucleotides), tanshinone IIA (2606 ± 478 adducts/109 nucleotides) and diindoylmethane (3643 ± 469 adducts/109 nucleotides) were the most effective compared to vehicle treatment (14,062 ± 1097 adducts/109 nucleotides). DBP is metabolized by phase I metabolizing enzymes CYP1A1, CYP1A2, and CYP1B1. DBP-induced DNA adducts can be inhibited by several mechanisms. We found that all the test agents inhibited DNA adducts by inhibiting one or more of these enzymes. Oltipraz inhibited DNA adducts entirely by inhibiting the CYP450s, while resveratrol and delphinidin inhibited DNA adducts by also interacting directly with the carcinogenic metabolite, anti-dibenzo(a,l)pyrene-11,12-dihydrodiol-13,14-epoxide.