Biomaterial Database

Interactions of the carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide with the non-protein thiols of mammalian cells. 1979

M E Varnes, and J E Biaglow

The carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4-NQO) was found to rapidly deplete non-protein thiols (NPSH) from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells and V79 Chinese hamster fibroblasts. The effects of NPSH on 4-NQO metabolism were studied by measuring 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide formation, CN- -insensitive oxygen consumption, and reduction of ferricytochromes c + c1 in normal cells and in cells pretreated with the thiol reagent N-ethylmaleimide. Removal of thiols before treatment with 4-NQO resulted in increased production of 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide and increased production of nitro radicals. The NPSH thus appeared to play a significant role in 4-NQO detoxification. Glutathione, when present in culture medium during 4-NQO treatment, protected V79 cells from 4-NQO toxicity. Several mechanisms for reaction of 4-NQO with intracellular NPSH were indicated. Both V79 and Ehrlich cells contained appreciable amounts of glutathione S-transferase (EC 2.5.1.18), which catalyzes the nucleophilic substitution of the nitro group of 4-NQO with thiols. Greater thiol loss under oxic than under hypoxic conditions suggested oxidation by superoxide, peroxide, or hydroxyl radical formed in the course of 4-NQO reduction. In addition, reaction of thiols with nitro radicals or with nitrosoquinoline 1-oxide was indicated by the inhibitory effect of glutathione on oxygen consumption in solutions of 4-NQO and sodium ascorbate.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009600	Nitroquinolines	Quinolines substituted in any position by one or more nitro groups.
D010101	Oxygen Consumption	The rate at which oxygen is used by a tissue; microliters of oxygen STPD used per milligram of tissue per hour; the rate at which oxygen enters the blood from alveolar gas, equal in the steady state to the consumption of oxygen by tissue metabolism throughout the body. (Stedman, 25th ed, p346)	Consumption, Oxygen,Consumptions, Oxygen,Oxygen Consumptions
D002286	Carcinoma, Ehrlich Tumor	A transplantable, poorly differentiated malignant tumor which appeared originally as a spontaneous breast carcinoma in a mouse. It grows in both solid and ascitic forms.	Ehrlich Ascites Tumor,Ascites Tumor, Ehrlich,Ehrlich Tumor Carcinoma,Tumor, Ehrlich Ascites
D002470	Cell Survival	The span of viability of a cell characterized by the capacity to perform certain functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, some form of responsiveness, and adaptability.	Cell Viability,Cell Viabilities,Survival, Cell,Viabilities, Cell,Viability, Cell
D002478	Cells, Cultured	Cells propagated in vitro in special media conducive to their growth. Cultured cells are used to study developmental, morphologic, metabolic, physiologic, and genetic processes, among others.	Cultured Cells,Cell, Cultured,Cultured Cell
D003958	Diamide	A sulfhydryl reagent which oxidizes sulfhydryl groups to the disulfide form. It is a radiation-sensitizing agent of anoxic bacterial and mammalian cells.	Diazodicarboxylic Acid Bis(N,N-dimethyl)amide,Diazodicarboxylic Acid Bisdimethylamide,Dizene Dicarboxylic Acid Bis(N,N-dimethylamide),Dizenedicarboxylic Acid Bis(N,N-dimethylamide),Tetramethylazoformamide,Acid Bisdimethylamide, Diazodicarboxylic,Bisdimethylamide, Diazodicarboxylic Acid
D004579	Electron Transport	The process by which ELECTRONS are transported from a reduced substrate to molecular OXYGEN. (From Bennington, Saunders Dictionary and Encyclopedia of Laboratory Medicine and Technology, 1984, p270)	Respiratory Chain,Chain, Respiratory,Chains, Respiratory,Respiratory Chains,Transport, Electron
D005033	Ethylmaleimide	A sulfhydryl reagent that is widely used in experimental biochemical studies.	N-Ethylmaleimide,N Ethylmaleimide
D005347	Fibroblasts	Connective tissue cells which secrete an extracellular matrix rich in collagen and other macromolecules.	Fibroblast
D005978	Glutathione	A tripeptide with many roles in cells. It conjugates to drugs to make them more soluble for excretion, is a cofactor for some enzymes, is involved in protein disulfide bond rearrangement and reduces peroxides.	Reduced Glutathione,gamma-L-Glu-L-Cys-Gly,gamma-L-Glutamyl-L-Cysteinylglycine,Glutathione, Reduced,gamma L Glu L Cys Gly,gamma L Glutamyl L Cysteinylglycine