ABSTRACT: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are tobacco carcinogens implicated in the causation of human lung cancer. Metabolic activation is a key prerequisite for PAHs to cause their deleterious effects. Using human lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cells, we provide evidence for the metabolic activation of (+/-)-trans-7,8dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P-7,8-trans-dihydrodiol) by aldo-keto reductases (AKRs) to yield benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-dione (B[a]P-7,8-dione), a redox-active o-quinone. We show that B[a]P-7,8-trans-dihydrodiol (AKR substrate) and B[a]P-7,8-dione (AKR product) lead to the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) (measured as an increase in dichlorofluorescin diacetate fluores-cence) and that similar changes were not observed with the regioisomer (+/-)-trans-4,5-dihydroxy-4,5-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene or the diol-epoxide, (+/-)-anti-7,8-dihydroxy-9alpha,10beta-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-B[a]P. B[a]P-7,8-trans-dihydrodiol and B[a]P-7,8-dione also caused a decrease in glutathione levels and an increase in NADP(+)/NADPH ratios, with a concomitant increase in single-strand breaks (as measured by the comet assay) and 7,8-dihydro-8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dGuo). The specificity of the comet assay was validated by coupling it to human 8-oxo-guanine glycosylase (hOGG1), which excises 8-oxo-Gua to yield single-strand breaks. The levels of 8-oxo-dGuo observed were confirmed by an immunoaffinity purification stable isotope dilution ([(15)N(5)]-8-oxo-dGuo) liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization/multiple reaction monitoring/mass spectrometry (LC-ESI/MRM/MS) assay. B[a]P-7,8-trans-dihydrodiol produced DNA strand breaks in the hOGG1-coupled comet assay as well as 8-oxo-dGuo (as measured by LC-ESI/MRM/MS) and was enhanced by a catechol O-methyl transferase (COMT) inhibitor, suggesting that COMT protects against o-quinone-mediated redox cycling. We conclude that activation of PAH-trans-dihydrodiols by AKRs in lung cells leads to ROS-mediated genotoxicity and contributes to lung carcinogenesis.
