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Title: Impact of phenanthrene co-administration on the toxicokinetics of benzo[a]pyrene in humans. UPLC-accelerator mass spectrometry following oral microdosing

Journal Article · · Chemico-Biological Interactions

Current risk assessments for environmental carcinogens rely on animal studies utilizing doses orders of magnitude higher than actual human exposures. Epidemiological studies of people with high exposures (e.g., occupational) are of value, but rely on uncertain exposure data. In addition, exposures are typically not to a single chemical but to mixtures, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The extremely high sensitivity of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) allows for dosing humans with known carcinogens with de minimus risk. In this study UPLC-AMS was used to assess the toxicokinetics of [14C]-benzo[a]pyrene ([14C]-BaP) when dosed alone or in a binary mixture with phenanthrene (Phe). Plasma was collected for 48 h following a dose of [14C]-BaP (50 ng, 5.4 nCi) or the same dose of [14C]-BaP plus Phe (1250 ng). Following the binary mixture, Cmax of [14C]-BaP significantly decreased (4.4-fold) whereas the volume of distribution (Vd) increased (2-fold). Further, the toxicokinetics of twelve [14C]-BaP metabolites provided evidence of little change in the metabolite profile of [14C]-BaP and the pattern was overall reduction consistent with reduced absorption (decrease in Cmax). Although Phe was shown to be a competitive inhibitor of the major hepatic cytochrome P-450 (CYP) responsible for metabolism of [14C]-BaP, CYP1A2, the high inhibition constant (Ki) and lack of any increase in unmetabolized [14C]-BaP in plasma makes this mechanism unlikely to be responsible. Rather, co-administration of Phe reduces the absorption of [14C]-BaP through a mechanism yet to be determined. Furthermore, this is the first study to provide evidence that, at actual environmental levels of exposure, the toxicokinetics of [14C]-BaP in humans is markedly altered by the presence of a second PAH, Phe, a common component of environmental PAH mixtures.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830; AC52-07NA27344; P42ES016465; R01ES028600; T32ES07060; P30ES030287; R24GM137748
OSTI ID:
2000532
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2217424
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-181896; LLNL-JRNL-857048
Journal Information:
Chemico-Biological Interactions, Vol. 382; ISSN 0009-2797
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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