Role of cytochrome P450 isoenzymes in metabolism of O(6)-benzylguanine: implications for dacarbazine activation.

O(6)-Benzylguanine (BG) effectively inactivates the DNA repair protein O(6)-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase and enhances the effectiveness of alkylating agents, such as 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea and temozolomide, in vitro and in vivo. BG is presently in clinical trials with 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea and temozolomide. Preclinical data demonstrate that BG enhances the sensitivity of cells to 5-[3-methyl-triazen-1-yl]-imidazole-4-carboxamide, the active intermediate of dacarbazine (DTIC), making the combination BG plus DTIC attractive for additional clinical development. DTIC requires metabolism by cytochrome P450 (CYP450) isoforms, 1A1, 1A2, and 2E1 to form two reactive N-demethylated metabolites, 5-[3-hydroxy-methyl-3-methyl-triazen-1-yl]-imidazole-4-carboxamide and 5-[3-methyl-triazen-1-yl]-imidazole-4-carboxamide, ultimately forming a methylating species responsible for its cytotoxicity. The objective of this study was to examine the role of CYP450 1A1 and 1A2 in the metabolism of BG and identify possible drug-drug interactions with DTIC. Our data show that CYP450 isoforms 1A1 and 1A2 are primarily responsible for both BG oxidation to O(6)-benzyl-8-oxoguanine (8-oxoBG) and additional debenzylation to 8-oxoguanine. The catalytic efficiency of BG oxidation is 16 times lower for CYP1A1 than CYP1A2; however, the catalytic efficiency of 8-oxoBG debenzylation is 11 times greater for CYP1A1 than CYP1A2. Furthermore, BG inhibits CYP1A1 and 1A2 catalyzed conversion of DTIC to active methylating species. 8-OxoBG also inhibited conversion of DTIC to active methylating species but to a much lesser extent. The concentrations of BG required to inhibit 50% of DTIC N-demethylation were 2.8, 0.13, and 3.8 microM in human liver microsomes, baculovirus overexpressed CYP1A1, and CYP1A2, respectively. Our results suggest that treating patients with BG as a means to enhance the effectiveness of DTIC is unlikely to result in a therapeutic benefit as a result of inhibition of the enzymes responsible for conversion of DTIC to its active methylating species.