The effect of enzyme induction on the stereoselective metabolism of optically pure (-)1R,2R- and (+)1S,2S-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydrobenz-[a]anthracenes to vicinal 1,2-dihydrodiol 3,4-epoxides by rat liver microsomes.

The optically pure (-) and (+)trans-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydrobenz[a]anthracenes (BA trans-1,2-dihydrodiol) were obtained through the resolution of their diastereomeric di(-)menthoxyacetates by normal-phase h.p.l.c., followed with base-catalyzed hydrolysis. The (-)-BA trans-1,2-dihydrobiol has been determined to have 1R,2R absolute stereochemistry by exciton chirality method. Each of the enantiomeric and racemic BA trans-1,2-dihydrodiol was incubated with liver microsomes from untreated, phenobarbital (PB)-, and 3-methylcholanthrene (MC)-treated male Sprague-Dawley rats. The racemic and enantiomeric BA trans-1,2-dihydrodiols were each metabolized to two 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrobenz[a]anthracenes (BA 1,2,3,4-tetrol) derived from the hydrolysis of BA trans-1,2-dihydrodiol anti-3,4-epoxide (the 3,4-epoxy oxygen is trans to the 1-hydroxyl group) and syn-3,4-epoxide (the 3,4-epoxy oxygen is cis to the 1-hydroxyl group), respectively. All the BA 1,2,3,4-tetrols were identified by comparing the reversed-phase h.p.l.c. retention times of tetrols and their vicinal acetonides with the hydrolysis products of the chemically synthesized BA trans-1,2-dihydrodiol anti-3,4-epoxide, BA trans-1,2-dihydrodiol syn-3,4-epoxide, BA trans-3,4-dihydrobiol anti-1,2-epoxide, and BA trans-3,4-dihydrodiol syn-1,2-epoxide, respectively, by their modes of forming vicinal acetonides, and by ultraviolet absorption and mass spectral analyses. From the metabolism of (-)-BA trans-1,2-dihydrodiol, a BA trans-1,2-dihydrodiol anti-3,4-epoxide was the major product formed by liver microsomes from MC-treated rats whereas a BA trans-1,2-dihydrodiol syn-3,4-epoxide was the major product formed by liver microsomes from either untreated or PB-treated rats. In contrast, BA trans-1,2-dihydrodiol syn-3,4-epoxide was the major product formed from the metabolism of (+)-BA trans-1,2-dihydrodiol by all three rat liver microsomal preparations. Liver microsomes from PB-treated rats were found to catalyze the metabolism of both the racemic and the enantiomeric BA trans-1,2-dihydrodiols at a rate higher than those by liver microsomes from untreated and MC-treated rats. All BA 1,2,3,4-tetrol metabolites were found to be optically active by circular dichroism spectral analysis. The results indicate that the 'bay-region' BA trans-1,2-dihydrodiol is metabolized by rat liver microsomes predominantly at the vicinal 3,4-double bond and that each enantiomeric BA trans-1,2-dihydrodiol is metabolized to a pair of diastereomeric BA trans-1,2-dihydrodiol 3,4-epoxides with varying degrees of stereoselectivity depending on the constitutive forms of cytochrome P-450 in the rat liver microsomal preparations.