DNA adducts of 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) in colon, bladder, and kidney of congenic mice differing in Ah responsiveness and N-acetyltransferase genotype.

Heterocyclic amines, suspected as cancer initiators, require metabolic activation to exert genotoxicity. The food carcinogen 2-amino-3-methyl-imidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) undergoes activation via N-hydroxylation by cytochrome P450 1A2, followed by O-esterification by N-acetyltransferase. We examined the effects of the Ah locus and acetylator polymorphisms (implicated in human colon and bladder cancer risk) on levels of 32P-postlabeled IQ-DNA adducts in C57BL/6 mice congenic for slow acetylation and/or Ah nonresponsiveness. Some were pretreated with beta-naphthoflavone (beta NF), an inducer of cytochromes P450 1A. Guanine adducts were detected in all organs, the predominant one corresponding to N2-(deoxyguanosine-8-yl)-IQ. In the kidney, beta NF pretreatment reduced total adducts by 50% in Ah-responsive animals (P = 0.021); the Ah or acetylator phenotype did not otherwise affect total adducts. In the colon of Ah-nonresponsive animals, rapid acetylators had 3-fold more adducts than slow acetylators (P = 0.0001, vehicle-pretreated; P = 0.0031, beta NF-pretreated). In Ah-responsive mice of either acetylator phenotype, beta NF pretreatment reduced total adducts in the colon by 70% (P = 0.0003). A significant interaction of phenotypes occurred in the bladder; beta NF-pretreatment caused a 2.5-fold increase in adducts but only in the Ah-responsive, rapid acetylator mice. In sum, these polymorphisms influenced the level of IQ-DNA adducts in the kidney, urinary bladder, and colon in complex ways.