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The Toxicologist - Society of Toxicology

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utylbenzenes, exhibited most similar patterns in absorption, distribution and excretion<br />

as well as metabolic activity. Additionally, the acute toxicities <strong>of</strong> branched<br />

alkylbenzenes were reported to be higher in various tissues compared to their linear<br />

counterparts such as ethylbenzene and n-butylbenzene. A similarity search using<br />

U.S. EPA’s DSSTox database and National Library <strong>of</strong> Medicine (NLM)<br />

ChemIDPlus also support isopropylbenzene as an appropriate surrogate for secand<br />

tert-butylbenzene. Based on this weight-<strong>of</strong>-evidence analysis, toxicity data on<br />

isopropylbenzene may serve as a surrogate for both sec- and tert-butylbenzenes.<br />

1966 EVALUATING IN SILICO AND IN VITRO<br />

TECHNOLOGIES FOR PREDICTING<br />

HEPATOTOXICITY.<br />

W. J. Bailey 3 , A. Bahl 1 , E. Keough 2 , K. R. Leander 2 , C. Gretzula 4 , I. Pak 1 , M.<br />

C. Kuhls 3 , C. Kreatsoulas 5 , R. P. Sheridan 5 , A. G. Aslamkhan 3 , L. Kiss 4 , A.<br />

Bagchi 1 and B. J. Howell 2 . 1 Informatics IT, Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, PA,<br />

2 RNA <strong>The</strong>rapeutics, Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, PA, 3 Analytical & Systems<br />

<strong>Toxicology</strong>, Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, PA, 4 in vitro Pharmacology, Merck & Co.,<br />

Inc., West Point, PA and 5 Chemistry Modeling & Informatics, Merck & Co., Inc.,<br />

West Point, PA.<br />

In vitro predictive toxicology strategies deployed in the hit-to-lead space can serve<br />

to enrich the candidate pool for less toxic compounds, thus driving down the cost<br />

and uncertainty <strong>of</strong> drug development. As hepatotoxicity is a major source <strong>of</strong> attrition<br />

during preclinical and clinical development, we focused on developing and<br />

evaluating different technologies (in silico and in vitro) for building classifiers that<br />

predict dose-dependent liver injury. <strong>The</strong> in silico approach utilizes predicted physical<br />

properties (PPP) derived from chemical structures alone (e.g. lipophilicity),<br />

thereby providing an assay-free means to guide compound choices very early in the<br />

drug discovery pipeline. Among the two in vitro technologies that we studied, highthroughput<br />

screens (HTS) interrogate select toxicological biomarkers in a liver cell<br />

line upon chemical perturbation using simple assays amenable to automation (e.g.<br />

cell viability), allowing deployment in pipeline phases expecting a routinely high<br />

flux <strong>of</strong> compounds to be tested. <strong>The</strong> second in vitro technology examined, highcontent<br />

screening (HCS), is an image-based methodology for pr<strong>of</strong>iling cellular effects<br />

across a spectrum <strong>of</strong> chosen hepatotoxicity endpoints simultaneously in individual<br />

cultured liver cells upon compound treatment, providing richer information<br />

than HTS assays that is useful for mechanistic dissection, but which comes with an<br />

associated increase in assay complexity that limits throughput. In this study, we<br />

present the cost, complexity, throughput, and performance pr<strong>of</strong>iles <strong>of</strong> PPP-, HTS-,<br />

and HCS-based predictive toxicology approaches benchmarked on an internal<br />

Merck compound set where in vivo liver histopathology endpoints are known.<br />

1967 CANCER HAZARD IDENTIFICATION UTILIZING<br />

STRUCTURE-ACTIVITY CONSIDERATIONS FOR 1, 3-<br />

DICHLOROPROPANOL AND 3-<br />

MONOCHLOROPROPANE-1, 2-DIOL.<br />

D. W. Morry, R. S. Tomar, F. C. Tsai, M. S. Sandy and L. Zeise. Office <strong>of</strong><br />

Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection<br />

Agency, Oakland, CA.<br />

1,3-Dichloropropanol (1,3-DCP), a high production volume chemical, and 3monochloropropane-1,2-diol<br />

(3-MCPD), a rodenticide, are chlorinated three-carbon<br />

alcohols that are also found in certain processed foods. <strong>The</strong>se two compounds<br />

were recently added to the Proposition 65 list <strong>of</strong> chemicals known to the State <strong>of</strong><br />

California to cause cancer. Here we focus on the structure-activity information that<br />

contributed to the evidence used to identify these compounds as carcinogens. We<br />

compare 1,3-DCP and 3-MCPD with seven related three-carbon compounds and<br />

two phosphate triesters that are metabolized to three-carbon halogenated alcohols.<br />

<strong>The</strong> three-carbon compounds are: 2,3-dibromo-1-propanol, epichlorohydrin, glycidol,<br />

1,3-dichloroacetone, 1,2,3-trichloropropane, 1,3-dichloropropene (Telone<br />

II), and 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane. <strong>The</strong> phosphate triesters are: tris(1,3dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate<br />

(TDCPP) and tris(2,3-dibromopropyl)phosphate<br />

(TDPP). All <strong>of</strong> these compounds have positive evidence <strong>of</strong> genotoxicity, and all but<br />

two (1,3-dichloroacetone, TDCPP) have been identified as carcinogens by IARC or<br />

Proposition 65. <strong>The</strong> rodent carcinogenicity data on these chemicals indicate that<br />

they are capable <strong>of</strong> inducing tumors at multiple sites. Many <strong>of</strong> these chemicals induce<br />

tumors at one or more <strong>of</strong> the same sites as 1,3-DCP and 3-MCPD. Several<br />

mechanisms have been proposed to explain how these eleven compounds induce<br />

tumors, including genotoxicity, possibly via formation <strong>of</strong> glutathione metabolites<br />

capable <strong>of</strong> forming DNA adducts. We conclude that structure-activity considerations<br />

can provide valuable information for the assessment <strong>of</strong> cancer hazard.<br />

1968 ARSENIC INDUCES METABOLIC REGULATORS AND<br />

DIFFERENTIATION IN ADIPOSE TISSUE.<br />

L. R. Klei, Y. Garciafigueroa, R. T. Cattley and A. Barchowsky. Environmental<br />

and Occupational Health, Universtity <strong>of</strong> Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.<br />

Consumption <strong>of</strong> low to moderate levels <strong>of</strong> arsenic promotes a number <strong>of</strong> diseases<br />

that stem from altered metabolism, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. <strong>The</strong><br />

patterns <strong>of</strong> diseases suggest enhanced metabolic syndrome, but underlying mechanisms<br />

are less clear. To investigate potential mechanisms, we explored the hypothesis<br />

that arsenic exposure promotes pathogenic phenotypic or functional change in<br />

mouse adipose tissues. C57Bl/6 mice were assessed for circulating lipid levels and<br />

adipose tissue expression <strong>of</strong> regulators <strong>of</strong> lipid and energy metabolism. Decreased<br />

serum triglyceride was the only observable circulating lipid change. Analysis <strong>of</strong><br />

RNA and protein extracts isolated from interscapular brown adipose tissue (BAT)<br />

demonstrated up regulation <strong>of</strong> transcriptional programs for thermogenesis with increased<br />

expression <strong>of</strong> PGC-1α, PnPla2, UCP1, PPARγ, and PPARδ. Interestingly,<br />

transcript levels for a number <strong>of</strong> inflammatory mediators (CRP, Ccl3, IL6, and<br />

vaspin) decreased in BAT. Epididymal white adipose tissue (WAT) demonstrated<br />

similar patterns <strong>of</strong> change, especially with increases in PGC-1α and UCP1 at both<br />

the transcript and protein levels. <strong>The</strong>se regulators <strong>of</strong> BAT thermogenesis are normally<br />

very lowly expressed in WAT and the expression indicates WAT acquiring<br />

BAT character. This phenotypic change would be supported by the increased markers<br />

<strong>of</strong> adipose stem cell differentiation, such as PPARγ. Increased PECAM1, IGF1,<br />

and VEGF indicated enhanced WAT vascularization. Interestingly, many adipose<br />

genes, such as visfatin, leptin, lipoprotein lipase, and adipophilin were unchanged.<br />

However, PEPCK, the rate limiting step in gluconeogenesis, levels were increased.<br />

Together, the pattern <strong>of</strong> arsenic-related change in adipose tissues explain the decrease<br />

in serum triglycerides, but disrupted metabolism with enhanced potential for<br />

released glucose. Further investigation is warranted to determine the full impact <strong>of</strong><br />

these metabolic changes to etiology <strong>of</strong> arsenic related metabolic diseases. Supported<br />

by NIEHS grant R01ES013781.<br />

1969 TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSOR INVOLVED IN<br />

GLUCOSE METABOLISM PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN<br />

PROTECTION AGAINST ARSENITE TOXICITY.<br />

T. Takahashi, N. Miyanaga, T. Yano and A. Naganuma. Graduate School <strong>of</strong><br />

Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.<br />

Arsenic is known to be an environmental toxic metalloid that causes various cancers<br />

and skin disorders, but its mechanism <strong>of</strong> toxicity are not yet clearly understood. To<br />

elucidate more detail mechanism <strong>of</strong> arsenic toxicity, we have previously searched for<br />

factors that determine sensitivity <strong>of</strong> cells to arsenite using budding yeast as a model<br />

eukaryote and found that disruption <strong>of</strong> Reg1, a regulatory subunit <strong>of</strong> protein phosphatase<br />

1 (PP1), increased sensitivity <strong>of</strong> yeast cells to arsenite. In this study, we<br />

found that the deletion <strong>of</strong> Reg1 increased sensitivity <strong>of</strong> yeast cells to arsenite<br />

through activation <strong>of</strong> Snf1 kinase. <strong>The</strong>refore, we investigated the relationship between<br />

downstream factors <strong>of</strong> Snf1 and arsenic toxicity and found that deletion <strong>of</strong><br />

Mig1, a transcriptional repressor involved in glucose metabolism, conferred hypersensitivity<br />

to arsenite. Mig1 is known to be down-regulated by Snf1 via phosphorylation.<br />

Simultaneous deletion <strong>of</strong> Reg1 and Mig1 showed no additive or synergistic<br />

effects on sensitization to arsenite, suggesting that sensitization <strong>of</strong> yeast cells to arsenite<br />

by deletion <strong>of</strong> Reg1 might be involved in depression <strong>of</strong> Mig1 by Snf1. On the<br />

other hand, arsenite enhanced phosphorylation <strong>of</strong> Mig1 and decreased the transcriptional<br />

repressor activity <strong>of</strong> Mig1. <strong>The</strong>se results suggest that inactivation <strong>of</strong><br />

Mig1 via phosphorilation might be involved in development <strong>of</strong> arsenic toxicity.<br />

1970 CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO MODERATE DOSES OF<br />

ARSENIC INCREASES ATHEROSCLEROSIS<br />

FORMATION OF UNSTABLE PLAQUES.<br />

M. Lemaire 1 , C. A. Lemarié 2 , M. Flores-Molina 1 , E. L. Schiffrin 2 , S. Lehoux 2<br />

and K. K. Mann 1 . 1 Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada and<br />

2 Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.<br />

Arsenic is a widespread environmental contaminant to which millions <strong>of</strong> people are<br />

exposed worldwide. <strong>The</strong> current maximum acceptable level <strong>of</strong> arsenic in municipal<br />

water is set at 10 ppb, but well water in many North American counties averages<br />

10-fold higher than this limit. Arsenic exposure has been linked to atherosclerosis,<br />

however molecular mechanisms involved or minimal required doses are unknown.<br />

<strong>The</strong>refore, we assessed the effects <strong>of</strong> a chronic exposure to moderate concentrations<br />

<strong>of</strong> arsenic on plaque formation and plaque composition in the ApoE-/- murine atherosclerosis<br />

model. We exposed ApoE-/- mice to two doses <strong>of</strong> arsenic (200 ppb or<br />

SOT 2011 ANNUAL MEETING 421

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