Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:5.99.1.2 (topoisomerase)
 9,166 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Exposure to benzene, a human and animal carcinogen, results in the formation of structural chromosomal aberrations in the bone marrow and blood cells of animals and humans. The mechanisms underlying these clastogenic effects are unknown. Inhibition of enzymes involved in DNA replication and repair, such as topoisomerase enzymes, by the metabolites of benzene represents a potential mechanism for the formation of chromosomal aberrations. To test this hypothesis, the inhibitory effects of various phenolic and quinone metabolites of benzene on the activity of human topoisomerases I and II were studied in vitro. No inhibition of topoisomerase I was seen with any of the tested metabolites. Inhibitory effects on topoisomerase II were not observed for hydroquinone, phenol, 2,2'-biphenol, 4,4'-biphenol and catechol at concentrations as high as 500 microM. 1,4-Benzoquinone and 1,2,4-benzenetriol inhibited topoisomerase II at relatively high 500 and 250 microM concentrations, respectively. However following bioactivation using a peroxidase/H2O2 system, inhibitory effects were seen at concentrations as low as 50 microM for both phenol and 2,2'-biphenol and 10 microM for 4,4'-biphenol. The addition of reduced glutathione (GSH) to the 4,4'-biphenol and horseradish peroxidase reaction system protected topoisomerase II from inhibition suggesting that diphenoquinone or another oxidation product formed from 4,4'-biphenol might be the reactive species. These in vitro results indicate that inhibition of topoisomerase II may contribute to the clastogenic and carcinogenic effects of benzene. In addition, metabolites formed from these phenolic compounds appear to represent several new types of topoisomerase II-inhibiting compounds.
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PMID:Topoisomerase inhibition by phenolic metabolites: a potential mechanism for benzene's clastogenic effects. 758 26

Benzene is a clastogenic and carcinogenic agent that induces acute myelogenous leukemia in humans and multiple of tumors in animals. Previous research has indicated that benzene must first be metabolized to one or more bioactive species to exert its myelotoxic and genotoxic effects. To better understand the possible role of individual benzene metabolites in the leukemogenic process, as well as to further investigate inhibition of topoisomerase II by benzene metabolites, a series of known and putative benzene metabolites, phenol, 4,4'-biphenol, 2,2'-biphenol, hydroquinone, catechol, 1,2,4-benzenetriol, 1,4-benzoquinone, and trans-trans-muconaldehyde were tested for inhibitory effects in vitro on the human topoisomerase II enzyme. With minor modifications of the standard assay conditions, 1,4-benzoquinone and trans-trans-muconaldehyde were shown to be directly inhibitory, whereas all of the phenolic metabolites were shown to inhibit enzymatic activity following bioactivation using a peroxidase activation system. The majority of compounds tested inhibited topoisomerase II at concentrations at or below 10 microM. These results confirm and expand upon previous findings from our laboratory and indicate that many of the metabolites of benzene could potentially interfere with topoisomerase II. Since other inhibitors of topoisomerase II have been shown to induce leukemia in humans, inhibition of this enzyme by benzene metabolites may also play a role in the carcinogenic effects of benzene.
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PMID:Inhibition of human topoisomerase II in vitro by bioactive benzene metabolites. 911 13

Although benzene induces leukemias in humans, the compound is not believed to generate chromosomal damage directly. Rather, benzene is thought to act through a series of phenolic- and quinone-based metabolites, especially 1,4-benzoquinone. A recent study found that 1,4-benzoquinone is a potent topoisomerase II poison in vitro and in cultured human cells [Lindsey et al. (2004) Biochemistry 43, 7363-7374]. Because benzene is metabolized to multiple compounds in addition to 1,4-benzoquinone, we determined the effects of several phenolic metabolites, including catechol, 1,2,4-benzenetriol, 1,4-hydroquinone, 2,2'-biphenol, and 4,4'-biphenol, on the DNA cleavage activity of human topoisomerase II alpha. Only 1,4-hydroquinone generated substantial levels of topoisomerase II-mediated DNA scission. DNA cleavage with this compound approached levels observed with 1,4-benzoquinone (approximately 5- vs 8-fold) but required a considerably higher concentration (approximately 250 vs 25 microM). 1,4-Hydroquinone is a precursor to 1,4-benzoquinone in the body and can be activated to the quinone by redox cycling. It is not known whether the effects of 1,4-hydroquinone on human topoisomerase II alpha reflect a lower reactivity of the hydroquinone or a low level of activation to the quinone. The high concentration of 1,4-hydroquinone required to increase enzyme-mediated DNA cleavage is consistent with either explanation. 1,4-Hydroquinone displayed attributes against topoisomerase II alpha, including DNA cleavage specificity, that were similar to those of 1,4-benzoquinone. However, 1,4-hydroquinone consistently inhibited DNA ligation to a greater extent than 1,4-benzoquinone. This latter result implies that the hydroquinone may display (at least in part) independent activity against topoisomerase II alpha. The present findings are consistent with the hypothesis that topoisomerase II alpha plays a role in the initiation of specific types of leukemia that are induced by benzene and its metabolites.
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PMID:Effects of benzene metabolites on DNA cleavage mediated by human topoisomerase II alpha: 1,4-hydroquinone is a topoisomerase II poison. 1583 37

Benzene is a human carcinogen that induces hematopoietic malignancies. It is believed that benzene does not initiate leukemias directly, but rather generates DNA damage through a series of phenolic and quinone-based metabolites, especially 1,4-benzoquinone. Since the DNA damage induced by 1,4-benzoquinone is consistent with that of topoisomerase II-targeted drugs, it has been proposed that the compound initiates specific types of leukemia by acting as a topoisomerase II poison. This hypothesis, however, was not supported by initial in vitro studies. While 1,4-benzoquinone inhibited topoisomerase II catalysis, increases in enzyme-mediated DNA cleavage were not observed. Because of the potential involvement of topoisomerase II in benzene-induced leukemias, we re-examined the effects of benzene metabolites (including 1,4-benzoquinone, 1,4-hydroquinone, catechol, 1,2,4-benzenetriol, 2,2'-biphenol, and 4,4'-biphenol) on DNA cleavage mediated by human topoisomerase IIalpha. In contrast to previous reports, we found that 1,4-benzoquinone was a strong topoisomerase II poison and was more potent in vitro than the anticancer drug etoposide. Other metabolites displayed considerably less activity. DNA cleavage enhancement by 1,4-benzoquinone was unseen in previous studies due to the presence of reducing agents and the incubation of 1,4-benzoquinone with the enzyme prior to the addition of DNA. Unlike anticancer drugs such as etoposide that interact with topoisomerase IIalpha in a noncovalent manner, the actions of 1,4-benzoquinone appear to involve a covalent attachment to the enzyme. Finally, 1,4-benzoquinone stimulated DNA cleavage by topoisomerase IIalpha in cultured human cells. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that topoisomerase IIalpha plays a role in the initiation of some benzene-induced leukemias.
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PMID:Stimulation of topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage by benzene metabolites. 1593 17

Exposure of humans to benzene present in environment may lead to adverse chronic effects-even at the genetic level. However, the mechanism of its genotoxicity is not well understood. In the present study, in vitro genotoxicity of benzene (BZ) and its major metabolites [p-benzoquinone (BQ), hydroquinone (HQ), catechol (CT), 1,2,4-benzenetriol (BT) and trans-trans muconic acid (MA)] at concentrations 0.5-50 microM, was assessed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells employing the alkaline Comet assay, cytokinesis blocked micronucleus (CBMN) assay, flow cytometric analysis of micronucleus (flow MN) and chromosome aberration (CA) test. The data revealed significant (P<0.05) concentration-dependent response in all end points. HQ was found to be the most potent DNA damaging metabolite in the Comet assay followed by BQ>BT>CT>BZ>MA. Both CBMN and flow MN assays revealed a good correlation in their results, where BQ and MA exhibited maximum and minimum micronucleus induction respectively. Significant chromosomal aberrations were induced mainly by BQ, BT and HQ, with moderate response shown by CT and BZ and least by MA. The results demonstrated the utility of sensitive techniques like Comet assay and flow cytometry for determination of MN, to quantify in vitro genotoxicity at low levels and also suggested that partly non-repaired DNA damage could cause adverse health effects in human population exposed to benzene. In silico studies using different endpoints of genotoxicity and molecular docking studies with human topoisomerase-II alpha, a major DNA repair enzyme were also conducted. These corroborated the results obtained from the in vitro data, pointing to a direct relationship of the observed genotoxicity with the structural properties and various interactions of metabolites with the enzyme. This comprehensive study demonstrated that genotoxicity of benzene in mammalian cells is mainly due to the inhibition of topoisomerase by the metabolites.
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PMID:In silico studies with human DNA topoisomerase-II alpha to unravel the mechanism of in vitro genotoxicity of benzene and its metabolites. 1905 73