Toxicokinetics of acrylamide in primary rat hepatocytes: coupling to glutathione is faster than conversion to glycidamide.

Acrylamide (AA), classified as class 2A carcinogen (probably carcinogenic to humans) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), is formed during heating of food from reducing carbohydrates and asparagine by Maillard reaction chemistry. After dietary uptake, AA is in part metabolically converted into the proximate genotoxic phase I metabolite glycidamide (GA). GA reacts with nucleophilic base positions in DNA, primarily forming N7-(2-carbamoyl-2-hydroxyethyl)guanine (N7-GA-Gua) adducts. In a competing phase II biotransformation pathway AA, as well as its phase I metabolite GA, is coupled to glutathione (GSH). The GSH coupling products are further biotransformed and excreted via urine as mercapturic acids (MA), N-acetyl-S-(2-carbamoylethyl)cysteine (AAMA), and N-acetyl-S-(2-hydroxy-2-carbamoylethyl)cysteine (GAMA). In the present study, hepatic biotransformation pathways and DNA adduct formation were studied in primary rat hepatocytes, incubated with AA (0.2-2,000 μM) for up to 24 h. Contents of AA-GSH, GA, AAMA, and GAMA were measured in the cell culture medium after solid phase extraction (SPE). N7-GA-Gua adducts in DNA of hepatocytes were determined by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS after lysis of the cells and neutral thermal hydrolysis. Formation of AA-GSH was linear with AA concentration and incubation time and became detectable already at 0.2 μM (4 h). In contrast to AA, GA was not detected before 16 h incubation at 10-fold higher AA concentration (2 μM). In summary, the rate of AA-GSH formation was found to be about 1.5-3 times higher than that of GA formation. N7-GA-Gua adducts were found only at the highest AA concentration tested (2,000 μM).