NanoHPLC-nanoESI+-MS/MS Quantitation of Bis-N7-Guanine DNA–DNA Cross-Links in Tissues of B6C3F1 Mice Exposed to subppm Levels of 1,3-Butadiene

1,3-Butadiene (BD) is an important industrial chemical and a common environmental pollutant present in urban air. BD is classified as a human carcinogen based on epidemiological evidence for an increased incidence of leukemia in workers occupationally exposed to BD and its potent carcinogenicity in laboratory mice. A diepoxide metabolite of BD, 1,2,3,4-diepoxybutane (DEB), is considered the ultimate carcinogenic species of BD due to its ability to form genotoxic DNA–DNA cross-links. We have previously employed capillary HPLC-ESI⁺-MS/MS (liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry) methods to quantify DEB-induced DNA–DNA conjugates, e.g. 1,4-bis-(guan-7-yl)-2,3-butanediol (bis-N7G-BD), 1-(guan-7-yl)-4-(aden-1-yl)-2,3-butanediol (N7G-N1A-BD), and 1,N⁶-(1-hydroxymethyl-2-hydroxypropan-1,3-diyl)-2′-deoxyadenosine (1,N⁶-HMHP-dA), in tissues of laboratory mice exposed to 6.25–625 ppm BD (Goggin et al. Cancer Res.2009, 69(6), 2479–2486). However, typical BD human exposure levels are 0.01 to 3.2 ppb in urban air and 1–2.0 ppm in an occupational setting, requiring greater detection sensitivity for these critical lesions. In the present study, a nanoHPLC-nanoESI⁺-MS/MS method was developed for ultrasensitive, accurate, and precise quantitation of bis-N7G-BD in tissues of laboratory mice treated with low ppm and subppm concentrations of BD. The LOD value of the new method is 0.5 fmol/100 μg DNA, and the LOQ is 1.0 fmol/100 μg DNA, making it possible to quantify bis-N7G-BD adducts present at concentrations of 3 per 10⁹ nucleotides. Bis-N7G-BD adduct amounts in liver tissues of mice exposed to 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 ppm BD for 2 weeks were 5.7 ± 3.3, 9.2 ± 1.5, and 18.6 ± 6.9 adducts per 10⁹ nucleotides, respectively, suggesting that bis-N7G-BD adduct formation is more efficient under low exposure conditions. To our knowledge, this is the first quantitative analysis of DEB specific DNA adducts following low ppm and subppm exposure to BD.