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Divisions of Epidemiology [J. S. J.], Biostatistics [M. D. B.], and Environmental Health Sciences [L. W. W., Q. W., T-L. Y., D. Y., R. M. S.], Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University, New York, New York 10032; Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center, Bronx, New York 10466 [E. N., M. A.]; and Roche Vitamin Inc., Parsippany, New Jersey 07054 [V. N. S.]
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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Cigarette smoke also contains many compounds that can generate oxidative DNA damage (1) . In addition, metabolism of many chemical carcinogens such as BP also results in the generation of oxidative stress and oxidative DNA damage (5) . 8-Oxo, or 8OHdG, is recognized as a useful marker for oxidative DNA damage because it is one of the most abundant and is also mutagenic (6) .
Evidence from a variety of sources suggests that components of the human diet can impede carcinogenesis by scavenging oxygen radicals or interfering with the binding of carcinogens to DNA (7) . In the past decade, several intervention trials have been undertaken to test the hypothesis that antioxidant vitamin supplements could reduce cancer risk. ß-Carotene was, until recently, the micronutrient of greatest interest. However, two randomized clinical trials of ß-carotene to reduce lung cancer risk in heavy smokers were terminated early in the mid-1990s because interim analyses indicated that lung cancer incidence was higher in the treatment group than in the placebo group (8 , 9) . A third intervention reported no effect of ßcarotene on lung cancer in smokers (10) .
Since then, investigators have tried to account for these
unexpected findings and have continued to explore the potential effects
of ß-carotene and other micronutrients on cancer risk. One hypothesis
about the failure of the
-Tocopherol and ß-Carotene Cancer
Prevention and ß-Carotene and Retinol Efficacy trials is that the
carcinogenic process in the study participants was too far advanced for
ß-carotene to be beneficial (11)
. Another is that the
ß-carotene dose was too far above physiological levels and therefore
had or induced pro-oxidant activity (11)
.
We hypothesized that antioxidants might be most beneficial in the early stages of carcinogenesis, such as the initiation phase of DNA adduct formation. In cross-sectional studies, we had found an inverse relationship between lymphocyte PAH-DNA adduct levels and serum levels of vitamins C and E (12) . A relationship between adduct levels in mononuclear cells and lung tissue has also been observed (13 , 14) . Other studies had found that lung cancer is associated with high adduct levels (15, 16, 17, 18) and low serum vitamin levels (19, 20, 21) . We therefore initiated a randomized, placebo-controlled trial to test the efficacy of an antioxidant vitamin supplement in reducing DNA damage (PAH-DNA and 8OHdG) among heavy smokers.
| Materials and Methods |
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-tocopherol at the first study visit.
Study Procedures.
The study was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of
an antioxidant vitamin supplement. At the first study visit (screening,
-1-month time point), we obtained informed consent;
administered a baseline questionnaire about demographic factors, diet,
personal health, and smoking habits; collected blood (45 ml), urine
(
100 ml), and oral cell specimens; and provided each study
participant with a 1-month supply of the placebo (Fig. 1)
. Before the second visit (baseline,
0-month time point), each individual was assigned randomly to treatment
or placebo. The method of randomly permuted blocks (22)
was used for treatment assignment.
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Intervention.
Each tablet bottle contained 75 active treatment or placebo tablets. We
asked the study participants to take one tablet with the first meal of
the day and another, with food, before bedtime. Each active treatment
tablet contained 250 mg of vitamin C, 200 IU of
-tocopherol, and 6
mg of ß-carotene. Study participants were telephoned during the week
before each follow-up visit to confirm the date and time of the next
appointment and to identify any problems or side effects associated
with study participation.
Biospecimen Collection.
Blood was collected into Vacutainers containing EDTA and kept under
subdued light until isolation of mononuclear cells by centrifugation
over Histopaque 1077 (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO). Some plasma
aliquots were stored with an equal volume of 10% metaphosphoric acid
for vitamin C analysis.
Oral cells were collected by rinsing the mouth with PBS after a brief rinsing with water to remove food particles. Microscope slides were precoated by dipping in 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (6 ml in 300 ml of acetone), rinsing in acetone twice (2 min each), and then in water twice (2 min each). Cells were collected by centrifugation at 1000 rpm for 10 min and the pellet resuspended in sucrose buffer [0.25 M sucrose, 1.8 mM CaCl2, 25 mM KCl, 50 mM Trisma Base (pH7.5)]. The oral cell suspension (3050 µl) was added to 300 µl carbowax-ethanol buffer (1 ml of 60% polyethylene glycol 1000 and 40% water added to 74 ml 70% ethanol), vortexed briefly, and 150 µl added to each of two cytofunnels. The samples were spun at 300 rpm for 5 min on a Cytospin 3 (Shandon, Pittsburg, PA), air-dried for 1030 min, fixed in 95% ethanol (-20°C for 10 min), and stored at -20°C until stained. A similar procedure was used to prepare slides of isolated mononuclear cells after they were washed once with PBS.
Laboratory Analysis.
Baseline through 6-month samples from the same individual were batched
for analysis with the laboratory blinded to treatment status and time
point.
PAH-DNA in Mononuclear Cells by ELISA.
DNA was isolated from mononuclear cells by RNase and proteinase K
treatment, extraction with chloroform/isoamyl alcohol, and ethanol
precipitation. PAH-DNA adducts were analyzed by competitive ELISA
essentially as described previously, using polyclonal antiserum no.
29 (23)
. For analytical purposes, those samples
with <15% inhibition were considered nondetectable and assigned a
value of 1/108, an amount midway between the
lowest positive value and zero. Antiserum no. 29 (24)
,
generated from a rabbit immunized with benzo(a)pyrene diol
epoxide-DNA, cross-reacts with the diol epoxide DNA adducts of
several other PAHs (25)
. Thus, this assay detects multiple
PAH-DNA adducts.
PAH-DNA in Oral Cells and Oxidative DNA Damage in Oral and
Mononuclear Cells by Immunoperoxidase Staining.
PAH-DNA adducts in oral cells were assayed with an immunoperoxidase
technique using polyclonal antiserum no. 1 (26)
essentially as described previously (27)
. This antiserum
has similar sensitivity and specificity to antiserum no. 29, which is
in limited supply. 8OHdG was detected in oral and mononuclear cells
using monoclonal antibody 1F7 (28)
as described previously
(29)
. Briefly, slides were treated with RNase A (100
µg/ml) at 37° for 1 h and with proteinase K (10 µg/ml) at
room temperature for 7 min, and the DNA was denatured with 4N HCl for 7
min at room temperature. Bound primary antibodies (used at 1:200
dilution for antiserum no. 1 and 1:10 for 1F7) were detected with
peroxidase-labeled ABC kits (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA).
Quantitation of staining intensity was carried out on a Cell Analysis System (CAS 200) microscope (Becton Dickinson, San Jose, CA) with the Object Only program to determine average absorbance in the nucleus for a minimum of 50 randomly selected cells. As a quality control, MCF7 cells were treated with or without 10 µg/ml benzo(a)pyrene diol epoxide (NCI Chemical Carcinogen Repository, Midwest Research Institute, Kansas City, MO) and stained with each batch of oral cells (CV, 24%; n = 9) for the PAH-DNA assay. MCF7 cells treated with aflatoxin B1 were used as a positive control for the oxidative DNA assay (CV, 28%; n = 14).
Determination of Vitamins, Cotinine, and Cholesterol.
-Tocopherol and ß-carotene were extracted into hexane after
ethanol precipitation of the plasma proteins. Sample extracts were
analyzed isocratically by reverse-phase HPLC as described
(30)
. The laboratory accuracy of this analytical
procedure, based on internally and externally prepared specimens, is
<±4% for
-tocopherol and <±8% for ß-carotene, whereas the
within-day and day-to-day precision has a CV of <0.04. Vitamin C
quantitation was carried out spectrophotometrically with
2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine as a chromagen (31)
. The
laboratory accuracy of this analytical procedure based on internally
and externally prepared specimens is <±4% whereas the day-to-day and
within-day precision has a CV of <0.05.
Cholesterol and Cotinine Assays.
Total cholesterol and urinary creatinine measurements were performed
using commercially available diagnostic kits (Sigma Chemical Co.).
Urinary cotinine levels were measured using an ELISA (STC Technologies,
Bethlehem, PA). This assay can detect levels >50 ng/ml and was used to
monitor for potential changes in smoking habits.
GSTM1 Genotyping.
DNAs were analyzed for GSTM1 genotype by PCR,
essentially as described previously (32)
, using ß-globin
as an internal standard.
Statistical Analysis.
The primary end points for this study were changes in the number of
PAH-DNA adducts and in the level of 8OHdG in mononuclear and oral cells
from the baseline to the three follow-up visits at 1 month, 3 months,
and 6 months after commencement of treatment. For each subject, we
computed a set of change scores defined as the change in response
measurements from baseline to each follow-up time. The distribution of
the original time-specific measurements and change scores were examined
using graphic techniques (such as the histogram and box plots).
As in earlier studies, the distribution of the number of PAH-DNA adducts by ELISA in mononuclear cells was found to be highly skewed; therefore, we analyzed change scores for the log-transformed values as the end points for this study. Because a substantial number of subjects had nondetectable PAH-DNA adduct levels, we conducted confirmatory analyses treating the number of adducts as a binary variable (detectable versus nondetectable).
We began the comparative portion of the analysis by computing the mean and median change scores for each treatment group and comparing the groups at each time point via Mann-Whitney rank-sum test. Formal analyses compared change scores via linear regression, adjusting for two primary covariates: treatment group (coded as 1 for vitamin, 0 for placebo) and baseline adduct level (in the style of analysis of covariance). Initial regression models considered each follow-up time separately. More comprehensive final models included measurements from all follow-up times, relying on random effects modeling techniques to adjust for intrasubject correlation across visits (33) . Additional regression models were fitted, incorporating predictor variables that may act as confounders, including age, gender, urinary cotinine, race/ethnic group, and GSTM1 genotype. Treatment group by time interaction terms were also included in some regression models to assess whether the slope in change scores over time varied by treatment group.
Confirmatory analyses for the PAH-DNA adducts end point used the binary end point (detectable adducts versus nondetectable) as the outcome of interest. Initial logistic models regressed adduct detectability on treatment group and baseline detectability separately by time point. Final models considered measurements made at all time points simultaneously, accounting for intrasubject correlation by the use of generalized estimating equation methods (34) . All generalized estimating equation models fitted used the logit link, binomial variance function, and exchangeable correlation structure.
| Results |
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1 month late for a study visit; of these, one was late for two
visits.
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Assessment of the 8OHdG measurements in oral and mononuclear cells
revealed no significant effect of treatment in either the
visit-specific or visits-combined analyses, whether adjusted for
baseline measurement only or for the more extensive list of potential
confounders (Tables 3
and 4)
. Furthermore, the treatment effect did not
appear to vary over time (data not shown). As in the analysis of
PAH-DNA in oral cells, however, we did observe a statistically
significant difference in the treatment effect on 8OHdG in oral cells
among subjects who are GSTM1-positive versus
those who are GSTM1-negative (P = 0.038).
Among the GSTM1-positive subjects, the mean change in 8OHdG
for vitamin-treated subjects was estimated to be
-41 units
(P = 0.18). The corresponding figure among
GSTM1-negative subjects was +51 units (P =
0.12), indicating a reversal of the treatment effect in this subgroup.
Unlike the oral cell PAH-DNA analysis, the treatment effect was
nonsignificant in both subgroups. For 8OHdG in mononuclear cells, we
found no difference in treatment effects among
GSTM1-positive and -negative subjects.
Confirmatory analyses were conducted, treating the PAH-DNA adduct
levels in mononuclear cells as dichotomous (detectable
versus nondetectable). These results failed to show a
significant main effect of treatment on the presence of DNA adducts.
Visit-specific analyses showed that the odds of having detectable
adduct levels were about 1.3 to 2.0 times higher in the placebo group
than in the vitamin group. The odds ratio over all time points was
estimated to be
1.7 (P = 0.14; 95% CI, 0.83.6),
adjusting for visit number and baseline detectability. After adjusting
for age, gender, race, cotinine level, and GSTM1 status, the
odds ratio increased slightly to 1.9 (P = 0.15; 95%
CI, 0.84.6). Exploratory analysis revealed a statistically
significant interaction between baseline detectability and treatment
group (P = 0.035). Specifically, the vitamin treatment
appeared to have little effect among those subjects with detectable
PAH-DNA adduct levels at baseline. Among subjects with nondetectable
adduct levels at baseline, the placebo groups adduct levels tended to
become detectable over time, whereas the vitamin groups did not (data
not shown). This finding may warrant additional inquiry in subsequent
studies.
Table 5
compares the characteristics of
subjects who remained on study for 6 months to those who left the study
before the 6-month visit. In addition to being more likely to belong to
the placebo group, subjects who dropped out were significantly younger
and had higher levels of PAH-DNA at baseline than those who remained on
study.
|
| Discussion |
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Vitamin levels increased significantly in subjects in the treatment
group and not in the placebo group. All measures of DNA damage
decreased in both groups, although median changes from baseline were
more frequently significant in the vitamin group than in the placebo
group (Table 2)
. We initially suspected that the large placebo effect
was attributable to a reduction in cigarette smoking among subjects
during their study participation. Before enrollment, our Institutional
Review Board required us to counsel subjects on the hazards of smoking
and to recommend that they quit. Only subjects who indicated they had
no interest in quitting were recruited. However, after observing the
changes in DNA damage in the placebo group, we analyzed urinary
cotinine in all subjects. Creatinine-adjusted urinary cotinine levels
did not decline in either group during study participation (Fig. 2
and
Table 2
) and were not correlated with adduct levels (data not shown).
Although cotinine is only a short-term marker of smoking status, it
indicates that changes in smoking behavior are not responsible for the
observed decreases in DNA damage.
Placebo and Hawthorne effects are well known but not well understood (39) . How subjects changed their life-style (diet, smoking habit, etc.) during the study, and which changes account for the decreased DNA damage, are not known. A previous study using a very similar mixture of antioxidants, also observed a placebo effect. Subjects on placebo had a 35% decrease in mononuclear cell DNA oxidized pyrimidines measured by the "comet" assay (40) . However in that study, subjects on the combined antioxidants (100 mg vitamin C, 280 mg vitamin E and 25 mg ß-carotene per day) had a 65% decrease in oxidized bases, which was significantly different from that in the placebo group. Other studies using the comet assay on mononuclear cells from subjects given vitamins C or E or ß-carotene have found positive effects (41 , 42) ; but other results were negative (43) .
[32P] Postlabeling has also been used to
determine the effects of antioxidants. Gastric mucosa from subjects on
a vitamin C trial (44)
and oral cells of reverse smokers
of chutta (rolled tobacco) on a 1-year intervention using vitamin A,
riboflavin, zinc, and selenium (45)
had lower levels of
damage with treatment. Ascorbic acid was found to prevent endogenous
oxidative DNA damage as assessed by HPLC measurement of 8OHdG in sperm
(46)
. A pro-oxidant effect of vitamin C has also been
suggested (47)
. Supplementation with 500 mg of vitamin C
lead to decreased levels of 8OHdG in mononuclear cells but increased
levels of oxidized adenine. But these results have been questioned in
terms of potential assay artifacts (48
, 49)
. A recent
study recruited individuals occupationally exposed to environmental
tobacco smoke and administered an over-the-counter antioxidant
formulation containing ß-carotene, vitamin C,
-tocopherol, zinc,
selenium, and copper (50)
. After a 60-day supplementation
there was a 62% decrease in 8OHdG. However, this study did not include
a placebo control group. Other studies of urinary excretion of 8OHdG
did not find an effect of treatment with vitamin C or E, or with
coenzyme Q10 (51
, 52)
or ß-carotene (53)
.
Although the vitamin group experienced a greater change from baseline
than the placebo group for all but one response-variable measurement,
none of the between-group differences was significant, with or without
adjustment for possible confounders (Tables 3
and 4)
. We did not
control for diet or for specific environmental exposures, such as
fuels, in these analyses, and it is possible that study participation
motivated shifts to a healthier diet during the period of observation.
During the run-in period (on placebo), vitamin levels rose and
mononuclear cell PAH-DNA adduct levels fell in both vitamin and placebo
groups (Table 6)
. However, the
relative stability of the plasma vitamin levels in the placebo group
during the rest of its study participation (Fig. 2)
suggests that
changes in dietary intake of antioxidants (or unreported use of
supplementation) in the placebo group during their study participation
do not account for the groups declining adduct levels.
|
A major limitation of this study is the high and differential dropout
rate. Dropouts were significantly younger than continuing participants
in the study; they had higher mononuclear cell PAH-DNA adduct levels
but lower oral cell adduct levels than continuing participants (Table 5)
. Moreover, the dropout rate was higher in the placebo group than in
the treatment group, although the difference was not statistically
significant (Table 5)
. Some placebo group members may have dropped out
because they guessed their treatment assignment and were disappointed.
Some participants had come into the study with the expressed hope that
they would receive vitamins, and several commented that they knew their
assignment because the vitamin pills smelled different from, and more
like commercially available vitamins than, the placebo pills. These
observations suggest a pitfall of blinded randomized trials,
particularly where study participants make repeated visits and spend
time in a common waiting area. Individual bubble packaging of the study
agents might help to deter waiting area unblinding and would facilitate
tablet counts.
A number of study participants were >1 week late in keeping their
study visit appointments; 13 were
1 month late for an appointment.
Delayed visits were not associated with treatment assignment and did
not affect results (data not shown).
In recruiting participants, we found that many, perhaps most, heavy
smokers who were interested in the study were already taking
antioxidant supplements. Despite the findings of the ß-Carotene and
Retinol Efficacy trial and
-Tocopherol and ß-Carotene Cancer
Prevention studies, smokers in general appear to believe that vitamins
can reduce the health risks associated with smoking.
The limitations of the study (high differential dropout, baseline
difference in PAH-DNA adducts in mononuclear cells and a large placebo
effect), may account for its failure to show that vitamin
supplementation can influence DNA damage levels. During the 1-month
run-in period between screening and collection of baseline specimens,
adduct levels fell and vitamin levels rose among the study participants
overall (Table 6)
. These changes were greater among individuals
subsequently assigned to the vitamin group than among those
subsequently assigned to the placebo group. All study participants were
given placebo pills to take during the run-in; hence the changes cannot
be attributed to treatment. However, the overall decline in adduct
levels during study participation suggests that DNA damage is
preventable and demonstrates the feasibility of using these biomarkers
as intermediate end points in intervention studies.
| Footnotes |
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1 Supported by grants from the American Institute
for Cancer Research, the National Cancer Institute (CA73330), and the
National Center for Research Resources (RR0045). ![]()
2 To whom requests for reprints should be
addressed, at Division of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health
of Columbia University, 622 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032. ![]()
3 The abbreviations used are: PAH, polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbon; BP, benzo(a)pyrene; CI, confidence
interval; 8OHdG, 8hydroxy or oxodeoxyguanosine; CV, coefficient of
variation; HPLC, high-performance liquid chromatography; GSTM1,
glutathione S-transferase M1. ![]()
Received 1/11/00; revised 9/ 8/00; accepted 9/26/00.
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-tocopherol, lutein/zeaxanthin, ß-cryptoxanthin, lycopene,
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-tocopherol and life-style factors and levels of DNA adducts in lymphocytes. Nutr. Cancer, 27: 69-73, 1997.[Medline]
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