Comparison of blood concentrations of 1,3-butadiene and butadiene epoxides in mice and rats exposed to 1,3-butadiene by inhalation

1,3–Butadiene (BD), an important commodity chemical used in the production of synthetic rubber, is carcinogenic in B6C3F1 mice and Sprague-Dawley rats, raising concern for potential carcinogenicity in humans. Mice are more sensitive than rats to the carcinogenic effects of BD. Metabolic activation of BD to form the putative DNAreactive metabolites, butadiene monoxide (BMO) and butadiene diepoxide (BDE), is mediated by cytochrome P450. Detoxication of the epoxides occurs by glutathione Stransferase-catalyzed conjugation with glutathione and hydrolysis by epoxide hydrolase. Species differences in metabolic activation and detoxication most likely contribute to the difference in carcinogenic potency of BD by modulating the circulating blood levels of the epoxides. This study measured the in vivo concentrations of BD, BMO and BDE in the blood of male Sprague-Dawley rats and B6C3F1 mice during and following 6 h nose-only exposure to inhaled BD at 62.5, 625 or 1250 p.p.m. BD. Blood samples for BD and BMO (≥3 samples/time point) were collected at 2, 3, 4 and 6 h of exposure. Blood samples for BDE were collected at 3 and 6 h of exposure. After exposure, blood samples for BD, BMO and BDE were collected at 2–10 min intervals up to 30 min post-exposure. BD was quantified by gas chromatography using a vial headspace equilibration technique. BD epoxides were extracted into methylene chloride and quantified by gas chroma tog raphy-mass spectrometry. The concentration of BD in blood was not directly proportional to the inhaled concentration of BD, suggesting that the uptake of BD was saturable at the highest inhaled concentration. In both rats and mice, BD and BMO blood levels were at steady-state at 2, 3, 4 and 6 h of exposure, and declined rapidly after removal from exposure to BD. Steady-state blood concentrations of BD were 2.4, 37 and 58 μM in mice and 13, 18 and 37 μM in rats exposed to 62.5, 625 and 1250 p.p.m. BD respectively. Both species formed BMO from BD. In mice the respective steady-state BMO concentrations in blood were 0.6, 3.7 and 8.6 μM, compared to BMO blood concentrations in rats of 0.07, 0.94 and 1.3 μM. Mice, but not rats, had quantifiable levels of BDE in the blood. The peak concentrations of BDE in the blood of mice at 6 h were 0.65,1.9 and 2.5 μM. These data suggest that the greater sensitivity of mice to BD-induced carcinogenicity can be explained, in part, by the higher levels of both BMO and BDE in the blood of mice compared to rats.