Furan is toxic and carcinogenic to rodents with the liver as the primary target organ.  While furan is found throughout the environment, the effect of furan exposure on human health is still unknown.  Furan is metabolized to the reactive a,�-unsaturated dialdehyde, cis-2-butene-1,4-dial (BDA) in a reaction catalyzed by cytochrome P450 2E1.  This reaction is necessary for furan toxicity.  The urinary metabolites of furan in rats are derived from the reaction of BDA with cellular nucleophiles, and precursors to these metabolites are detected in furan-exposed hepatocytes.  Many of these precursors are GSH-BDA-amine crosslinks where the amines are amino acids and polyamines.  Furan metabolites generated in human and rodent cryopreserved hepatocytes were measured by LC-MS/MS.  Qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis of the metabolites demonstrated that furan is metabolized in a similar manner in all three species.  These results indicate that humans may be susceptible to the toxic effects of furan [Funded by ES-10577].

Comparative metabolism of furan in rodent and human cryopreserved hepatocytes

244th National Meeting (2012)

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