Abstract: Urethane (ethyl carbamate) is a carcinogen that has been detected as a contaminant in certain foods and alcoholic beverages. The carcinogenicity of urethane appears to be mediated through a metabolic pathway involving sequential cytochrome P-450-catalyzed oxidation to vinyl carbamate and vinyl carbamate epoxide, the latter of which reacts with DNA to yield etheno-type DNA adducts. The interactions of ethanol on urethane metabolism and carcinogenicity are varied and complex. Urethane is oxidized by cytochrome P-450 IIE1, an isoform induced by et...
(read more)
Topics: 
Biochemistry
Organic chemistry