Mutations in the coding region of the hypoxanthine (guanine) phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) gene of Chinese hamster V-79 cells were examined after exposure ofthe cells to a high cytotoxic dose (0.48 pM; 35% survival) and a low noncytotoxic dose (0.04 ,M; 100% survival) of the ultimate carcinogen (+)-7R,8S-dihydroxy-9S, 10R-epoxy-7,8,9,10-

Earlier studies from our laboratories characterized the mutation profile of the optically active (+)-7R,8S-dihydroxy-9S,10R-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene [(+)-BPDE--the ultimate carcinogenic metabolite of benzo[a]pyrene] in the coding region of the hypoxanthine (guanine) phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) gene of Chinese hamster V-79 cells. In the present study, we evaluated the mutation profile of (-)-7S,8R-dihydroxy-9R, 10S-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene [(-)-BPDE-a weakly carcinogenic or inactive enantiomer] and compared its mutation profile with that of (+)-BPDE. In both diol epoxide enantiomers, the benzylic 7-hydroxy group and epoxide oxygen are trans. The mutation frequency for V-79 cells treated with DMSO vehicle or with a low, non-cytotoxic dose (0.5 microM) or a high cytotoxic dose (2.0 microM) of (-)-BPDE was 1, 25 or 185 8-azaguanine-resistant colonies/10(5) survivors, respectively. Independent 8-azaguanine-resistant clones were isolated, and complementary DNAs were prepared by reverse transcription. The coding region of the HPRT gene was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction and sequenced. Altogether, 92 (-)-BPDE-induced mutant clones were examined. At both doses, base substitutions were the most prevalent mutations observed (present in approximately 7% of the mutant clones), followed by exon deletions (present in approximately 22% of the mutant clones) and frame shift mutations (present in approximately 6% of the mutant clones) in the cDNAs analyzed. At the high cytotoxic dose, 5 out of 36 base substitutions occurred at AT base pairs (14%) and 31 at GC base pairs (86%). At the low, non-cytotoxic dose, 7 out of 34 base substitutions were at AT base pairs (21%) and 27 were at GC base pairs (79%). Although there was a trend towards an increase in the proportion of mutations at AT base pairs when the dose of (-)-BPDE was decreased, this trend was not statistically significant. The data also indicated no dose-dependent differences in the kinds of base substitutions or exon deletions in cDNAs induced by (-)-BPDE. Ninety-one per cent of the (-)-BPDE-induced mutations that occurred at guanine were on the non-transcribed strand of DNA and 9% were on the transcribed strand. In contrast to these results, 50% of the (-)-BPDE-induced mutations that occurred at adenine were on the transcribed strand and 50% on the non-transcribed strand.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Ellagic acid, quercetin and robinetin were tested for their ability to antagonize the tumor-initiating activity of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and (+/-)-7 beta, 8 alpha-dihydroxy-9 alpha, 10 alpha-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P 7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide-2), the ultimate carcinogenic metabolite of benzo[a]-pyrene. Ellagic acid, robinetin or quercetin (2500 nmol) had no tumor-initiating activity on mouse skin, but the topical application of 2500 nmol of ellagic acid 5 min before a tumor-initiating dose of 200 nmol of B[a]P 7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide-2 caused a 59-66% inhibition in the number of skin tumors per mouse that were observed after 15-20 weeks of promotion with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. Similar treatment with 2500 nmol of robinetin or quercetin caused a statistically insignificant 16-24% inhibition in the tumor-initiating activity of 200 nmol of B[a]P 7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide-2 applied 5 min later. Treatment of mice with 2500 nmol of ellagic acid 5 min before the application of 50 nmol of B[a]P inhibited the mean number of skin tumors per mouse by 28-33% after 15-20 weeks of promotion, but these decreases were not statistically significant. Robinetin and quercetin had little or no effect on the tumor-initiating activity of B[a]P on mouse skin. Treatment of preweanling mice with 1/7, 2/7 and 4/7 of the total dose of ellagic acid (300 nmol), robinetin (1400 nmol), myricetin (1400 nmol) or quercetin (1400 nmol) i.p. on their first, eighth and fifteenth day of life, respectively, did not cause the formation of tumors in animals that were killed 9-11 months later. Similar treatment of preweanling mice with the above doses of the phenolic compounds 10 min before the i.p. injection of a total dose of 30 nmol of B[a]P 7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide-2 during the animal's first 15 days of life caused a 44-75% inhibition in the number of diol-epoxide-induced pulmonary tumors per mouse. Similar treatment with these plant phenols had little or no effect on B[a]P-induced pulmonary tumors.

Intrarectal administration of 0.5 ml of a 0.2% solution of azoxymethane twice weekly for 33 weeks to female inbred strain-2 guinea pigs specifically induced multiple liver hemangiosarcomas in 15 of 16 animals 32-54 weeks after the first treatment. No neoplasms and preneoplastic changes were found in the large intestine.

This study is an evaluation of the use of endoscopic examination to detect MNNG-induced large-bowel tumors in rats. The smallest human fiberbronchoscope was used as a colonoscope for the rats and the full length of the distal large bowel was visualized. The correct diagnosis rate in all rats with and without large-bowel tumors was 94%. Of rats with colon tumors, 85% were correctly diagnosed endoscopically. Even tumors 1 or 2 mm in diameter were detected. The examination was easy and reliable. This procedure may be an adjunct in experimental work with this and other animal models of colon cancer.