No abstract

No abstract

Recently, we have detailed a DNA alkaline unwinding assay (DAUA) that can be used to rapidly measure chemically induced strand breaks in mammalian cells (Daniel et al., 1985). In this paper we present further development of this assay, including: (1) studies on the relationship between DNA adducts and DNA strand breaks; (2) evaluation of the role of cytotoxicity in DNA strand breaks; and (3) application of the DAUA to cell preparations from the liver of mice dosed with methylating agents. The level of DNA adducts produced in human CCRF-CEM cells by treatment with benzo(a)pyrene diol-epoxide (BPDE), N-acetoxy-2-acetyl aminofluorene (AAAF), and various methylating agents was linear with concentration over several orders of magnitude. Likewise, the level of strand breaks increased with the concentration over the same dose range. The strand breaks/adduct ratio ranged from 0.05 for the methyl adducts to 0.001 for the BPDE adducts. Using these values and the inherent sensitivity of the DAUA (circa 100 to 1000 breaks/cell), (Daniel et al., 1985), the ability of the assay to detect DNA damage induced by various classes of chemical carcinogens can be calculated. The DAUA appears to be useful for assessing the relative potency of various environmental genotoxic effects on mammalian cells. In addition, it can be conducted on cells isolated from target organs of whole animals.

A method is described for preparing and maintaining an isolated perfused and ventilated mouse lung. The preparation is especially suited for studying xenobiotic metabolism or toxicological interactions, in a species with a broad spectrum of studies in pulmonary toxicology. The preparation is viable with respect to drug metabolism for up to two hours, as judged from studies of aniline oxidation to p-aminophenol. With [14C]-benzo(a)pyrene as substrate for the lungs of male ICR Swiss mice, the major ethyl acetate-extractable metabolites are the 3-hydroxy, 9,10-dihydrodiol, 7,8-dihydrodiol, and 4,5-dihydrodiol derivatives. The rates of individual BaP metabolite production are increased in lungs from mice pretreated with Aroclor 1254 or beta-naphthoflavone, substances known to induce increased synthesis of cytochrome P-450. Small amounts of water-soluble BaP metabolites were hydrolyzed by beta-glucuronidase and aryl sulfatase, suggesting the presence of enzymes required for these conjugations. These results support the existence of significant cytochrome P-450-dependent and conjugative BaP metabolism in the intact mouse lung, similar to that examined in other species, and capable of contributing to the systemic metabolism of this carcinogen.