Anne-Marie Camus

Validation and comparative studies on 180 chemicals with S. typhimurium strains and V79 Chinese hamster cells in the presence of various metabolizing systems

Results from tests on a total of 180 compounds in the Salmonella/microsome assay and its adapted procedures are summarized. The following specific problems were analyzed: the predictive value of the test; frequency distribution of chemicals (classes) according to their mutagenic activity; quantitative relationship between mutagenicity versus electrophilicity versus carcinogenicity of some selected carcinogens; chemicals that are activated into mutagens by human-liver enzymes; compounds that have been tested in the presence of rodent hepatic versus extra-hepatic tissue fractions; and some factors involved in the efficient detection of mutagens in vitro, i.e. the source and concentration of liver microsomal protein required for maximal mutagenic activity. As 34 chemicals have also been tested in microsome- or cell-mediated mutagenicity assays by using V79 Chinese hamster cells, an intercomparison is made of test results obtained in bacterial and mammalian assays.

Mutagenicity of vinyl chloride, chloroethyleneoxide, chloroacetaldehyde and chloroethanol

Exposure of S. typhimurium strains TA 1530, TA 1535 and G-46 to vinyl chloride increased the number of his+ rev./plate 16, 12 or 5 times over the spontaneous mutation rate. The mutagenic response for TA 1530 strain was enhanced 7, 4 or 5-fold when fortified S-9 liver fractions from humans, rats or mice were added. In TA 1530 strain, chloroacetic acid showed only toxic effects, while chloroacetaldehyde, chloroethanol and chloroethyleneoxide caused a mutagenic response. The latter compound was shown to be a strong alkylating agent.

Rapid oxidative stress induced by N-nitrosamines.

We have investigated the generation of prooxidant state shortly after administration of N-nitrosamines (NA) to rats. N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) was found to increase ethane exhalation (EE) rapidly in a dose-related manner. EE remained elevated for several days after single doses of NDMA. Similarly, lipid peroxidation (LP) in the liver (measured by four methods) increased rapidly showing a peak 20 min after NDMA dose. The increase of LP was preceded by a decrease in retinol concentration in the liver. N-Nitrosodiethanolamine, too, increased EE and LP in the liver, whereas N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine had no effect. Thus, hepatocarcinogenic NA induced LP in their target tissue, and the LP enhancing effects of NA were not related to their acute toxic effects.

Expression of pulmonary cytochrome P4501 A1 and carcinogen DNA adduct formation in high risk subjects for tobacco-related lung cancer

Cigarette smoking is the strongest risk factor for lung cancer (LC), but genetically determined variations in pulmonary metabolism of tobacco-derived carcinogens may affect individual risk. Results from a case-control study on LC patients demonstrated the pronounced effect of tobacco smoke on pulmonary xenobiotic metabolism and prooxidant state, and suggested the existence of a metabolic phenotype at higher risk for tobacco-associated LC: LC patients who were recent smokers had significantly induced BP-3-hydroxylase (AHH) and ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase (ECDE) activities in lung parenchyma, when compared with smoking non-cancer patients. In recent smokers, lung AHH activity was positively correlated with the level of tobacco smoke-derived DNA adducts as determined by 32P-postlabelling. Pulmonary AHH activity also showed a good correlation with the intensity of immunohistochemical staining for cyt. P4501A by a monoclonal Ab in lung tissue sections: smoking and peripheral type of lung cancers were positively related to high levels of this cyt. P450 species, probably reflecting high rates of induction. These results suggest that high pulmonary CYP1A1 expression (controlling in part carcinogen DNA-adduct formation) in tobacco smokers, appears to be associated with LC risk. High risk subjects may thus be identifiable through genotyping assays for CYP1A1 polymorphism.

Some factors determining the concentration of liver proteins for optimal mutagenicity of chemicals in the Salmonella/microsome assay.

In plate assays in the presence of S. typhimurium TA100 and various amounts of liver 9000 X g supernatant (S9) from either untreated, phenobarbitone- (PB) or Aroclor-treated rats, the S9 concentration required for optimal mutagenicity of aflatoxin B1 (AFB) depended both on the source of S9 and on the concentration of the test compound. In these assays, the water-soluble procarcinogen, dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) was mutagenic in S. typhimurium TA1530 only in the presence of a 35-fold higher concentration of liver S9 from PB-treated rats than that required for AFB, a lipophilic compound. In liquid assays, a biphasic relationship was observed in the mutagenicities in S. typhimurium TA100 of benzo[a]pyrene (BP) and AFB and the concentration of liver S9. For optimal mutagenesis of BP, the concentration of liver S9 from rats treated with methylcholanthrene (MC) was 4.4% (v/v); for AFB it was 2.2% (v/v) liver S9 from either Aroclor-treated or untreated rats. At higher concentrations of S9 the mutagenicity of BP and of AFB was related inversely to the amount of S9 per assay. The effect of Aroclor treatment on the microsomemediated mutagenicity of AFB was assay-dependent: in the liquid assay, AFB mutagenicity was decreased, whereas in the plate assay it did not change or was increased. As virtually no bacteria-bound microsomes were detected by electron microscopy, after the bacteria had been incubated in a medium containing 1-34% (v/v) MC-treated rat-liver S9, it is concluded that, in mutagenicity assays, mutagenic metabolites generated by microsomal enzymes from certain pro-carcinogens have to diffuse through the assay medium before reaching the bacteria. Thus the mutagenicity of BP was dependent on both the concentration of rat-liver microsomes and that of total cytosolic proteins and other soluble nucleophiles such as glutathione. At a concentration of 4.4% (v/v) liver S9, the mutagenicity of BP was about 3.6 times higher than in assays containing a 4-fold higher concentration of cytosolic fraction. Studies on the glutathione-dependent reduction of BP mutagenicity in plate assays has shown that, in the presence of liver S9 concentrations greater than that required for optimal mutagenicity, the reduction in mutagenicity was related directly to the concentration of liver S9. Thus, in the Salmonella/microsome assay, when the concentration of rat-liver S9 was increased over and above the amount required for the optimal mutagenicity of BP, the mutagenic metabolites of BP were inactivated (by being trapped with cytosolic nucleophiles and/or by enzymic conjugation with glutathione); this effect increased more rapidly than their rate of formation. The concentration of liver S9 for optimal mutagenicity of test compounds requiring activation catalyzed by mono-oxygenases seems, therefore, to be related to the departure from linearity of the relationship between the rate of formation of mutagenic metabolites and the concentration of liver S9.

High mutagenicity of N-(α-acyloxy)alkyl-N-alkylnitrosamines in S. typhimurium: model compounds for metabolically activated N,N-dialkylnitrosamines☆

A series of N,N-dialkylnitrosamines (alkyl means methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl or tert-butyl group) mono-substituted at the alpha-carbon with an acetoxy group, were tested for their mutagenic action in Salmonella typhimurium TA1530 in the presence or absence of a rat-liver supernatant from 9000 X g. The presumed released of methyl, ethyl, n-butyl and n-propyl carbonium ions from the corresponding alpha-acetoxy derivatives, either by enzymic cleavage or by non-enzymic hydrolysis of the ester group, caused high mutagenicity in the bacteria. As has been demonstrated for certain alpha-acetoxy compounds, the mutagenicity of these compounds was inversely related to their half-lives in aqueous media. N-(Acetoxy)methyl-N-tert-butylnitrosamine and a beta-acetoxy derivative of N,N-diethylnitrosamine were not mutagenic either in the presence or in the absence of hydrolysing rat-liver enzymes. These results support the hypothesis that alpha-carbon hydroxylation is one mechanism involved in the metabolic activation of N,N-dialkylnitrosamines.

Mutagenicity of \-oxidized N,N-di-n-propylnitrosamine derivatives in s. typhimurium mediated by rat and hamster tissues

The relative abilities of liver, kidney and lung fractions from untreated or phenobarbitone-pretreated rats and hamsters to convert N,N-di-n-propylnitrosamine and several β-oxidized synthetic putative intermediates into mutagens was quantitatively compared in a tissue-mediated mutagenicity assay with S. typhimurium TA 1530 in vitro. With one exception, namely, N,N-di(2-acetoxy-n-propyl)nitrosamine, liver was the most active tissue from hamsters; in rats also, only liver fractions were able to activate some nitrosocompounds to mutagens. The highest enzyme-mediated mutagenicities were observed with N-2-hydroxy-n-propyl-N-n-propylnitrosamine, N,N-di-n-propylnitrosamine and N,N-di(2-acetoxy-n-propyl)nitrosamine. Hamster lung tissue converted N,N-di-n-propylnitrosamine, N-2-hydroxy-n-propyl-N-n-propylnitrosamine and N,N-di(2-acetoxy-n-propyl)nitrosamine into mutagens; activity with the latter compound was greater with lung tissue than with liver tissue when untreated animals were used. N-methyl-N-n-propylnitrosamine was mutagenic in the presence of hamster liver fraction but less so than N,N-di-n-propylnitrosamine. The results of the mutagenicity assays using various tissues are qualitatively compared to sites of tumour formation in rats and hamsters by these N-nitrosamines. Die relativen Aktivitäten von Leber-, Niere- und Lungengewebe von unbehandelten und Phenobartital-vorbehandelten Ratten und Hamstern wurden auf ihre Fähigkeit untersucht, N,N-Di-n-propyl-nitrosamin und einige synthetische β-oxidierte Derivate in Mutagene zu verwandeln. Die Werte wurden quantitativ in Mutagenitätstesten mit S. typhimurium TA 1350 in vitro ermittelt. Mit der Ausnahme von N,N-Di(2-acetoxy-n-propyl)nitrosamin als Substrat erwies sich für alle Verbindungen Hamsterleber als das am meisten aktive Gewebe. Rattenleber konnte einige N-Nitrosoverbindungen zu Mutagenen aktivieren. Die höchsten enzymakatalysierten mutagenen Effekte wurden mit N-(2-Hydroxy-n-propyl)-N-n-propylnitrosamin, N,N-Di-n-propylnitrosamin und N,N-Di(2-acetoxy-n-propyl)nitrosamin beobachtet. Lungengewebe von Hamstern verstoffwechselte N,N-Di-n-propylnitrosamin, N-(2-Hydroxy-n-propyl)-N-n-propylnitrosamin und N,N-Di(2-acetoxy-n-propyl)nitrosamin in mutagene Zwischenstufen. Mit der letzteren Verbindung war in unbehandelten Tieren die Enzymaktivät des Lungengewebes größer als die von Lebergewebe. In Gegenwart von Lebergewebe von Hamstern war auch N-Methyl-N-n-propylnitrosamin mutagen, aber schwächer als N,N-Di-n-propylnitrosamin. Die Ergebnisse aus den Mutagenitätstesten mit verschiedenen Gewebefraktionen werden qualitativ mit den Zielorganen der karzinogenen N-Nitrosoverbindungen in Ratten und Hamstern verglichen.

Elevated Lipid Peroxidation in Rats Induced by Dietary Lipids and N-Nitrosodimethylamine and its Inhibition by Indomethacin Monitored Via Ethane Exhalation

The effect of dietary lipids alone or in combination with an administered carcinogen, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), on whole body lipid peroxidation was studied in rats in vivo. Groups of rats were fed diets containing 2%, 12.5%, or 25% of either saturated or polyunsaturated fat. Lipid peroxidation in individual animals was determined by measuring the concentration of ethane in exhaled air. Increased ethane exhalation was found in rats when the amount of dietary fat was increased from 2% to 12.5%, but animals receiving 12.5% or 25% fat in the diet exhaled ethane at similar rates. Rats consuming polyunsaturated fat exhaled more ethane than those eating saturated fat. In all groups, NDMA administration drastically increased ethane exhalation. Indomethacin completely blocked the increase in ethane exhalation caused by dietary lipids.

Cytochrome P-450 isozyme pattern is related to individual susceptibility to diethylnitrosamine-induced liver cancer in rats.

Differences in susceptibility to chemical carcinogenesis between rodent strains and species have been linked to variations in genetically‐determined mixed function oxidase activities. In order to verify whether such variations also determine the susceptibility of individual animals of the same strain to a chemical carcinogen, outbred male Wistar rats were administered diethylnitrosamine (DEN) (1, 2, or 3 nig/kg) five times a week for 20 weeks. The relationship was examined between the outcome (i.e. presence or absence of liver tumors, and latency period) and the hepatic activities of mixed function oxidases and conjugating enzymes, as well as of O6‐methylguanine‐DNA‐methyltransferase, measured before the carcinogen treatment. In addition, the metabolic profiles of two model drugs, antipyrine and disopyramide, in the urine were analyzed and correlated with the carcinogen susceptibility. The length of the latency period of hepatocellular tumors in individual rats was negatively related to the activities of hepatic dimethylnitrosamine N‐demethylase, aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase and epoxide hydrolase and positively related to the amount of microsomal protein. Consistent relationships between the other 10 measured parameters and the susceptibility to DEN‐induced carcinogenesis were not detected. Long‐term treatment with DEN slightly decreased the proportion of metabolism of antipyrine into norantipyrine, and increased the share of 4‐hydroxyantipyrine; a decrease in the metabolism of disopyramide to N‐deisopropyldisopyramide was also detected. It is concluded that the pattern of cytochrome P‐450 isoenzymes is related to differences in individual susceptibility to nitrosamineinduced carcinogenesis. The relationship was most marked at low dose levels, which are the levels at which nitrosamine exposures of humans are known to occur.

SUBCELLULAR METABOLIC ACTIVATION SYSTEMS: THEIR UTILITY AND LIMITATIONS IN PREDICTING ORGAN AND SPECIES SPECIFIC CARCINOGENESIS OF CHEMICALS

Extensive studies evaluating short-term tests for the detection of genotoxic agents as reliable predictors of the potential carcinogenic hazard of chemicals (1–5) have revealed that, apart from the indicator organism or the end points scored, the metabolic activation system used is of critical importance. Because of the widespread use of subcellular metabolic activation systems for the detection of DNA-damaging agents in short-term tests, a data base has become available that helps determine to what extent species and organ specific carcinogenesis of chemicals can be attributed to metabolic activation (or detoxification) reactions.