Cytotoxicity and regenerative proliferation as the mode of action for diuron-induced urothelial carcinogenesis in the rat.

Diuron, a substituted urea herbicide, is carcinogenic to the urinary bladder of rats at high dietary levels. Its proposed carcinogenic mode of action (MOA) includes urothelial cytotoxicity and necrosis followed by regenerative cell proliferation and sustained urothelial hyperplasia. Cytotoxicity could be induced either by urinary solids or by chemical toxicity by diuron and/or metabolites excreted in the urine. Diuron was not genotoxic in a previous single-cell gel (comet) assay, but possible cross-linking activity remained to be evaluated. The present study explored the MOA of diuron and the effect of urinary acidification on the development of urothelial lesions. Male Wistar rats were fed diuron (2500 ppm, about 130 mg/kg of body weight) either with or without NH(4)Cl 10,000 ppm to acidify the urine. Reversibility of urothelial changes was also examined. The animals were euthanized after 15, 25, or 30 weeks. Diuron-fed rats had urinary amorphous precipitate and magnesium ammonium phosphate crystals similar to control animals. Groups treated with diuron + NH(4)Cl showed decreased urinary pH and reduced amounts of urinary crystals and precipitate. Urothelial necrosis and simple hyperplasia were observed by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy both in diuron- and in diuron + NH(4)Cl-treated groups. Cytotoxicity and proliferative changes were mostly reversible. A modified comet assay developed in vitro with Chinese hamster ovary cells showed that diuron did not induce DNA cross-links. These data suggest that cytotoxicity with consequent regenerative cell proliferation is the predominant MOA for diuron rat urothelial carcinogenesis, the cytotoxicity being chemically induced and not due to urinary solids.

Effects of the PPARgamma agonist troglitazone on endothelial cells in vivo and in vitro: differences between human and mouse.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) agonists and PPARgamma/alpha dual agonists have been or are being developed for clinical use in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemias. A common tumor finding in rodent carcinogenicity studies for these agonists is hemangioma/hemangiosarcoma in mice but not in rats. We hypothesized that increased endothelial cell proliferation may be involved in the mechanism of PPAR agonist-induced vascular tumors in mice, and we investigated the effects on endothelial cells utilizing troglitazone, the first clinically used PPARgamma agonist, in vivo and in vitro. Troglitazone (400 and 800 mg/kg/day) induced hemangiosarcomas in mice in a 2-year bioassay. We showed that troglitazone increased endothelial cell proliferation in brown and white adipose tissue and liver in mice at sarcomagenic doses after 4 weeks of treatment. Troglitazone was cytotoxic both to human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC1) and mouse mammary fat pad microvascular endothelial cells (MFP MVEC) at high concentrations. However, MFP MVEC were more resistant to the cytotoxic effects of troglitazone based on the much lower LC(50) in HMEC1 (17.4 muM) compared to MFP MVEC (92.2 muM). Troglitazone increased the proliferation and survival of MFP MVEC but not HMEC1 in growth factor reduced conditions. Our data demonstrate that troglitazone may induce hemangiosarcomas in mice, at least in part, through enhancement of survival and proliferation of microvascular endothelial cells. Such an effect does not occur with human cells, suggesting that human may react differently to exposure to PPAR agonists compared with mice.

Cytotoxicity of combinations of arsenicals on rat urinary bladder urothelial cells in vitro.

Based on epidemiological data, chronic exposure to high levels of inorganic arsenic in the drinking water is carcinogenic to the urinary bladder of humans. The highly reactive trivalent organic arsenicals dimethylarsinous acid (DMA(III)) and monomethylarsonous acid (MMA(III)) are formed during the metabolism of inorganic arsenic in vivo in addition to the corresponding mono-, di- and trimethylated pentavalent arsenicals. The objective of this study was to determine if combining arsenicals was additive or synergistic toward inducing cytotoxicity in a rat urothelial cell line. The MYP3 cell line, an immortalized but not transformed rat urinary bladder epithelial cell line, was seeded into appropriate culture wells. Treatment with the arsenicals was begun 24 h after seeding and continued for 3 days. Combinations of arsenicals used were DMA(III) with arsenite, dimethylarsinic acid (DMA(V)) or trimethylarsine oxide (TMAO). Combinations of concentrations used were the LC50, one-quarter or one-half the LC50 of one arsenical with one-half or one-quarter the LC50 of the other arsenical. To determine if MYP3 cells metabolize arsenicals, cells were treated with arsenate, arsenite and MMA(V) as described above and the medium was analyzed by HPLC-ICPMS to determine species and quantity of arsenicals present. When cells were treated with one-quarter or one-half the LC50 concentration of both arsenicals, the cytotoxicity was approximately the same as when cells were treated with half the LC50 concentration or the LC50 concentration, respectively, of either arsenical. Treatment with one-quarter the LC50 concentration of one arsenical plus the LC50 concentration of a second arsenical had similar cytotoxicity as treatment with the LC50 concentration of either of the arsenicals. Quantitation and speciation of arsenicals in the cell culture medium showed that MYP3 cells have some reductase activity but the cells do not methylate arsenicals. The effect on the cytotoxicity of arsenicals in combination was additive rather than synergistic toward a rat urothelial cell line.

Effects of Diuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea] on the urinary bladder of male Wistar rats.

Diuron (3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea) is a substituted urea herbicide widely used on agricultural crops such as soy, cotton and sugar cane. In a previous long-term study this herbicide exerted carcinogenic activity on the urinary bladder mucosa of male Wistar rats. In general, the genotoxic and mutagenic potentials of Diuron are considered to be negative. The present study aimed to evaluate the mode of action of Diuron on the urinary bladder mucosa of male Wistar rats. Six-week old male Wistar rats were fed pelleted Nuvilab diet mixed with Diuron at 125, 500 and 2500 ppm. As a positive control, 8.3% sodium saccharin (NaS) was fed in the diet. Preceding the sacrifice of the animals at the 20th week, urinary pH was measured and the genotoxic potential of Diuron was evaluated by the comet assay. Histological urothelial lesions in the urinary bladder and in the renal pelvis mucosa, cell proliferation/apoptosis evaluations, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the urinary bladder mucosa were also performed. No DNA changes were found in urothelial or peripheral blood cells, and urinary pH was comparable to controls in all Diuron groups. In the urinary bladder urothelium, the incidence of simple hyperplasia (SH) by light microscopy was significantly increased (7/10; p<0.005) in the 2500 ppm Diuron group but not at the lower doses. By SEM, three of five animals treated with 2500 ppm Diuron showed urothelial cell necrosis and hyperplasia. In the renal pelvis, the incidence of SH was significantly increased in the Diuron 500 and 2500 ppm and in the NaS 8.3% groups. Cell proliferation was significantly increased in the Diuron 2500 ppm (p<0.05) and NaS 8.3% (p<0.05) groups. The results indicate that a high dietary concentration of Diuron is associated with urothelial necrosis and continuous regenerative cell proliferation that leads to urothelial hyperplasia.