Urethane and N-nitrosodiethylamine are mutagenic for the Syrian hamster fetus.

Urethane and N-nitrosodiethylamine are soluble environmental carcinogens that initiate tumors transplacentally, but have a mixed history of effectiveness in mutagenesis assays in vitro or in vivo with adult rodents. To test for their transplacental mutagenicity, Syrian hamster fetuses at 12 days in gestation were exposed transplacentally to urethane or N-nitrosodiethylamine at 0.5 or 1.0 mM/kg. The fetal cells were isolated on day 13 of gestation and tested for diphtheria toxin resistance as a mutation marker. Both compounds were significantly mutagenic, at both doses, causing 6- to 20-fold increases in mutations compared with controls. Compared with N-nitrosodiethylamine, urethane was somewhat more effective as a mutagen with a more marked dose-response. These results are consistent with mutagenesis as part of the mechanism of transplacental carcinogenicity of urethane and N-nitrosodiethylamine.

HGPRT mutation induction by N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea as measured by 6-thioguanine resistance is higher in male than in female Syrian hamster fetuses.

BACKGROUND: The consequences of mutations in embryonic and fetal cells are serious and contribute to high prenatal sensitivity to mutagenic agents. An understanding of the factors that influence the yield of such mutations is important for management of adverse effects of perinatal exposures. Resistance to 6-thioguanine (6-TG) can be utilized to study mutational events at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HGPRT) locus. HGPRT is X-linked and recessive. According to the Lyon hypothesis, male cells have only one X-chromosome and female cells randomly inactivate the second X-chromosome. This leads to the prediction that X-linked genes should be equally sensitive to the mutagenic effects of toxicants in male and female fetuses. METHODS: We tested this supposition by in utero exposure of Syrian hamster fetuses to N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) at day 12 of gestation. ENU is a strong carcinogen and mutagen. HGPRT mutations were detected by selection with 6-TG. RESULTS: Surprisingly. the male cells had 4 to 5 times more 6-TG mutants than female cells, in two separate experiments (p<0.001). Ouabain resistance, reflecting a co-dominant autosomal locus, was used as a control, and we found that there was no significant difference between male and female cells (p=0.549). CONCLUSIONS: Possible reasons for the sex difference in mutations include escape of the second X-chromosome from inactivation in some of the female cells, or higher mutability in male cells. In any event, there is a gender difference in vulnerability to mutation of an X-linked gene that has previously not been appreciated, and that may be relevant to toxicological studies of such genes. HGPRT is frequently used to monitor mutagenic events in human fetuses.

The mutagenic effects of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthacene, 3-methylcholanthrene and benzo[a]pyrene to the developing Syrian hamster fetus measured by an in vivo/in vitro mutation assay.

The transplacental mutagenicity of three polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons, 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthacene (DMBA), 3-methylcholanthrene (MC) and benzo[a]pyrene (BP), was measured by an in vivo/in vitro mutation assay. Fetal sensitivity and dose-response characteristics with regard to transplacental mutagenesis by these compounds have never been quantified. In the current experiment, pregnant Syrian hamsters were exposed to these compounds at day 12 of gestation. Twenty-four hours later the fetuses were removed and their cells were allowed a 5-day expression time in culture. They were then seeded for colony formation and also for mutation selection by diphtheria toxin. DMBA at 0.2 mmol/kg (51.3 mg/kg) had an induced mutant frequency of 1.56 x 10(-4) mutants per surviving cell. This was 598 times the historical control. DMBA at 0.2 mmol/kg was 3.6 times more potent than the highly mutagenic positive control, ethylnitrosourea, at 1 mmol/kg. DMBA also caused a dose-dependent increase in cloning efficiency, which was highly correlated with mutation rate. BP and MC were less effective than DMBA, causing increased mutations that were 31.6 and 17.7 times the historical control, respectively, and for neither was there any correlation of mutation rate with cloning efficiency. The special effectiveness of DMBA as a transplacental mutagen may relate to its ability to cause increased cell division and fixation of DNA lesions as mutations.

Effects of glucose on cloning efficiency and mutagenesis of fetal rat cells.

In a previous study, treatment of rats with 10% glucose in the drinking water, as fetuses during gestation and for 1.5 months after delivery, significantly enhanced tumor incidence that resulted from N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU, 20 mg/kg) given transplacentally on gestation day 21, with a 1.6-fold increase in overall tumor incidence. We investigated whether glucose would have an effect on MNU-induced mutation in fetal F-344 rat somatic cells as measured in an in vivo/in vitro assay. Rat fetuses were exposed transplacentally to MNU on gestation day 16 and to a 10% glucose solution from gestation day 7 to day 17. Cells were isolated on gestation day 17 for determination of cloning efficiency and for selection of 6-thioguanine (6-TG)-resistant HGPRT mutants. Cloning efficiency of the fetal cells exposed to MNU alone was 22.6+/-2.3% S.E., while that for cells from fetuses exposed to MNU+glucose was 27.5+/-1.6% S.E., which was a significant difference (P=0.018). This indicates an effect of glucose on cell proliferation and survival. MNU treatment significantly increased the mutation frequency of fetal cells from a spontaneous value of 0.4 x 10(-6) per viable cell to (8.8+/-1.8 S.E.,) x 10(-6) (P=0.0087). The coexposure to MNU and glucose yielded a mutant frequency per plate of 0.62+/-0.05 S.E., which was a 1.5-fold increase compared to MNU alone (0.43+/-0.11 S.E., P=0.075. In summary, the data indicate that glucose during pregnancy increases proliferation/survival of fetal cells and possibly also mutation rate.

X-ray induced mutation in Syrian hamster fetal cells.

Transabdominal X-rays are a risk factor for childhood leukemia, and X-ray exposure of mouse fetuses has led to increases in both mutations and initiated tumors in offspring. However, fetal sensitivity and dose-response characteristics with regard to transplacental mutagenesis by X-rays have never been quantified. In the current experiment, pregnant Syrian hamsters at day 12 of gestation were irradiated with 300-kV X-rays. Twenty-four hours later, the fetuses were removed and their cells were allowed a 5 day expression time in culture. They were then seeded for colony formation and also for mutation selection by 6-thioguanine (6-TG). Mutation frequency was linear over the entire dose range, 10-600 R. The average induced 6-TG mutant frequency was 4.7 x 10(-7) per R. These results suggest that fetal cells are highly sensitive to induction of mutations by X-rays, and that a no-effect threshold is not likely. The 10 R dose caused a 25-fold increase in mutation frequency over the historical control, 45 x 10(-7) versus 1.8 x 10(-7), an increase per R of 2.5-fold. Increased risk of childhood cancer related to obstetrical transabdominal X-ray has also been estimated at 2.5-fold per R. Thus, our results are consistent with mutation contributing to this effect.