Human peripheral blood lymphocytes as a cell model to evaluate the genotoxic effect of coal tar treatment.

Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from psoriatic patients therapeutically exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) during coal tar (CT) treatment were used to evaluate the in vivo formation of benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide(BaPDE)-DNA adducts by an ELISA technique and by the 32P-postlabeling method. Moreover, we controlled if the pretreatment with CT influences the formation of BaP-DNA adducts and the BaP metabolism in the PBL obtained from psoriatic patients, treated in vitro with BaP. Our data did not show any significant influence of the CT treatment on the levels of PAH-DNA adducts. Moreover, the use of PBL from psoriatic patients, treated in vitro with BaP, did not allow to detect significant modifications of the metabolic activation of BaP and of the ability of its metabolites to bind to DNA, before and after CT treatment. Thus, PBL do not seem to represent an useful cell model to evaluate the possible genotoxic effect of the exposure through the skin of psoriatic patients to the PAH contained in CT.

Relationship between benzo(a)pyrene-DNA adducts and somatic mutation and recombination in Drosophila melanogaster.

The evaluation of the relationship between the dose to DNA of a mutagen/carcinogen and in vivo somatic cell mutagenesis may provide information on the mechanisms leading to induced mutational events. This can be achieved, for example, by coupling test systems that permit the detection of somatic mutation and recombination on the basis of phenotypic changes in cuticular structures of Drosophila melanogaster, with methods for the quantitation of carcinogen-DNA adducts such as the 32P-postlabeling technique. In this article, we evaluate the quantitative relationship between BaP-DNA adduct formation, determined by 32P-postlabeling, and the induction of mutant cells in the wing marker version of the somatic mutation and recombination test (SMART) in Drosophila melanogaster. The total single clones in the trans-heterozygous mwh/flr3 flies show a linear relationship with the BaP-DNA adduct levels, suggesting a single hit mechanism for the genetic damage giving rise to this type of clones. In contrast, the twin clones (which are of recombinational origin) display a linear-quadratic relationship with the adduct levels, suggesting that multiple hits may be involved in generating these clones. The total single clones in the mwh/TM3, Ser flies (in which mitotic recombination is suppressed) show a logarithmic relationship with the adduct levels. The discussion of these data in terms of the pathways that may be involved in the repair of the BaP-DNA adducts leads to the suggestion that in Drosophila melanogaster the repair of Bap metabolite-DNA adducts in somatic cells may proceed, in large part, via post-replicative recombinational repair.

Coal tar therapy does not influence in vitro benzo[a]pyrene metabolism and DNA adduct formation in peripheral blood lymphocytes of psoriatic patients.

Human lymphocytes (HL) from healthy subjects and psoriatic patients were treated in vitro for 24 h with 4 microM [3H]benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and 2 microM (-)-B[a]P-7,8-dihydrodiol in order to verify if the coal tar (CT) used in the therapy of psoriasis, which is characterized by a high content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), influences the formation of B[a]P-DNA adducts and the metabolism of B[a]P. Significant amounts of syn-BPDE-dGuo adducts were detected in all the examined HL samples, but no significant difference in the amounts of total BPDE-DNA adducts or of specific anti- and syn-BPDE-dGuo adducts was observed between healthy subjects and psoriatic patients, or between psoriatic patients before and after CT treatment. Moreover, the CT treatment of psoriatic patients did not influence the enantiomeric composition of B[a]P-7,8-dihydrodiols present in the HL culture medium, among which the (-)-7R,8R form was found to predominate (greater than 98%) in all the HL samples. The existence in HL of a specific metabolic pathway of B[a]P leading to the formation of (-)-syn-BPDE and the corresponding tetrols, through the epoxidation of the (-)-7R,8R enantiomer of B[a]P-7,8-dihydrodiol, was confirmed by determining the tetrols derived from the syn- and anti-stereoisomers of BPDE, released in HL culture medium after treatment for 24 h with 2 microM (-)-B[a]P-7,8-dihydrodiol. Although B[a]P-7,10/8,9 and B[a]P-7/8,9,10 tetrols, derived from (+)-anti-BPDE, were the predominant isomers, significant amounts of B[a]P-7,9/8,10 and B[a]P-7,9,10/8 tetrols, derived from the hydrolysis of (-)-syn-BPDE, were also detected. The mean ratio of anti/syn tetrols in healthy subjects was significantly lower than in psoriatic patients, but no difference in that ratio was found in psoriatic patients before and after CT treatment.

Detection of aneuploidy in male germ cells of mice by means of a meiotic micronucleus assay.

The possibility of using a micronucleus (MN) assay in mouse germ cells for the identification of aneuploidogenic agents was evaluated by comparing the pattern of effects induced by 4 chemicals with different mechanisms of action (adriamycin, ADM; mitomycin C, MMC; chloral hydrate, CH; ethylenedinitrilotetraacetic acid, EDTA). The results obtained after treatment of spermatocytes at the premeiotic S-phase (preleptotene) indicated that only clastogenic agents (ADM and MMC) were able to induce MN at this cell stage. Previous data obtained with the same compounds demonstrated by contrast that the micronucleus spermatid assay may detect both clastogenic and aneuploidogenic effects after treatment of diakinesis/MI/MII cells. Analysis of MN size distributions, in the present and previous spermatid samples, revealed that the clastogens ADM and MMC produced relatively more small MN than CH and EDTA. These data are in agreement with the proposed mechanism of action of the chemicals tested.

Detection of benzo[a]pyrene-diol-epoxide-DNA adducts in white blood cells of psoriatic patients treated with coal tar.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect BPDE-DNA adducts in white blood cells of 23 psoriatic patients undergoing clinical coal tar therapy. Ten of these patients were reanalyzed 2-5 months after the end of the coal tar treatments. The results show that the mean adduct level during the treatment period was 0.26 +/- 0.16 fmole BPDE/micrograms DNA (7.7 +/- 4.9 adducts/10(8) nucleotides), while 2-5 months later the mean adduct level had decreased significantly (P less than 0.005) to 0.11 +/- 0.08 fmole BPDE/micrograms DNA (3.3 +/- 2.4 adducts/10(8) nucleotides). No relationship could be ascertained between the level of exposure and the amount of BPDE-DNA adducts. In addition, no difference in the level of DNA adducts was found between smoking and non-smoking patients.

Further evidence for the aneuploidogenic properties of chelating agents: induction of micronuclei in mouse male germ cells by EDTA.

A micronucleus assay based on cytogenetic analysis of early spermatids (Tates et al.; Mutation Research 121:131-138, 1983) was applied to determine if the chelating agent ethylenedinitrilotetraacetic acid (EDTA) may induce aneuploidy in mouse meiotic cells. Previous results indicated aneuploidogenic activity of EDTA in Drosophila female germ cells (induction of chromosome loss; Zordan et al.: Environ Mol Mutagen 15:205-213, 1990). In the same study, a standard aneuploidy test based on chromosome counting in mouse secondary spermatocytes failed however to show aneuploidogenic properties of EDTA in mouse somatic and germ cells. In the present study the effects of two clastogens, adriamycin (ADM) and mitomycin C (MMC), and of the aneuploidogenic agent chloral hydrate (CH) were also evaluated. All compounds were tested at a single dose level and at two time intervals corresponding to the treatment of diakinesis/metaphase I/metaphase II spermatocytes. The clastogenic potential of the compounds under study was also evaluated, by chromosomal aberration analysis in mouse spermatogonia, in an independent set of experiments. The results obtained indicate that ADM, CH and EDTA are able to induce micronuclei at meiosis. On the contrary, only ADM and MMC induced chromosomal aberrations in mouse spermatogonia. Therefore, the most probable origin of micronuclei produced by CH and EDTA is whole chromosome lagging. These results provide further evidence for the aneuploidogenic properties of these chelating agents.

Direct involvement of human gastric mucosa in the activation of alimentary pro-carcinogens.

Exposure to N-nitroso-compounds and aromatic amines, xenobiotics which require an activation in order to exert their genotoxic potential, is causally associated with gastric cancer. We evaluated the capacity of microsome-containing fractions from human gastric mucosa to activate two model carcinogenic compounds. A 9,000 x g supernatant (S9) was obtained from gastric mucosal specimens and, for comparison, from human liver and aroclor-induced and non induced rat liver. The capacity of the S9 to activate N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPY) and 2-aminofluorene (2AF) to mutagenic metabolites was tested in the Ames/Salmonella reversion assay, while dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) and aminopyrine (AP) demethylation activities were spectrophotometrically evaluated by using an enzymatic assay of the amount of formaldehyde released following the enzymatic demethylation of the corresponding substrates. Results indicate that human gastric S9 fractions may activate 2AF to a genotoxic derivative and are characterized by DMN and AP demethylase activities higher (p < 0.05) than those of human liver, when expressed in mg/protein (p < 0.05). Although the parameters evaluated can only be considered as a partial measure of the general activating capacity toward dietary and environmental procarcinogens, these results suggest that human gastric mucosa may be directly involved in the metabolic activation of these compounds to mutagenic/carcinogenic species.

The genotoxicity of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) in a somatic mutation and recombination test in Drosophila melanogaster.

The genotoxicity of a chelating agent, the trisodium salt of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), was assessed in a somatic mutation and recombination test (SMART) in Drosophila melanogaster employing the wing hair markers mwh and flr3. The experiments were performed in parallel in two different laboratories (Padua, Italy and Schwerzenbach, Switzerland). The effectively absorbed doses of NTA, which was administered by feeding to larvae, were determined by a sensitive method employing [3H]leucine which allowed individual consumption levels to be measured. The particular pattern of clone induction produced by this compound suggests that NTA is active in inducing mitotic recombination and possibly aneuploidy in somatic cells of Drosophila. This is discussed in relation to the data present in the literature regarding the genotoxicity of NTA in a variety of experimental systems.

Induction of micronuclei by mitomycin C and colchicine in the marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis.

The frequencies of micronuclei (MNi) in the gill cells of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis were determined over a long period (up to 28 days) following a 48-h treatment with colchicine. The frequency of MNi at the end of treatment was significantly higher than in controls and 24 h later it had increased even more. After this period, the frequency of MNi rapidly declined until a plateau level was reached on day 2-3, which was significantly higher than the control baseline level, and persisted until the end of the experiment (28th day). In the same cell system we previously reported a persistence of an increased frequency of MNi after treatment with mitomycin C (MMC) (Majone et al., 1987). In order to establish the origin of MNi, the difference between their size distribution in MMC- and colchicine-treated animals was determined at the end of treatment as well as during the plateau phase. The difference was statistically significant (P less than 0.001) at the end of treatment, the MNi induced by MMC being smaller than those induced by colchicine. However, the difference during the plateau phase was not statistically significant. Human CREST antikinetochore fluorescent antibodies reacted with chromosome centromeres of Mytilus and were applied to gill cells at the end of a 48-h treatment with MMC or colchicine. About 60% of the MNi induced by colchicine but only 30% of those produced by MMC reacted positively with the fluorescent antibodies. This result indicates that the majority of MNi observed at the end of a 48-h treatment with MMC or colchicine originate, respectively, from acentric chromosome fragments and from whole lagging chromosomes.

[Identification of genotoxic compounds used in leather processing industry]. / Identificazione di composti genotossici utilizzati nella lavorazione delle pelli.

The release of mutagens from 7 carbon black-based leather dyes and from leather samples at various stages of finishing was determined. After vigorous treatment with toluene, 4 commercial dyes yelded mutagenic extracts on Salmonella typhimurium in the presence of microsomal enzymes. Only in one case were the responsible chemicals identified as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The low bioavailability of mutagens contained in carbon black and their low mutagenic activity suggest that the risk associated with the use of these dyes is probably negligible. Soxhlet extracts with ethanol from finished leather were mutagenic on strain TA98 of Salmonella typhimurium in the absence of S9 mix. Analysis of extracts of leather samples at various intermediate stages of processing showed that mutagenic activity was detectable after the colouring process. The responsible compound was identified as a nitroazo dye (Colour Index: Acid Brown 83), with a mutagenic potential of about 4 revertant/micrograms. Eighteen commercial tannins containing mainly Cr(III) sulphates were assessed for genotoxicity. Most were contaminated with Cr(VI), a known mutagenic and carcinogenic agent, at levels sufficient to induce an increased frequency of SCE (sister chromatid exchanges) in mammalian cells (CHO, chinese hamster ovary) tested in vitro.

[Leather azo dyes: mutagenic and carcinogenic risks]. / I coloranti azoici per cuoio: rischio mutageno e cancerogeno.

The paper reviews the carcinogenicity and mutagenicity data on azo dyes used in the leather industry. Two water soluble benzidine-based dyes were classified as "probably carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). No other dyes have been evaluated by the IARC. Of the 48 azo dyes assayed in the Salmonella/microsome test, 20 gave positive results. Attention is drawn to the important role of the in vivo metabolism of azo compounds, which includes a preliminary reduction of the azo bonds and subsequent release of the aromatic amines of the dye. A useful assay (Prival test) for evaluating the mutagenic properties of azo dyes involves a reductive step that permits the release of any genotoxic agents present in the compounds. A list of leather azo dyes is furnished that are considered as potentially harmful due to the presence of a carcinogenic aromatic amine (benzidine, p-aminobenzene and derivatives) in their formulae.

Biological monitoring of human exposure to coal tar. Urinary mutagenicity assays and analytical determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites in urine.

The mutagenicity of urine extracts from anode plant workers exposed to coal tar pitch volatiles and non-smoking psoriatic patients treated with coal tar applications and UV light (Goeckermann regimen), was determined by the plate incorporation assay and the fluctuation test employing Salmonella typhimurium strain TA98 in the presence of rat liver post-mitochondrial fractions and deconjugating enzymes. The levels of total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and of a marker metabolite of pyrene (1-hydroxypyrene) were determined in the urine of the same subjects. Both the occupational and in particular the therapeutic exposure to coal tar resulted in clear increases in urinary levels of PAH metabolites as compared to unexposed subjects. The level of 1-hydroxypyrene in the urine samples was comparable to or even greater than the corresponding level of total PAHs, indicating a poor recovery of PAH metabolites for this method. Following treatment with coal tar, most of the psoriatic patients excreted clearly increased levels of mutagens in their urine, while non-smoking anode plant workers showed no increase in urinary mutagenicity. The minimum levels of PAH metabolites corresponding to a significant increase in urinary mutagenicity varied from sample to sample, presumably depending on interfering factors present in different amounts in the extracts. Nonetheless the urine samples which were clearly mutagenic presented elevated levels of PAH metabolites, suggesting that the mutagenicity assays lack sufficient sensitivity to allow their application in the biological monitoring of most occupational exposures to coal tar.

A concerted approach to the study of the aneuploidogenic properties of two chelating agents (EDTA and NTA) in the germ and somatic cell lines of Drosophila and the mouse.

The genetic effects of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) and ethylenedinitrilotetraacetic acid (EDTA), two widely used chelating agents, were investigated by using a somatic mutation and recombination test (SMART) after treatment of larvae and the FIX test for aneuploidy after treatment of adult female Drosophila melanogaster. Chloral hydrate (CH) and 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FdUr) were used as positive controls. Effectively absorbed amounts of the test compounds assayed in Drosophila were estimated at the single fly level by a method using 3H-leucine. NTA and EDTA were also assayed in tests for aneuploidy based on chromosome counting in mouse germ and somatic cells. We previously showed that NTA was able to induce aneuploidy (chromosomal gain) in the germ cells of both Drosophila and the mouse when tested at the exposure levels of 5 x 10(-2) M and 275 mg per kg body weight, respectively [Costa et al., Environ Mol Mutagen 12:397-407, 1988]. In the present experiments, EDTA was assayed at 2.5 x 10(-2) M and 7.5 x 10(-3) M in the FIX test adopting a three-stage brooding scheme. Significant increases (with respect to controls) in chromosomal loss were observed in the second brood and in the combined three-brood total for both exposure levels of EDTA. In the SMART test, treatments with EDTA in the same exposure range produced negative results over all end-points, whereas significant increases in the frequency of small single spots (possibly due to aneuploidy) were produced by NTA 5 x 10(-2) M. In the cytogenetic assays for aneuploidy both in the germ and somatic cells of the mouse, negative results were also obtained following the i.p. administration of 93 and 186 mg EDTA per kg b.w. The previously observed induction of germ cell aneuploidy by NTA (275 mg per kg b.w.) was confirmed in the present experiments on a different strain of mice. NTA (138-275 mg per kg b.w.) did not induce aneuploidy in somatic cells of the mouse [Russo et al., Mutat Res 226: 111-114, 1989], however. These results are compared and discussed with reference to the characteristics of the different test systems used and to the different chelating properties of NTA and EDTA.

Relationship between DNA replicon size and SCE induction in BALB/c and BALB/Mo mouse lymphocytes.

We studied the DNA replicon size in BALB/c and BALB/Mo mouse lymphocytes by the method of bromodeoxyuridine photolysis. After treatment of the BALB/Mo lymphocytes in vitro with mitomycin C, the average DNA replicon size appeared to be significantly smaller than that observed in BALB/c lymphocytes treated similarly. In these conditions an increased susceptibility to SCE induction in BALB/Mo lymphocytes had been observed. In the presence of both mitomycin C and cordycepin (an antiviral drug), both the DNA replicon size and the SCE frequency returned to normal values.

[Urinary excretion of mutagens and cisplatin among the nursing staff at a medical oncology department exposed to cytostatic drugs]. / Escrezione urinaria di mutageni e cisplatino nel personale infermieristico dei reprti di oncologia media esposto a farmaci citostatici.

Exposure to cytostatic drugs was assessed in a group of 9 nurses employed in a hospital cancer therapy department by measuring the post-shift levels of urinary mutagens and cis-platinum. A slight but significant increase in urinary mutagenic activity compared to 11 controls was observed in the non-smokers: the mean values of mutagenic activity on the Ta100 strain in the presence of both microsomal and deconjugating enzymes were 4418 +/- 1186 and 2468 +/- 1681 respectively. Conversely, the urinary platinum concentration was below the detection limit of the analytical method (10 micrograms/l) in all samples. The increased urinary mutagenic activity in the exposed group can probably be attributed to the absorption of cyclophosphamide either during preparation and administration of the drug, or due to accidental contact with contaminated biological fluids, in view of the fact that the level of mutagens in urine samples from cyclophosphamide-treated patients is extremely high (up to 319,478 revertants/g creatinine in the case we examined).

Release of mutagens from finished leather.

Extracts of a leather widely used in the furniture and dress-making industries were tested for their mutagenic activity in the Salmonella/microsome assay. Extracts obtained after vigorous treatment of leather samples in a Soxhlet apparatus with toluene or ethanol were mutagenic in strain TA98 of S. typhimurium in the absence of S9 mix. The analysis of extracts of leather at various intermediate stages of processing showed that the mutagenic activity appeared after the coloration process. The responsible compound was identified to be an azo dye (Color Index: Acid Brown 83) whose mutagenic potency was about 4 revertants/micrograms.