Carcinogenicity and mutagenicity testing of three isomeric N-nitroso-N-methylaminopyridines in rats.

Three isomeric N-nitroso-N-methylaminopyridines (NMPY's) were investigated for their carcinogenic activity in BD VI rats following chronic oral administration and for their mutagenic properties in the Ames assay. On the basis of postulated reaction mechanisms, it was expected that 3-NMPY would react differently than 2- and 4-NMPY, but the outcome of both carcinogenicity and mutagenicity assays did not show this. 2-NMPY induced tumors of the esophagus and possibly also of the liver; 3- and 4-NMPY had no activity as carcinogens under the experimental conditions used. Similarly, high concentrations of 2-NMPY showed mutagenic activity toward Salmonella typhimurium TA100, whereas 3- and 4-NMPY did not have such an effect.

Mutagenicity of the two main components of commercially available carcinogenic aristolochic acid in Salmonella typhimurium.

One of the 2 main components of the commercially available carcinogenic aristolochic acid (AA) was isolated, the other was enriched. Three different aristolochic acid samples (AAI 99% pure; AAI 65% + AAII 35%; AAI 32% + AAII 68%) were assayed for mutagenic activity in Salmonella typhimurium TA1537, TA100 and TA100 NR with and without the addition of a metabolizing mixture. The two main components (AAI and AAII) were direct mutagens in Salmonella strains TA1537 and TA100 with almost equal mutagenic potency. In TA100 NR the aristolochic acid samples showed no or only a very low level of biological activity, indicating the necessity of nitroreduction for the bioactivation of the samples. These findings suggest that both AAI as well as AAII can be used in further studies to elucidate the metabolism of aristolochic acid.

Microsomal mediated metabolism of dialkylaryltriazenes. I. Demethylation of ring halogenated 3,3-dimethyl-1-phenyltriazenes.

The oxidative N-demethylation was investigated for a series of 3,3-dimethyl-l-phenyl-triazenes. Triazenes, deactivated with halogene atoms in the phenylring, were expected to be better demethylated. The results do indicate a good trend that substitution of the ring with deactivating atoms and extent of demethylation compare well. The percentages of demethylation were: For 3,3-dimethyl-l-phenyltriazene, 45%; for 3,3-dimethyl-l (4-chlor-phenyl)-triazene, 92%; for 3,3-dimethyl-l(4-bromophenyl)triazene, 89%; for 3,3-dimethyl-l-(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)triazene, 122%; and for 3,3-dimethyl-l-l-(2,4,6-tribromophenyl)triazene, 85%.

Microsomal mediated metabolism of dialkylaryltriazenes. II. Isolation and identification of metabolites of 3,3-dimethyl-1-phenyltriazene.

After incubating 3,3-dimethyl-1-phenyltriazene with rat liver microsomes, acetanilid and derivatives of aniline and possibly of 3-methyl-1-phenyltriazene were found as metabolites and identified by mass spectrometry. This is the first time that directly formed metabolites (other than formaldehyde) of a dialkyltriazene were identified. The isolation of a derivative of 3-methyl-1-phenyltriazene as 3-acetyl-3-methyl-1-phenyltriazene supports other evidence that the triazenes are enzymically demethylated. Indication for the formation of phenylhydrazine was also obtained. In addition, hydrolysates of the polar fractions of the incubation mixture contained aniline and 4-hydroxy-aniline as a aglycones.

Use of diethyldithiocarbamate as a probe to detect stable intermediates during the decomposition of several mutagenic and nonmutagenic N-nitroso compounds.

By showing that methyldiethyldithiocarbamate is formed from the reaction of methylnitrosourea and disulfiram, we demonstrated in previous experiments that one of the anticarcinogenic/antimutagenic mechanisms of disulfiram is the scavenging of reactive species. We propose that this reaction may be employed additionally as a model for elucidating the following: (a) possible reactions between alkylating species and nucleophilic sites within the cell, and (b) the existence of stable intermediates during the metabolism of N-nitroso compounds. With structurally related pairs of nitrosoureas (n-propyl/isopropyl; cyclopropyl/allyl; 2-phenylethyl/l-phenylethyl), for which each alkylating group of the first compound can spontaneously rearrange to form the alkylating group of the second isomer, we investigated whether the alkylation proceeds via a monomolecular (sn1) or a bimolecular substitution (sn2). For this, we comparatively determined the relative mutagenic activities of each isomer in Salmonella typhimurium TA 1535, as well as their reactivities towards diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC) by identifying the reaction products. These studies were aimed at revealing the possible formation of a free carbonium ion in the decomposition of several nitrosoureas in the rat liver supernatant fraction. Our system showed that DDTC reacts by two competing mechanisms: attack at the diazonium ion and at the free carbonium ion. Therefore the striking differences which were observed in the mutagenic potency of cyclopropylnitrosourea and N-nitrosoallylurea as well as of N-nitroso-2-phenylethylurea and N-nitroso-1-phenylethylurea cannot be explained only by the different electrophilic reactivities of the respective intermediates.

Biological activity of N-nitrosodiethanolamine and of potential metabolites which may arise after activation by alcohol dehydrogenase in Salmonella typhimurium, in mammalian cells, and in vivo.

The potent carcinogen N-nitrosodiethanolamine (NDELA) which is nonmutagenic in standard modifications of the S. typhimurium/mammalian microsome assay, can be activated effectively by alcohol dehydrogenase/NAD (ADH/NAD) to intermediates which are directly mutagenic in strains TA 98 and TA 100. The expected metabolites N-nitroso-2-hydroxymorpholine (NHMor), N-nitroso-(2-hydroxyethyl)-glycine (NHEG), N-nitrosoiminodiacetic acid (NIDA), and glycolaldehyde were assayed for their direct mutagenic activities in S. typhimurium TA 1535, TA 98, and TA 100. All compounds were clearly mutagenic in TA 100, but different specificities were observed for the other strains. NDELA and its putative mutagenic metabolites were also tested for induction of genotoxic activities by determination of DNA single strand breaks in primary rat hepatocytes. In these cells, NDELA and NHMor were clearly genotoxic, whereas NHEG and NIDA were inactive. In contrast, when assayed for the induction of selective DNA amplification NDELA and its metabolites were not found to induce SV40 DNA synthesis in SV40-transformed Chinese Hamster cells. The compounds were also assayed for induction of DNA single strand breaks in the liver after a single oral application to rats. NDELA and NHMor were about equally active in this in vivo test, whereas NHEG, NIDA and glycolaldehyde were inactive. Differences in biological activity in the cultivated cells, as compared to hepatocytes or to the in vivo situation may most probably be due to differences in metabolism and/or pharmacokinetics.

Genotoxic activities of benzamidine and its N-hydroxylated metabolite benzamidoxime in Salmonella typhimurium and mammalian cells.

The genotoxic potentials of benzamidine and benzamidoxime were determined to study the toxicological relevance of the metabolic N-oxygenation (N-hydroxylation) of benzamidines to benzamidoximes. Benzamidoxime induced DNA single-strand breaks (in rat hepatocytes) and DNA amplification in SV40-transformed hamster cells. In the experiments performed, benzamidine itself was only marginally positive in the hepatocyte/DNA single-strand break assay. Since these cells possess an intact metabolization apparatus, the biological activities may be attributed to toxic and genotoxic metabolites formed by biotransformation. In the Salmonella typhimurium mutagenicity test (TA 98 and TA 100) benzamidoxime alone exhibited a low mutagenicity in the TA 98 strain in the presence of rabbit liver S-9 fractions. These results permit recognition of the metabolic N-hydroxylation of benzamidines to benzamidoximes as a process to toxication. Indirect evidence for the formation of a glucuronide of benzamidoxime has been obtained from in vitro experiments, but it could not be established that this process was a decisive factor in the genotoxicity of benzamidoxime.

Determination of DNA single strand breaks and selective DNA amplification by N-nitrodimethylamine and analogs, and estimation of the indicator cells' metabolic capacities.

N-nitrodimethylamine is metabolized oxidatively to N-nitrohydroxymethylmethylamine, which decomposes to yield formaldehyde and N-nitromethylamine. All four compounds and N-nitromethylamine were tested for their ability to induce DNA single strand breaks in hepatocytes and in SV 40-transformed Chinese hamster embryo cell lines. Only the two monoalkylnitramines were positive. They induced single strand breaks in hepatocytes, but were not effective in the other cells. Formaldehyde and N-nitrohydroxymethylmethylamine were toxic to the cells. None of the compounds tested was able to induce selective DNA amplification in the two transformed cell lines. Enzymes involved in drug metabolism were assayed in the hamster cell lines. The activity of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase and cytosolic epoxide hydrolase were not detectable. N-nitrodimethylamine demethylation was low. The content of reduced glutathione and the activities of glutathione transferase and membrane bound epoxide hydrolase were comparable to values obtained in the rat liver.

Synthesis, antitumor activity, distribution and toxicity of 4-[4-[bis(2-chloroethyl)amino]phenyl]-1-hydroxybutane-1 1-bisphosphonic acid (BAD), a new lost derivative with increased accumulation in rat osteosarcoma.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the newly synthesized bisphosphonic acid-linked N-Lost derivative BAD retains bone-seeking and cytostatic properties. The paper describes experiments on mutagenicity in vitro and on toxicity in vivo. BAD is characterized by very low mutagenic activity toward histidine auxotrophic Salmonella typhimurium strains. Cytotoxic effects were tested in rat osteosarcoma and in Walker carcinosarcoma 256B. The LD50 of i.v. injected BAD was 146 mg/kg. Acute toxicity is probably caused by calcium complexing of the bisphosphonate part of the molecule. Labeling experiments showed moderate accumulation in bone and osteosarcoma, as well as in lung metastases. BAD effected high tumor growth inhibition in osteosarcoma and Walker carcinosarcoma-bearing rats and marked prolongation of survival; histologic and radiographic examination revealed rapid calcification of osteosarcoma and lung metastases. BAD-pretreatment produced protective effects against osteolysis induced by intratibially implanted Walker carcinosarcoma ascites cells. The cytostatic efficacy of equitoxic doses of BAD in rat osteosarcoma is comparable to that of dacarbazine and in Walker carcinosarcoma to that of melphalan.

Employment of adult mammalian primary cells in toxicology: in vivo and in vitro genotoxic effects of environmentally significant N-nitrosodialkylamines in cells of the liver, lung, and kidney.

This report focuses on the use of freshly isolated primary mammalian cells from different tissues and organs of the rat for the rapid and efficient analysis of toxic and genotoxic chemicals. The cells are either treated in vitro or they are isolated from treated animals. Viability by trypan blue exclusion and DNA damage as single-strand breaks are monitored in either case. Therefore, it is possible to compare in vitro and in vivo results directly. N-nitrosamines with unique organ-specific modes in carcinogenesis were studied in vitro using hepatocytes derived from three species (rat, hamster, and pig) and in rat lung and kidney cells. The sensitive detection of all carcinogenic nitrosamines was achieved, although a pattern of cell-specific activation was not observable. The new modification of the in vivo approach allowed the sensitive detection of NDMA genotoxicity in hepatic and in extrahepatic tissues. It is important to point out that the method is an efficient tool for toxicokinetic studies with genotoxic carcinogens in vivo.

Assay-specific genotoxicity of N-nitrosodibenzylamine to the rat liver in vivo.

N-Nitrosodibenzylamine (NDBzA) is mutagenic to Salmonella typhimurium and induces DNA strand breaks in isolated rat hepatocytes, yet it is reported to be non-carcinogenic to the rat. Here we report that it is inactive in both the rat and mouse bone marrow micronucleus assays and in a rat liver autoradiographic assay for unscheduled DNA synthesis. It is, however, clearly active as a micronucleus-inducing agent and mitogen in the rat liver and is capable of inducing single-strand breaks in the DNA of rat liver. The origin and implications of this curious conflict of in vivo genotoxicity data are discussed. Irrespective of that discussion, it is concluded that NDBzA is genotoxic to the rat liver in vivo.

In vitro/in vivo effects of Mesna on the genotoxicity and toxicity of cyclophosphamide--a study aimed at clarifying the mechanism of Mesna's anticarcinogenic activity.

Cyclophosphamide is an effective antitumor agent with considerable side effects such as urotoxicity and carcinogenicity. These negative attributes may be caused by toxic and genotoxic metabolites, respectively. Mesna (sodium 2-mercaptoethane sulfonate) decreases the urotoxicity by scavenging the toxic metabolite acrolein. The present study was aimed at elucidating whether a similar scavenging of genotoxic alkylating intermediates could be found, which might cause the reduction in carcinogenicity. In vitro studies on the genotoxic and toxic properties of cyclophosphamide and its major metabolites to bacteria were therefore performed in the presence of Mesna. Mesna did not reduce the mutagenicity of any of the tested metabolites. Mesna clearly inhibited the toxic properties of acrolein. After in vivo application of Mesna and cyclophosphamide to rats, however, a lower yield of mutagens in the excreted urine was observed than after application of cyclophosphamide only.

Metabolic activation capabilities of S9 and hepatocytes from uninduced rats to convert carcinogenic N-nitrosamines to mutagens.

6 carcinogenic nitrosamines were studied in Salmonella typhimurium TA1535 after activation by S9 and by hepatocytes. All nitrosamines were activated by S9 from induced rats, regardless of their organotropy. The hepatocarcinogenic nitrosamines (N-nitrosodimethylamine, NDMA; N-nitrosodiethylamine, NDEA; N-nitrosomorpholine, NM and N-nitrosodibutylamine, NDBA) were activated to mutagens by S9 and by hepatocytes both derived from noninduced rat livers, NDMA and NM inducing more his+ revertants in the presence of hepatocytes. The oesophageal carcinogenic nitrosamine N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBeA) and bladder organotrophic N-nitroso(4-hydroxybutyl)butylamine(NBBOH) were neither converted by liver preparations of uninduced rats into mutagenic intermediates nor by hepatocytes. This study indicates that isolated cells derived from untreated animals may be better suited to study liver specific activation in vitro than disrupted subcellular metabolizing systems from induced animals.

DNA amplification in genetic toxicology.

Chemical compounds can cause amplification of specific DNA sequences. DNA amplification may result in an enhanced production of gene products which help cells to cope with the chemicals. This may lead to a resistance of the cells toward the agent. Additionally, initiation of transformation or progression of transformed cells to tumorigenicity may also involve DNA amplification. Therefore, it is of interest to study the potential of chemicals to induce DNA amplification. This report focuses on the investigation of a variety of chemicals in 2 systems with which the amplification of viral DNA is measured within cells in culture. One model system comprises the measurement of SV40 DNA content in an SV40-transformed Chinese hamster cell line following chemical treatment. Antitumor agents as well as genotoxic and non-genotoxic compounds were studied in this system as a first step to determine the DNA amplification-inducing potential of a variety of differently acting chemical compounds. Also, a novel assay based on adeno-associated virus infection of cells is described. This system may offer the possibility of studying DNA amplification in a variety of different target cells. For the future, the need is stressed to develop and analyze versatile systems to study amplification of specific target genes in untransformed cells and in tumor cells.

What's new in mutagenicity and carcinogenicity--status of short-term assay systems as tools in genetic toxicology and carcinogenesis.

The status of short term assay systems as tools in genetic toxicology has shifted from the goal to predict carcinogenic activity of chemicals toward their employment for understanding and elucidating the mechanisms of biological activity. This altered mode of application arises from research development in two main areas. One resulted in the observation that the calculated predictive values of individual assay systems (alone or in combination with supplementary tests) to detect carcinogens as genotoxic and non-carcinogens as non-genotoxic are lower than originally expected. The other is the increasing recognition that by employing relevant in vitro procedures, various aspects of a compound's activity can be studied which may otherwise not be clarified with available in vivo methods. This report focuses on the reasons why mutagenesis assays, or short term genotoxicity assays, in general, are not unambiguously employed for determining the carcinogenic potential of unknown compounds. One reason is that a safe prediction is not possible, since non-genotoxic carcinogens will not induce alterations of the DNA. Another reason is that even genotoxic carcinogens may not accurately respond as positive in a given test system due to the limitations of the specific assay. These are mainly seen in the incomplete metabolic conversion of the test compound, irrelevancy the measured effect may actually have for carcinogenesis, and the lack of regarding pharmacokinetic influences by a host animal, when testing in vitro. A rationale testing strategy compiled of assay systems which individually are included to overcome the restrictions is described.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Mutagenicity testing in the Salmonella typhimurium assay of phenolic compounds and phenolic fractions obtained from smokehouse smoke condensates.

Smokehouse smoke, which is used for flavouring meat products, was investigated for its mutagenic activity in the Salmonella typhimurium assay. We were chiefly concerned with the fractions free of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons but containing phenol compounds, which are responsible for the preservative and aromatizing properties of the smoke. The most abundantly occurring phenol compounds (phenol, cresols, 2,4-dimethylphenol, brenzcatechine, syringol, eugenol, vanilline and guaiacol) gave negative results when they were tested for mutagenicity at five concentrations up to 5000 micrograms/plate, with and without S-9 mix, using five strains of S. typhimurium. Even when phenol was further investigated in a variety of test conditions, no induction of his+ revertants was observed. When smokehouse smoke was condensed and fractionated the majority of the various phenolic fractions also gave negative results when tested at five concentrations using five strains of S. typhimurium. However there was a slight increase in the number of revertants in a few cases. The presence in the phenolic fractions of very small amounts of mutagenic impurities, the nature of which needs further investigation, cannot be excluded. These results support the further development of non-hazardous smoke-aroma preparations, based on the phenolic components of smokehouse smoke.

Mutagenicity studies on N-nitrosated products of the Maillard browning reaction: N-nitroso-fructose-amino acids.

The N-nitroso derivatives of D-fructose-L-glycine, D-fructose-L-alanine, D-fructose-L-phenylalanine, D-fructose-L-serine, Dfructose-L-aspartic acid and D-fructose-L-tryptophan (a mixture of alpha-N-nitroso-D-fructose-L-tryptophan and 'indolyl-nitrosamine'-D-fructose-L-tryptophan) were tested for mutagenicity in five auxotrophic strains of Salmonella typhimurium with and without metabolic activation (S-9 mix). The alanine, phenylalanine and aspartic acid compounds were not mutagenic. The glycine and serine compounds showed a very low but reproducible increase in the numbers of his+ revertants in strain TA1535 without S-9 mix. The mixture containing both nitrosated D-fructose-L-tryptophan compounds was mutagenic in all five strains, with or without metabolic activation. The alpha-N-nitroso-D-fructose-L-tryptophan component of the mixture, which is nitrosated at the amino group, was isolated and tested without S-9 mix. It was mutagenic in three strains. Unnitrosated D-fructose-L-amino acids, D-fructose, and the individual L-amino acids were non-mutagenic when tested under those conditions for which a positive response had been obtained with the corresponding nitrosated compounds. These results indicate the potential value of developing analytical methods to identify alpha-N-nitroso-D-fructose-L-tryptophan in food or food extracts that are to be screened for mutagenic components.

Genotoxicity of 5-methoxypsoralen and near ultraviolet light in repair-deficient strains of Escherichia coli WP2.

5-Methoxypsoralen (5-MOP) is used in cosmetic suntan preparations to stimulate the production of skin pigments. Although its isomer 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) has been shown to be genotoxic in numerous biological systems, 5-MOP has not been so extremely investigated, but it has recently been reported to be mutagenic and carcinogenic. We have studied the lethal effects of 5-MOP and near ultraviolet light (NUV) on repair-deficient Escherichia coli strains. After treatment with 5-MOP at concentrations above 2 microgram/ml in combination with UV light survival of the repair-deficient strains was considerably reduced and strain WP100 UVRA- recA- was more sensitive than strain WP2 UVRA-. The effect was dependent on the time of irradiation and on the presence or absence of S-9 mix which inhibited the lethal activity of 5-MOP/NUV particularly when the NADP-generating system was included. These results support other indications that the use of 5-MOP in cosmetic preparations should be controlled.

Detection of mutations in bacteria and of DNA damage and amplified DNA sequences in mammalian cells as a systematic test strategy for elucidating biological activities of chemical carcinogens.

The interdisciplinary evaluation of risks from carcinogens utilizes, inter alia, data on the activities of the compounds in short-term assays. A systematic approach is being used to determine mutagenesis in bacteria (the study of direct activities and specific modes of metabolic activation), DNA damage within primary mammalian cells (DNA single-strand breaks and persistence of damage, by a method extendable to the in vivo situation) and amplified DNA sequences in cultured cells (as an endpoint probably relevant to carcinogenesis). This test combination was expected to reduce some of the shortcomings of other batteries of tests, which suffer from a lack of appropriate metabolic conversion of compounds, irrelevancy of genetic endpoints and pharmacokinetic limitations. Furthermore, as each assay in the test strategy differs from the others only by one of the parameters described above, a reasonable understanding of divergent test results from assay to assay was anticipated. Several substances were investigated to elucidate why their activities in short-term assays and in carcinogenesis experiments do not correlate. The substances were N-nitrodimethylamine, for which formaldehyde is the reactive intermediate in bacterial mutagenesis but not in mammalian cells or in vivo, N-nitrosodiethanolamine, a carcinogen that must be activated by external alcohol dehydrogenase to be mutagenic in bacteria, N-nitrosodialkylamines, with unique organotropism in vivo for which organ-specific activation was studied in vitro, N-nitroso compounds that are inactivated in vivo but not in vitro, and components of the aristolochic acid mixture which may be metabolized oxidatively or reductively, as well as numerous miscellaneous compounds that were expected to be genotoxins on account of their chemical structure. In addition to the assessment of genotoxicity, the results obtained in individual tests of this strategy yield important data on mechanisms of activity, such as organ-specific activation and deactivation, species variations, in vitro/in vivo correlation and persistence or repair of damage.