Evaluation of the carcinogenicity of dichloromethane in rats, mice, hamsters and humans.

Dichloromethane (DCM) is a high production volume chemical (>1000 t/a) mainly used as an industrial solvent. Carcinogenicity studies in rats, mice and hamsters have demonstrated a malignant tumor inducing potential of DCM only in the mouse (lung and liver) at 1000-4000 ppm whereas human data do not support a conclusion of cancer risk. Based on this, DCM has been classified as a cat. 2 carcinogen. Dose-dependent toxicokinetics of DCM suggest that DCM is a threshold carcinogen in mice, initiating carcinogenicity via the low affinity/high capacity GSTT1 pathway; a biotransformation pathway that becomes relevant only at high exposure concentrations. Rats and hamsters have very low activities of this DCM-metabolizing GST and humans have even lower activities of this enzyme. Based on the induction of specific tumors selectively in the mouse, the dose- and species-specific toxicokinetics in this species, and the absence of a malignant tumor response by DCM in rats and hamsters having a closer relationship to DCM toxicokinetics in humans and thus being a more relevant animal model, the current classification of DCM as human carcinogen cat. 2 remains appropriate.

Hypolipidemic, hipoglycemiant and antioxidant effects of Myrcia splendens (Sw) DC in an animal type 2 diabetes model induced by streptozotocin / Efectos hipolipemiante, hipoglucemiante y antioxidante de Myrcia splendens (Sw) DC en un modelo animal de diabetes tipo 2 inducido por estreptozotocina

We investigated the effects of dichloromethane extract (DME) from Myrcia splendenson alterations caused by type 2 diabetes in the blood and kidney of rats, in order to reduce side effects caused by synthetic drugs. Rats received streptozotocin (60 mg/kg),15 minutes after nicotinamide (120 mg/kg) or water. After 72 hours, the glycemic levels were evaluated to confirm diabetes and the animals received (15 days) DME (25, 50, 100 or 150 mg/Kg) or water. DME partially reversed hyperglycemia and (100 and 150 mg/kg) reversed hypertriglyceridemia. Histopathological findings elucidated that DME reduced damage to pancreatic islets. DME 150 mg/kgreversed the increases in TBA-RS, the reduction in the sulfhydryl content, 100 and 150 mg/kg increased CAT, reversed the decrease in GSH-Px and increased it activity in the blood. DME 150 mg/kg reversed CAT and GSH-Px reductions in the kidney. We believe that DME effects might be dependent on the presence of phenolic compounds.

Investigamos los efectos del extracto de diclorometano (DME)de Myrcia splendens sobre las alteraciones causadas por la diabetes tipo 2 en la sangre y los riñones de las ratas, para reducir los efectos secundarios causados por las drogas sintéticas. Las ratas recibieron estreptozotocina (60 mg/kg), 15 minutos después de la nicotinamida (120 mg/kg) o agua. Después de 72 horas, se confirmo la diabetes y los animales recibieron (15 días) DME (25, 50, 100 o 150 mg/Kg) o agua. DME revierte parcialmente la hiperglucemia y revierte la hipertrigliceridemia. DME redujo el daño a los islotes pancreáticos. DME revirtió los aumentos en TBA-RS, la reducción en el contenido de sulfhidrilo, aumentó la CAT, revirtió la disminución en GSH-Px y aumentó su actividad en la sangre. Además, DME revirtió las reducciones de CAT y GSH-Px en el riñón. Creemos que los efectos provocados por DME pueden depender de la presencia de compuestos fenólicos.

Dietary quercetin abrogates hepatorenal oxidative damage associated with dichloromethane exposure in rats.

Exposure to dichloromethane (DCM), a commonly used chlorinated solvent in industrial settings and for the production of many household products, reportedly elicits detrimental effects in animals and humans. The present study investigated the protective role of dietary quercetin on DCM-induced hepatorenal damage in rats. Experimental rats were orally administered with DCM (150 mg/kg) and 30 min later with quercetin at 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg or none for 7 consecutive days. The results indicated that DCM-mediated significant (p<0.05) increases in serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma glutamyl transferase and alkaline phosphatase activities as well as urea and creatinine levels were dose-dependently normalized to the control values in rats co-treated with quercetin. Further, quercetin co-treatment ameliorated DCM-mediated decrease in the hepatic and renal activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase as well as glutathione level in the treated rats. Moreover, quercetin co-treatment markedly reduced lipid peroxidation level and protected against histological changes in liver and kidney of the treated rats. Taken together, quercetin abrogated hepatorenal oxidative damage in DCM-treated rats via improvement of antioxidant status and suppression of oxidative damage.

Methylene chloride protects against cecal ligation and puncture-induced acute lung injury by modulating inflammatory mediators.

Recent studies suggest that exogenously administered CO is beneficial for the resolution of acute pulmonary inflammation. In this study, we assessed the role of CO donor, methylene chloride (MC), on modulation of lung inflammation during sepsis. Acute lung injury in Sprague-Dawley rats was induced by cecal ligation and perforation (CLP). MC (100mg/kg) was intragastrically administered 2h before CLP induction. Lung tissues and lavage samples were isolated for biochemical determinations and histological measurements 10h after CLP operation. In addition, we investigated survival rate with the other 40 rats. Intragastric administration with MC significantly decreased morbidity and mortality of CLP-induced ALI as confirmed by blinded histological changes, myeloperoxidase activity, mortality, and the content of TNF-alpha and IL-10. This protective effect could be abolished by an MC inhibitor, disulfiram. These results suggested that MC has obvious protective effects against CLP-induced ALI in rats. The mechanism of the protective effects partly involves modulating inflammatory mediators.

Dose-dependent transitions in mechanisms of toxicity: case studies.

Experience with dose response and mechanisms of toxicity has shown that multiple mechanisms may exist for a single agent along the continuum of the full dose-response curve. It is highly likely that critical, limiting steps in any given mechanistic pathway may become overwhelmed with increasing exposures, signaling the emergence of new modalities of toxic tissue injury at these higher doses. Therefore, dose-dependent transitions in principal mechanisms of toxicity may occur, and could have significant impact on the interpretation of reference data sets for risk assessment. To illustrate the existence of dose-dependent transitions in mechanisms of toxicity, a group of academic, government, and industry scientists, formed under the leadership of the ILSI Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI), developed a series of case studies. These case studies included acetaminophen, butadiene, ethylene glycol, formaldehyde, manganese, methylene chloride, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR), progesterone/hydroxyflutamide, propylene oxide, vinyl acetate, vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, and zinc. The case studies formed the basis for technical discourse at two scientific workshops in 2003.

Effect of solvent composition during preparations on the characteristics of enoxacin microparticles.

We have studied the effect of the solvent system during preparation on the morphology, encapsulation efficiency, and release characteristics of enoxacin microparticles intended for localized delivery to the bone for the treatment of bone infections. Microparticles of enoxacin were formulated using poly(glycolic acid-co-DL-lactic acid) (PGLA) of different viscosity grades by the solvent-evaporation technique. Microparticles prepared with pure dichloromethane had smoother surfaces and less tendency to aggregate than microparticles prepared with dichloromethane-acetone solvent mixtures, which had porous surfaces. Approximately 65% of the microparticles prepared with pure dichloromethane were < 125 microm in diameter compared with 16% (approx.) of microparticles prepared with dichloromethane-acetone mixtures. Increasing the proportion of acetone from dichloromethane-acetone, 10:0, to dichloromethane-acetone, 1:1, resulted in an increase in encapsulation efficiency from 25 to 37%, and an increase in the yield of microparticles harvested from 39 to 51%. Although a further increase in the amount of acetone to dichloromethane-acetone, 1:9, had no significant effect on the yield, aggregation, or fraction of microparticles below 125 microm in diameter, the encapsulation efficiency increased to 56%. Approximately 55% of enoxacin was released in 24 h for microparticles prepared with dichloromethane-acetone, 1:9, compared with 100% release in 10h and 2h for microparticles of the same size range prepared with dichloromethane-acetone, 1:1, and dichloromethane-acetone, 10:0, respectively. The results suggest that the composition of the dichloromethane-acetone solvent system significantly influences the encapsulation efficiency and the rate of release of enoxacin from microparticles. This is important for the formulation of sustained-release enoxacin microparticles for the localized treatment of osteomyelitis.

Methylene chloride induced mouse liver and lung tumours: an overview of the role of mechanistic studies in human safety assessment.

B6C3F1 mice exposed to high dose levels of methylene chloride by inhalation for 2 years had an elevated incidence of liver and lung tumours. These tumours were not increased in rats or hamsters exposed under the same or similar conditions. This paper gives an overview of research conducted over the last 10 years into the mechanism of action of methylene chloride as a mouse carcinogen and into the relevance of the mouse data to humans exposed to this chemical. Data are presented on the comparative metabolism and pharmacokinetics of methylene chloride in mice, rats, hamsters and humans, on the toxicity of methylene chloride to the target organs in the mouse, and on the genotoxicity of methylene chloride in vitro and in vivo. The enzyme which activates methylene chloride to its carcinogenic form has been isolated, sequenced, and cloned, and its distribution studied within cells, organs and between species. Evidence has been obtained to show the methylene chloride caused cancer in mice as a result of interactions between metabolites of the glutathione S-transferase pathway and DNA. Damage to mouse lung Clara cells and increased cell division are believed to have influenced the development of the lung tumours. The species specificity was a direct consequence of the very high activity and specific cellular and nuclear localisation of a theta class glutathione S-transferase enzyme which was unique to the mouse. Consequently, DNA damage was not detectable in rats in vivo, or in hamster and human hepatocytes exposed to cytotoxic dose levels of methylene chloride in vitro. These results provide evidence that the mouse is unique in its response to methylene chloride and that it is an inappropriate model for human health assessment.

Hepatic and pulmonary carcinogenicity of methylene chloride in mice: a search for mechanisms.

An inhalation study utilizing over 1400 female B6C3F1 mice was undertaken to study mechanistic factors associated with liver and lung tumor induction following exposure to 2000 ppm of methylene chloride. Mice were exposed to methylene chloride (treated) or chamber air (controls) 6 h per day, for varying durations up to 104 weeks. Several interim sacrifices and 'stop exposures' were included. Exposure to 2000 ppm methylene chloride caused an increase in liver and lung neoplasia in the absence of overt cytotoxicity. Measurement of replicative DNA synthesis done after 13, 26, 52 and 78 weeks of exposure showed a significant decrease in the hepatocyte labeling index at 13 weeks. Replicative DNA synthesis in pulmonary airways after 1, 2, 3, 4, 13 and 26 weeks of exposure to methylene chloride was significantly lower than in air-exposed controls. Likewise, the increase in tumor induction in treated mice was not associated with increased replicative DNA synthesis in liver foci or in alveolar parenchyma. The frequency and pattern of H-ras gene activation were similar in control and methylene chloride-induced liver neoplasms. Similarly, the frequency and pattern of K-ras activation in lung neoplasms were not altered by exposure to methylene chloride. Early exposure to methylene chloride for only 26 weeks was sufficient to cause an increase in lung tumors by 2 years, suggesting that methylene chloride may cause early and persistent loss of growth control in lung cells. This implies that risk management strategies should be aimed at minimizing or eliminating exposure to methylene chloride. Liver neoplasms continued to increase in incidence and multiplicity as exposure continued, suggesting that methylene chloride-induced hepatocarcinogenesis is facilitated by continuing exposure to methylene chloride. Since methylene chloride is a more potent inducer of lung than liver neoplasia, it is recommended that health risk assessment be based on the lung data. While no novel molecular lesions have been found to explain the induction of lung and liver neoplasia in mice, ongoing studies may identify other molecular changes that are important in the genesis of these neoplasms. Hence, it may be necessary to revise risk assessment and management strategies in light of future research findings.

Methylene chloride: an inhalation study to investigate toxicity in the mouse lung using morphological, biochemical and Clara cell culture techniques.

Single exposures of mice to methylene chloride (MC) cause vacuolation and necrosis of the bronchiolar Clara cells which subsequently recover normal morphology on continued exposure. Both cytochrome P-450 (CYP)- and glutathione S-transferase (GST)-dependent metabolism of MC are known to occur. The current studies have investigated the metabolism of MC in mouse lung using inhibitors of both GST and CYP-dependent routes of metabolism, the consequences of metabolic inhibition on the Clara cell vacuolation, and any changes in cell proliferation, assessed in vitro, in Clara cells cultured from exposed individuals. Vacuolated bronchiolar cells were seen in mice exposed to 2000 and 4000 ppm MC but were not seen at lower concentrations, while addition of the CYP inhibitor, piperonyl butoxide, significantly reduced the bronchiolar cell vacuolation seen following exposure to 2000 ppm MC. Treatment of mice with the glutathione depletor, buthionine sulphoximine, had no effect on the number of vacuolated bronchiolar cells following MC. Exposure of mice to 1000 ppm MC and above for 6 h caused a burst of DNA synthesis in bronchiolar Clara cells cultured in vitro from the lungs of exposed animals. The results suggest that the Clara cell vacuolation following MC exposure is mediated via CYP metabolism, that depression of the CYP metabolic pathway occurs following exposure, and that Clara cell vacuolation may have a priming role in stimulating cell proliferation in the unaffected cell population.

Sensitivity of physiologically based pharmacokinetic models to variation in model parameters: methylene chloride.

The parameters in a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model of methylene chloride were varied systematically, and the resulting variation in a number of model outputs was determined as a function of time for mice and humans at several exposure concentrations. The importance of the various parameters in the model was highly dependent on the conditions (concentration, species) for which the simulation was performed and the model output (dose surrogate) being considered. Model structure also had a significant impact on the results. For sensitivity analysis, particular attention must be paid to conservation equations to ensure that the variational calculations do not alter mass balance, introducing extraneous effects into the model. All of the normalized sensitivity coefficients calculated in this study ranged between -1.12 and 1, and most were much less than 1 in absolute value, indicating that individual input errors are not greatly amplified in the outputs. In addition to ranking parameters in terms of their impact on model predictions, time-dependent sensitivity analysis can also be used as an aid in the design of experiments to estimate parameters by predicting the experimental conditions and sampling points which will maximize parameter identifiability.

Resolving discrepancies among studies: the influence of dose on effect size.

In conducting reviews or meta-analyses, epidemiologists frequently must reconcile conflicting results. This paper addresses heterogeneity in nonexperimental studies. The emphasis is on simple exploratory methods rather than formal approaches. Five examples illustrate how quantitative concordance among studies is possible, even when measured effects appear discrepant. The examples concern ethylene oxide and leukemias, methylene chloride and liver cancer, saccharin and bladder cancer, prenatal lead exposure and birthweight, and aspirin and bleeding tendencies in labor and delivery. Data examined here indicate that differences in dose levels frequently explain heterogeneous effect measures, often outweighing other sources of variability among studies. We present simple methods for combining dose information from the study of interest with dose-response data from other epidemiologic studies or animal studies to derive plausible hypothesized effect levels. These plausible effect sizes are the measures of association that would be predicted, for the actual exposures, by extrapolating from other studies with possibly differing exposure levels. Post hoc power calculations and comparisons of confidence intervals for overlap to reconcile "positive" and "null" studies may be misleading, since these approaches assume a uniform true association obscured by random fluctuations only. Whenever it can be estimated, a plausible effect size should be the starting point to assess findings of either positive or null studies. Without such calculations, comparisons among conflicting studies may not be meaningful.

The impact of exercise and intersubject variability on dose estimates for dichloromethane derived from a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model.

Andersen et al. and Reitz et al. have developed physiologically based pharmacokinetic models for the human metabolism of methylene chloride (dichloromethane; DCM) and have advanced the hypothesis that the carcinogenicity of DCM is related to target organ metabolism of DCM by glutathione S-transferase (GST). The models included physiological parameters appropriate for humans at rest and metabolic parameters based on average rates of DCM metabolism. Increasing the model parameters describing cardiac output, alveolar ventilation, and blood flows to tissues from resting values to values consistent with light work conditions, and assuming a 25 ppm exposure for an 8-hr work day, increases the estimated GST-metabolized dose for human liver by a factor of 2.9 compared to the GST-metabolized does estimated of Reitz et al. These modifications also increase the GST-metabolized dose to the lung by 2.4-fold. If the model is also modified to reflect individual variation in DCM metabolism (in addition to the modifications for light work conditions), the estimated GST-metabolized dose for human liver ranges from 0 to as much as 5.4-fold greater than the dose estimated by Reitz et al. The GST-metabolized dose to the lung ranges from 0 to as much as 3.6-fold greater than the dose estimated by Reitz et al. These results indicate that some occupationally-exposed individuals may receive GST-metabolized doses several-fold greater than the Reitz et al. human dose estimates.

Effect of methylene chloride inhalation on replicative DNA synthesis in the lungs of female B6C3F1 mice.

In the National Toxicology Program 2-year inhalation study of dichloromethane (DCM), there was a significant increase in pulmonary neoplasms in female B6C3F1 mice exposed to 2000 ppm (overall rates of 30/48 versus 5/50 in control). Replicative DNA synthesis was examined to evaluate the potential role of treatment-induced lung cell proliferation on pulmonary carcinogenicity. Tritiated thymidine incorporation was assessed in methacrylate plastic sections after 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks of inhalation exposure to 2000 ppm or 8000 ppm DCM. Similar measurements of labeling indexes were made after 13 and 26 weeks of exposure to 2000 ppm DCM using bromodeoxyuridine as the labeling agent. In all cases the labeling agent was delivered over a 6-day period using osmotic minipumps. The labeling index (LI) of bronchiolar epithelium (two branches proximal to the terminal bronchiole) of mice exposed to 2000 ppm DCM for 2-26 weeks decreased to 40-60% of the control. Terminal bronchioles showed a similar decrease in LI. Mice exposed to 8000 ppm DCM had a less dramatic decrease in LI. No pathological change was found in the exposed lungs. It is concluded that inhalation exposure to DCM for up to 26 weeks reduces cell turnover of bronchiolar cells in female B6C3F1 mice.

Inhalation exposure to a hepatocarcinogenic concentration of methylene chloride does not induce sustained replicative DNA synthesis in hepatocytes of female B6C3F1 mice.

We have used methylene chloride as a model to study cellular and molecular processes responsible for liver tumor induction by chlorinated hydrocarbons. Because of current interest in the role of enhanced cell proliferation in tumor induction, measurement of S-phase hepatocytes was incorporated into recently conducted toxicity and carcinogenicity studies. In prechronic studies, female B6C3F1 mice were exposed to 0, 1000, 2000 or 8000 p.p.m. methylene chloride by inhalation, 5 days per week, for up to 4 weeks followed by a 1 and 2 week recovery period. Mice exposed to concentrations of 2000, 4000 or 8000 p.p.m. methylene chloride had sustained increased liver weight commencing after 1 week of exposure and returning to normal after the 1 or 2 week recovery period. The increased liver weight was attributed to hepatocellular hypertrophy secondary to intracellular glycogen accumulation. Tritiated thymidine was administered by osmotic minipumps to label S-phase hepatocytes over a 6 day period. At most intervals examined there was decreased hepatocyte labeling in mice exposed to methylene chloride. However, there was a transitory increased number of S-phase hepatocytes observed at the 2 week interval in the 1000, 4000 and 8000 p.p.m. methylene chloride groups. In a chronic study, female mice were exposed to 2000 p.p.m. methylene chloride for up to two years. Following labeling with BRDU using 6 day minipumps, a statistically significant decrease in S-phase hepatocytes was observed after 13 weeks of methylene chloride exposure. A minor increased labeling index (LI) observed at 52 weeks was not considered to be a methylene chloride treatment-related effect. Retrospective immunohistochemical staining for proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in liver sections containing foci of cellular alteration allowed demonstration of S-phase hepatocytes in these clonally expanded preneoplastic lesions. While foci frequently had higher LI's than surrounding normal hepatocytes, there was no difference in the mean LI of foci from methylene chloride-treated mice versus foci occurring spontaneously in control mice. The absence of a sustained increase in S-phase hepatocytes in female B6C3F1 mice suggests that enhanced cell proliferation is not a major mechanistic factor associated with the observed hepatocarcinogenicity of methylene chloride.

Effect of varying exposure regimens on methylene chloride-induced lung and liver tumors in female B6C3F1 mice.

Methylene chloride is a high production chemical used in a variety of applications resulting in estimated occupational and consumer exposures of at least one million people per day. Results of previously reported chronic evaluations of inhaled methylene chloride indicated that it caused mammary tumors in Fischer 344 rats and neoplasia in the lungs and liver of B6C3F1 mice. Mechanism(s) for methylene chloride-induced carcinogenesis have not been adequately elucidated. In this paper we describe the histologic evaluation of animals at a number of intermittent times for the purposes of assessing the progressive development of liver and lung neoplasia. Additionally, a series of stop-exposure treatments was conducted to evaluate the role of different methylene chloride exposure durations on the induction of hepatic and pulmonary neoplasia in female mice. Inhalation exposure to 2000 p.p.m. methylene chloride for 6 h per day, 5 days per week, for 104 weeks resulted in an 8-fold increase in the incidence of exposed animals having a lung adenoma or carcinoma (63 versus 7.5%; P < 0.01) and a 13-fold increase in the total number of pulmonary adenomas and carcinomas per animal at risk (0.97 versus 0.075; P < 0.01). This exposure also caused a 2.5-fold increase in the incidence of mice having liver tumors (69 versus 27%; P < 0.01) and a 3-fold increase in the total number of hepatic adenomas and carcinomas per animal at risk (1.34 versus 0.46; P < 0.01). Methylene chloride exposure hastened the first appearance of lung tumors (by 1 year) compared to that observed in control animals; chemical-induced and spontaneous liver tumors first occurred simultaneously. A shorter exposure duration was sufficient to attain maximal numbers of lung tumors than that needed for a maximal liver tumor burden. Lung tumor multiplicity was substantially increased by having additional time after cessation of the chemical treatment. This contrasts with the findings in liver, where additional post-exposure latency time did not effect tumor multiplicity compared to that of mice evaluated immediately after cessation of exposure. The incidence of lung alveolar hyperplasia in methylene chloride exposed animals was very low, even in tumor-bearing animals and the hyperplasias were not seen until at least 13 weeks after appearance of adenomas and carcinomas. Thus, the genesis of methylene chloride induced lung tumors in B6C3F1 mice is not preceded by overt cytotoxicity, enhanced cell proliferation nor observed hyperplasia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Estimating the risk of human cancer associated with exposure to methylene chloride.

Dichloromethane (methylene chloride, CH2Cl2) has been shown to significantly increase the incidence of malignant lung and liver tumors in B6C3F1 mice inhaling high concentrations of CH2Cl2 vapor for the majority of their natural lifetime. CH2Cl2 is extensively metabolized in mammalian species through two competing pathways: (1) oxidation by the mixed function oxidase enzymes, and (2) conjugation with glutathione catalyzed by glutathione-S-transferase(s)(GST). Since elevated tumor incidences have not been observed in B6C3F1 mice exposed to 1,1,1-trichloroethane, a halogenated solvent with similar physical-chemical properties (but only minor amounts of mammalian metabolism), it appeared that biologically reactive intermediates (BRIs) from one or both of the pathways of CH2Cl2 metabolism were involved in the tumorigenic process. Development of an integrated pharmacokinetic model incorporating quantitative measures of mammalian physiology, chemical solubility, and metabolic rate constants permitted formulation of a plausible hypothesis for the tumorigenic effects of CH2Cl2: namely that BRIs formed by the CH2Cl2/GST(s) may react with critical molecules in the target organs. This hypothesis is consistent with the dose-dependency, route-dependency, and species-specificity of CH2Cl2 for the induction of lung and liver tumors. Based on this hypothesis as well as in vivo and in vitro measurements of CH2Cl2 metabolism in humans, it was possible to prepare quantitative estimates of the cancer risk in human populations. Examination of these risk estimates indicates that development of quantitative procedures for describing the production of BRI in target tissues may cause significant changes in the levels of estimated risk.

Quantitating the production of biological reactive intermediates in target tissues: example, dichloromethane.

Development of quantitative mathematical models for the production of BRIs in target tissues can provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of toxicity for specific chemicals. Furthermore, use of mechanistic information and mathematical modeling in the hazard evaluation process should significantly reduce the uncertainty inherent in extrapolating the results of animal toxicity tests to man.

Further evidence that dichloromethane does not induce chromosome damage.

Dichloromethane (DCM) is a widely used industrial solvent that has been determined to be a carcinogen in rats and mice. In vitro and in vivo analyses of chromosome damage induced by this agent have provided conflicting results. In order to further investigate the clastogenic potential of DCM in vivo, we analyzed sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) and chromosome aberrations (CAs) in mouse bone marrow cells following intraperitoneal exposures of 100-2000 mg kg-1 DCM. Dichloromethane failed to increase the frequencies of either SCEs or CAs.

Cytogenetic analyses of mice exposed to dichloromethane.

Chromosome damage was studied in female B6C3F1 mice exposed to dichloromethane (DCM) by subcutaneous or inhalation treatments. No increase in the frequency of either sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) or chromosome aberrations (CAs) in bone marrow cells was observed after a single subcutaneous injection of 2,500 or 5,000 mg/kg DCM. Inhalation exposure to DCM for 10 days at concentrations of 4,000 or 8,000 ppm resulted in significant increases in frequencies of SCEs in lung cells and peripheral blood lymphocytes, CAs in lung and bone marrow cells, and micronuclei (MN) in peripheral blood erythrocytes. Lung cell CAs and blood erythrocyte MN reached frequencies of approximately two times control levels. Following a 3-month inhalation exposure to 2,000 ppm DCM, mice showed small but significant increases in lung cell SCEs and peripheral blood erythrocyte MN. These findings suggest that genotoxicity may play a role in the carcinogenicity of DCM in the lungs of B6C3F1 female mice.

Evaluation of dichloromethane as an inducer of DNA synthesis in the B6C3F1 mouse liver.

The potential of the mouse hepatocarcinogen dichloromethane (DCM) to induce hepatocellular division, as monitored by increased DNA synthesis, has been evaluated using B6C3F1 mice--the strain in which it is carcinogenic but not apparently genotoxic. Male mice were exposed to DCM either by oral gavage in corn oil (1000 mg/kg) or by inhalation of an atmosphere containing 4000 p.p.m. DCM for 2 h. Cells undergoing DNA synthesis (S-phase) were radiolabelled by means of four consecutive i.p. injections of tritiated thymidine at hourly intervals prior to killing. No evidence of S-phase activity was observed in the gavage studies. The inhalation studies resulted in some weak, but statistically significant increases in S-phase incidence, but the biological significance was unclear due to similar increases being observed in some control groups. It is concluded that DCM does not share the mitogenic properties of such presumed non-genotoxic mouse liver carcinogens as trichloroethylene, polybrominated biphenyls and carbon tetrachloride, and as such its carcinogenicity to the mouse liver remains mechanistically obscure.