Toxicity studies of trimethylsilyldiazomethane administered by nose-only inhalation to Sprague Dawley (Hsd:Sprague Dawley SD) rats and B6C3F1/N mice.

Trimethylsilyldiazomethane (TMSD) is a methylating reagent widely used in organic chemistry. TMSD is structurally related to the compound diazomethane, which is a known lethal respiratory toxicant in humans and in animal models. TMSD is less reactive (with lower explosive potential) than diazomethane and is considered a safer, less toxic alternative. Few toxicity data are available to support this claim, however, and TMSD is readily available commercially from chemical suppliers. Concern over the inhalation toxicity of TMSD originates from reports of the death of two chemists resulting from lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome following exposure to TMSD in the workplace. Other concerns include the known inhalation toxicity of diazomethane and the absence of inhalation toxicity data for TMSD. The National Toxicology Program (NTP) conducted this study to evaluate the acute inhalation toxicity of TMSD in vivo.(Abstract Abridged).

Cytotoxicity of TSP in 3D Agarose Gel Cultured Cell.

PURPOSE: A reference reagent, 3-(trimethylsilyl) propionic-2, 2, 3, 3-d4 acid sodium (TSP), has been used frequently in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) as an internal reference to identify cell and tissue metabolites, and determine chemical and protein structures. This reference material has been exploited for the quantitative and dynamic analyses of metabolite spectra acquired from cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity of TSP on three-dimensionally, agarose gel, cultured cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A human osteosarcoma cell line (MG-63) was selected, and cells were three dimensionally cultured for two weeks in an agarose gel. The culture system contained a mixture of conventional culture medium and various concentrations (0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 20 30 mM) of TSP. A DNA quantification assay was conducted to assess cell proliferation using Quant-iT PicoGreen dsDNA reagent and kit, and cell viability was determined using a LIVE/DEAD Viability/Cytotoxicity kit. Both examinations were performed simultaneously at 1, 3, 7 and 14 days from cell seeding. RESULTS: In this study, the cytotoxicity of TSP in the 3D culture of MG-63 cells was evaluated by quantifying DNA (cell proliferation) and cell viability. High concentrations of TSP (from 10 to 30 mM) reduced both cell proliferation and viability (to 30% of the control after one week of exposure), but no such effects were found using low concentrations of TSP (0-10 mM). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that low concentrations of TSP in 3D cell culture medium can be used for quantitative NMR or MRS examinations for up to two weeks post exposure.

Induction of cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis by a novel retinobenzoic-acid derivative, TAC-101, in human pancreatic-cancer cells.

In this study, we investigated the effect of a novel retinobenzoic acid, 4-[3,5-bis (trimethylsilyl) benzamido] benzoic acid (TAC-101), on the growth of 4 human pancreatic-cancer cell lines; BxPC-3, MIAPaCa-2, CFPAC-1 and AsPC-1. TAC-101 significantly inhibited the proliferation of BxPC-3 and MIAPaCa-2 cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, but not the proliferation of AsPC-1 cells. Furthermore, the anti-proliferative effects of TAC-101 on BxPC-3 and MIAPaCa-2 cells were stronger than those of all-trans retinoic acid. Flow-cytometric analyses indicated that treatment of BxPC-3 with TAC-101 strongly induces cell-cycle arrest at the G1 phase. The cell-cycle arrest induced by TAC-101 was accompanied by reduction of retinoblastoma-gene product (RB) phosphorylation and an increase of 2 cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors, p21(WAF1/Cip1) (p21) and p27Kip1 (p27). TAC-101 also caused a decrease in cyclin A and thymidylate synthase, which are E2F-regulated gene products. No changes were observed in the expression of cyclin D1, cyclin E on CDK2. In addition, Hoechst staining, gel electrophoresis and flow-cytometric analysis indicated that a marked reduction in the number of BxPC-3 cells with TAC-101 was related to the induction of apoptosis. Our results suggest that TAC-101 inhibits the growth of certain pancreatic-cancer cells by means of G1-phase cell-cycle arrest resulting from the reduction of RB phosphorylation and the up-regulation of p21 and p27 as well as the induction of apoptosis. TAC-101 may therefore be a useful agent for new therapeutic strategies focusing on inhibition of pancreatic-cancer-cell proliferation.

4-[3,5-Bis(trimethylsilyl)benzamido] benzoic acid (TAC-101) inhibits the intrahepatic spread of hepatocellular carcinoma and prolongs the life-span of tumor-bearing animals.

We examined the in vivo anti-tumor activity of the benzoic acid derivative, TAC-101 (4-[3,5-bis(trimethylsilyl)benzamido] benzoic acid), for intrahepatic spread of JHH-7 human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and its mechanism of action. Oral administration of TAC-101 markedly inhibited liver tumor of JHH-7 cells and prolonged the life-span of tumor-bearing mice without affecting the body weight. The life-prolonging effect of TAC-101 was more effective than that of other anti-cancer agents including CDDP, 5-FU, and CPT-11 (T/C (%) of life-span; 181 to 219, 128, 133, and 142%, respectively). In vitro, TAC-101 at the concentration of more than 10 microM showed direct cytotoxicity against JHH-7 cells caused by induction of apoptosis. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) enhanced the invasive ability of JHH-7 cells without affecting the cell viability. Non-cytotoxic concentrations of TAC-101 inhibited the JHH-7 invasion induced by HGF and down-regulated the expression of c-MET protein in a concentration-dependent manner. In summary, these results suggest that TAC-101 would be useful for a new class of therapeutic agents and that it may improve the prognosis of patients with liver-tumors including metastasizing tumor and HCC.

Dermal oncogenicity studies on two methoxysilanes and two ethoxysilanes in male C3H mice.

The dermal oncogenic potential of beta-(3,4-epoxycyclohexyl)ethyltrimethoxysilane (EEMS), gamma-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPMS), beta-(3,4-epoxycyclohexyl)ethyltriethoxysilane (EEES), and gamma-glycidoxypropyltriethoxysilane (GPES) was assessed by applying 25-microliters aliquots of acetone solutions to the skin of 40 male C3H/HeJ mice. The concentrations applied were 100, 25, 10, and 10% by volume for EEMS, GPMS, EEES, and GPES, respectively. Applications were made thrice weekly until the death of the animals. A negative control group received acetone (solvent) only. No treatment-related skin tumors were observed, nor was there evidence of increased incidence of any internal tumor in the groups that received GPMS, EEES, or GPES. In the group treated with EEMS, four mice were observed with squamous cell carcinomas of the treated skin and two mice had subcutaneous sarcomas outside of the treated area. No skin tumors were observed in the group treated with acetone, but two mice had subcutaneous sarcomas outside of the treated area. The mean survival times were 529, 482, 545, 492, and 502 days for the EEMS, GPMS, EEES, GPES, and acetone control groups, respectively. In no case was the mortality rate significantly different from that of the controls. The results indicate that only EEMS was oncogenic under the conditions of these studies.

Genotoxicity studies on selected organosilicon compounds: in vivo assays.

Six organosilicon compounds which had been found to have clastogenic activity in an in vitro battery of genotoxicity assays were evaluated in rat bone marrow cytogenetic assays for assessing clastogenicity in an in vivo system. None of the six compounds produced significant increases in chromosome aberrations in the rodent assay. However, trimethylsilanol produced a single value at the high-dose level/48-hr sampling interval that was significantly elevated when compared to the low concurrent control value. Both an independent repeat of the bone marrow cytogenetic assay and performance of the rat dominant lethal test failed to substantiate the presence of any significant clastogenic activity. Organosilicon compounds involved in the synthesis and degradation of polydimethylsiloxanes were not genotoxic in the in vivo clastogenicity tests employed in these studies.

Carcinogenicity and organ specificity of N-trimethylsilylmethyl-N-nitrosourea (TMS-MNU), N-neopentyl-N-nitrosourea (neoPNU), and N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) in rats.

The carcinogenicity and organ specificity of TMS-MNU and neoPNU, a carbon-analogue of TMS-MNU, in rats were investigated and compared with those of MNU. Compounds were dissolved in olive oil and rats in the experimental groups received 20 weekly intragastric intubations of 10 mg/kg of MNU or equimolar amounts of TMS-MNU or neoPNU in the same manner. The experiment was terminated when the survivors were sacrificed at the 52nd week after the final administration. In the TMS-MNU and MNU groups, tumors of the forestomach were induced and the incidence was 100% in the groups of both sexes. In addition, tumors of the glandular stomach, nervous system, kidney, and lung were also observed in these groups. Neurogenic tumors were found more frequently in the MNU group than in the TMS-MNU group. The incidence of lung tumors, however, was higher in the TMS-MNU group than in the MNU group. On the other hand, in the control and neoPNU groups, no tumor was found in these organs except the lung, and all tumors observed in these two groups were histologically similar to spontaneous ones in this strain of rats. These results indicate that the carcinogenicity of N-alkyl-N-nitrosoureas is dependent on the chemical structure of their alkyl chain. The result of the present study coincides with the previous result that the species of TMS-MNU in the alkylating step is the same as that of MNU, but different from neoPNU. The difference in the organ specificity between TMS-MNU and MNU demonstrates that the organ specificity is dominantly dependent on the distribution of the chemicals, since TMS-MNU may possibly be distributed differently from MNU because of its different partition property.

Studies on chemical carcinogens and mutagens. XXIX. Mutagenic N-trimethylsilylmethyl-N-nitrosourea as a biological alkylating agent equivalent to N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU).

N-Trimethylsilylmethyl-N-nitrosourea (TMS-MNU), a silicon analogue of N-neopentyl-N-nitrosourea (neoPNU), was assayed for mutagenicity and/or cytotoxicity on a series of E. coli B tester strains, S. typhimurium TA100, Chinese hamster V79, and cultured murine leukemia L1210 cells. All the biological activities demonstrated in this study reveal that this nitrosourea is a biological methylating agent equivalent to N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) but definitely distinguished from all the other alkylnitrosoureas examined so far, including neoPNU (the carbon analogue of TMS-MNU). The proposed molecular mechanism is that trimethylsilylmethanediazohydroxide is produced by hydrolytic activation of TMS-MNU and undergoes a nucleophilic cleavage of the Si--CH2 chemical bond at a high rate to form methanediazohydroxide (the reactive intermediate of MNU) which, in turn, methylates the informational biopolymer leading to mutagenesis.

Mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of benzo(a)pyrene benzo-ring epoxides.

Four benzo-ring epoxides of the environmental carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene (BP) were tested for mutagenic and cytotoxic activity in 3 strains of Salmonella typhimurium (TA1538, TA98, and TA100) and in Chinese hamster V79 cells. Although very unstable in aqueous solution, 7beta,8alpha-dihydroxy-0beta,10beta-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene (diol epoxide 1), with the 7-hydroxyl group on the same face of the molecule as the epoxide oxygen, was 1.5 to 4 times as mutagenic in the bacterial strains as was its more stable stereoisomer 7beta,8alpha-dihydroxy-9alpha,10beta-epoxy-7,8,9.10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene (diol epoxide 2). In V79 cells, diol epoxide 1 had one-third the mutagenic activity of diol epoxide 2 but was at least 10 times more labile than diol epoxide 2 in the tissue culture medium. The half-life of diol epoxide 1 in tissue culture medium was about 30 sec, whereas the half-life of diol epoxide 2 was between 6 and 12 min. 9,10-Epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene, which is saturated in the benzo ring, is also very unstable and has mutagenic activity equal to or greater than diol epoxide 1 in the bacterial and mammalian cells. 7,8-Epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene was more stable in aqueous solution than any of the 9,10-epoxides of BP but was much less mutagenic in both the bacterial and mammalian cells. In v79 cells, diol epoxides 1 and 2 and 9,10-opoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene were more than 40 times more cytotoxic than 7,8-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene. The mutagenicity of the 2 tetrahydro epoxides toward strain TA98 of S. typhimurium was readily abolished by purified epoxide hydrase, whereas the mutagenic activity of the 2 diol epoxides was relatively unaffected by coincubation with the enzyme.