Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of diallyl sulfide and diallyl disulfide towards Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Two compounds found in garlic, diallyl sulfide (DAS) and diallyl disulfide (DDS), were tested for cytotoxic and genotoxic effects in a Chinese hamster ovary cell line. DDS was found to be more cytotoxic than DAS (showing a Dq of 1.6 micrograms/ml and a D0 of 0.6 microgram/ml as opposed to values of 295 and 90 micrograms/ml, respectively). Both compounds were found to induce both chromosome aberrations and sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) with DDS again being more active on a weight-for-weight basis, exhibiting activity at concentrations below 10 micrograms/ml compared with the levels of 300 micrograms/ml and above required for DAS to show any effect. The addition of rat liver S-9 activation fraction to the assays modified the effects of the two compounds in a non-consistent manner. It reduced the induction of SCEs by both compounds, enhanced the generation of aberrations by DDS (but not by DAS) and radically altered the parameters of both survival curves, reducing the Dq values almost to zero but increasing the D0 values.

Genotoxic effects of crude juices from Brassica vegetables and juices and extracts from phytopharmaceutical preparations and spices of cruciferous plants origin in bacterial and mammalian cells.

Crude juices of eight Brassica vegetables as well as juices and extracts of spices and phytopharmaceutical preparations from cruciferous vegetables were tested for induction of point mutations in Salmonella TA98 and TA100, repairable DNA damage in E.coli K-12 cells and clastogenic effects in mammalian cells. In bacterial assays, all juices caused genotoxic effects in the absence of metabolic activation, the ranking order being: Brussels sprouts > white cabbage > cauliflower > green cabbage > kohlrabi > broccoli > turnip > black radish. In experiments with mammalian cells, six juices induced structural chromosome aberrations. Brussels sprouts, white and green cabbage caused the strongest effects (800 microliters of juice induced a 5-fold increase over the background). In sister chromatid exchange assays, positive results were measured as well, but the effects were less pronounced. With all juices the genotoxic effects seen in mammalian cells were paralleled by a pronounced decrease in cell viability. Column fractionation experiments showed that 70-80% of the total genotoxic activity of the juices is found in the fraction which contains isothiocyanates and other breakdown products of glucosinolates, whereas phenolics and flavonoids contributed to a lesser extent to the overall effects. On the basis of these findings, and considering the negative results obtained with non-cruciferous vegetables (tomato, carrot and green pepper), it seems likely that the genotoxic effects of the juices are due to specific constituents of cruciferous plants such as glucosinolates and/or their breakdown products, in particular, isothiocyanates, which we found previously to be potent genotoxins in bacterial and mammalian cells. Finally, spices (mustards and horse radish paste) and phytopharmaceutical preparations were tested in bacterial assays. Mustards and horse radish caused very weak effects while most of the pharmaceutical preparations gave negative results, except cabbage tablets, which caused a strong and dose dependent induction of his revertants in Salmonella TA100. The present findings clearly indicate that cruciferous vegetables contain DNA damaging constituents. These observations are in contrast to earlier findings, which emphasized the antimutagenic effects of vegetable juices and also raise the question whether greatly increased consumption of Brassica vegetables or their concentrated constituents as a means for cancer prevention is indeed recommendable.

On the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of allyl and phenethyl isothiocyanates and their parent glucosinolates sinigrin and gluconasturtiin.

Four compounds commonly found in the human diet, allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) and their parent glucosinolates sinigrin and gluconasturtiin, were tested for cytotoxic and genotoxic effects in a Chinese hamster ovary cell line (CHO). The isothiocyanates were found to be more than one thousand times more cytotoxic than the glucosinolates, showing significant cytotoxic activity at concentrations below 1.0 microgram/ml. AITC was unable to induce either chromosome aberrations or sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) even at highly cytotoxic doses. In contrast, PEITC was found to induce both aberrations and SCE at concentrations of 0.9-1.2 micrograms/ml whilst sinigrin and gluconasturtiin induced aberrations at concentrations above 2 mg/ml.

Dietary glucosinolates as blocking agents against carcinogenesis: glucosinolate breakdown products assessed by induction of quinone reductase activity in murine hepa1c1c7 cells.

We have tested the ability of a representative range of dietary glucosinolates and their breakdown products, found in high concentrations in cruciferous vegetables, to act as blocking agents against carcinogenesis by inducing the activity of the anticarcinogenic phase II marker enzyme quinone reductase in murine hepa1c1c7 cells. Breakdown of glucosinolates was catalysed by the endogenous plant enzyme thioglucoside glucohydrolase at neutral and acid pH. Only two unmodified glucosinolates, p-hydroxybenzyl and 2-hydroxybut-3-enyl, significantly induced quinone reductase activity. However, after enzymic hydrolysis at near-neutral pH, some of the glucosinolates yielded breakdown products that significantly induced quinone reductase in the order: 3-methylsulphinylpropyl-->prop-2-enyl-->pent-4-enyl approximately 2-phenylethyl approximately benzyl-->all others tested. Incubation with myrosinase at acidic pH resulted in induction of quinone reductase activity by the hydrolysis products of only three of the tested glucosinolates:3-methylsulphinyl-propyl approximately 2-phenylethyl-->benzyl-->all others, activity due to the two alkenyl compounds being lost. The results show that the potential cancer-blocking action of both intact and thioglucoside glucohydrolase-treated glucosinolates, as assessed by induction of phase II enzyme activity, is dependent on the nature of the side chain of the parent glucosinolate.

Selective toxicity of compounds naturally present in food toward the transformed phenotype of human colorectal cell line HT29.

It has previously been observed that allyl isothiocyanate, a compound naturally present in the diet, is more cytotoxic toward the human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line HT29 in its control transformed state than after exposure to sodium butyrate or to dimethylformamide, which slow growth and induce differentiation (detransformation). In the present study, a range of other dietary compounds were assayed for such selective toxicity. These compounds were chosen as constituents of foodstuffs that have been identified from epidemiologic studies as being potentially antitumorigenic and also as having anticarcinogenic activity in experimental models. Benzyl and phenethyl isothiocyanate, benzyl thiocyanate, and quercetin showed decreased toxicity towards HT29 after detransformation of the cells by one or both treatments, whereas no change was observed in the sensitivity to diallyl sulfide or diallyl disulfide. It is proposed that the presence of such selectively toxic compounds in the diet may inhibit the development of tumors by interfering with the growth of preneoplastic lesions while having little effect on normal cells. The cumulative effects of these inhibitions may contribute to the chemopreventive properties of the parent foodstuffs observed in epidemiologic studies.

Cytotoxic and clastogenic effects of benzyl isothiocyanate towards cultured mammalian cells.

Benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC), a compound found in cruciferous vegetables present in the human diet, has previously been shown to induce chromosome aberrations in an Indian muntjac cell line. The results of this study show that it also induces both chromosome aberrations and sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells in the absence of an exogenous metabolic activation system and induces DNA strand breaks as measured by the single-cell gel electrophoresis assay. However, whereas it increased the number of aberrations four-fold, it was not able to raise SCE levels by more than 50% and there was a levelling-off in the dose-response curve. Whereas the survival curve of CHO cells exposed to BITC was linear in shape, that of the human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line HT29 was found to fit the exponential model (with an alpha equivalent of 0.28 and a beta equivalent of 2.80, where the concentration of BITC is measured in micrograms/ml). This pattern of clastogenic and cytotoxic activities is reminiscent of that generated by ionizing radiation and certain radiomimetic chemotherapeutic agents.

Induction of the anti-carcinogenic enzyme quinone reductase by food extracts using murine hepatoma cells.

Over 145 extracts of vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices and beverages which are consumed regularly in the European diet have been surveyed for potential anti-carcinogenic activity using an assay which measures the induction of NAD(P)H: (quinone acceptor) menadione oxidoreductase (quinone reductase, QR) activity in murine cells challenged with solutions of potential inducers. When appropriate the study has included extracts prepared from cooked and autolysed material. The results indicate that extracts of some brassicas, legumes (peas), lettuces, red pepper, grapefruit and some herbs including basil, tarragon and rosemary are inducers of QR activity. Inducing activity is strongly dependent on processing and on variety.

The clastogenic and mutagenic effects of ascorbigen and 1'-methylascorbigen.

Ascorbigen, which occurs naturally in the human diet, and a synthetic analogue (1'-methylascorbigen), were assayed for cytotoxic and clastogenic activities in a SV40-transformed Indian Muntjac cell line (SVM), and for mutagenic activity in the Ames test using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100. Ascorbigen had no effect upon the clonal survival of SVM at concentrations below 0.21 mg/ml and did not induce either chromosome aberrations or sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) at any concentration tested up to the maximum compatible with the assay conditions; nor did it induce mutations in either Salmonella strain. In contrast, 1'-methylascorbigen was an order of magnitude more cytotoxic, demonstrating a Dq of 0.03 mg/ml, and whilst it too was not found to induce chromosome aberrations it did induce SCEs in SVM (although only at highly cytotoxic doses) and mutations in the Ames test.

Allyl isothiocyanate is selectively toxic to transformed cells of the human colorectal tumour line HT29.

Allyl isothiocyanate, a constituent of mustard and certain vegetables found in the human diet, was tested for cytotoxic and cytostatic effects in HT29 human colon carcinoma cells in vitro. For an exposure time of 24 h, allyl isothiocyanate exhibited a Dq of 0.32 microgram/ml and a D0 of 0.74 micrograms/ml. Following detransformation of the cells by treatment with sodium butyrate or dimethylformamide the cells became more resistant to the cytotoxic effects of allyl isothiocyanate, the Dq increasing to 0.74 microgram/ml and the D0 to 0.96 microgram/ml (with butyrate) or 0.84 microgram/ml (with dimethylformamide). At the Dq value for detransformed cells the survival of the control cells was reduced to 56%. Allyl isothiocyanate was also found to be less cytostatic to the mass growth of detransformed populations in that daily doses of 1.6 micrograms/ml over a week reduced the final number of detransformed cells relative to untreated cultures by < 25% whilst growth of the transformed cultures was reduced by > 60%. Given this increased sensitivity of the cells to allyl isothiocyanate when in the transformed state, it is hypothesized that, when consumed in the human diet, this compound may protect against the development of colorectal cancer by selectively inhibiting the growth of transformed cell clones within the gastrointestinal mucosa.

The clastogenic effects of isothiocyanates.

Four isothiocyanates (ITCs), three of which are commonly found in the human diet, were tested for the ability to induce chromosome aberrations in an SV40-transformed Indian muntjac cell line. Whilst allyl ITC was found to be inactive the other three (benzyl ITC, phenethyl ITC and phenyl ITC) were found to be significant inducers of chromosome damage in the absence of any metabolic activation. Given that experimental data have demonstrated that ITCs can also protect laboratory animals from the induction of tumours by model carcinogens it is proposed that the presence of ITCs in the human diet may, potentially, have both beneficial and harmful consequences depending on the levels consumed.

Mammalian cells share a common pathway for the relief of DNA replication arrest by O6-alkyl guanine, incorporated 6-thioguanine and UV photoproducts.

We previously reported the cloning of a mammalian gene that restores UV resistance to a postreplication recovery defective and mex- Indian muntjac mutant cell line, SVM, by improving daughter-strand DNA replication on a UV-damaged template. The improved replication was, however, found to be error-prone, as judged by a hypermutable phenotype (Bouffler et al. (1990) Somatic Cell Mol. Genet., 16, 507-516). We now report that this gene also increases the resistance of SVM to the cytotoxic effects of methyl- and ethyl-nitrosourea, though not to dimethyl sulphate, by a similar postreplication recovery process. The gene does not increase the activity of O6-alkylguanine-DNA-alkyltransferase in the cell. We conclude that at least one mechanism of postreplication recovery in mammalian cells allows UV photoproducts and O6-alkylguanine lesions to be tolerated by the replication complex. The fact that the gene also confers resistance to 6-thioguanine suggests that, once incorporated, this base analogue can disrupt normal DNA replication and that a single mechanism can allow replication to proceed beyond 3 diverse DNA lesions.

Reduction of radiation-induced cell cycle blocks by caffeine does not necessarily lead to increased cell killing.

The effect of caffeine upon the radiosensitivities of three human tumor lines was examined and correlated with its action upon the radiation-induced S-phase and G2-phase blocks. Caffeine was found to reduce at least partially the S-phase and G2-phase blocks in all the cell lines examined but potentiated cytotoxicity in only one of the three tumor lines. That reductions have been demonstrated to occur in the absence of increased cell killing provides supporting evidence for the hypothesis that reductions may not be causal in those cases when potentiation of radiation-induced cytotoxicity is observed in the presence of caffeine.

Molecular cloning of a mammalian gene involved in the fixation of UV-induced mutations.

A mammalian DNA damage tolerance gene has been isolated by DNA transfection and cosmid rescue. Following cotransfection of mouse genomic DNA and pSV2neo into SVM, the UV hypersensitive mutant Indian muntjac cell line, clones with a 1.7 to 2.0-fold greater D37 value for UV killing were isolated. This trait was carried through three rounds of transfection. A neo gene and flanking sequences from a tertiary transfectant were cloned by cosmid rescue. The cosmid clone confers UV resistance to SVM and improves the ability of the cell to replicate UV damaged DNA. This replication appears to be error-prone; UV-induced 6-thioguanine-resistant mutants occur four to fivefold more frequently than in SVM or a wild-type Indian muntjac line. Thus, the gene isolated is not homologous to that defective in SVM. We believe that this is the first mammalian gene to be isolated that is directly involved in mutation fixation.

The inhibition of cellular recovery in human tumour cells by inhibitors of topoisomerase.

A human bladder carcinoma cell line was irradiated at high and low dose rates and exposed to camptothecin and VP16, inhibitors of topoisomerase I and topoisomerase II respectively. Although camptothecin substantially modified the cytotoxic effects of high dose rate irradiation, abolished low dose rate sparing and inhibited the repair of sublethal and potentially lethal damage, VP16 had no effect on the survival curves even at highly cytotoxic doses. Thus, it is argued that there is a role for topoisomerase I but not topoisomerase II in the repair of DNA damage induced by ionising radiation.

Override of the radiation-induced mitotic block in human tumour cells by methylxanthines and its relationship to the potentiation of cytotoxicity.

The four methylated xanthine derivatives, caffeine, theophylline, theobromine and paraxanthine, were tested for their ability to override the mitotic block induced by ionizing radiation in the human bladder carcinoma cell line RT112. All four agents were found to partially override the block, ranking in terms of potency at a concentration of 1 mM in the order caffeine greater than theophylline greater than theobromine = paraxanthine. However, the effects of the four agents on the clonal survival of irradiated cells failed to correlate with the extent of override, both in terms of the relative effects of the four agents and the dose-response relationships; at a concentration of 1 mM only caffeine was found to potentiate cell killing as well as causing block override, whilst at higher concentrations all the agents had a significant effect on survival but little or no further influence on the degree of block override. It is therefore concluded that override of a mitotic block is not in itself sufficient to cause the increased killing seen when irradiated cells are incubated in the presence of caffeine, and that caffeine exerts its potentiating effect either by directly inhibiting repair of damage in DNA or by causing override of the radiation-induced inhibition of DNA synthesis.

Caffeine overcomes a restriction point associated with DNA replication, but does not accelerate mitosis.

Mitotic chromosome condensation is normally dependent on the previous completion of replication. Caffeine spectacularly deranges cell cycle controls after DNA polymerase inhibition or DNA damage; it induces the condensation, in cells that have not completed replication, of fragmented nuclear structures, analogous to the S-phase prematurely condensed chromosomes seen when replicating cells are fused with mitotic cells. Caffeine has been reported to induce S-phase condensation in cells where replication is arrested, by accelerating cell cycle progression as well as by uncoupling it from replication; for, in BHK or CHO hamster cells arrested in early S-phase and given caffeine, condensed chromosomes appear well before the normal time at which mitosis occurs in cells released from arrest. However, we have found that this apparent acceleration depends on the technique of synchrony and cell line employed. In other cells, and in synchronized hamster cells where the cycle has not been subjected to prolonged continual arrest, condensation in replication-arrested cells given caffeine occurs at the same time as normal mitosis in parallel populations where replication is allowed to proceed. This caffeine-induced condensation is therefore "premature" with respect to the chromatin structure of the S-phase nucleus, but not with respect to the timing of the normal cycle. Caffeine in replication-arrested cells thus overcomes the restriction on the formation of mitotic condensing factors that is normally imposed during DNA replication, but does not accelerate the timing of condensation unless cycle controls have previously been disturbed by synchronization procedures.

Action of caffeine on DNA replication after ultraviolet irradiation in Indian muntjac cells: no connection with action on cell cycle delay.

Indian muntjac fibroblasts of the SV40-transformed line SVM are hypersensitivity to UV, and after UV irradiation have defective post-replication recovery and a high level of sister chromatid exchanges and chromosome aberrations. The lethal and clastogenic effects of UV on SVM have elsewhere been shown to be aggravated by caffeine, which overcomes the block to cycle traverse imposed by DNA damage; however, in DM cells, an Indian muntjac line of normal UV sensitivity, caffeine has no effect on cycle traverse, but nevertheless enhances UV killing and sister chromatid exchanges. In this paper, the effects of caffeine on irradiated DM cells are shown to be due to its inhibition of post-replication recovery, with subsequent formation of DNA double-strand breaks at the strand gaps thus produced. By contrast, in SVM cells the limited capacity for post-replication recovery is relatively insensitive to caffeine after UV fluences which permit significant cell survival; however, caffeine still strongly induces DNA double-strand breaks and chromosome aberrations, apparently by an alternative mechanism. The SVM and DM cell lines therefore exemplify separate actions of caffeine on mammalian cells, deficient in the caffeine effects on post-replication recovery and cell cycle progression, respectively.

Molecular mechanisms of alkylation sensitivity in Indian muntjac cell lines.

The responses of two Indian muntjac cell lines to two monofunctional alkylating agents were investigated. An SV40-transformed line (SVM) had an increased sensitivity to cell killing when compared to the other, euploid line (DM) after exposure both to methyl nitrosourea (MNU) and to dimethylsulphate (DMS) and also exhibited higher frequencies of sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) following alkylation. The hypersensitivity of SVM to DMS correlates with the defective repair of single-strand breaks that results in the generation of long-lived breaks in the DNA following exposure, leading eventually to the formation of chromosome aberrations. In contrast no difference is seen in the formation of long-lived breaks in the DNA of SVM and DM after treatment with biologically relevant doses of MNU; in this case hypersensitivity may be due to the loss of O6-alkylguanine-DNA-alkyltransferase activity. The conclusion that the hypersensitivites of SVM to MNU and to DMS have different molecular bases is supported by transfection of SVM with plasmids containing the protein coding region of the Escherichia coli ada+ gene; subsequent expression within the cell corrects its hypersensitivity to the cytotoxic and SCE-inducing effects of MNU but has very little influence upon the lethality, SCE induction or the repair of long-lived DNA strand breaks after exposure to DMS.