Detection of deletion mutations in pSV2gpt-transformed cells.

We have developed a system to study mutations that affect xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase gene (gpt) expression in hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase-deficient CHO cells that have been transformed by the plasmid vector pSV2gpt. One isolated transformant, designated AS52, carries a single copy of the Escherichia coli gpt gene stably integrated into the high-molecular-weight DNA and expresses the bacterial gene for the enzyme xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase. Mutants deficient in this enzyme can be induced in the AS52 cell line by a variety of mutagens, and spontaneous or induced mutants can be selected for resistance to 6-thioguanine (Tgr). Two Tgr clones derived from the AS52 line were analyzed by Southern blot hybridization and were found to contain deletions involving at least a portion of the gpt gene. Because of the small size and stability of the integrated pSV2gpt plasmid, and the well-defined selection protocol for mutant isolation, the AS52 line offers promise as a system suitable for the study of mutation at the molecular level in CHO cells.

Mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of five antitumor ellipticines in mammalian cells and their structure-activity relationships in Salmonella.

The mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of five antitumor compounds (ellipticines) were investigated in the Chinese hamster ovary cell hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase assay and in six strains of Salmonella. All five compounds (ellipticine, 9-methoxyellipticine, 9-hydroxyellipticine, 9-aminoellipticine, and 2-methyl-9-hydroxyellipticinium) were cytotoxic and mutagenic in the Chinese hamster ovary cell hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase assay in the presence or absence of Aroclor 1254-induced rat liver S9, and all except the last compound were mutagenic in Salmonella. Based on the reversion pattern obtained in various frame-shift and DNA repair-proficient (uvrB+) or -deficient (uvrB) strains of Salmonella in the presence or absence of S9, the first three compounds appear to cause frame-shift mutations by both intercalation and covalent bonding with DNA; thus, these are classified as reactive intercalators. However, 9-aminoellipticine intercalates only weakly and may instead exert its mutagenic activity primarily (or exclusively) by forming a covalent adduct with DNA. Compared to the published antitumor data obtained in mice, the results in Salmonella and Chinese hamster ovary cells suggest that the ability of ellipticine, 9-methoxyellipticine, and 9-hydroxyellipticine to intercalate with DNA, induce frame-shift mutations, and cause cell killing is associated with and may be the basis for their antitumor activity. The observation that the ellipticines are mutagenic in mammalian cells suggests that these antitumor agents may be carcinogenic.

Mutagenicity of heterocyclic nitrogen mustards (ICR compounds) in cultured mammalian cells.

The mutagenicity of six heterocylic nitrogen mustards (ICR compounds) has been determined in a cultured mammalian cell system by use of resistance to the purine analog 6-thioguanine to select for mutation induction at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase locus in Chinese hamster ovary cells. The six compounds tested are ICR 191, 170, 292, 372, 191-OH, and 170-OH. The first four contain a single 2-chloroethyl group (nitrogen half-mustard) on the side chain and are mutagenic, with the tertiary amine types (170 and 292) 3 to 5 times more mutagenic than the secondary amine types (191 and 372). The remaining two compounds (191-OH and 170-OH) are not mutagenic, indicating that the 2-chloroethyl group is needed for mutation induction.

Mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of nineteen heterocyclic mustards (ICR compounds) in cultured mammalian cells.

The mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of 19 ICR compounds, including 6 reported previously, have been determined in the Chinese hamster ovary/hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase system. As with other physical and chemical agents, ICR 170 and 191 exhibit a phenotypic expression time of 7 to 9 days, independent of concentrations tested. Thirteen of these compounds are mutagenic. At equimolar concentrations, the compounds with the tertiary amine-type side chain (ICR 217, 340, 355, 368, 170, and 292) are more mutagenic than the compounds with the secondary amine-type side chain (ICR 449, 371, 191, and 372). All secondary amine types show a "plateau" in their concentration-dependent mutagenesis curves at 3 to 4 microM. Shortening of the side chain by one carbon (ICR 171) results in a reduced mutagenicity. Substitution of a sulfur atom for a nitrogen in the side chain (ICR 342) increases both mutagenicity and cytotoxicity. The presence of two 2-chloroethyl groups on the side chain (ICR 220) also results in greatly increased cytotoxicity and mutagenicity. When the 2-chloroethyl group of ICR 340, 372, 292, 191, or 170 is replaced by a 2-hydroxyethyl group (ICR 340-OH, 372-OH, 292-OH, 191-OH, or 170-OH), a mutagenically inactive compound results which remains toxic. Replacement of the amine linkage with an ether linkage (ICR 283) also yields a mutagenically inactive compound.

Mutagenicity, cytotoxicity, and DNA binding of platinum(II)-chloroammines in Chinese hamster ovary cells.

The cytotoxicity and mutagenicity at the six platinum(II)chloroammines have been investigated in Chinese hamster ovary cells. For these compounds, the observed slopes of the mutation-induction curves (mutants/10(6) cells/microM) were: cis-Pt(NH3)2Cl2 (31.5), K[Pt(NH3)Cl3] (2.78), [Pt(NH3)3Cl]Cl (0.11), K2[PtCl4] (0.12), trans-Pt(NH3)2Cl2 (0.013), and [Pt(NH3)4]Cl2 (0.0). The relative cytotoxicity of these compounds follows the same order and is of similar magnitude. The observed relative mutagenicities of these compounds paralleled their reported potencies in the Ames assay and their relative antitumor activities. Results indicate that Chinese hamster ovary cells are useful in quantifying low mutagenic activity of chemicals such as platinum compounds. Studies with 195mPt-labeled cis- and trans-Pt(NH3)2Cl2 showed that during treatment both compounds enter the cell and bind to the DNA with comparable efficiency. Hence, the relative mutagenicities of cis- and trans-Pt(NH3)2Cl2 are not a consequence of different initial levels of DNA binding.

In vitro transformation of Syrian hamster epidermal cells by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine.

The selection of Syrian hamster epidermal cells which do not terminally differentiate has provided a quantitative focus assay for in vitro chemical transformation. One-day-old Syrian hamster epidermal cells plated at 5 x 10(6)/100-mm dish were treated for 5 hr with various concentrations of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. After 4 weeks, the normal epidermal cells began to terminally differentiate to keratinized squamous cells and died, but transformed epidermal colonies grew to higher cells densities and appeared as darker areas against a lightly stained normal cell background. Transformed epidermal foci were isolated and subcultured for at least 15 passages, whereas normal epidermal cells could not be subcultured under the same conditions. The transformed cells assumed the typical cobblestone-like morphology of epithelial cells, retained desmosomes and tonofilaments, and were able to use citrulline in place of arginine. Argininosuccinate synthetase (EC 6.3.4.5) activity was significantly higher in the epidermal cells than in fibroblasts. The injection of 5 x 10(6) cells of two transformed epidermal cell lines into athymic nude mice resulted in the formation of tumors which were identified as keratinizing squamous carcinomas.

Studies on adenosine 3',5'-phosphate-binding and adenosine 3',5-phosphate-dependent protein kinase activities associated with subcellular fractions of Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Both cyclic AMP-binding and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activities exist in Chinese hamster ovary cell extract. Competition experiments demonstrate that the binding is specific for cyclic AMP. All cellular elements including nucleus, mitochondria, plasma membrane, microsome, ribosome and cytosol contain both activities. Binding activity is highest in the cytosol and lowest in the nucleus. Each fraction contains endogenous protein kinase activity which is insensitive to cyclic AMP activation. When histone was used as a substrate, protein kinase activity in all fractions was stimulated by cyclic AMP (with the highest in cytosol and lowest in the nucleus) and inhibited by Walsh's protein kinase inhibitor.

Characterization of two adenosine 3':5'-phosphate-dependent protein kinase species from Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Chinese hamster ovary cells exhibit several characteristic morphological and physiological responses upon treatment with agents which increase the intracellular level of adenosine 3':5'-phosphate (cyclic AMP). To better understand the mechanism of these cyclic AMP-mediated responses, we separated two cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinases (ATP:protein phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.37) (protein kinase I and protein kinase II) from the cytosol of Chinese hamster ovary cells by DEAE-cellulose chromatography and studied their properties. Protein kinase I is eluted at a lower salt concentration than protein kinase II and is stimulable to 10 times its basal catalytic activity, while protein kinase II is stimulable only 2-fold. Both kinases are completely dissociated by cyclic AMP and inhibited by specific cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor. They have similar Km values for magnesium (approximately 1 mM), cyclic AMP (approximately 60 nM), and ATP (approximately 0.1 mM), and the dissociation constant (Kdis) for cyclic AMP (approximately 13 nM) is the same for both enzymes. However, they appear to have different substrate preferences and cyclic AMP-binding properties in that cyclic AMP bound to protein kinase II exchanges readily with free cyclic AMP, while that bound to protein kinase I is not exchangeable. The native enzymes have different sedimentation coefficients (6.4 S for protein kinase I and 4.8 S for protein kinase II), whereas those of the activated enzymes are the same (2.9--3.0 S). It appears that the two cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinases which differ from each other in their regulatory subunits may play different roles in the mediation of cyclic AMP action in Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Prostaglandin E1 induced changes in cyclic AMP levels in WI-38 human fibroblasts. Two different effects of cell density.

WI-38 lung diploid fibroblasts respond to protaglandin E1 with increased levels of cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate. This increase is affected by cell density in two ways: (a) The initial rate of accumulation of intracellular cyclic AMP increases with increasing cell density. (b) However, the elevated levels of cyclic AMP are more stably maintained in lower-density cells, and this stability decreases with increasing cell density. Cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activities, as well as the efflux of intracellular cyclic AMP into the medium are similar at all cell densities.

Action of cyclic nucleotide analogues in Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Cyclic nucleotide analogues have been tested for their ability to cause the morphological conversion of Chinese hamster ovary cells in culture, as well as for effects on cyclic AMP-related enzymes. The ability of the analogues to inhibit the cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity and to activate the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity in cell extracts has been measured. Cell cultures were incubated with the analogues and the effects on morphology, intracellular level of cyclic AMP, and in vivo protein kinase activation were determined. All analogues which induced the morphological conversion also caused in vivo activation of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. Only N6,O2'-dibutyryl and N6-monobutyryl cyclic AMP caused on increase in intracellular cyclic AMP, presumabley through inhibition of the intracellular cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity. The increase in cyclic AMP appears to cause the protein kinase activation. However, analogues such a 8-bromo and 8-benzylthio cyclic AMP do not cause any change in intracellular cyclic AMP level and appear to activate the intracellular cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase directly.

Quantitative and molecular analyses of genetic risk: a study with ionizing radiation.

Mammalian cells in culture have been used to study the genetic effects of physical and chemical agents. We have used Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, clone K1-BH4, to quantify mutations at the X-linked, large (35 kb) hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (hprt) locus (the CHO/HPRT assay) induced by environmental agents. By transfecting an hprt-deletion mutant CHO cell line with the plasmid vector pSV2gpt, we isolated a transformant, AS52. AS52 cells carry a single functional copy of an autosomal, small (456 bp) xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (gpt) gene (the bacterial equivalent of the mammalian hprt gene; AS52/GPT assay). We found that ionizing radiations such as X-rays and neutrons and oxidative genotoxic chemicals such as Adriamycin, bleomycin, hydrogen peroxide, and potassium superoxide are much more mutagenic to the gpt gene in AS52 cells than to the hprt locus in K1-BH4 cells. The hypermutability of the gpt gene probably results from a higher recovery of multilocus deletion mutants in AS52 cells than in K1-BH4 cells, rather than a higher yield of induced mutants. These results demonstrate that the use of the hprt locus alone could lead to an underestimate of the genetic risk of these agents. Analyses of the mutation spectrum using a polymerase chain reaction-based deletion screening and DNA sequencing procedure showed that a high proportion of HPRT- and GPT- mutants induced by X-rays carry deletion mutations. Thus, both the mutant frequency and mutation spectrum need to be considered in assessing the genetic risk of ionizing radiation and oxidative genotoxic chemicals.

Molecular markers of ionizing radiation-induced gene mutations in mammalian cells.

We have isolated independent Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell mutants at the hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (hprt) locus from untreated, 60Co gamma-ray-exposed, and 212Bi alpha-exposed cells and identified the molecular changes underlying the mutation determined by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based exon deletion analysis. Both the parental CHO-K1 cells and the X-ray-sensitive mutant xrs-5 cells were studied. The radiosensitive xrs-5 cells are defective in DNA double-strand break rejoining ability and in V(D)J recombination, which can be complemented by Ku protein. Of the 71 spontaneous CHO-K1 hprt mutants analyzed, 78% showed no change in exon number or size, 20% showed loss of one to eight exons (partial deletion), and 3% showed loss of all nine hprt exons (total deletion). Exposure of CHO-K1 cells to 6 Gy of gamma rays, which reduced survival levels to 10%, produced a high deletion spectrum with 45% of the 20 mutants analyzed showing a loss of one to eight exons and 30% showing total deletion. Exposure to an equitoxic dose of alpha radiation from 212Bi, a 220Rn daughter, resulted in a spectrum similar to the gamma-ray spectrum in that 75% of the 49 mutants analyzed were deletions. To alpha radiation, however, tended to produce larger intragenic deletions than gamma radiation. Of the 92 spontaneous xrs-5 mutants analyzed for deletions, 43% showed a loss of one to eight exons and 14% showed total deletion. This suggests that, in certain regions of the hprt gene, base alterations can be converted into large deletions and alteration in the Ku protein complex can influence this type of mutational process. Exposure to alpha radiation (10% survival) to xrs-5 cells resulted in a deletion spectrum similar to that seen in CHO-K1 cells. Of the 49 mutants analyzed, 43% showed on change in exon number or size, 16% showed a loss of one to eight exons, and 41% showed total deletion. While the defect in xrs-5 cells has a profound effect on spontaneous mutant spectra, this defect does not appear to affect alpha-induced mutation spectra.

Quantitative and molecular analyses of radiation-induced mutation in AS52 cells.

pSV2gpt-Transformed and wild-type Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines have been used to study radiation-induced mutation at the molecular level. The transformant, designated AS52, was constructed from a hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT)-deficient CHO cell line and contains a single, functional copy of the Escherichia coli xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (XPRT) gene (gpt) stably integrated into the Chinese hamster genome. AS52 and wild-type CHO-K1-BH4 cells exhibit similar cytotoxic responses to uv light and X rays; however, significant differences occur in mutation induction at the gpt and hprt loci. A number of HPRT and XPRT mutants which arose following irradiation were analyzed by Southern-blot hybridization. Most XPRT (21/26) and all HPRT (23/23) mutants induced by uv light exhibited hybridization patterns indistinguishable from their parental cell lines. In contrast, all XPRT (26/26) and most HPRT mutants (15/21) induced by X irradiation contained deletion mutations affecting some or all of the gpt and hprt loci, respectively. These results indicate that X rays induce predominantly deletion mutations, while uv light is likely to induce point mutations at both loci.

Genetic and cytogenetic markers of exposure to high-linear energy transfer radiation.

It has been suggested that the more closely spaced, clustered DNA breaks seen with high-LET radiations are more likely to result in chromosome intrachanges than in chromosome interchanges. We determined whether analysis of the spectra of chromosome aberrations or Hprt gene mutations in CHO-K1 cells could detect a shift to more chromosome intrachanges and therefore distinguish exposure to high-LET radiation from exposure to low-LET radiation, and whether alterations in the processing of DNA breaks would influence this process. Both the frequency and type of chromosome aberrations and Hprt gene mutations were determined in CHO-K1 and xrs-5 cells exposed to 60Co gamma rays or 212Bi alpha particles. Xrs-5 cells are a radiosensitive derivative of CHO-K1 cells that are defective in rejoining of DNA double-strand breaks. The ratio of dicentrics to centric rings (F ratio) was significantly lower in CHO-K1 and xrs-5 cells exposed to alpha particles, consistent with a shift to more chromosome intrachanges with higher LET. In contrast, the frequency of large interstitial deletions at the Hprt locus, determined by multiplex polymerase chain reaction-based exon deletion analysis, was the same for both gamma-ray- and alpha-particle-exposed cells in each of the cell lines. Thus the F ratio can distinguish high-LET from low-LET radiations, and the end point is not influenced by differences in the processing of DNA double-strand breaks. The analysis of the spectrum of Hprt mutations, however, appears unable to discriminate low LET from high LET.

Polymerase chain reaction-directed DNA sequencing of bleomycin-induced "nondeletion"-type, 6-thioguanine-resistant mutants in Chinese hamster ovary cell derivative AS52: effects of an inhibitor and a mimic of superoxide dismutase.

Bleomycin-induced, 6-thioguanine-resistant, "non deletion" mutants pretreated with or without either TRIEN (triethylenetetramine), a superoxide dismutase (SOD) inhibitor, or TEMPOL (4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl), a SOD mimic, were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-directed DNA sequencing in a Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell derivative, AS52. Among the 23 bleomycin-induced mutants, six have 3-bp 5'-TGA-3' deletions in the region of 366-371, five have single-base deletions, seven have base substitutions, three have insertions, and two have possible translocations. Among the 16 bleomycin-induced mutants pretreated with TRIEN, six have the 5'-TGA-3' deletion (366-371), two have single-base deletions, one has a 13-bp deletion, four have single-base substitutions, one has a double-base substitution, and two have insertions. Among the 17 bleomycin-induced mutants pretreated with TEMPOL, six have the same TGA deletions, two have single-base deletions, two have single-base insertions, four have single-base substitutions, one mutant has a 12-bp deletion, one has a 13-bp deletion, and one mutant shows no detectable change in its coding region in the DNA sequence. A possible shift from a ROS-mediated mutational spectrum to a spontaneous mutational spectrum by TRIEN further indicates that reactive oxygen species play an important role in bleomycin mutagenesis in mammalian cells.

PCR-directed DNA sequencing of "nondeletion" HPRT-mutants induced by bleomycin in CHO K1-BH4 cells.

Bleomycin is one of the radiomimetic antibiotics which induces DNA double-strand breaks by highly specific free radical attack on deoxyribose moieties in DNA. Earlier, we have shown that bleomycin induces a high proportion of large deletions involving one or more exons in the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (hprt) locus in a Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line CHO K1-BH4, in which no spontaneously occurring large deletions were detected by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based deletion screening assay. Here we report the molecular nature of another class of mutants in which we did not observe any abnormal exon pattern. We refer to these mutants as the "nondeletion" type. Since bleomycin is a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-generating agent, we also studied whether the change of intracellular levels of ROS may affect the bleomycin-induced mutation spectra. We therefore also investigated the hprt mutation spectra induced by bleomycin with pretreatment by TRIEN (triethylenetetramine), a superoxide dismutase (SOD) inhibitor, and TEMPOL (4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl), a SOD mimic. Analysis of these three bleomycin-induced "nondeletion" mutation spectra revealed that 5'-GTC-3' or 5'-GCC-3' sequences were the hot spots for single basepair deletions. Other types of mutation include abnormal cDNA or no cDNA amplification on the hprt locus. Due to the small sample size, we are unable to draw a definitive conclusion about the effects of TRIEN and TEMPOL on bleomycin-induced spectrum of "nondeletion" type hprt mutations.

Polymerase chain reaction-based comprehensive procedure for the analysis of the mutation spectrum at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase locus in Chinese hamster cells.

We have established a comprehensive procedure based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to analyze the molecular spectrum of mutations at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (hprt) locus in Chinese hamster cells. The procedure includes direct sequencing of PCR-amplified hprt cDNA for locating point mutations in the expressed coding sequences, multiplex PCR amplification of the hprt exons for screening large deletions, and direct sequencing of PCR-amplified hprt exons and their flanking regions for detecting intronic mutations resulting in mRNA splicing errors. Using this procedure, we have identified different types of mutations among a representative collection of spontaneous and induced HPRT-deficient Chinese hamster cell mutants. This procedure is simple, rapid, accurate, and practical for a comprehensive study of the mutation spectrum in a large number of HPRT-deficient Chinese hamster cell mutants.

Multiplex polymerase chain reaction-based analysis of T-cell receptor gamma gene rearrangements for the determination of T-lymphocyte clonality.

Determination of the frequency of mutations at hprt or other loci in human lymphocytes provides a useful biomarker for human exposure to mutagens. One problem, however, is distinguishing between unique mutants and sibling mutants arising as progeny of an earlier mutant cell. We have developed a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method to analyze T-cell receptor (TCR) gamma gene rearrangements for determination of T-cell clonality in mutational spectrum analysis. PCR primers for different subgroups of the V gene segment of the TCR gamma gene were selected at different sites in the TCR gamma gene so that the size of PCR products could define which V subgroup was involved in rearranged TCR gamma genes; gamma genes involving different V and J subgroups could be determined directly by PCR. Mutant T-lymphocytes with rearranged TCR gamma genes containing the same V and J subgroups were analyzed using PCR-based denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. All of the 161 hprt mutant clones analyzed contained rearranged TCR gamma genes. Rearrangements among all subgroups of the V and J gene segments of the TCR gamma gene could be detected. VgammaI and Jgamma1/2 subgroups were involved in 69 and 71% of rearranged TCR gamma genes, respectively. This PCR-based analysis of TCR gamma gene rearrangements provides a simple and comprehensive method for identifying the clonality of mutant T-lymphocytes in human hprt mutant lymphocyte assay and mutational spectrum analysis.

Coumarin chemoprotection against aflatoxin B1-induced gene mutation in a mammalian cell system: a species difference in mutagen activation and protection with chick embryo and rat liver S9.

Coumarin (1,2-benzopyrone), a natural food constituent, prevents polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-induced neoplasms in rats and mice, but has not been studied with other chemical carcinogens. We examined coumarin chemoprotection against aflatoxin B1 using the 6-thioguanine resistance mutation assay in two different Chinese hamster ovary cell lines (K1BH4 and AS52) with liver S9 from rats and 19-day-old chick embryos for aflatoxin B1 bioactivation. Laboratory rodents metabolize coumarin through 3-hydroxylation, whereas 7-hydroxylation predominates in chick embryos and humans. Chick embryo liver S9 was approximately 25-fold more effective in activating aflatoxin B1 to the mutagenic and cytotoxic metabolite(s) than rat liver S9. Coumarin added at 50 and 500 microM with chick embryo liver S9 reduced the mutant frequency of 1 microM aflatoxin B1 by 40 and 85%, respectively. Coumarin up to 500 microM had no effect on aflatoxin B1 mutagenicity with rat liver S9. When liver S9 from chick embryos pretreated with coumarin was used for aflatoxin B1 bioactivation, mutant frequency and cytotoxicity were decreased compared to liver S9 from vehicle-treated controls. Liver S9 from coumarin-treated rats did not significantly affect mutant frequency or cytotoxicity. HPLC analysis of chick embryo liver S9 incubated with 1 microM aflatoxin B1 showed a dose-dependent decrease by coumarin of aflatoxin B1 activation to the 8,9-epoxide ranging from 70% of controls at 5 microM coumarin to 4% of controls at 500 microM coumarin. In contrast, coumarin produced a dose-dependent increase in 20 microM aflatoxin B1 activation by rat liver S9, reaching twice the control levels at 500 microM coumarin. These findings, using a mammalian cell system as a mutagenic endpoint, demonstrate marked species differences in chemoprotection by coumarin.

Molecular nature of spontaneous mutations at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (hprt) locus in Chinese hamster ovary cells.

The hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (hprt) locus has been widely used as a selectable genetic marker for studies of mammalian cell mutagenesis. We report here the spontaneous mutation spectrum at the hprt locus in 64 independently isolated mutants of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. All nine hprt exons were simultaneously analyzed via multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for rapid detection of gene deletions or insertions. Structural point mutations were identified by direct sequence analysis of the PCR amplified cDNA. The molecular nature of RNA splicing errors and insertions was analyzed by solid-phase direct exon sequencing. Single base substitutions were found in 24 mutants (38%), of which 21 were missense and 3 were nonsense mutations. Transversions were about twice as frequent as transitions. Fifteen mutants (23%) had deletions involving either intragenic small fragments (2), single exons (9), or multiple exons (4). The majority of deletion breakpoints (71%) were located in regions surrounding exons 4, 5, and 6. RNA splicing mutations were observed in 15 mutants (23%) and affected exons 3-8; most (6/15) resulted in the loss of exon 7. Two insertion mutants, one with a 209 bp insert in exon 4 and the other with a 88 bp insert accompanied by a 24 bp deletion in exon 6, represent novel mutations reported for the first time in spontaneous mutants of the mammalian hprt gene.