In the MCF-7 human breast tumor cell line, the aminoacridine, m-AMSA, induces protein-associated DNA strand breaks consistent with inhibition of topoisomerase II. However, neither single-strand nor double-strand breaks in DNA, determined using conventional assays, show a consistent relationship with m-AMSA-induced inhibition of growth. In contrast, when DNA strand breaks are determined by alkaline unwinding under the high salt conditions of the alkaline unwinding/Southern blotting (AU/SB) assay, developed by our laboratories, damage to DNA corresponds closely with growth inhibition. The AU/SB assay, which is capable of assessing breaks within large-scale domains (upwards of 1 megabase) surrounding genes of interest, was further utilized to explore the capacity of m-AMSA to induce damage within specific genomic regions that may regulate cell growth. Regions encompassing the transcriptionally active oncogenes, c- myc and c- fos, were found to be more susceptible to m-AMSA-induced strand breaks than the region encompassing the non-transcribed α-satellite DNA or the genome as a whole (bulk DNA). These findings demonstrate that m-AMSA may produce more pronounced damage within specific genomic regions than in bulk DNA. m-AMSA also preferentially altered expression of the c- myc oncogene; at an m-AMSA concentration where growth was inhibited by between 70 and 80%, steady-state c- myc mRNA levels declined to approximately 10–15% of control levels within 2–3 hr; furthermore, concentration-dependent reductions in c- myc expression appeared to coincide with growth inhibition. In addition, inhibition of [ 3H]thymidine incorporation after 2 hr directly paralleled inhibition of growth, suggesting an early effect at the level of DNA biosynthesis, possibly related to the down-regulation of c- myc expression. It is proposed that specific lesions, e.g., in regions surrounding the c- myc gene, as well as generalized lesions in DNA may lead to growth inhibition mediated by down-regulation of the expression of select growth regulatory genes, such as c- myc.