Ethylnitrosourea Treatment Research Articles

Dosage time affects alkylating agents induced micronuclei in mouse peripheral blood reticulocytes through the function of erythropoietin.

Previously, we reported that the frequency of micronucleated reticulocytes (MNRETs) in the peripheral blood of male C3H/He mice intraperitoneally administered ethylnitrosourea (ENU) (25 mg/kg body weight) in the dark period (zeitgeber time, ZT15) was higher than in the light period (ZT3). In this study, to clarify the mechanism underlying this phenomenon, we investigated the differences in micronucleus (MN) induction observed between ZT3 and ZT15 using five chemicals, methylnitrosourea (MNU), ethylmethane sulfonate (EMS), mitomycin C, cyclophosphamide and vincristin. MNU and EMS, monofunctional alkylating agents, showed higher frequencies of MNRETs in the ZT15 than the ZT3 treatment similar to ENU. However, no differences were observed for the other chemicals. In the comet assay, more DNA damage was induced by ENU in the ZT15 than the ZT3 treatment. Furthermore, the plasma erythropoietin (EPO) level, a known effector of MN induction with anti-apoptotic activity mediated by Bcl-xL expression, was higher in the dark than in the light period. EPO did not increase the frequency of MNRETs. However, in the ENU treatment group at ZT3 following EPO injection a significant increase of MNRETs was observed similar to the ZT15 treatment. Higher expression of apoptosis-related genes such as Bcl-xL was induced in bone marrow cells from mice treated with ENU at ZT15 compared with ZT3. From these results, it was speculated that the differences in MN induction in the peripheral blood of mice exposed to monofunctional alkylating agents such as ENU depend on apoptotic or anti-apoptotic conditions related to the circadian rhythms of EPO in bone marrow.

Phagocytic activity of neutrophil is induced by granulocyte colony stimulating factor and interleukin-15 in leukemic animal model

In leukemia, secondary infection is common and after chemotherapy the number of normal active neutrophil reduced significantly. Therefore, to avoid side effects of chemotherapy and to induce neutrophil activity and number, in this study, we have treated with G-CSF plus IL-15 in combination to N–N′ Ethylnitrosourea (ENU) induced leukemia in BALB/c mice. After 5 months of ENU treatment in 3–4 weeks old mice at 80 mg/kg body weight, leukemia was confirmed by histology of blood smear co-treatment started with cytokines for 5 days. The in vitro phagocytosis activity of neutrophil from spleen was assayed using Dalton's lymphoma ascites as target cell. Using real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) and toll like receptor 9 (TLR9) expression of neutrophil was also measured. Our data suggests that G-CSF plus IL-15 induce the phagocytic activity of neutrophil. TLR4 and TLR9 expression was induced in neutrophil after treatment with cytokines together which was significantly reduced in leukemia. In conclusion, G-CSF plus IL-15 has potential role as therapeutic immunomodulators for neutrophil activity in leukemia.

Indication of cocarcinogenic potential of chronic UMTS-modulated radiofrequency exposure in an ethylnitrosourea mouse model

Purpose: To evaluate putative effects on tumour susceptibility in mice exposed to a UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) test signal for up to 24 months, commencing with embryo-fetal exposure.Material and methods: Animals were exposed to UMTS fields with intensities of 0, 4.8, and 48 W/m2, the low-dose group (4.8 W/m2) was subjected to additional prenatal ethylnitrosourea treatment (40 mg ENU/kg body weight).Results: The high-level UMTS exposure (48 W/m2), the sham exposure, and the cage control groups showed comparable tumour incidences in the protocol organs. In contrast, the ENU-treated group UMTS-exposed at 4.8 W/m2 displayed an enhanced lung tumour rate and an increased incidence of lung carcinomas as compared to the controls treated with ENU only. Furthermore, tumour multiplicity of the lung carcinomas was increased and the number of metastasising lung tumours was doubled in the ENU/UMTS group as compared to the ENU control group.Conclusion: This pilot study indicates a cocarcinogenic effect of lifelong UMTS exposure (4.8 W/m2) in female B6C3F1 descendants subjected to pretreatment with ethylnitrosourea.

Niacin deficiency delays DNA excision repair and increases spontaneous and nitrosourea-induced chromosomal instability in rat bone marrow

We have shown that niacin deficiency impairs poly(ADP-ribose) formation and enhances sister chromatid exchanges and micronuclei formation in rat bone marrow. We designed the current study to investigate the effects of niacin deficiency on the kinetics of DNA repair following ethylation, and the accumulation of double strand breaks, micronuclei (MN) and chromosomal aberrations (CA). Weanling male Long-Evans rats were fed niacin deficient (ND), or pair fed (PF) control diets for 3 weeks. We examined repair kinetics by comet assay in the 36 h following a single dose of ethylnitrosourea (ENU) (30 mg/kg bw). There was no effect of ND on mean tail moment (MTM) before ENU treatment, or on the development of strand breaks between 0 and 8 h after ENU. Repair kinetics between 12 and 30 h were significantly delayed by ND, with a doubling of area under the MTM curve during this period. O 6-ethylation of guanine peaked by 1.5 h, was largely repaired by 15 h, and was also delayed in bone marrow cells from ND rats. ND significantly enhanced double strand break accumulation at 24 h after ENU. ND alone increased chromosome and chromatid breaks (four- and two-fold). ND alone caused a large increase in MN, and this was amplified by ENU treatment. While repair kinetics suggest that ND may be acting by creating catalytically inactive PARP molecules with a dominant-negative effect on repair processes, the effect of ND alone on O 6-ethylation, MN and CA, in the absence of altered comet results, suggests additional mechanisms are also leading to chromosomal instability. These data support the idea that the bone marrow cells of niacin deficient cancer patients may be more sensitive to the side effects of genotoxic chemotherapy, resulting in acute bone marrow suppression and chronic development of secondary leukemias.

Spontaneous and induced chromosomal damage and mutations in Bloom Syndrome mice

Bloom Syndrome (BS) is characterized by both cancer and genomic instability, including chromosomal aberrations, sister chromosome exchanges, and mutations. Since BS heterozygotes are much more frequent than homozygotes, the issue of the sensitivity of heterozygotes to cancer is an important one. This and many other questions concerning the effects of BLM (the gene responsible for the BS) are more easily studied in mice than in humans. To gain insight into genomic instability associated with loss of function of BLM, which codes for a DNA helicase, we compared frequencies of micronuclei, somatic mutations, and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in Blm tm3Brd homozygous, heterozygous, and wild-type mice carrying a cII transgenic reporter gene. It should be noted that the Blm tm3Brd is inserted into the endogenous locus with a partial duplication of the gene, so some function of the locus may be retained. The cII reporter gene was introduced from the Big Blue ® mouse by crossing them with Blm tm3Brd mice. All measurements were made on F 2 mice from this cross. The reticulocytes of Blm tm3Brd homozygous mice had more micronuclei than heterozygous or wild-type mice (4.5, 2.7, and 2.5‰, respectively; P < 0.01) but heterozygotes did not differ significantly from wild-type. Unlike spontaneous chromosome damage, spontaneous mutant frequencies did not differ significantly among homozygous, heterozygous, and wild-type mice (3.2 × 10 −5, 3.1 × 10 −5, and 3.1 × 10 −5, respectively; P > 0.05). Mutation measurements were also made on mice that had been treated with ethyl-nitrosourea (ENU) because Bloom Syndrome cells are sensitive to ethylating agents. The ENU-induced mutation frequency in Blm tm3Brd homozygous, heterozygous, and wild mice were 54 × 10 −5, 35 × 10 −5, and 25 × 10 −5 mutants/plaques, respectively. ENU induced more mutations in Blm tm3Brd homozygous mice than in wild-type mice ( P < 0.01), but not significantly more in heterozygous mice ( P = 0.06). Spontaneous LOH did not differ significantly among the genotypes, but ENU treatment induced much more LOH in Blm tm3Brd homozygous mice, as measured by means of the Dlb-1 test of Vomiero-Highton and Heddle. Hence, these Blm tm3Brd mice resemble Bloom Syndrome except that they have normal frequencies of spontaneous mutation. The fact that these mice have elevated rates of both cancer and chromosomal aberrations (as shown by more micronuclei and LOH) but normal rates of spontaneous mutation, shows the greater importance of chromosomal events than mutations in the origin of their cancers.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia cell line AP-1060 established as a cytokine-dependent culture from a patient clinically resistant to all-trans retinoic acid and arsenic trioxide.

AP-1060 is a newly established acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cell line from a multiple-relapse patient clinically resistant to both all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO). The line was initially derived as a granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-dependent strain that underwent replicative senescence and, following ethylnitrosourea treatment, as a phenotypically similar immortalized line. Immortalization was associated with broadened cytokine sensitivity but not growth autonomy, in contrast to three previously derived APL lines. Both the AP-1060 strain and line had shortened telomeres and low telomerase activity, while the line had higher expression of many genes associated with macromolecular synthesis. The karyotype was 46,XY,t(3;14)(p21.1;q11.2),t(15;17)(q22;q11)[100%]; the unique t(3;14) was observed in 4/9 t(15;17)-positive metaphase cells at previous relapse on ATRA therapy. The PML-RARalpha mRNA harbored a missense mutation in the RARalpha-region ligand-binding domain (Pro900Ser). This was associated with a right-shift and sharpening of the ATRA-induced maturation response compared to ATRA-sensitive NB4 cells, which corresponded to the transcriptional activation by PML-RARalphaPro900Ser of a cotransfected ATRA-targeted reporter vector in COS-1 cells. AP-1060 also manifested relative resistance to ATO-induced apoptosis at >/=1 microM, while 0.25 microM ATO stimulated limited atypical maturation. These findings suggest that AP-1060 will be useful for further assessing molecular elements involved in APL progression and drug response/resistance.

Serial induction of mutations by ethylnitrosourea in PC12 cells: a new model for a phenotypical characterization of the neurotoxic response to 6-hydroxydopamine

Here we show that the serial generation of allelic mutations by treatment with the mutagen ethylnitrosourea (ENU) in PC12 cells provides a new model for the phenotypical dissection of biological properties. We tested this approach in the neurotoxic 6-OHDA model of Parkinson’s disease in PC12 cells which has been widely used as an in vitro model for the investigation of the molecular pathogenesis of neuronal cell death and for novel treatment approaches. ENU treatment at doses of 0.2 and 0.3 mg/ml for 1 h resulted in 35 and 25% surviving PC12 cells, respectively, which showed mutation frequencies of approximately 10 mutations per genome. Clones derived from single ENU treated PC12 cells showed marked differences in their resistance against 6-OHDA. The phenotypical analysis of resistant and sensitive clones showed a differential transcriptional regulation of multiple genes. The applicability of this approach could be demonstrated by the identification of the rat TM9SF1 gene coding for a transmembrane protein of the nonaspanin superfamily as a regulated gene in PC12 clones resistant against 6-OHDA. Our data demonstrate the suitability of this model for the investigation of the molecular pathogenesis of neurodegeneration and for high-throughput analysis, e.g. for drug discovery.

Chronic DNA Damage and Niacin Deficiency Enhance Cell Injury and Cause Unusual Interactions in NAD and Poly(ADP-Ribose) Metabolism in Rat Bone Marrow

Previous work has shown that niacin deficiency in rats increases the severity of ethylnitrosourea (ENU)-induced anemia and leukopenia and the long-term development of cancer. The current study was initially designed to characterize changes in bone marrow cell populations during ENU treatment in this model. Weanling Long-Evans rats were fed diets containing 0 or 30 mg/kg of added niacin for a period of 2-3 wk. ENU treatment started after 1 wk of feeding and consisted of either 4 or 8 doses of ENU delivered by gavage, every other day. Niacin deficiency (ND) alone caused a significant depression in nucleated red blood cells (30%), and a sporadic effect on granulocytes (+23% after 4 doses of vehicle, -29% after 8 doses of vehicle). ENU treatment, after only 4 doses, caused a large decline in the numbers of bone marrow cells, and this effect was enhanced by ND (ENU decreased lymphocytes by 66% in pair-fed (PF) and 86% in ND, granulocytes by 41% in PF and 64% in ND, and nucleated red blood cells by 63% in PF and 71% in ND). Cell cycle distribution suggested that bone marrow cells in niacin-adequate rats, but not ND rats, mounted a compensatory proliferative response during chronic ENU exposure. ND alone caused an 80% decrease in bone marrow NAD+ levels at all time points. Surprisingly, chronic exposure to ENU (which should cause DNA damage and NAD+ utilization) led to a 2.8-fold increase in NAD+ content in ND marrow cells. This finding led to a second study in which ND and niacin-adequate PF control rats received 7 doses of ENU or vehicle (CON), after which all rats received 1 dose of ENU. In this study, modestly enhanced bone marrow NAD+ in chronically treated PF rats was used to synthesize 2-fold greater amounts of poly(ADP-ribose) than seen after one acute dose of ENU, while this did not occur in chronically treated ND rats, in spite of a 2.8-fold increase in bone marrow NAD+. This study has shown that bone marrow cell populations are sensitized to ENU treatment by ND, that NAD+ pools are regulated in response to DNA damage, and that NAD+ localization and/or utilization in the nucleus is altered during ND and chronic DNA damage.

Pharmacological Intakes of Niacin Increase Bone Marrow Poly(ADP-Ribose) and the Latency of Ethylnitrosourea-Induced Carcinogenesis in Rats

Cancer chemotherapy agents cause short-term leukopenia during treatment and the development of secondary leukemias after recovery from the original disease. We reported that niacin deficiency in rats increases the severity of nitrosourea-induced leukopenia and the subsequent development of cancers. This study was designed to test the effects of supplementing an already high quality diet with pharmacologic levels of niacin. For a period of 4 wk, nontumor-bearing weanling Long-Evans rats were pair-fed AIN-93M diets that were niacin adequate (30 mg/kg diet) or pharmacologically supplemented (4 g/kg diet) with nicotinic acid (NA) or nicotinamide (Nam). One week after the initiation of niacin feeding protocols, ethylnitrosourea (ENU) treatment began (12 doses, 30 mg/kg by gavage, every other day). ENU treatment caused leukopenia, which was not prevented by niacin supplementation. At the end of ENU treatment, all rats were switched to a niacin-adequate diet and monitored. Within 36 wk after the start of treatment, all of the ENU-treated rats either lost 5% of peak body weight or had palpable tumors > 1 cm in diameter, and were necropsied. Supplementation with NA or Nam at 4.0 g/kg diet (combined analysis) increased the latency of the ENU-induced morbidity curve, relative to niacin-adequate controls. Morbidity could be attributed in almost all cases to some form of neoplasm, with leukemias the predominant form. In short-term studies, supplementation with either NA or Nam caused dramatic increases in bone marrow NAD(+) (1- to 1.5-fold), basal poly(ADP-ribose) (3- to 5-fold) and ENU-induced poly(ADP-ribose) levels (1.5-fold). These data show that supplementation of a niacin-adequate, high quality diet with pharmacologic levels of nicotinic acid or nicotinamide increases NAD(+) and poly(ADP-ribose) levels in bone marrow and may be protective against DNA damage.

Niacin Deficiency Decreases Bone Marrow Poly(ADP-Ribose) and the Latency of Ethylnitrosourea-Induced Carcinogenesis in Rats

Cancer chemotherapy agents cause damage in the bone marrow, resulting in leukopenia during treatment and secondary cancers after recovery from the original disease. We created an experimental model of alkylation-based chemotherapy using ethylnitrosourea (ENU) to investigate the effect of niacin status on cancer induction. For 4 wk, nontumor-bearing weanling Long-Evans rats were fed niacin-deficient (ND) diets or were pair-fed (PF) identical quantities of a niacin-adequate diet. One week after the initiation of niacin feeding protocols, ENU treatment began (12 doses, 30 mg/kg by gavage, every other day). At the end of dietary modulation and ENU treatment, all rats were fed a high quality control diet and monitored for weight loss (>5%) and palpable tumors (>1cm), at which point they were necropsied for the presence of disease. The morbidity curves were significantly different; ND rats reached 20% morbidity 10 wk earlier than PF rats. In the first 20 wk after ENU treatment, ND rats developed 17 malignancies, including 11 leukemias, whereas PF rats developed 3 malignancies with 2 leukemias. In the end, there was a 47% greater average number of malignancies in ND vs. PF rats, despite a more rapid onset of morbidity. In short-term studies, niacin deficiency caused an 80% decrease in bone marrow NAD(+). Basal poly(ADP-ribose) levels were dramatically reduced by niacin deficiency. A single dose of ENU increased poly(ADP-ribose) levels fivefold in PF rats, whereas levels in ND rats remained 90% lower. Niacin deficiency did not alter the initial accumulation of DNA damage, indicating that drug metabolism is not an underlying factor in the diet-induced changes. These data show that niacin deficiency alters poly(ADP-ribose) metabolism in the bone marrow and increases the risk of nitrosourea-induced leukemias.

Transplacental mutagenicity of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea at the hprt locus in T-lymphocytes of exposed B6C3F1 mice.

Previous studies have compared age-related differences in total mutagenic burden in mice of differing age (preweanling, weanling, or young adult) after single intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of ethylnitrosourea (ENU). The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the effects of time elapsed since treatment on the frequency of hprt mutant T-cells (Mf) from mice treated transplacentally with single acute vs. multiple split doses of ENU. To this end, pregnant C57BL/6 mice (n = 13-16/group), which had been bred to C3H males, were given i.p. injections of 40 mg ENU/kg bw in a single dose on day 18 of gestation, in a split dose of 6 mg ENU/kg bw on days 12 through 18 of gestation, or DMSO vehicle alone. Groups of pups were necropsied on days 10, 13, 15 (single dose only), 17, 20, 40, and 70 postpartum for T-cell isolations and hprt Mf measurements using the T-cell cloning assay. The time required to reach maximum Mfs in T-cells isolated from thymus of transplacentally treated animals was 2 weeks, the same time span as previously observed after ENU treatment of adult, weanling, and preweanling mice. Mfs in T-cells isolated from spleens of control animals averaged 2.1 +/- 0.3 (SE) x 10(-6). In spleens of mice treated transplacentally with ENU in a single dose, Mfs reached a maximum at 15 days postpartum [84.7 +/- 15.8 (SE) x 10(-6)] and decreased to lower but still elevated levels at 40 days postpartum. In spleens of mice treated transplacentally with ENU in a split dose, Mfs reached a maximum at 13 days postpartum [74.0 +/- 16.3 (SE) x 10(-6)] and decreased to background levels at 40 days postpartum. The areas under the curves describing the change in hprt Mfs over time for ENU-treated vs. control mice estimate the mutagenic potency for transplacental single- and split-dose exposures to be 1.9 and 0.8 x 10(3), respectively. Comparison of the mutagenic potency estimates for mice exposed to ENU in utero to 4-week-old mice given a similar dose of the same lot number of ENU indicates that the mouse is more susceptible to ENU-induced mutagenesis during fetal life.

ROSA26 mice carry a modifier of Min-induced mammary and intestinal tumor development.

B6.129S7-Gtrosa26 (B6.R26) mice carry a LacZ-neoR insertion on Chromosome (Chr) 6, made by promoter trapping with 129 ES cells. Female C57BL/6J ApcMin/+ (B6Min/+) mice are highly susceptible to intestinal tumors and to the induction of mammary tumors after treatment with ethylnitrosourea (ENU). However, B6.R26/+ Min/+ females develop fewer mammary and intestinal tumors after ENU treatment than do B6 Min/+ mice. B6.R26/+ mice from two independently derived congenic lines show this modifier effect. Each of these congenic lines carries approximately 20 cM of 129-derived DNA flanking the insertion, raising the possibility that the resistance is due to a linked modifier locus. To further map the modifier locus, we have generated several lines of mice carrying different regions of the congenic interval. We have found that resistance to mammary and intestinal tumors in ENU-treated Min/+ mice maps to a minimum 4-cM interval that includes the ROSA26 LacZ-neoR insertion. Therefore, the resistance to tumor development is due to either the ROSA26 insertion or a very tightly linked modifier locus.

Niacin Deficiency in Rats Increases the Severity of Ethylnitrosourea-Induced Anemia and Leukopenia

Many chemotherapeutic agents function by damaging the DNA of rapidly dividing cells, leading to side effects in the bone marrow, including anemia and leukopenia during chemotherapy and the development of secondary leukemias in the years following recovery from the original disease. We have created an animal model of alkylation-based chemotherapy, in nontumor-bearing rats, to investigate the effect of niacin deficiency on the side effects of chemotherapy [2 x 2 design, niacin-deficient (ND) vs. pair-fed (PF) control, and ethylnitrosourea (ENU) vs. vehicle control (C)]. Weanling Long-Evans rats were fed ND diet or PF niacin replete diet for 4 wk. ENU or C treatment started after 1 wk of feeding and consisted of 12 doses delivered by gavage, every other day. At 4 wk postweaning, niacin deficiency and ENU treatment ended, the rats were fed a high-quality control diet (AIN-93M) and the recovery of blood variables was monitored. ND alone decreased growth rate and caused anemia and neutrophilia. ENU treatment alone caused anemia, lymphopenia, neutropenia and an increase in circulating reticulocytes. In combination, ND and ENU treatment synergistically decreased hematocrit. ND prevented the ENU-induced increase in reticulocyte numbers observed in control rats. ND also increased the severity of ENU-induced lymphopenia. A combination of ND and ENU abolished the neutrophilia caused by ND alone. In summary, ND significantly increased the susceptibility of young Long-Evans rats to ENU-induced bone marrow suppression, suggesting that niacin-deficient cancer patients may benefit from supplementation.

Relationships between exposure, cell loss and proliferation, and manifestation of Hprt mutant T cells following treatment of preweanling, weanling, and adult male mice with N-ethyl- N-nitrosourea

Experiments were performed to characterize the age-related patterns of appearance and frequency of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase ( Hprt) mutant T lymphocytes in thymus and spleen following exposure of preweanling (12-day-old), weanling (22-day-old), and young adult (8-week-old) male B6C3F1 mice to ethylnitrosourea (ENU). Mice were given single i.p. injections of 0 or 40 mg ENU/kg and then groups of animals were necropsied from 2 h to 116 days after treatment to examine the relationships between exposure, cell loss and proliferation, and the frequency of Hprt mutant T cells in thymus and spleen. Hprt mutant frequency (M f) data for thymus of ENU-exposed (0, 11.7, 35, 58, or 72 mg/kg, or five weekly doses of 1.7 mg/kg i.p.) male C57BL/6 mice (12- or 62-week-old), obtained during an earlier study of spleen cells [I.M. Jones, K. Burkhart-Schultz, C.L. Strout, T.L. Crippen, Factors that affect the frequency of thioguanine-resistant lymphocytes in mice following exposure to ethylnitrosourea, Environ. Mutagen. 9 (1987) 317–329.], were compared to results in B6C3F1 mice. Isolated T cells were cultured in the presence of mitogen, growth factor, and 6-thioguanine to detect Hprt mutants. The time required to achieve maximum M fs in thymus was uniformly found at 2 weeks after ENU treatment, while the times needed to reach peak values in spleen were proportional to animal age at treatment. These data indicate that age-related differences in the appearance of Hprt mutant cells in spleen are largely defined by the physiologically based, age-dependent trafficking of mutant cells from or through the thymus. Three modes of handling the resulting Hprt M f data were evaluated: (i) comparing the M fs at a single time point, (ii) comparing the maximum M fs observed, and (iii) comparing the change in M fs over time (or the mutant T cell ‘manifestation’ curves in treated vs. control mice) in each age group post-exposure. Measuring the M fs in spleen at multiple time points after cessation of exposure and integrating the frequency of mutants as a function of time appeared to be the superior method for comparing mutagenic responses in different age groups. Some of the underlying assumptions of this approach, as well as its strengths and weaknesses, are discussed.

Mechanisms of mutation induction in germ cells of the mouse as assessed by the specific locus test

Mouse germ cell specific locus mutagenesis data and a molecular characterization of mutant alleles have been reviewed to arrive at an understanding of the mechanism of mutation induction in mammals. (a) The spermatogenic stage specificity for the sensitivity to mutation induction by 20 chemical mutagens is considered. (b) The effects of a saturable repair process and its recovery over time are examined for the mutagenic efficiency of ethylnitrosourea. (c) The mutagenic events following methylnitrosourea and chlorambucil are shown to be mainly deletions. In contrast the mutations recovered after ethylnitrosourea treatment are almost exclusively base pair substitutions. (d) It is emphasized that to date very few specific locus experiments have been designed to test for mutagenic events outside the interval stem cell spermatogonia—mature spermatozoa. A specific locus mutation has recently been shown to be due to loss of heterozygosity via mitotic recombination in an early zygote stage and suggests a broader range of possible mechanisms of mutation when these stages are considered. (e) With the cloning of all 7 marker loci mutation analysis at the molecular level will allow a more direct assessment of the mutation process in future studies.

Mutagenesis of a single AT basepair in mice transgenic for PhiX174 am3 cs70: I. Spleen and testis

Mutations induced in a single AT base pair were studied in spleen and testis by using mice transgenic for PhiX174 am3, cs70 and ethylnitrosourea (ENU) as the mutagen. The transgenic mice were produced on the C57BL6/J background. The line (am54), which carries 50 copies of PhiX per haploid genome integrated in a tandem array, was selected for experimental use and was maintained by random breeding. The animals for mutagenesis studies were produced by mating homozygous am54 males to wildtype C57BL6/J females. Hemizygous male offspring (8 to 10 weeks old) from this cross were injected i.p. with 150 mg ENU per kg and were euthanized 3, 10 or 110 days after treatment. The spontaneous revertant frequency in the spleen was 1.42×10 −6 per plaque forming unit (pfu) and in the testis it was 1.41×10 −6 per pfu. There was no significant difference between the two tissues. In spleen, it was not until 110 days after ENU treatment that the average revertant frequency among treated animals was significantly higher than the revertant frequency among the control animals. In spleen, the induced frequency of basepair substitutions in the center AT basepair in the am3 nonsense codon was 2×10 −6. Also at this post-injection interval the variance of revertant frequencies in the spleen was not different from control variance. In testis, the average revertant frequency 110 days post ENU injection was not significantly different from the control. However, two important observations were made regarding the testis data. First, one animal had a significantly increased revertant frequency 110 days after ENU treatment in comparison to the other four animals in the group that had revertant frequencies equal to or lower than the average control frequency. Second, the variance of revertant frequencies in the testis among the treated animals increased as the post injection period increased. Taken together, these observations may indicate that the revertants formed large clusters in one testis sample.

Effect of ethylnitrosourea and methyl methanesulfonate on mutation frequency in Muta™Mouse germ cells (seminiferous tubule cells and epididymis spermatozoa)

As part of the Germ Cell Collaborative Study, we used the positive-selection Muta™Mouse model to evaluate the effects of two direct alkylating agents, ethylnitrosourea (ENU) and methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), on male germ cells. The LacZ mutation frequency in seminiferous tubule cells and epididymis spermatozoa was measured 3, 14, 25 and 50 days after a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of 150 mg/kg ENU and 3 and 14 days after a single i.p. administration of 40 mg/kg MMS. Three and 14 days after ENU treatment, the mutation frequency was slightly but significantly increased in seminiferous tubule cells (3.5- and 3.6-fold, respectively), while it remained unchanged in epididymis spermatozoa. After 25 and 50 days, time-dependent increase in the mutation frequency was observed in seminiferous tubule cells (8.9- and 14.3-fold, respectively) and epididymis spermatozoa (3.4- and 7.9-fold, respectively), confirming the sensitivity of premeiotic cells to the mutagenic activity of ENU. Three and 14 days after MMS administration, the mutation frequency remained unchanged in seminiferous tubule cells and epididymis spermatozoa. The inability of Muta™Mouse model to reveal the mutagenic activity of MMS was confirmed in bone marrow cells, 14 days after treatment. These data indicate that the Muta™Mouse model can be used to detect the induction of gene mutations but not chromosome damage in germ cells.

Ethyl nitrosourea and methyl methanesulfonate mutagenicity in sperm and testicular germ cells of lacZ transgenic mice (Muta™Mouse)

The germ cell mutagens ethyl nitrosourea (ENU) and methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), were tested for their genotoxicity in sperm cells and testicular germ cells using lacZ transgenic mice (Muta™ Mouse). Eight- to 10-week-old Muta mice were treated with ENU (150 mg/kg) or MMS (40 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal injection. Three and 14 days after treatment, testes and sperm were collected for lacZ mutation analysis. Sperm were isolated from the epididymis and vas deferens by washing out the minced tissue. Germ cell DNA was isolated from testicular germ cells and sperm with the help of 2-mercaptoethanol, and the target lacZ gene, which is integrated into a lambda shuttle vector, was recovered by in vitro packaging. The resultant phages were allowed to infect to E. coli C ( galE -), and the lacZ mutant plaques were dominantly selected on a plate containing phenyl-β- d-galactoside. Spontaneous mutant frequencies (MF) in vehicle-treated control mice were approximately 1×10 −5 and 3×10 −5 in testicular germ cells and sperm, respectively, at both sampling times. ENU treatment increased the MF in the testicular germ cells to 5×10 −5 on days 3 and 14, but did not affect sperm MF. MMS was not mutagenic in either tissue. The peripheral blood micronucleus assay was performed on the same animals 48 h after treatment, and strong inductions of micronucleated reticulocytes (MNRETs) were observed in both ENU- and MMS-treated mice. These data suggest that agents mutagenic to premeiotic germ cells, e.g., ENU, can be detected by transgenic mutation assay system using germ cells isolated from the testis. On the other hand, those mutagenic to postmeiotic cells, e.g., MMS, are insensitive in the assay system.

In vivo mutagenesis in the cynomolgus monkey: time course of HPRT mutant frequency at long time points following ethylnitrosourea exposure.

We have monitored mutant frequency at the HPRT locus in peripheral blood lymphocytes of cynomolgus monkeys using a clonal assay in which mutants are selected by resistance to 6-thioguanine. Among untreated animals, the mean spontaneous mutant frequency was 2.9 +/- 2.9 x 10(-6) (standard deviation, based on 131 determinations in 33 animals), in good agreement with HPRT mutant frequencies in other species. In four animals treated with a single intraperitoneal dose of 77 mg/kg ethylnitrosourea, mutant frequency increased with time, peaking 70 to 100 days after treatment. Mutant frequency in two of the four animals was monitored at intervals for 6 years, and a second identical treatment was given about 830 days after the first. Mutant frequency again peaked in these two animals 70 days after the second dose and decreased following peak values, declining to a plateau that was higher than the predose mutant frequency in both animals. This pattern was repeated following the second ethylnitrosourea treatment. Fractionating the dose of ethylnitrosourea into five equal daily injections had no effect on mutant frequency in two animals when compared to a single dose.

Co-recombinogenic and anti-mutagenic effects of diethylhexylphthalate, inactiveness of pentachlorophenol in the spot test with mice

In in vivo experiments using the spot test with mice, diethylhexylphthalate (DEHP) was co-recombinogenic and anti-mutagenic. In two independent experiments, DEHP was able to increase in combination with ethylnitrosourea (ENU) the frequency of animals with spots of genetic relevance from about 12% (ENU alone) to about 15% (ENU + DEHP). This enhancement can be exclusively attributed to an enhancement of recombination. In historical as well as in current experiments, with astonishing accuracy, about 8% of all spots induced with ENU alone are black, near-white or twin spots, i.e., presumed products of reciprocal recombination. Under the influence of DEHP, about 20% of all colored spots were black, near-white or twin spots. These co-recombinogenic effects are very strong, considering that the low frequency of twin spots with 0.3% (historical ENU control) or 0.6% (current ENU control) after ENU treatment alone has been enhanced up to a frequency of 3%. While ENU alone induces about 14% light brown colored spots, depending exclusively on gene mutations, under the influence of DEHP the frequency was only 7%, i.e., DEHP was anti-mutagenic. Pentachlorophenol was ineffective in enhancing or reducing recombination or mutations. There was no difference between ENU and ENU + PCP treatment. Since a number of ‘non-genotoxic’ carcinogens with tumor-promoting activities like d-limonene, 12- O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) and 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-dibenzo- p-dioxin (TCDD) have shown similar effects in the spot test, it is suggested that DEHP may have tumor-promoting activity in carcinogenicity tests.