Teratogenesis, carcinogenesis, and mutagenesis最新文献

Metabolic changes in the phenolic groups of steroidal oestrogens accompanied by the generation of quinones and reactive oxygen species underlie their mutagenic effects. Although nonsteroidal hormones and related compounds have not been thoroughly investigated for genotoxicity, some of them also contain phenolic groups that could be involved in redox cycling. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible DNA damaging effects of the thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine (T3), and the neurotransmitter, noradrenaline (NA), in human lymphocytes using the Comet assay. After dose-response investigations, doses of 100 microM T3 and 550 microM of NA, producing clear DNA damaging effects and good cell viability, were chosen for further experiments with the antioxidant, catalase. Since the scavenging enzyme catalase reduced the DNA damaging effects of T3 and NA, it can be concluded that T3 and NA induced DNA damage mainly via the production of reactive oxygen species. Therefore, the mechanism of mutagenic action of both steroidal hormones and nonsteroidal compounds, T3 and NA, imply the creation of oxidative stress and subsequent DNA damage with reactive oxygen species and, possibly, with reactive hormone derivatives created during their redox cycling.

Brain cells are continuously exposed to reactive oxygen species generated by oxidative metabolism, and in certain pathological conditions defence mechanisms against oxygen radicals may be weakened and/or overwhelmed. DNA is a potential target for oxidative damage, and genomic damage can contribute to neuropathogenesis. It is important, therefore, to identify tools for the quantitative analysis of DNA damage in models of neurological disorders. The aim of this study was to compare the susceptibility of DNA to oxidative stress in cells freshly dissociated from the mouse brain, to that in cultured brain cells. Both primary cultures and a continuous cell line of astrocytes were considered. All cells were treated by xanthine/xanthine oxidase, a superoxide generator or hydrogen peroxide, applied alone or in the presence of the oxygen radical scavengers, superoxide dismutase, catalase, or ascorbic acid. DNA damage, quantified with the Comet assay, was consistent in all the different cell preparations exposed to oxidative stress, and was attenuated in similar ways by superoxide dismutase and catalase, scavengers of superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide, respectively. The results with ascorbic acid were more variable, presumably because this compound may switch from anti- to pro-oxidant status depending on its concentration and other experimental conditions. Overall, similar responses were found in freshly dissociated and cultured brain cells. These results suggest that the Comet assay can be directly applied to cells freshly dissociated from the brain of rodents, including models of neurological disorders, such as stroke models and animals with targeted mutations that mimic human diseases.

Selenium is an environmental metal that occurs ubiquitously and is produced throughout the world for various industrial activities. Selenium has been reported to have anticarcinogenic and preventive effects in clinical and epidemiological studies. Selenium supplements can inhibit chemically-induced tumours. From the viewpoint of genotoxicity, selenium has not been adequately studied and an IARC review concluded that there were not sufficient data to consider it a carcinogen for man. In contrast, hexavalent chromium is classified as a known respiratory carcinogen producing DNA damage through free oxygen radicals. In the present study, a collaborative study has been carried out to evaluate the genotoxicity of selenium compounds and their possible interactions with potassium dichromate and hydrogen peroxide. Thus, in laboratory 1 (U.K.), the genotoxic effects of three selenium compounds were examined. Sodium selenate, sodium selenite, and selenous acid were investigated in the Ames test using strain TA102 and in the Comet assay using human lymphocytes, and also investigated for their interaction with potassium dichromate. In the Ames test, it was shown that potassium dichromate produced a highly mutagenic response, whilst the three selenium compounds did not. In combination, sodium selenate reduced the genotoxicity of potassium dichromate, but sodium selenite and selenous acid had no effect. In the Comet assay, potassium dichromate induced DNA damage, but so did the selenium compounds. In combination with potassium dichromate, however, only sodium selenate reduced its effect, whereas sodium selenite and selenous acid exacerbated DNA damage. In laboratory 2 (Spain), in the TK6 lymphoblastoid cell line, the Comet assay showed that sodium selenite was non-genotoxic, while potassium dichromate and hydrogen peroxide induced DNA damage. It was also shown that sodium selenite did not decrease the genotoxicity of potassium dichromate or hydrogen peroxide when administered as a pre-treatment or at the same time, or when potassium dichromate and sodium selenite treatments were for different time periods. Thus, only sodium selenate has shown antigenotoxic properties against potassium dichromate in the Ames test and in human lymphocytes in the Comet assay.

Compounds that interact with opioid receptors are commonly used as analgesics. Opioid agonists vary in their potency and pharmacokinetic properties as well as in their affinity for distinct opioid receptors. The fentanyl opiate analogues are an important group of analgesics that interact with the mu opioid receptor. Remifentanil (GI87084) is a particularly interesting member of this group of opioids because its action is especially short in duration. This report examines the genetic toxicology of remifentanil. Remifentanil was not genotoxic in an Ames test, an in vitro chromosome aberration assay in Chinese hamster ovary cells, an in vivo micronucleus assay in rat erythrocytes, or an in vivo/in vitro unscheduled DNA synthesis assay in rat hepatocytes. In the in vitro L5178Y tk(+/-) mouse lymphoma assay, remifentanil produced a genotoxic response at dose levels >or=308 microg/mL only in the presence of rat liver S9 metabolic activation; primarily tiny and small mutant colonies were produced. This pattern of activity in a battery of genetic toxicology assays is not unique to remifentanil, but has also been observed for other pharmaceuticals, including the opioid fentanyl. A weight-of-evidence analysis, taking into consideration genotoxic mechanisms, in vivo results, and the conditions of clinical use, suggests remifentanil does not pose a genotoxic risk to patients.

A number of investigations have implicated the involvement of free radicals in various pathogenic process including initiation/promotion stages of carcinogenesis and antioxidants have been considered to be a protective agent for this reason. An iron chelate, ferric nitrilotriacetate (Fe-NTA), is a potent nephrotoxic agent and induces acute and subacute renal proximal tubular necrosis by catalyzing the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide-derived production of hydroxyl radicals, which are known to cause lipid peroxidation and DNA damage. The latter is associated with a high incidence of renal adenocarcinoma in rodents. Lipid peroxidation and DNA damage are the principal manifestation of Fe-NTA-induced toxicity, which could be mitigated by antioxidants. In this study, we therefore investigated the effect of curcumin, a polyphenolic compound from Curcuma longa for a possible protection against lipid peroxidation and DNA damage induced by Fe-NTA and hydrogen peroxide in vitro. Incubation of renal microsomal membrane/and or calf thymus DNA with hydrogen peroxide (40 mM) in the presence of Fe-NTA (0.1 mM) induces renal microsomal lipid peroxidation and DNA damage to about 2.2-and 5.6-fold, respectively, as compared to saline treated control (P<0.001). Induction of renal microsomal lipid peroxidation and DNA damage was modulated by curcumin dose dependently. In lipid peroxidation protection studies, curcumin treatment showed a dose-dependent strong inhibition (18-80% inhibition, P<0.05-0.001) of Fe-NTA and hydrogen peroxide-induced lipid peroxidation as measured by MDA formation in renal microsomes. Similarly, in DNA-sugar damage protection studies, curcumin treatment also showed a dose dependent inhibition (22-57% inhibition, P<0.05-0.001) of DNA-sugar damage. From these studies, it was concluded that curcumin modulates Fe-NTA and hydrogen peroxide-induced peroxidation of microsomal membrane lipids and DNA damage. Curcumin might, therefore, be a suitable candidate for the chemoprevention of Fe-NTA-associated cancer.

Thalassaemia is an inherited group of disorders caused by a reduction or total absence of one or more of the globin chains of the haemoglobin molecule. It has been shown that lymphocytes isolated from a sickle/beta thal double heterozygote-sickle phenotype patient showed increased sensitivity to the dietary food mutagen 3-amino-1-methyl-5H-pyridol(4,3-b)indole (Trp-P-2) when compared to the control. Furthermore, when a combination of Trp-P-2 with either quercitin or kaempferol was compared, the responses to Trp-P-2 were reduced to untreated control levels at the highest doses of quercitin and kaempferol. It has now been shown that using the food mutagens 2-amino-2-methylimidazolo(4,5-f)quinolone (IQ) and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazol(4,5-b)pyridine (PhIP) on lymphocytes of three different thalassaemia patients, a beta-thalassaemia major, a beta-thalassaemia/Hb E, and an alpha-thalassaemia trait with a 3.7-kb deletion, similar increased sensitivity could also be demonstrated. The present study investigated whether the modulatory effects of the flavonoids could be demonstrated in lymphocytes isolated from a beta-thalassaemia major and a beta-thalassaemia/Hb E patient. Lymphocytes from both a beta-thalassaemia major and beta-thalassaemia/Hb E patient showed increased sensitivity to PhIP when compared to the normal control. When a combination of PhIP and either quercitin or kaempferol was used, a reduction in the responses was seen, and at the highest doses of quercitin and kaempferol the responses were reduced to near untreated control levels and were significantly different when compared to PhIP alone (P < 0.05). It was concluded that lymphocytes from different thalassaemia genotypes showed increased sensitivity to different dietary food mutagens compared to normal lymphocytes and that flavonoids such as quercitin and kaempferol modulated the effects of these food mutagens in an antigenotoxic/antioxidant manner.

Inadequate doses or prolonged chemotherapy can be cytotoxic or genotoxic to cancer patients, increasing the risk for the development of a second cancer, particularly acute leukemia. The association between therapeutic and genotoxic properties of oncocalyxone A (Onco A), make cytotoxic tests (mitotic index and chromosomal aberrations) fundamental in the accompaniment of the effects of this active compound. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the genotoxic action of Onco A in vitro, during different phases of the cell cycle, utilizing primary cultures of lymphocytes of healthy individuals. The results showed that Onco A is cytotoxic during the cell cycle phases G1, G1/S, and S, however, not in G2. Onco A did not demonstrate a genotoxic effect in any of the cell cycle phases at the concentration studied. It is concluded that during the period of exposure, this active substance inhibits DNA synthesis and consequently cell division. Therefore, the absence of such genotoxicity for Onco A in the tests performed in this study provides important information in regard to the therapeutic use of this agent. Further studies are necessary to better understand the molecular mechanism of action of Onco A.

We recently showed that mammary cytosolic xanthineoxidoreductase had the ability to bioactivate ethanol (EtOH) to acetaldehyde (AC) and free radicals. In the present study, we report that the microsomal fraction also biotransforms EtOH to AC. One pathway requires NADPH and the others do not. Both need oxygen. The NADPH-dependent pathway is not inhibited by CO:O(2) (80:20) or SKF 525A and that excludes the participation of cytochrome P450. It is inhibited by diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC), sodium azide, and diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) but not by desferrioxamine, which suggests a possible role of a non-iron copper-requiring flavoenzyme. The process was partially inhibited by thiobenzamide (TBA), methylmercaptoimidazole (MMI), and nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDG) but not by dapsone, aminotriazole, or indomethacin. These results suggest the potential participation of flavine monooxygenase and of lipooxygenase or of peroxidases/oxidases having similar characteristics but not of lactoperoxidase or cyclooxygenase. The pathway not requiring NADPH could also be partially inhibited by DDTC, NDG, azide, DPI, and TBA or MMI but not by the other chemicals. Little activity proceeds under nitrogen. Oxidases or peroxidases might be involved. No formation of 1-hydroxyethyl radicals was detected either in the presence or absence of NADPH. The nature of the EtOH bioactivating enzymes involved remains to be established. However, the fact remains that an activation of EtOH to AC was found in mammary tissue and could have a significant effect in some stages of the process of breast tumor promotion by EtOH.

Many natural compounds are now known to have a modulatory role on physiological functions and biotransformation reactions involved in the detoxification process, thereby affording protection from cytotoxic, genotoxic, and metabolic actions of environmental toxicants. As part of a programme on evaluation of food, beverage, and traditional medicinal plants for their anticarcinogenic activity, their effects on detoxification enzymes were also studied. The present report deals with Camellia sinensis and Swertia chirata. The effect of water infusions as well as crude and purified components of these plants on glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) was analyzed in mice that were exposed to the chemical carcinogen DMBA. All the four enzymes were found to be activated in different degrees following treatment. The effect of Theaflavin, a component of black tea, was highly significant. The activation of the enzymes was accompanied by significant reduction in lipid peroxidation. The observation suggest the chemopreventive potential of both Camellia sinensis and Swertia chirata.

Sperm is produced by a highly complex and poorly understood differentiation process known as spermatogenesis. Occupational exposure to high temperatures adversely affect testicular function, causing partial or complete spermatogenic arrest. Dyers, cooks, blast furnace workers, and men with varicocele are known to develop testicular hyperthermia, which leads to oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OAT) and azoospermia. Semen analysis of 122 infertile men (and 25 fertile controls), following the WHO guidelines, 1999, showed azoospermia in 106 men and oligozoospermia in 16 men. Twenty azoospermic and fourteen oligozoospermic men had high testiculoepididymal temperatures, either due to occupational exposure to high temperature or varicocele. All the 14 oligozoospermic men showed a very high percentage of sperm with abnormal morphology, impaired motility and they were subclassified as OAT group. Observations made in this study reiterates that high intratesticular temperature causes partial or complete spermatogenic arrest and may lead to increased production of morphologically abnormal sperm with impaired motility. This inverse relationship of sperm function with elevated temperature has implications in clinical medicine both in understanding pathological states and for therapeutic measures.