Assessing the risk of heritable gene mutation in mammals: drosophila sex-linked recessive lethal test and tests measuring DNA damage and repair in mammalian germ cells.

The former U.S. EPA OPPT tiered test scheme for heritable gene mutations included the Drosophila sex-linked recessive lethal (SLRL) test in which positive results triggered the mouse specific locus (MSL) test. However, review of available literature indicated that the evaluation of mutations in the germ cells of this insect is not a good predictor of the risk of heritable gene mutations in mammals. The database contained 29 compounds for which there were conclusive MSL test results in either spermatogonial and/or postspermatogonial cells. Results in the SLRL test were available for 27 of those compounds. Of the 24 SLRL-positive chemicals, only 13 (54%) induced heritable mutations in mice; the three SLRL-negative compounds were nonmutagenic in mouse germ cells. The overall concordance between the two tests was 59%. In contrast, results of unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS: 18 chemicals) and alkaline elution (AE: 14 chemicals) assays in rodent testicular cells following in vivo exposure correlated well with results in the MSL test (83% and 86%, respectively). MSL test results in spermatogonia and postspermatogonia were also compared separately to the SLRL, UDS, and AE assays. The concordances for the two cell types in the SLRL relative to the MSL test were 36% and 79%, respectively, indicating that the SLRL test is extremely poor in predicting heritable gene mutations in mammalian spermatogonia. Concordances for UDS and AE assays relative to MSL test results in spermatogonia (53% and 54%, respectively) and postspermatogonia (91% and 100%, respectively) were greater. Based on these analyses, the U.S. EPA OPPT has revised its tiered test scheme using assays for interaction with gonadal DNA (e.g., UDS and AE) in place of the SLRL test.

Sister-chromatid exchange: second report of the Gene-Tox Program.

This paper reviews the ability of a number of chemicals to induce sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs). The SCE data for animal cells in vivo and in vitro, and human cells in vitro are presented in 6 tables according to their relative effectiveness. A seventh table summarizes what is known about the effects of specific chemicals on SCEs for humans exposed in vivo. The data support the concept that SCEs provide a useful indication of exposure, although the mechanism and biological significance of SCE formation still remain to be elucidated.

Mutagenicity test schemes and guidelines: U.S. EPA Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics and Office of Pesticide Programs.

New requirements for chemicals subject to mutagenicity testing from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) are discussed. Also detailed are two categories in the 1986 Mutagenicity Risk Assessment Guidelines.

Current status of the Gene-Tox Program.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Gene-Tox Program is a multiphased effort to review and evaluate the existing literature in assay systems available in the field of genetic toxicology. The first phase of the Gene-Tox Program selected assay systems for evaluation, generated expert panel reviews of the data from the scientific literature, and recommended testing protocols for the systems. Phase II established and evaluated the database of chemical genetic toxicity data for its relevance to identifying human health hazards. The ongoing phase III continues reviewing and updating chemical data in selected assay systems. Currently, data exist on over 4000 chemicals in 27 assay systems; two additional assay systems will be included in phase III. The review data are published in the scientific literature and are also publicly available through the National Library of Medicine TOXNET system. The review and analysis components of Gene-Tox comprise 45 published papers, and several others are in preparation. Differences that have been observed between Gene-Tox and National Toxicology Program databases relative to the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and predictivity of genetic toxicity data compared to carcinogenesis data are ascribable to differences between the two databases in chemical selection criteria, testing protocols, and chemical class distributions.

Considerations in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's testing approach for mutagenicity.

OPP: This paper provides the rationale and support for the decisions the OPP will make in requiring and reviewing mutagenicity information. The regulatory requirement for mutagenicity testing to support a pesticide registration is found in the 40 CFR Part 158. The guidance as to the specific mutagenicity testing to be performed is found in the OPP's Pesticide Assessment Guidelines, Subdivision F, Hazard Evaluation: Human and Domestic Animals (referred to as the Subdivision F guideline). A revised Subdivision F guideline has been presented that becomes the current guidance for submitters of mutagenicity data to the OPP. The decision to revise the guideline was the result of close examination of the version published in 1982 and the desire to update the guidance based on developments since then and current state-of-the-science. After undergoing Agency and public scrutiny, the revised guideline is to be published in 1991. The revised guideline consists of an initial battery of tests (the Salmonella assay, an in vitro mammalian gene mutation assay and an in vivo cytogenetics assay which may be either a bone marrow assay for chromosomal aberrations or for micronuclei formation) that should provide an adequate initial assessment of the potential mutagenicity of a chemical. Follow-up testing to clarify results from the initial testing may be necessary. After this information as well as all other relevant information is obtained, a weight-of-evidence decision will be made about the possible mutagenicity concern a chemical may present. Testing to pursue qualitative and/or quantitative evidence for assessing heritable risk in relation to human beings will then be considered if a mutagenicity concern exists. This testing may range from tests for evidence of gonadal exposure to dominant lethal testing to quantitative tests such as the specific locus and heritable translocation assays. The mutagenicity assessment will be performed in accordance with the Agency's Mutagenicity Risk Assessment Guidelines. The mutagenicity data would also be used in the weight-of-evidence consideration for the potential carcinogenicity of a chemical in accordance with the Agency's Carcinogen Risk Assessment Guidelines. In instances where there are triggers for carcinogenicity testing, mutagenicity data may be used as one of the triggers after a consideration of available information. It is felt that the revised Subdivision F guideline will provide appropriate, and more specific, guidance concerning the OPP approach to mutagenicity testing for the registration of a pesticide. It also provides a clearer understanding of how the OPP will proceed with its evaluation and decision making concerning the potential heritable effects of a test chemical.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Analysis of the genotoxicity of anthraquinone dyes in the mouse lymphoma assay.

Despite their widespread use and potential for significant human exposure, genotoxicity data on anthraquinones and other dyes are limited. In this study, 16 anthraquinones and one azo dye (Solvent Red 1) were selected for testing using the thymidine kinase (tk) locus and micronucleus (MN) analysis in L5178Y/TK(+/-)-3.7.2C mouse lymphoma cells. Six of the dyes were from the same lot used in the NTP rodent bioassay. The dyes used were all production lots and thus varied in their purity. Disperse Blue 7, 2-aminoanthraquinone, 1-amino-2-methylanthraquinone, Disperse Blue 3 and Disperse Red 11 were genotoxic (inducing 1814 mutants/10(6) survivors, 369 MN/1000 cells at 13% survival; 397 mutants/10(6) survivors, 196 MN/1000 cells at 21% survival; 178 mutants/10(6) survivors, 119 MN/1000 cells at 51% survival; 264 mutants/10(6) survivors, 109 MN/1000 cells at 15% survival, respectively). Reactive Blue 19 was weakly mutagenic (inducing 144 mutants/10(6) survivors, but only 8 MN/1000 cells at 13% survival). Vat Yellow 4 and Solvent Red 1, with exogenous activation, were also mutagenic (inducing 300 mutants/10(6) survivors, 18 MN/1000 cells at 57% survival, and 100 mutants/10(6) survivors and 16 MN/1000 cells at 22% survival, respectively). With activation 1-nitro-2-methylanthraquinone was judged to give an equivocal mutagenicity response. The maximum test concentration was limited for some compounds by their solubility. Those chemicals that did not induce mutation or cytotoxicity at the limits of solubility were classified separately. Compounds which were not evaluated without exogenous activation because of insolubility but were evaluated with activation include 1-nitro-2-methylanthraquinone, Solvent Red 1 and Vat Yellow 4. Compounds which were not evaluated either with or without S9 activation because of their insolubility in the culture medium include 1-amino-2,4-dibromoanthraquinone, D&C Green, Disperse Blue 1, Disperse Red 60, Vat Blue 4, Vat Blue 20, Vat Brown 1 and Vat Brown 3.

EPA use of in vivo germ cell mutagenicity data.

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) provides the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Toxic Substances (EPA, OTS) with the authority to regulate chemical use by requiring testing and use restrictions as appropriate to protect human health. Regulation on the basis of heritable mutation induction is specifically mentioned in the Test Rule section of the law and has also been pursued for new chemical substances. A tiered scheme of mutagenicity testing has been employed and recently revised to assess mutagenicity hazard. In vivo assay systems play key roles at all three levels in the scheme, beginning with the first level of determining intrinsic mutagenicity hazard. Once intrinsic mutagenicity has been identified, the revised scheme requires an assay or assays to assess chemical interaction with gonadal DNA. Finally, the scheme contains tests that permit risk assessment for a chemical. The recently-revised Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) mutagenicity testing requirements closely parallel those of OTS.

Micronuclei as an index of cytogenetic damage: past, present, and future.

The workshop was designed to present what is known about the production of micronuclei, what protocols are now accepted or proposed internationally, what new results have been obtained, and what new methods and protocols are likely to be forthcoming. This report is designed to convey the flavour of the workshop and to provide the essence of the new information. After the workshop an effort was made to determine what single protocol would satisfy the requirements set for the micronucleus test by as many regulatory agencies as possible. The result, reported here, includes the requirements of six regulatory authorities in Canada, the European Economic Community, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Japan, and the United States.

The in vivo micronucleus assay in mammalian bone marrow and peripheral blood. A report of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Gene-Tox Program.

The protocol recommended for the micronucleus assay in mammalian bone marrow has been revised and simplified. The number of sample times has been reduced to one or two, depending upon the dosing protocol. The minimum number of cells to be scored per treatment group has been increased to 20,000 to increase the ability of the assay to detect a doubling of the control micronucleus frequency. Use of both male and female animals is recommended. Scoring of micronuclei in polychromatic erythrocytes of peripheral blood is included as a variation of the bone marrow assay. Published data on chemicals tested by the micronucleus assay have been reviewed and are summarized.

Aneuploidy in mammalian somatic cells in vivo.

Aneuploidy is an important potential source of human disease and of reproductive failure. Nevertheless, the ability of chemical agents to induce aneuploidy has been investigated only sporadically in intact (whole-animal) mammalian systems. A search of the available literature from the EMCT Aneuploidy File (for years 1970-1983) provided 112 papers that dealt with aneuploidy in mammalian somatic cells in vivo. 59 of these papers did not meet minimal criteria for analysis and were rejected from subsequent review. Of the remaining 53 papers that dealt with aneuploidy induction by chemical agents in mammalian somatic cells in vivo, only 3 (6%) contained data that were considered to be supported conclusively by adequate study designs, execution, and reporting. These 3 papers dealt with 2 chemicals, one of which, mercury, was negative for aneuploidy induction in humans, and the other, pyrimethamine, was positive in an experimental rodent study. The majority of papers (94%) were considered inconclusive for a variety of reasons. The most common reasons for calling a study inconclusive were (a) combining data on hyperploidy with those on hypoploidy and/or polyploidy, (b) an inadequate or unspecified number of animals and/or cells per animal scored per treatment group, and (c) poor data presentation such that animal-to-animal variability could not be assessed. Suggestions for protocol development are made, and the future directions of research into aneuploidy induction are discussed.

Genotoxic potential of acephate technical: in vitro and in vivo effects.

The genotoxic potential of acephate technical (AT) in vitro and in vivo has been studied in bioassays detecting primary DNA damage, chromosomal alterations, and gene mutation. Results from in vitro assays have ranged from negative to weakly positive; AT is apparently a direct-acting agent in these tests. However, expressed in terms of molar potency, AT has generally been at least 100-1000 times less potent than known positive mutagens tested in vitro. Following in vivo exposure at maximum tolerated doses, AT did not induce chromosomal aberrations, sister chromatid exchange, or micronuclei in mouse bone marrow cells; a dominant lethal study in mice was also negative. In a supplemental study, no induced chromosomal aberrations or sister chromatid exchange could be detected in lymphocytes from a pair of cynomolgus monkeys following exposure to AT at a low dose level for 20 days. At dose levels limited by toxicity, no positive results were observed for induction of sex-linked, recessive lethality in D. melanogaster. Acephate technical (ORTHENE) appears to present little or no genetic hazard to in vivo mammalian systems.

Evaluation of chemicals used for drinking water disinfection for production of chromosomal damage and sperm-head abnormalities in mice.

Chemical oxidants are commonly added during water treatment for disinfection purposes. These chemicals have not been tested previously for their ability to induce genetic damage in vivo. Chlorine (hypochlorite and hypochlorous acid), monochloramine, chlorine dioxide, sodium chlorite, and sodium chlorate were evaluated for induction of chromosomal aberrations and micronuclei in bone marrow of CD-1 mice, and for induction of sperm-head abnormalities in B6C3F1 mice. Oral administration of chlorine at pH 8.5 (where hypochlorite predominates) at dose levels equivalent to approximately 4 and 8 mg/kg/day induced significant increases in the level of sperm-head abnormalities. There was no evidence of other effects with any of the disinfectants. Halogenated acetonitriles, which have previously been shown to form in the stomach following oral dosing of sodium hypochlorite to rats, were also tested in the sperm-head abnormality assay but gave no indication of an effect.

B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with a 14q+ chromosome abnormality.

An adult patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia associated with a 14q+ marker chromosome is presented. The abnormality resulted from a translocation of material from the long arm of chromosome 11. The leukemic cells were found to be B cells on the basis of surface immunoglobulins, lack of receptors for sheep erythrocytes, and a characteristically low level of adenosine deaminase activity. In other patients with ALL studied by us or reported by others in whom chromosome banding was done, a 14q+ chromosome was present in only one instance, also a case of B cell ALL. These two cases are the only examples of B cell ALL studied with chromosome banding reported to date. The frequent occurrence of a 14q+ chromosome in other malignant lymphoproliferative diseases of B cell origin suggests that a general association may exist between the 14q+ abnormality and B cell neoplasms. Cytogenetic analysis may therefore be useful in defining subtypes of ALL and in relating specific chromosomal abnormalities to lymphoproliferative disorders.

Banding studies of chromosomal abnormalities in patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Karyotypes were analyzed by routine Giemsa and quinacrine fluorescence for 16 patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia [ten adults (18 to 51 years) and six children (3 to 15 years)]. Four patients had received previous therapy, but all 16 had active disease when they were first studied. Eight patients (five untreated) had a normal karyotype initially; however, three of these developed a chromosomal abnormality during relapse. Eight patients had a chromosomal abnormality in their initial samples. Each of the 11 patients had different abnormalities. All chromosomes except Nos. 3, 5, 15, 16, and Y were involved in the various aneuploidies. One patient had a Ph1 chromosome due to a translocation with No. 21: t(21;22)(q22;q11). A patient with B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia had a 14q+ marker in addition to other abnormalities. The median survival of patients with initially normal karyotypes may be longer than that of patients whose karyotypes are abnormal initially.