Investigations on the antitumor effect and mutagenicity of alpha-MSH fragments containing melphalan.

alpha-MSH fragments containing melphalan were tested in vivo on L1210 leukemia and on human amelanotic melanoma xenograft in mice and in vitro on human amelanotic melanoma cell lines. The compounds exhibit significant antitumor activity, but no selectivity in targeting of melanoma can be achieved. There is a difference between melphalan and the melphalyl-peptide in their action on protein synthesis. The peptide derivatives also are less mutagenic than melphalan, according to the SCE assay, furnishing further evidence for the positive effect of natural carrier molecules.

3-Aminobenzamide sensitizes cultured Chinese hamster cells with bromodeoxyuridine-substituted DNA to genetic damage induced by long-wave UV.

Chinese hamster cells, containing BrdUrd-substituted DNA, were irradiated in the presence of 3-aminobenzamide with short-wave UV, long-wave UV or X-rays and analyzed for induced SCEs or chromosomal aberrations. The data presented in this paper show that when BrdUrd-substituted cells are irradiated with lw-UV in the presence of 3-aminobenzamide, genetic damage is increased. Biochemical analysis shows that the molecular weight of BrdUrd-substituted DNA is reduced by this treatment. The sensitization is due to the combined action of lw-UV, incorporated BrdUrd and 3-aminobenzamide, without any involvement of inhibition of poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase. No potentiation occurs when cells are irradiated with X-rays and genetic damage is decreased when cells are irradiated with UV light of 254 nm in the presence of 3AB. This decrease coincides with a reduction in the amount of induced pyrimidine dimers, detected as T4 endonuclease-sensitive sites in DNA.

Contribution of incorporated 5-bromodeoxyuridine in DNA to the frequencies of sister-chromatid exchanges induced by inhibitors of poly-(ADP-ribose)-polymerase.

3-Aminobenzamide and benzamide, two potent inhibitors of poly-(ADP-ribose)-polymerase increase the frequencies of SCEs in Chinese hamster ovary cells in a dose-dependent manner. SCEs were studied in cells in which the inhibitors were present either during the first cell cycle or the second cell cycle or both. Most of the induced SCEs were found to be formed during the second cell cycle in which BU-containing DNA was used as template for DNA synthesis. In cells which were pregrown for 4 cell cycles in the presence of BrdUrd, in order to obtain both sister chromatids bifiliarly substituted with BU in their DNA, it was found that the presence of inhibitor even in the first cell cycle increased the frequencies of SCEs. It is concluded that the incorporated BrdUrd plays an important role in the origin of spontaneous and induced SCEs. 3-Aminobenzamide alone or benzamide in the presence of BrdUrd during culture, did not increase the frequencies of mutations to HGPRT- in these cells.

Role of metabolic activation in the sister chromatid exchange-inducing activity of ethyl carbamate (urethane) and vinyl carbamate.

Ethyl carbamate (EC, urethane) at 10(-2) M concentration induced more sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes in the absence of S9 mix than did 10(-2) M vinyl carbamate (VC), a possible proximate carcinogenic metabolite (Dahl et al., 1978) of EC. VC itself doubled SCE frequency over the control. In the presence of native S9 mix from Aroclor-induced rat liver, the SCE-inducing activity of VC was highly increased whereas that of EC was suppressed. This opposite effect of S9 mix on VC and EC seems to be due to two different factors. Activation of VC by the S9 fraction seems to be due to the presence of mixed-function oxidases in the S9 mix, because neither the native S9 fraction in the absence of co-factors nor the heat-inactivated S9 fraction in the incubation mixture led to the activation of VC. Deactivation of EC by S9 mix, on the other hand, seems to involve the presence of excess protein and/or substances of low molecular weight in the incubation mixture, because this deactivating effect did not change considerably when the S9 fraction was supplied in the absence of co-factors or when it originated from non-induced rat liver. Heat denaturation of the S9 fraction led to an increased deactivating effect on the SCE-inducing ability of EC. This result is in line with the assumption that reactive -SH groups in the S9 protein are at least partly responsible for the deactivation of EC by S9. Heat denaturation of the S9 fraction led to an about 1.5-fold increase in reactive -SH groups.

Effect of ouabain on macromolecular synthesis during the cell cycle in mitogen-stimulated human lymphocytes.

Ouabain inhibited in a concentration-dependent and completely reversible way, the synthesis of DNA, RNa and protein in phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A-stimulated human lymphocytes without affecting the uptake of nucleosides and amino acids into the cells. On the other hand, ouabain even at very high concentrations was unable to interfere with the binding of [3H]concanavalin A. No correlation was found between the inhibition by ouabain of macromolecular synthesis and that of K+ transport. The inhibitor effect of ouabain on the stimulation of macromolecular synthesis could be partially reversed by higher concentrations of K+, due to the direct inhibition of ouabain binding. Ouabain added to the cultures at different stages of cell growth suppressed the incorporation of thymidine to various extents. Both ouabain sensitive stages fell in a period preceding the onset of mitosis and were characterized by very active thymidine incorporation. Lymphocytes were most sensitive to ouabain within the S phase. The results suggest that ouabain interferes with mitogen-triggered membrane-associated events, other than K+ transport, controlling mitosis at distinct phases of the cell cycle.

Urethane and hydroxyurethane induce sister-chromatid exchanges in cultured human lymphocytes.

Both urethane and hydroxyurethane induced sister-chromatid exchanges (SCE) in cultured human lymphocytes. Aroclor-induced rat-liver microsome fraction deactivated rather than activated these two agents in the lymphocyte system.