Two-year carcinogenicity study on three aromatic epoxy resins applied cutaneously to CF1 mice.

The cutaneous and systemic carcinogenic potentials of pure and two technical diglycidyl ethers of bisphenol A, DGEBPA, EPON 828 and EPIKOTE 828, respectively, have been investigated in six groups each of 50 male and 50 female CF1 mice. Twice weekly over a period of 2 yr, 0.2 ml of a 1 or 10% (w/v) solution of one of the epoxy resins in acetone was applied to the dorsal skin. A group of 50 male and 50 female CF1 mice was similarly treated treated with 2% (w/v) beta-propiolactone in acetone (the positive control) while a group of 100 male and 100 female mice was treated with acetone alone (negative control). Survival of the CF1 mice to 2 yr was unaffected by cutaneous exposure to each epoxy resin. The compounds proved to be mildly irritant to murine skin, the response in males being greater than in females. There was a very low incidence of benign and malignant tumours of the skin and subcutis after exposure to any of these compounds. The number of systemic lymphoreticular/haematopoietic tumours was increased only in females treated with EPIKOTE 828 or DGEBPA. In male mice, treated with 10% EPON 828, there was a slight increase in the number of renal tumours. The incidence of other systemic tumours in either sex was not increased following cutaneous application of the purified or the two technical DGEBPA resins (1 to 10% in acetone). The significance of all these findings is fully discussed.

Carcinogenic potential of hydrotreated petroleum aromatic extracts.

Five experimental petroleum extracts were produced from luboil distillates derived from Middle East paraffinic crude by solvent extraction and severe hydrotreatment. The polycyclic aromatic content (PCA) of the extracts was determined by dimethyl sulphoxide extraction and ranged from 3.7-9.2% w/w. The five extracts were evaluated for their potential to induce cutaneous and systemic neoplasia in female mice derived from Carworth Farm No 1 strain (CF1). The test substances were applied undiluted (0.2 ml per application) to the shorn dorsal skin twice weekly for up to 78 weeks, with 48 mice in each treatment group and 96 in the untreated control group; two further groups, each of 48 mice, were similarly treated either with a non-hydrotreated commercial aromatic extract (PCA content, 19.7% w/v) or with a low dose of benzo(a)pyrene (12.5 micrograms/ml acetone). The mice were housed individually in polypropylene cages in specified pathogen free conditions. The incidence of cutaneous and systemic tumours was determined from histological analysis of haematoxylin and eosin stained tissue sections. The results were correlated with the PCA content of the extracts and compared with those from female mice exposed to a non-hydrotreated commercial aromatic extract. Four of the hydrotreated extracts were carcinogenic for murine skin; the two products with the lower PCA contents were less carcinogenic than the products with the higher PCA contents and all were less carcinogenic than the commercial extract. One extract with the lowest PCA content was non-carcinogenic. Thus refining by severe hydrotreatment was an effective method of reducing the carcinogenic potential of petroleum aromatic extracts. Although other physicochemical properties may influence the biological activity of oil products, the PCA content determined by dimethyl sulphoxide extraction may be a useful indicator of the potential of oil products to induce cutaneous tumours in experimental animals. There was no evidence that the commercial or hydrotreated extracts increased the incidence of systemic neoplasms when applied twice weekly to the dorsal skin.

Lack of behavioural teratogenic effect of phenytoin in rats.

A small battery of tests (static and air-righting reflexes, eye opening and a narrowing bridge test) was used to investigate the behavioural teratogenic potential of prenatal oral exposure (day 7-19 of gestation) of up to 100 mg phenytoin/kg/day to female rats. No treatment-related effects upon mother or offspring were detected. In order to validate our narrowing bridge test, neonatal old rats were tested over 4 weeks following early postnatal exposure to acrylamide (5 X 50 mg/kg/day i.p.). These animals showed a severe transient deficit compared with saline-treated controls. Despite the absence of an effect using phenytoin, the narrowing bridge test is considered worthy of further validation.