Different teratogenic efficacy to mouse fetal CNS of 5-azacytidine in combination with X-irradiation depends on the sequence of successive application

5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine stimulates inducible nitric oxide synthase induction in C6 astrocytoma cells

The influence of a nucleoside analog 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-AzadC) on inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)-dependent nitric oxide (NO) production in various rat cell types was investigated. In C6 astrocytoma cell line and primary astrocytes, 5-AzadC enhanced proinflammatory cytokine (IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-1)-triggered NO synthesis in a time- and dose-dependent manner. In contrast, 5-AzadC did not potentiate NO production in IFN-gamma-stimulated macrophages, fibroblasts, or endothelial cells. Blockade of transcription or translation in C6 cells abolished the observed effect, suggesting the iNOS gene expression, rather than its catalytic activity, as a target for the drug action. Accordingly, 5-AzadC upregulated IFN-gamma-induced expression of iNOS mRNA in C6 astrocytes. The effect of 5-AzadC on astrocyte NO release was blocked by the inhibitor of p44/42 mitogen activated protein kinase-dependent signaling. Finally, the observed stimulatory effect of 5-AzadC on iNOS expression was apparently independent of DNA demethylation, as DNA digestion with methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme HpaII showed that 5-AzadC failed to demethylate cellular DNA in conditions used for iNOS induction.

Interactions in developmental toxicology: a literature review and terminology proposal

Developmental toxicologists have investigated the interactive effects from concurrent exposures to a variety of chemical and physical agents, including therapeutic drugs, industrial agents, and some biological organisms or their toxins. Of approximately 160 reports of concurrent exposures reviewed in this paper, about one third report no interactive effects (including additive effects--usually referring to response--as opposed to dose-additivity); another one third report antagonistic effects, and the final third report potentiative or synergistic effects. The quality of the studies is highly variable. Frequently, only small numbers of animals were included, and very few dose levels were evaluated. Maternal toxicity was rarely discussed. Time-effect relationships were examined infrequently. In addition, these studies are also inconsistent in the use of terms to describe interactive effects, and more than 90% of the terms were not in harmony with currently accepted definitions in toxicology. Because interaction studies will continue to be important in the future, this paper proposes uniform usage of terms for additivity and interactions in developmental toxicology: additivity (the combined effect of two or more developmental toxicants approximates the sum of the effects of the agents administered separately); antagonism (the combined effect of two or more agents, one or more of which are present at doses that would be developmentally toxic if given individually, is significantly less than the sum of the effects of the agents administered separately); potentiation (the increased effect of a developmental toxicant by concurrent action of another agent at a dose that is not developmentally toxic); synergism (the combined effect of two or more developmental toxicants is significantly greater than the sum of the effects of each agent administered alone); and, interaction if more precise terminology does not apply.

Sequence-dependent toxicity and small bowel mucosal injury in neonatal mice treated with low doses of 5-azacytidine and X-irradiation at the late organogenesis stage

A combined treatment of pregnant mice on day 12 of gestation with both azacytidine and X-irradiation in low doses induces sequence-dependent histological effects. These effects, in turn, induce different symptomatic signs if evaluated either prenatally or neonatally. In the azacytidine treatment/X-irradiation sequence the malformations of the fetal forebrain are predominant. Consequently, these dams show a high incidence in the stillbirth rate. Conversely, the X-irradiation/azacytidine treatment schedule leads only to a mild brain hypoplasia, and does not cause an increased stillbirth rate. In these offspring, however, a severe impairment of small bowel epithelial proliferation capacity was found. This is linked to an outstanding neonatal mortality within 48 h after birth. The pathogenesis of these sequence-dependent effects can be attributed to a selective vulnerability of cells in different stages of the generation cycle. This comprises a high degree of cytolethality affecting the S/G2-stage cells in azacytidine/X-irradiation treatment and the G1/S-stage cells in the reverse combinations (Schmahl 1979). The present observations show the validity of a teratological assay in providing a detailed analysis of the cell kinetic responses after combined noxious influences.