Induction of sister-chromatid exchanges by direct and indirect mutagens in human lymphocytes, co-cultured with intact rat liver cells. Effect of enzyme induction and preservation of the liver cells by freezing in liquid nitrogen

Single-cell chromatin accessibility identifies pancreatic islet cell type- and state-specific regulatory programs of diabetes risk

Single-nucleus assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing (snATAC-seq) creates new opportunities to dissect cell type-specific mechanisms of complex diseases. Since pancreatic islets are central to type 2 diabetes (T2D), we profiled 15,298 islet cells by using combinatorial barcoding snATAC-seq and identified 12 clusters, including multiple alpha, beta and delta cell states. We cataloged 228,873 accessible chromatin sites and identified transcription factors underlying lineage- and state-specific regulation. We observed state-specific enrichment of fasting glucose and T2D genome-wide association studies for beta cells and enrichment for other endocrine cell types. At T2D signals localized to islet-accessible chromatin, we prioritized variants with predicted regulatory function and co-accessibility with target genes. A causal T2D variant rs231361 at the KCNQ1 locus had predicted effects on a beta cell enhancer co-accessible with INS and genome editing in embryonic stem cell-derived beta cells affected INS levels. Together our findings demonstrate the power of single-cell epigenomics for interpreting complex disease genetics.

Genotoxicity of phthalates

Many of the environmental, occupational and industrial chemicals are able to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cause oxidative stress. ROS may lead to genotoxicity, which is suggested to contribute to the pathophysiology of many human diseases, including inflammatory diseases and cancer. Phthalates are ubiquitous environmental chemicals and are well-known peroxisome proliferators (PPs) and endocrine disruptors. Several in vivo and in vitro studies have been conducted concerning the carcinogenic and mutagenic effects of phthalates. Di(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP) and several other phthalates are shown to be hepatocarcinogenic in rodents. The underlying factor in the hepatocarcinogenesis is suggested to be their ability to generate ROS and cause genotoxicity. Several methods, including chromosomal aberration test, Ames test, micronucleus assay and hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) mutation test and Comet assay, have been used to determine genotoxic properties of phthalates. Comet assay has been an important tool in the measurement of the genotoxic potential of many chemicals, including phthalates. In this review, we will mainly focus on the studies, which were conducted on the DNA damage caused by different phthalate esters and protection studies against the genotoxicity of these chemicals.

Sister-chromatid exchanges induced by disulfiram in bone marrow and spermatogonial cells of mice treated in vivo

Disulfiram is a widely used drug to treat alcoholism due to its capacity to inhibit the metabolism of acetaldehyde; however, its genotoxic potential is not well known. Thus, the aim of this investigation was to determine whether the chemical may induce sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in an in vivo study using mouse bone marrow and spermatogonial cells. We used doses of 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg body weight and compared the obtained data with the values determined in a negative control group as well as with a positive control group (cyclophosphamide, 50 mg/kg). The results in both systems indicated a weak genotoxic response by the chemical. In the case of bone marrow, a significant SCE level was achieved only with the high tested dose, but in spermatogonial cells the three doses tested showed a significant difference with respect to the negative control. No significant alterations in the mitotic index or in the cell proliferation kinetics were observed in somatic cells. Concerning the effect of cyclophosphamide, an increase in the level of SCEs was observed in both types of cells, reaching more than three times the values obtained in their respective control groups.

Cryopreservation and long-term storage of primary rat hepatocytes: effects on substrate-specific cytochrome P450-dependent activities and unscheduled DNA synthesis

The effects of cryopreservation and long-term storage on substrate-specific cytochrome P450-dependent activities and unscheduled DNA synthesis were studied in freshly isolated and cryopreserved hepatocytes derived from adult male Fischer 344 and Sprague-Dawley rats. Primary rat hepatocytes were isolated via an in situ collagenase perfusion technique, cryopreserved at -196 degrees C, and thawed at 5 weeks and 104 and 156 weeks post-freezing. In Fischer 344 and Sprague-Dawley rats, cryopreserved hepatocytes were equivalent or similar to freshly isolated hepatocytes in substrate-specific activities for 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase and dimethylnitrosamine-N-demethylase and unscheduled DNA synthesis responses. No significant differences in activities toward 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase and dimethylnitrosamine-N-demethylase, the substrate-specific activities for cytochromes P4501A1 and P4501A2 and cytochrome P4502E1, respectively, were observed between freshly isolated and cryopreserved hepatocytes. Similar unscheduled DNA synthesis responses, a measure of DNA damage and repair, were observed after exposure to the genotoxic carcinogens 2-acetylamino-fluorene, 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene, and dimethylnitrosamine; although some decreases were also observed in Fischer 344 hepatocytes after 104 weeks and Sprague-Dawley hepatocytes after 156 weeks in the highest concentrations tested. These results suggest that cryopreserved hepatocytes, stored for extended periods of time in liquid nitrogen, are metabolically equivalent to freshly isolated hepatocytes in their ability to activate precarcinogens.

On the bioactivation and genotoxic action of fluoranthene

Fluoranthene (FA) was studied with respect to possible mechanisms of its high mutagenicity but low carcinogenicity, in comparison with the corresponding properties of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), and with regard to the synergism of these two compounds shown by van Duuren and Goldschmidt (J Natl Cancer Inst 56, 1976, 1237). FA and BaP activated by S9 from Aroclor 1254 (PCB)-treated rats induce HPRT mutations in CHO cells with about equal effectiveness at the same exposure doses, which also lead to the same frequencies of repairable DNA adducts, enzyme-induced strand breaks being used as an indirect measure of adducts to DNA. FA was also shown to be an efficient inducer of SCE in human peripheral lymphocytes cocultivated with PCB-treated HepG2 cells or with liver cells from PCB-pretreated rats. For the induction of SCE, FA and BaP were shown to act additively. From metabolic studies with liver microsomes from C57Bl/6 mice it is concluded that, whereas BaP induces the metabolism of BaP to the mutagenic epoxide, neither BaP nor FA is able to induce the metabolism of FA. In mutation experiments with V79 cells (XEM2) constitutive for P450 IA1 activity, BaP 7,8-diol but not FA 2,3-diol provokes a high frequency of HPRT mutations. In cells constitutive for P450 IA2 enzymatic activity FA and BaP are but weakly mutagenic and practically nonmutagenic, respectively. Due to the additivity of the genotoxic effects of FA and BaP, induction of an error-prone condition by the latter compound seems to be excluded.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cyclophosphamide increases the frequency of sister chromatid exchange in direct preparations of human chorionic villi in the absence of supplementary enzymatic activation systems

A study was performed to evaluate the effect on the frequency of sister chromatid exchange in first trimester chorionic villi of two chemical compounds, mitomycin C and cyclophosphamide. Mitomycin C is generally known to induce an increase in sister chromatid exchange both in vivo and in vitro standard conditions. Cyclophosphamide is a compound requiring additional enzymatic enrichment of the culture medium to express its mutagenic activity under in vitro conditions. We exposed chorionic villi samples to these chemicals without the use of conventional cell cultures and without adding enzymatic extracts to the medium. The results indicate a statistically significant increase in the frequency of sister chromatid exchange after exposure to both compounds and also at lower dosages.

Sister-chromatid exchange in human B- and T-lymphocytes exposed to bleomycin, cyclophosphamide, and ethyl methanesulfonate

Sister-chromatid exchange (SCE) frequencies were investigated in mitogen-stimulated cultures of highly purified human peripheral blood B- and T-lymphocytes exposed to bleomycin (BM), cyclophosphamide (CP), or ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS). In untreated controls, T-lymphocytes showed twice as many SCEs as B-lymphocytes. CP (with metabolic activation) and EMS significantly increased the SCE frequencies. EMS induced a similar, dose-dependent SCE increase in both cell populations, whereas CP induced more SCEs in T- than in B-lymphocytes. No clear SCE increase was found in B- and T-lymphocytes treated with BM.

Analysis of rat lymphocyte activation of benzo[a]pyrene, 2-acetylaminofluorene, and several of their metabolites to mutagenic and DNA-damaging species in vitro

Rat lymphocytes are a potentially useful and convenient cell system for monitoring the genotoxic effects of chemicals in vivo, but little is known about the ability of these cells to metabolize promutagens to genotoxic species. In this study, Fischer 344 rat lymphocytes were treated in vitro with benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF), and several of their metabolites, and DNA damage was measured using nucleoid sedimentation analysis. Of the BaP derivatives, BaP 4,5-oxide and BaP 7,8-diol-9, 10-epoxide decreased lymphocyte nucleoid sedimentation, whereas BaP and BaP 7,8-dihydrodiol had little effect. Among the 2-AAF derivatives, N-acetoxy-2-AAF, N-hydroxy-2-AAF, and N-hydroxy-2-aminofluorene damaged rat lymphocyte nucleoids, whereas 2-AAF, 2-aminofluorene, and fluorene produced little detectable damage. The decrease in nucleoid sedimentation produced by N-hydroxy-2-AAF was not inhibited by paraoxon, salicylamide, or 2-aminofluorene, whereas paraoxon inhibited damage produced by N-acetoxy-2-AAF. In co-culture assays, rat lymphocytes increased the mutagenicity of N-hydroxy-2-AAF in Salmonella typhimurium strain TA98, but mediated little or no mutagenic response with BaP, BaP 7,8-dihydrodiol, and 2-AAF. Also, human lymphocytes, but not rat lymphocytes, mediated a positive mutagenic response with BaP 7,8-dihydrodiol in Chinese hamster ovary UV5 cells. Although rat lymphocytes may metabolize certain proximal genotoxic chemicals to DNA-damaging species (e.g., N-hydroxy-2-AAF), these data suggest that in vivo lymphocyte DNA damage is more likely to result from lymphocytes encountering reactive chemical derivatives produced by other cells. It is also clear that differences exist between the ability of human and rat lymphocytes to activate promutagens, and this may impact on the use of the rat model to predict the genotoxicity of chemicals in humans.