A comparative study of hepatic DNA repair, DNA replication and hepatotoxicity in the CD-1 mouse following multiple administrations of dimethylnitrosamine

DNA adducts and liver DNA replication in rats during chronic exposure to N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and their relationships to the dose-dependence of NDMA hepatocarcinogenesis

Exposure of rats to the hepatocarcinogen N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) (0.2-2.64 ppm in the drinking water) for up to 180 days resulted in rapid accumulation of N7- and O6-methylguanine in liver and white blood cell DNA, maximum adduct levels being reached within 1-7 days, depending on the dose. The levels of both adducts remained constant up to treatment day 28, subsequently declining slowly to about 40% of maximal levels for the liver and 60% for white blood cells by day 180. In order to elucidate the role of DNA replication in NDMA hepatocarcinogenesis, changes in liver cell labeling index (LI) were also measured on treatment days 21, 120 and 180. Although the time- and dose-dependence of the observed effects were complex, a clear trend towards increased rates of hepatocyte LI, as indicated by BrdU incorporation, with increasing NDMA doses was evident, particularly above 1 ppm, a concentration above which NDMA hepatocarcinogenicity is known to increase sharply. In contrast, no increase in Kupffer cell DNA replication was found at any of the doses employed, in accordance with the low susceptibility of these cells to NDMA-induced carcinogenesis. No significant increase in the occurrence of necrotic or apoptotic cells was noted under the treatment conditions employed. These results suggest that, in addition to the accumulation of DNA damage, alterations in hepatocyte DNA replication during the chronic NDMA exposure may influence the dose-dependence of its carcinogenic efficacy.

The in vivo-in vitro replicative DNA synthesis (RDS) test with hepatocytes prepared from male B6C3F1 mice as an early prediction assay for putative nongenotoxic (Ames-negative) mouse hepatocarcinogens

To assess the efficacy of the in vivo-in vitro hepatocyte replicative DNA synthesis (RDS) test as a short-term assay, 41 putative nongenotoxic (Ames-negative) mouse hepatocarcinogens, as well as 31 noncarcinogens, were examined using male 8-week-old B6C3F1 mice and an in vitro [methyl-3]thymidine-incorporation technique. Animals were exposed to the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and 1/2 MTD of each chemical by gavage and after 24, 39 or 48 h, hepatocytes were prepared with a collagenase-perfusion technique. Assessment of the distribution of spontaneous RDS in a total of 337 control mice gave an average incidence of 0.15 +/- 0.08% within the range of 0 to 0.39% (mean +/- 3 x SE) with a 99.7% probability. Values of 0.4% or more for RDS incidences induced by test samples were therefore judged as indicating a positive response in our RDS test. Under the experimental conditions applied, 32 of 41 putative nongenotoxic hepatocarcinogens gave clear positive responses (positive sensitivity: 78%), and of 31 noncarcinogens 25 samples gave negative responses (negative specificity: 81%), thus giving an overall concordance for the RDS test with long-term findings of 79%.

Transgenic animal models for measuring mutations in vivo

Transgenic animal models for measuring mutations provide a powerful tool for rapidly assessing tissue-specific mutations following in vivo treatment. These models are based on the insertion into the rodent genome of the Escherichia coli lacI (lac repressor) or lacZ (beta-galactosidase) genes that serve as targets for mutations. Following in vivo treatment of animals, genomic DNA is isolated from various tissues and the target gene is packaged into lambda-phage heads; the lambda-phage are used to infect E. coli in order to produce plaques. Mutations in the target gene are then detected using colorimetric or selective procedures. In this review methods are discussed for producing these transgenic models, the target genes used, gene rescue techniques, sequencing of isolated mutants, and parameters that affect dosing regimens and design of studies. We also present a summary of data published to date with these systems and present our conclusions and proposed directions for future research.

Evaluation of the potential of riddelliine to induce unscheduled DNA synthesis, S-phase synthesis, or micronuclei following in vivo treatment with multiple doses

Riddelliine (RID) is a pyrrolizidine alkaloid found in plants of the genera Crotalaria, Amsinckia, and Senecio in the United States. RID has been extensively studied in a wide variety of in vitro short-term genotoxicity tests and has yielded positive responses in most test systems; however, there are fewer data available on the effects of RID in in vivo assays and no data under repeat-dose regimens. We have evaluated the ability of RID to induce unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) in hepatocytes, S-phase synthesis (SPS) in hepatocytes, and micronuclei in bone marrow from animals dosed for 5 or 30 days in conjunction with prechronic toxicity testing conducted for the National Toxicology Program. Results of this study indicate that RID did not induce an increase in micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (PCE) in bone marrow of mice after 5 days of dosing or in PCE from rats or mice after 30 days of dosing. RID did not induce an increase in UDS in rat hepatocytes after 5 or 30 days of dosing, but it did induce an equivocal UDS response in male mice after both time points and a positive response in female mice after 30 days of dosing. RID induced significant elevations in SPS in rat hepatocytes after both 5 and 30 days of dosing, even at low doses. An increase in SPS was observed in male and female mouse hepatocytes, but only after 30 days of dosing. Rats and mice of both sexes showed a depression in SPS at higher doses. This effect may be a result of toxicity, which compromises the ability of the liver to regenerate. These results demonstrate that repeated administration of test chemicals may alter the genotoxic response to chemicals.