Induction of micronuclei by 7H-dibenzo[c,g]carbazole and its tissue specific derivatives in Chinese hamster V79MZh1A1 cells.

The clastogenicity/aneugenicity of N-heterocyclic polycyclic aromatic pollutant 7H-dibenzo[c,g]carbazole (DBC) and its two synthetic derivatives N-methyl DBC (MeDBC) and 5,9-dimethyl DBC (diMeDBC) was evaluated in the genetically engineered Chinese hamster V79 cell line V79MZh1A1 with stable expression of human cytochrome P4501A1 and in the parental V79MZ cell line without any cytochrome P450 activity. While none of the three carbazoles changed significantly the level of micronuclei in the parental V79MZ cells, a variable, but statistically significant rise of micronucleus frequencies was assessed in V79MZh1A1 cells. DBC induced dose-dependent increase in the number of micronuclei at harvest times of 24 and 48h and MeDBC at sampling time of 48h in V79MZh1A1 cells in comparison to untreated cells, however, no significant time-dependent increase in micronucleus frequencies was found. The use of the antikinetochore immunostaining revealed that DBC and MeDBC induced approximately equal levels of both kinetochore positive (C+) and kinetochore negative (C-) micronuclei. DiMeDBC, a strict hepatocarcinogen, did not manifest any effect on micronucleus induction in V79MZh1A1 cells. These studies suggest that genetically engineered Chinese hamster V79 cell lines expressing individual CYP cDNAs are a useful in vitro model for evaluation the role of particular cytochromes P450 in biotransformation of DBC and its tissue and organ specific derivatives.