In vivo DNA/RNA adduction of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) in the liver of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

Juvenile rainbow trout were exposed via two intramuscular injections to either 14C-DMBA for 24 hr or 14C-BaP for 48 hr, after which the livers were removed for DNA extraction and analysis. In the fish exposed to 14C-BaP, 0.2 ng was bound to the DNA, representing 0.5% of the total liver PAH-derived radioactivity and 2.38% of the administered dose. Liver DNA and RNA were found to contain 0.5% of the administered dose, respectively. Liver analysis of rainbow trout exposed to 14C-DMBA demonstrated that 0.4 ng and 0.3 ng were bound to the DNA and RNA, respectively. This represents 1.0% and 0.6% of the liver DMBA burden, respectively. The DNA adduct concentrations formed were comparable to both in vitro and in vivo experiments with both mammals and fishes, indicating that relatively small, "environmentally realistic" doses of PAH have the ability to bind significantly to critical cellular macromolecules of young fish in vivo.