Clonfero E, Saia B
Istituto di Medicina del Lavoro, Università di Padova.
Med Lav. 1990 Jan-Feb;81(1):3-10.
The authors review the use of the gene mutation test on Salmonella typhimurium, better known as the Ames test, in environmental and occupational health. This test, which was originally intended as a predictive test of the carcinogenicity of chemical substances, has been widely applied in in vitro screening of complex mixtures of substances present in the environment and in the biological monitoring of high risk populations. Data are reported on the main environmental exposures that were positive with the Ames test and it is stressed how this biological assay has contributed to the identification of new classes of genotoxic compounds (nitropyrenes, mutagen X). The Ames test performed on extracts of human urine was used to study exposure to carcinogenic substances in the working environment. Many occupational exposures can cause an increase in mutagenic activity in the exposed subjects (cytostatic drugs, rubber manufacture, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). It is recommended to restrict the use of the urinary mutagenesis test to group studies and carefully check confounding factors (e.g., smoking and diet).
作者回顾了鼠伤寒沙门氏菌基因突变试验（即著名的艾姆斯试验）在环境与职业健康中的应用。该试验最初旨在作为化学物质致癌性的预测试验，现已广泛应用于环境中存在的复杂物质混合物的体外筛选以及高危人群的生物监测。报告了艾姆斯试验呈阳性的主要环境暴露数据，并强调了这种生物测定法如何有助于识别新的遗传毒性化合物类别（硝基芘、诱变剂X）。对人尿提取物进行的艾姆斯试验用于研究工作环境中致癌物质的暴露情况。许多职业暴露可导致暴露者的诱变活性增加（细胞抑制药物、橡胶制造、多环芳烃）。建议将尿诱变试验的使用限制在群体研究中，并仔细检查混杂因素（如吸烟和饮食）。
