Mutagenicity of anthracycline glycosides and bleomycins in Salmonella assay system.

Aclacinomycin A was nonmutagenic, while most anthracycline drugs such as daunomycin and adriamycin are highly mutagenic in a Salmonella test. But its derivative, N-demethylaclacinomycin A, was mutagenic. Similarly, aclavin, a hydrolysis product of aclacinomycin A, was nonmutagenic, but N-demethylaclavin was mutagenic. N-Methyldaunomycin showed only weak mutagenicity, and N-dimethyldaunomycin was nonmutagenic. Thus, the amino moiety of anthracycline glycosides is concluded to be essential for mutagenesis. Bleomycins were nonmutagenic to most Salmonella tester strains such as TA98, TA100 and TA92 and also to a Escherichia coli strain WP2/uvrA. Bleomycins were weakly mutagenic to Salmonella TA102 and TA94 strains which were extremely sensitive to detect DNA cross linking agents.