Multiple-endpoint mutagenesis with Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells: evaluation with eight carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic compounds.

Previously, we have shown that Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are useful for quantifying chemical-induced gene mutations. We have defined the conditions of a Multiplex CHO System which permits determination of mutagen-induced chromosome aberration, and sister chromatid exchange (SCE) in addition to cytotoxicity and gene mutation in the same treated culture. This allows us to extend the spectrum of quantitative mutagenesis to include clastogenic endpoints. In the present study, we used four carcinogenic/noncarcinogenic pairs to validate the relative utility and sensitivity of each endpoint, and to study the interrelationship of these four distinct biological effects. These compounds include the direct-acting carcinogens N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), ICR 170 and their noncarcinogenic analogue N-methyl-N'-nitroguanidine (MNG) and ICR 170-OH, and the procarcinogens benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) and their noncarcinogenic analogues pyrene and dimethylamine (DMA) respectively. A rat liver homogenate preparation (S9) was used to assay for the biological activities of procarcinogens. Under our experimental conditions, we observed that carcinogens DMN, B[a]P, MNNG and ICR 170, but not their noncarcinogenic counterparts, showed all four biological effects. Our studies with these chemicals showed that cytotoxicity does not necessarily correlate with any of the genetic endpoints. On a molar basis, noncarcinogens, pyrene and ICR 170-OH show similar toxicity to carcinogens B[a]P and ICR 170, respectively. The other two non-carcinogenic analogues, DMA and MNG, exhibit minimal toxicity at concentrations 10-1,000 times higher than cytotoxic concentrations of the corresponding carcinogens, DMN and MNNG. In general, gene mutation and SCE are more sensitive than chromosome aberration assay. The gene mutation assay is more specific than SCE and chromosome aberration assays since none of the noncarcinogens exhibit a detectable response in the gene mutational assay. ICR 170 and MNNG are much more active than B[a]P and DMN as ranked on a molar basis. These results indicate that the Multiplex CHO System is capable of discriminating divergent structural classes of carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic compounds, such as the eight chemicals chosen for our study.