Mutagenesis in Chinese hamster cells by cyclopenta(a)phenanthrenes activated by a human hepatoma cell line.

The cyclopenta(a)phenanthrene, 15,16-dihydro-11-methyl-cyclopenta(a)phenanthren-17-one, had potent mutagenic activity in cell-mediated mutation assays with V79 Chinese hamster cells as targets, and cells of the human hepatoma line HepG2 as mediators of activation. The compound was inactive when low-passage hamster embryo cells were used as activators. When the mutagenic activity of a series of cyclopenta(a)phenanthrenes was compared in mutation assays with HepG2 cells as activators, there was a good correlation between mutagenic activity in this system and carcinogenic activity in mouse skin in vivo. One exception was a noncarcinogenic compound, which is mutagenic in the Ames' test, and was also mutagenic in the mammalian cell assay.