Free radicals generated in yeast by the Salmonella test-negative carcinogens benzene, urethane, thiourea and auramine O.

A large fraction of carcinogens score negative in short-term genotoxicity assays such as the Salmonella reverse mutation (Ames) assay. More information is needed about the mechanism of action of such Salmonella-negative carcinogens. Many Salmonella-negative carcinogens induce deletions due to intrachromosomal recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae with an apparent threshold. We have previously shown that the Salmonella-negative carcinogens cadmium, aniline, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride generate free radical species in S. cerevisiae. We have further investigated the possible generation of intracellular free radical species by the diverse Salmonella-negative carcinogens benzene, urethane, thiourea and auramine O. The toxicity and recombinagenicity of thiourea and auramine O was reduced in the presence of the free radical scavenger N-acetyl cysteine. N-acetyl cysteine did not protect against toxicity or recombination induced by the Salmonella-positive carcinogens ethyl methane sulfonate, methyl methane sulfonate or nitroquinoline-N-oxide. A strain deficient in the enzyme superoxide dismutase, which catalyses the dismutation of superoxide anion radical, was hypersensitive to killing by benzene, urethane and thiourea. The sod- strain was only slightly more sensitive to the Salmonella-positive carcinogens. Intracellular oxidation of the free radical-sensitive reporter compound dichlorofluorescin diacetate was increased in yeast cultures exposed to benzene, urethane and auramine O; again, the Salmonella mutagens had no effect on oxidation of the dye. These data show that free radical species are produced in Saccharomyces cerevisiae following exposure to benzene, urethane, thiourea and auramine O, and suggest a possible role for oxidative stress is recombination induced by these carcinogens.