title: Chloramine-induced sister-chromatid exchanges.
abstract: Nitrogen-chlorine (N-Cl) derivatives are a class of long-lived oxidants produced by stimulated phagocytes which may be important mediators of the inflammatory response. Because other phagocyte-generated oxidants cause genetic damage in cultured mammalian cells, we studied the ability of the synthetic N-Cl compound, chloramine T (Cl-T), to produce sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in cultured Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. CHO cells were incubated for 30 h with Cl-T (10(-8) M-10(-5) M) and genetic damage was analyzed utilizing the SCE assay. A significant (p less than 0.0005) dose-dependent increase in SCEs was observed. This effect was diminished when cells were treated concomitantly with methionine (10(-5) M), a thioether which reduces N-Cl back to the parent amine. Extracellularly-generated oxidants must traverse long distances before interacting with nuclear target molecules. Therefore, long-lived N-Cl derivatives may represent an important class of oxidants which mediate the process of carcinogenesis associated with chronic inflammatory states in vivo.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002700:Chloramines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006224:Cricetinae; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005609:Free Radicals; D008715:Methionine / Q000494:pharmacology; D010053:Ovary; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D012854:Sister Chromatid Exchange / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D002700:Chloramines; D005609:Free Radicals; D008715:Methionine; C030816:chloramine; D010100:Oxygen