title: Mutagenicity of benzo[a]pyrene and dibenzopyrenes in the Salmonella typhimurium TM677 and the MCL-5 human cell forward mutation assays.
abstract: The mutagenicity of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), dibenzo[ae]pyrene (DB[ae]P), dibenzo[ah]pyrene (DB[ah]P), dibenzo[ai]pyrene (DB[ai]P), and dibenzo[al]pyrene (DB[al]P) was measured in quantitative forward mutation assays with bacteria (Salmonella typhimurium TM677) and a metabolically competent cell line derived from human B-lymphoblastoid cells (MCL-5) that contained activity for five cytochrome P450s and microsomal epoxide hydrolase found in human liver. DB[al]P and B[a]P, both potent animal carcinogens, were the most mutagenic substances in both assays. DB[al]P was nearly 50-fold more potent than B[a]P in human cells, but only 60% more mutagenic in Salmonella. The carcinogenic isomer DB[ah]P, though nonmutagenic in bacteria, was active in human cells. The following mutagenic potency series, expressed as the minimum detectable mutagen concentration (MDMC) in nmol/ml, was obtained with Salmonella in the presence of rat liver postmitochondrial supernatant (PMS): DB[al]P (3.7), B[a]P (5.8), DB[ae]P (6.9), DB[ai]P (14.9), DB[ah]P (> 100). None of the compounds were mutagenic in the absence of PMS. In human MCL-5 cells the potency series was: DB[al]P (3.1 x 10(-4)), B[a]P (1.5 x 10(-2)), DB[ae]P (2.5 x 10(-2)), DB[ah]P (0.5), DB[ai]P (3.2). The human cell assay thus exhibited over a 10,000-fold range between the most mutagenic and least mutagenic compound, whereas in the bacterial assay there was only a corresponding four-fold difference if the nonmutagenic DB[ah]P was excluded. The results were discussed in terms of their concordance with animal carcinogenicity studies.
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Health Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139.
authors.forename: W F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Busby
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Crespi
authors.forename: B W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Penman
mesh_terms: D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene / Q000633:toxicity*; D001580:Benzopyrenes / Q000633:toxicity*; D002460:Cell Line; D006801:Humans; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D009154:Mutation; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D001580:Benzopyrenes; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene