title: Assessment of the in vivo mutagenic potential of methyl tertiary-butyl ether.
abstract: Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) is one of the highest production volume chemicals in the USA. Previous results from in vitro genetic toxicity studies suggested that it was not mutagenic. However, chronic exposure at high levels resulted in liver tumors in female mice and kidney tumors in male rats. The current program assessed in vivo genotoxicity and also explored the possibility that a mutagenic mechanism was involved in the carcinogenic process. The specific tests used included the Drosophila sex-linked-recessive-lethal test, the rat bone marrow cytogenetics test, the mouse bone marrow micronucleus test and the in vivo-in vitro hepatocyte unscheduled DNA synthesis test in the mouse. All tests produced negative results, indicating that the potential for in vivo mutagenic activity was low. These data also suggest that the tumorigenic activity was probably the result of a non-genotoxic process.
authors.affiliation: Exxon Biomedical Sciences, Inc., East Millstone, NJ 08875, USA.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: McKee
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Vergnes
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Galvin
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Kneiss
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Andrews
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000187:drug effects; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000633:toxicity*; D004247:DNA / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D005260:Female; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008738:Methyl Ethers / Q000633:toxicity*; D051379:Mice; D015162:Micronucleus Tests; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D002273:Carcinogens; D008738:Methyl Ethers; C043243:methyl tert-butyl ether; D004247:DNA