title: Genotoxicity of gliotoxin, a secondary metabolite of Aspergillus fumigatus, in a battery of short-term test systems.
abstract: The genotoxic effects of gliotoxin, a known fungal secondary metabolite, were studied. Gliotoxin was purified from cultivation medium of Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from the indoor air of a moisture problem house. The genotoxicity of gliotoxin was assessed both in bacterial test systems including bacterial repair assay, Ames Salmonella assay and SOS-chromotest, and in mammalian cells using single cell gel (SCG) electrophoresis assay and sister-chromatid exchange (SCE) test. Gliotoxin was found to be genotoxic in the bacterial repair assay but, not in the Salmonella test or SOS-chromotest. A dose-related increase in DNA damage was observed in mouse RAW264.7 macrophages exposed to gliotoxin for 2h in plain medium in the SCG assay. In contrast to the positive response in the SCG assay, gliotoxin did not induce any clear, dose-related increase in SCEs in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Kuopio, P.O. Box 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland. sussanna.nieminen@uku.fi
authors.forename: Susanna M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Nieminen
authors.forename: Jorma
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mäki-Paakkanen
authors.forename: Maija-Riitta
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Hirvonen
authors.forename: Marjut
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roponen
authors.forename: Atte
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: von Wright
mesh_terms: D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor; D000818:Animals; D001232:Aspergillus fumigatus / Q000378:metabolism*; D016466:CHO Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D006224:Cricetinae; D004247:DNA / Q000187:drug effects*; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D005912:Gliotoxin / Q000633:toxicity*; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D013014:SOS Response, Genetics; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D012854:Sister Chromatid Exchange / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D005912:Gliotoxin; D004247:DNA