Genotoxic and nongenotoxic effects of glycidyl methacrylate on human lung fibroblast cells.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the genotoxic and nongenotoxic effects of short-term exposure to glycidyl mathacrylate (GMA) on human lung fibroblast cells (2BS cells) in vitro.


METHODS
DNA strand breakage was determined by single cell gel electrophoresis, and DNA ladder formation assay and flow cytometric analysis were carried out to detect apoptic responses of cells to GMA exposure. The HPRT gene mutation assay was used to evaluate the mutagenicity, and the effect of GMA on gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) in the exposed cells was examined with the scrape loading/dye transfer technique. The ability of GMA to transform 2BS cells was also tested by an in vitro cell transformation assay.


RESULTS
Exposure to GMA resulted in a dose-dependent increase in DNA strand breaks but not apoptic responses. GMA was also shown to significantly induce HPRT gene mutations and morphological transformation in 2BS cells in vitro. In contrast, GMA produced a concentration-dependent inhibition of GJIC.


CONCLUSIONS
GMA elicits both genotoxic and nongenotoxic effects on 2BS cells in vitro. The induction of DNA damage and gene mutations and inhibition of GJIC by GMA may casually contribute to GMA-induced cell transformation.
Yin
Xue-Jun
XJ
Institute of Occupational Medicine, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, China. xyin@hsc.wvu.edu
Fang
Fu-De
FD
Xu
Jian-Ning
JN
Zou
Chang-Qi
CQ
He
Feng-Sheng
FS
D002450:Cell Communication; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D020552:Comet Assay; D004249:DNA Damage; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D004852:Epoxy Compounds / Q000633:toxicity*; D005347:Fibroblasts; D017629:Gap Junctions; D006801:Humans; D007041:Hypoxanthine Phosphoribosyltransferase / Q000235:genetics; D008168:Lung / Q000166:cytology; D008689:Methacrylates / Q000633:toxicity*
D004852:Epoxy Compounds; D008689:Methacrylates; D007041:Hypoxanthine Phosphoribosyltransferase; C007870:glycidyl methacrylate