title: Comparative genotoxic evaluation of 2-furylethylenes and 5-nitrofurans by using the comet assay in TK6 cells.
abstract: The genotoxicity of three 2-furylethylene derivatives and four 5-nitrofurans was evaluated by using the comet assay in human lymphoblastoid cultured TK6 cells. The 2-furylethylene derivatives were 2-furyl-1-nitroethene, 1-(5-bromofur-2-yl)-2-nitroethene and 1-(5-bromofur-2-yl)-2-bromo-2-nitroethene, while the 5-nitrofurans were nitrofurantoin, nitrofurazone, furazolidone and 5-nitro-2-furanacrolein. The treatments lasted for 3 h in the absence of metabolic activation. No genotoxic effects were observed for two of the 2-furylethylene compounds, while the derivative 1-(5-bromofur-2-yl)-2-nitroethene showed a statistically significant response mainly at the highest concentration tested; this effect was considered biologically relevant and the compound was classified as slightly genotoxic. On the other hand, for the classical 5-nitrofurans tested there is a tendency towards a dose-related increase of the DNA damage in the comet assay and the observed increases for the parameters analysed (Olive tail moment, tail % DNA and tail length) were significant for all compounds. Then, the four 5-nitrofurans tested were considered genotoxic. These results show that the position of the nitro group influences the genotoxicity of the assayed compounds. Thus, in this comet assay, the 2-furylethylene derivatives having the nitro group attached outside the furan ring appear to be much less genotoxic than the 5-nitrofurans.
authors.affiliation: Grup de Mutagènesi, Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.
authors.forename: Jorge I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: González Borroto
authors.forename: Giselle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pérez Machado
authors.forename: Amadeu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Creus
authors.forename: Ricard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marcos
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D020552:Comet Assay; D004247:DNA / Q000187:drug effects; D004249:DNA Damage; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005663:Furans / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009153:Mutagens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D009574:Nitro Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D009581:Nitrofurans / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: C503835:1-(5-bromofuran-2-yl)-2-nitroethene; C441542:2-furyl-1-nitroethene; D005663:Furans; D009153:Mutagens; D009574:Nitro Compounds; D009581:Nitrofurans; D004247:DNA