title: DNA adduct and tumor formations in rats after intratracheal administration of the urban air pollutant 3-nitrobenzanthrone.
abstract: 3-Nitrobenzanthrone (3-NBA) has been isolated from diesel exhaust and airborne particles and identified as a potent direct-acting mutagen in vitro and genotoxic agent in vivo. In order to evaluate the in vivo toxicity and carcinogenicity of 3-NBA in a situation corresponding to inhalation, a combined short-term and lifetime study with intratracheal (i.t.) instillation in female F344 rats was performed. DNA adduct formation, as a marker for the primary effect and analyzed by 32P-HPLC after single instillation, showed a few major DNA adducts and a rapid increase with a peak after 2 days, followed by a decline. No DNA adducts above the background level were observed after 16 days. The highest DNA adduct formation was observed in lung [approximately 250 DNA adducts/10(8) normal nucleotides (NN)] closely followed by kidney (approximately 200 DNA adducts/10(8) NN), whereas liver contained only 12% (approximately 30 DNA adducts/10(8) NN) of the levels of DNA adducts found in lung. In the tumor study, squamous cell carcinomas were found after 7-9 months in the high-dose group (total dose of 2.5 mg 3-NBA) and after 10-12 months in the low-dose group (total dose of 1.5 mg 3-NBA). The fraction of squamous cell carcinoma out of the total amount of tumors observed at the end of experiment at 18 months, corresponded to 3/16 and 11/16 in the low- and high-dose group, respectively. A single case of adenocarcinoma was also observed in each group. In the control group, no tumors were observed during the entire study of 18 months. In addition, a few cases of squamous metaplasia were also observed in the lung in both dose groups but not in the controls. In conclusion, 3-NBA forms DNA adducts in the lung immediately after i.t. administration but almost all DNA adducts were eliminated after 16 days. Tumor formation in two dose groups was observed in a dose-dependent manner with squamous cell carcinomas as the predominant tumor type at high exposure.
authors.affiliation: Department for Biosciences at Novum, Karolinska Institutet, SE-141 57 Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Eszter
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zeisig
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawamura
authors.forename: Yoshiharu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hisamatsu
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sugeta
authors.forename: Shuichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Adachi
authors.forename: Lennart
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Möller
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D001551:Benz(a)Anthracenes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity*; D018736:DNA Adducts / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D001551:Benz(a)Anthracenes; D018736:DNA Adducts; C117220:3-nitrobenzanthrone