title: Genotoxicity and mutagenicity of iron and copper in mice.
abstract: The toxicity of trace metals is still incompletely understood. We have previously shown that a single oral dose of iron or copper induces genotoxic effects in mice in vivo, as detected by single cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay). Here, we report the effect of these metals on subchronic exposure. Mice were gavaged for six consecutive days with either water, 33.2 mg/kg iron, or 8.5 mg/kg copper. On the 7th day, the neutral and alkaline comet assays in whole blood and the bone marrow micronucleus (MN) test were used as genotoxicity and mutagenicity endpoints, respectively. Particle induced X-ray emission was used to determine liver levels of the metals. Females showed a slightly lower DNA damage background, but there was no significant difference between genders for any endpoint. Iron and copper were genotoxic and mutagenic. While copper was more genotoxic in the neutral version, iron was more genotoxic in the alkaline version of the comet assay. Copper induced the highest mutagenicity as evaluated by the MN test. Iron was not mutagenic to male mice. Iron is thought to induce more oxidative lesions than copper, which are primarily detected in the alkaline comet assay. Treatment with iron, but not with copper, induced a significant increase in the hepatic level of the respective metal, reflecting different excretion strategies.
authors.affiliation: PPG em Genética e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Prá
authors.forename: Silvia Isabel Rech
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Franke
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Giulian
authors.forename: Maria Lúcia
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Yoneama
authors.forename: Johnny Ferraz
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.forename: Bernardo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Erdtmann
authors.forename: João Antonio Pêgas
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Henriques
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003300:Copper / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D007501:Iron / Q000633:toxicity*; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests
chemical_list: D003300:Copper; D007501:Iron