Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis - Legacy Tobacco ...

236 1989 EMS Abstracts . :__ __
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http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/clb93d00/pdf
Notes tSMROMiNfAI . MJfXMM1S IN GHINA
J . L . HSUF}I and C . C . TAN~
Institute of Cenetics~ Fl~iverstty, Shanghai 200433, China
China is a developing country, having a population of irarly 1 .2 billion people. Along with the progress
of modernization, the caaxry is also facing the problen of enviranmental pollution through the release of
industrial aastes into the air and keterr.mys . This, together with population pressure and agricultural problems,
has already received the wide attention of the Chinese public . China is prepared to exercise quality
control and envirarnental monitoring, and a series of regulations have been established . The Chinese Environmental
lLtagen Society (CElfi) ws found in 1983, it is essential to the development of environnental nutagenesis
. In the year of 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1988, -the CE2S hdld his annual meetings in Shenghai, Wuhan,Slanghai "
and Beijing. Over than 100 independent qualified laboratories for identifying autagens are now operating in
Chira . They are distributed on more than 20 provinces . lbst of these assays are used to help identify nutagens,
sore can also identify carcinogens . Of these laboratories, t .u-thrids are using nutagenlc assays and
the other one-third is doing either carcinogenetic or teratogenetic assays . 'kre in vitro assays use a variety
of cell types ranging form bacterial to huren, fram somatic cells to genn cells ; other tests can be done
directly on Drosophila, rodents and plants . Recently, the recc.rbinant DNA tecFnique has been introduted into
the study of environrental nutagenesis . We have developed a shuttle vector system for studying mutational
specificity, the shuttle vector contains the EB virus origin and E . colt XyIE gene, then introduced into human
cultured cells by transfection and allowed to replicated autorously in the cell nucleus . During the replication
period of the vector, the cells are exposed to a nutagen, an increased in nutation frequency above the
spontaneous background is readily obtained . Induced mutants can be rapidly isolated and characterized by color
change . Nowadays, all new medtcines, pesticides, food additives, contraceptions and Chinese medicinal
herbs are subjected to the kres test, micronucleus test, chronosane aberrations and SCE analysis, U06 and
SOS et al routine screening procedures .
686
"THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF CELL DIFFERENTIATION IN TUMOR PROMOTION," E . Nuberman,
Biological, Environmental, and Medical Research Division, Argonne National Laboratory,
Argonne, Illinois 60439
Chemicals that promote tumor formation, including phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate
(PMA), in general do not bind to DNA and are devoid of mutagenic activity ;
nevertheless, many of these promoters induce differentiation in various cell types
including the human promyelocytic RL-60 leukemia cells . Thus, tumor promotion may
involve the expression of growth-facilitating genes, which, as a result of prior
genetic alterations (during tumor initiation), have been placed under the control of
genes that regulate normal cell differentiation . Consequently, we are studying the
ability of PHA and related agents to initiate early biochemical events that cause
alterations in gene expression leading to modulation of differentiation processes .
These phenomena are analyzed in NL-60 cells that are either susceptible or resistant to
the induction of cell differentiation by PMA . Differentiation is characterized by
changes in functional proteins, enzymatic markers, and reactivity with monoclonal
antibodies generated against maturation-specific cell-surface and nuclear proteins .
Our results indicate that a number of early events (2-30 m1n) such as subcellular
translocation and activation of protein kinase C, phosphorylation of a number of
proteins including nuclear proteins, and modulation of topoisomarase II activity may be
early steps in the signal transduction that results in the induction of cell
differentiation and perhaps tumor promotion by PNA and related agents . Work supported
by the U .S . Department of Energy under Contract No . W-31-109-ENG-38 .
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DETECTION OF THE MUTAGENS IN URINE OF CIVILIANS EXPOSED TO MUSTARD GAS
M .A .Jabbar ; F .Pourismnili ; G .H .Riazi and M . Nouri Dalawi
Biochemistry and Biophysic Institute, Tehran University, Box 6479-11365
Tehran , IRAN .
Thousands of miliatry and civilian people in Iran were exposed to sublethal
doses of mustard gas during the Iraqi-Iran war . Therefore, a rapid
prediction for the hazardous impact of this agent on man and his environment
is urgently needed to impliment any possible preventive measure .
Ames and the fluctuation assays were used to detect the mutagenic metabolites
of mustard gas in urine samples of 20 non-smoker patients who
were wounded in Sardasht area( west of Iran )in May, 1986 . Salmonellae
_t~~himurium TA98, TAIOO, and TA202 were used in the screening proce3ures .
Tfie resul-ts showed that the fluctuation test was more sensitive than
Ames test in detection the mutagenic agents of mustard gas metabolites .
More than 701 of the urine samples were mutagenic for TAI02 strain when
fluctuation assay was implimented . These results reveal that most of the
mutagenic metabolites in the urine samples of the wounded patients were
of the oxidative type . Some patients were given garlic Juce to see its
antimutagenicity in vivo but there was no significant difference in the
mutagenic activity of their uring concentrates befor or after treatment .
In conclu sion, more work is needed to spe ify the mutagenic metabolites
of mustarsd gas and the actual hazard of wh~ch on man or his offspring .
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