The Toxicologist - Society of Toxicology

aneugenic potential in binucleate cells and marked differences in the induction of
micronuclei in the micronucleus in vitro by the two different test protocols employed
by using the four different reference chemicals.
327 TOXICOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF COMPLEX
MIXTURES FROM RESIDUES USED ON
AGRICULTURAL LAND APPLICATION.
A. Pillco 1, 2 , E. de la Peña 1 and M. Hazen 3 . 1 Centro de Ciencias Medioambientales,
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Madrid, Spain, 2 Facultad de
Bioquímica, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia and
3 Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Madrid,
Spain. Sponsor: E. Vilanova.
Toxicological investigation of complex mixtures (CM) is one of the main focuses of
the recent research in toxicology. To study the toxic effects of CM is important because
could be hazardous to human and environmental health. Sewage sludge is a
residue of the wastewater purification process and it is considered a CM. In the last
decades this residue is used for farmland. The aim of this study was to evaluate the
ecotoxic and genotoxic effect produced by two different types of CM from sewage
sludge used on agricultural land: extract of sewage sludge from municipal wastewater
treatment and pirolisis liquid from sewage sludge. The bioluminescence
Microtox test (Vibrio fischeri), and emergence and growth assays with cress
(Lepidium sativum L.) were performed to asses ecotoxicity. The results for both assays
revealed high toxicity of pirolisis liquid samples. Two short-term bioassays were
employed for to evaluate the genotoxicity. First we used the Ames (Salmonella/microsome
mutagenicity test. The protocol was followed, using tester strains TA98,
TA100, TA102 and TA104 of Salmonella typhimurium. The results showed presence
of mutagenic activity produced by pirolisis liquid. Somatic mutation and recombination
test (SMART) in (Drosophila melanogaster was employed like a second
genotoxic bioassay. 72-h-old larvae were treated at different concentrations of the
samples for a period of 48h. Wing of the emerging adult flies were scored for the
presence of spots of mutant cells. The results showed positive results for both samples.
The four models are rapid, sensitive and economical and they are suitable for
testing single compounds and complex mixtures. In conclusion these alternative
methods to animal testing demonstrate the existence of ecotoxic and genotoxic risk
produced by complex mixtures applied on farmland. Project OTT2007X1317,
*MAEC-AECID
328 CYTOTOXIC AND GENOTOXIC EFFECTS OF
MAGNETITE ON HUMAN A549 LUNG CELLS IN VITRO
– INFLUENCE OF ROS, JNK, AND NF-κB.
M. Könczöl 1 , V. Mersch-Sundermann 1 , S. Ebeling 2 , E. Goldenberg 3 , B.
Grobéty 4 , R. Gieré 3 , I. Merfort 2 , B. Rothen-Rutishauser 5 and R. Gminski 1 .
1 Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University Medical Center Freiburg,
Freiburg, Germany, 2 Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, University Freiburg,
Freiburg, Germany, 3 Department of Geosciences, University Freiburg, Freiburg,
Germany, 4 Institute of Geosciences, University Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland and
5 Institute of Anatomy, University Bern, Bern, Switzerland. Sponsor: J. Pauluhn.
Magnetite, a ferromagnetic iron oxide, has been characterized as a major component
of particulate matter sampled at underground stations, along railway lines and
at welding workplaces. Furthermore, high amounts of magnetite were found in
toner powder. The abundance of magnetite in these samples and the lack of consistent
data demand more systematic investigation. In the present study, we studied
magnetite for its toxic, especially genotoxic potential in cultured human lung cells
(A549). Four fractions relevant for human exposure were investigated: bulk (