The protocol recommended for the micronucleus assay in mammalian bone marrow has been revised and simplified. The number of sample times has been reduced to one or two, depending upon the dosing protocol. The minimum number of cells to be scored per treatment group has been increased to 20,000 to increase the ability of the assay to detect a doubling of the control micronucleus frequency. Use of both male and female animals is recommended. Scoring of micronuclei in polychromatic erythrocytes of peripheral blood is included as a variation of the bone marrow assay. Published data on chemicals tested by the micronucleus assay have been reviewed and are summarized.

The in vivo micronucleus assay in mammalian bone marrow and peripheral blood. A report of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Gene-Tox Program

Cyclophosphamide (CP) is used to treat a wide range of neoplastic diseases as well as some non-malignant ones such as rheumatoid arthritis It is also used as an immunosuppressive agent prior to organ transplantation CP is, however, a known carcinogen in humans and produces secondary tumors There is little absorption either orally or intravenously and 10% of the drug is excreted unchanged CP is activated by hepatic mixed function oxidases and metabolites are delivered to neoplastic cells via the bloodstream Phosphoramide mustard is thought to be the major anti-neoplastic metabolite of CP while acrolein, which is highly toxic and is produced in equimolar amounts, is thought to be responsible for most of the toxic side effects DNA adducts have been formed after CP treatment in a variety of in vitro systems as well as in rats and mice using 3H-labeled CP 32P-postlabeling techniques have also been used in mice However, monitoring of adducts in humans has not yet been carried out CP has also been shown to induce unscheduled DNA synthesis in a human cell line CP has produced mutations in base-pair substituting strains of Salmonella tryphimurium in the presence of metabolic activation, but it has been shown to be negative in the E coli chromotest It has also been shown to be positive in Saccharomyces cerevisiae in D7 strain for many endpoints but negative in D62M for aneuploidy/malsegregation It has produced positive responses in Drosophila melanogaster for various endpoints and in Anopheles stephensi In somatic cells, CP has been shown to produce gene mutations, chromosome aberrations, micronuclei and sister chromatid exchanges in a variety of cultured cells in the presence of metabolic activation as well as sister chromatid exchanges without metabolic activation It has also produced chromosome damage and micronuclei in rats, mice and Chinese hamsters, and gene mutations in the mouse spot test and in the transgenic lacZ construct of Muta Mouse Increases in chromosome damage and gene mutations have been found in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of nurses, pharmacists and female workers occupationally exposured to CP during its production or distribution Chromosome aberrations, sister chromatid exchanges and gene mutations have been observed in somatic cells of patients treated therapeutically with CP In general, there is a maximum dose and an optimum time for the detection of genetic effects because the toxicity associated with high doses of CP will affect cell division In germ cells, CP has been shown to induce genetic damage in mice, rats and hamsters although the vast majority of such studies have used male mice(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Cyclophosphamide: Review of its mutagenicity for an assessment of potential germ cell risks

An expert working group on the in vivo micronucleus assay, formed as part of the International Workshop on Genotoxicity Test Procedures (IWGTP), discussed protocols for the conduct of established and proposed micronucleus assays at a meeting held March 25-26, 1999 in Washington, DC, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Environmental Mutagen Society. The working group reached consensus on a number issues, including: (1) protocols using repeated dosing in mice and rats; (2) integration of the (rodent erythrocyte) micronucleus assay into general toxicology studies; (3) the possible omission of concurrently-treated positive control animals from the assay; (4) automation of micronucleus scoring by flow cytometry or image analysis; (5) criteria for regulatory acceptance; (6) detection of aneuploidy induction in the micronucleus assay; and (7) micronucleus assays in tissues (germ cells, other organs, neonatal tissue) other than bone marrow. This report summarizes the discussions and recommendations of this working group. In the classic rodent erythrocyte assay, treatment schedules using repeated dosing of mice or rats, and integration of assays using such schedules into short-term toxicology studies, were considered acceptable as long as certain study criteria were met. When the micronucleus assay is integrated into ongoing toxicology studies, relatively short-term repeated-dose studies should be used preferentially because there is not yet sufficient data to demonstrate that conservative dose selection in longer term studies (longer than 1 month) does not reduce the sensitivity of the assay. Additional validation data are needed to resolve this point. In studies with mice, either bone marrow or blood was considered acceptable as the tissue for assessing micronucleus induction, provided that the absence of spleen function has been verified in the animal strains used. In studies with rats, the principal endpoint should be the frequency of micronucleated immature erythrocytes in bone marrow, although scoring of peripheral blood samples gives important supplementary data about the time course of micronucleus induction. When dose concentration and stability are verified appropriately, concurrent treatment with a positive control agent is not necessary. Control of staining and scoring procedures can be obtained by including appropriate reference samples that have been obtained from a separate experiment. For studies in rats or mice, treatment/sampling regimens should include treatment at intervals of no more than 24 hr (unless the test article has a half-life of more than 24 hr) with sampling of bone marrow or blood, respectively, within 24 or 40 hr after the last treatment. The use of a DNA specific stain is recommended for the identification of micronuclei, especially for studies in the rat. In the case of a negative assay result with a non-toxic test article, it is desirable that systemic exposure to the test article is demonstrated. The group concluded that successful application of automated scoring by both flow cytometry and image analysis had been achieved, and defined criteria that should be met if automated scoring is employed. It was not felt appropriate to attempt to define specific recommended protocols for automated scoring at the present time. Other issues reviewed and discussed by the working group included micronucleus assays that have been developed in a number of tissues other than bone marrow. The group felt that these assays were useful research tools that could also be used to elucidate mechanisms in certain regulatory situations, but that these assays had not yet been standardized and validated for routine regulatory application.

In vivo rodent erythrocyte micronucleus assay. II. Some aspects of protocol design including repeated treatments, integration with toxicity testing, and automated scoring.

This paper reviews the ability of a number of chemicals to induce sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs). The SCE data for animal cells in vivo and in vitro, and human cells in vitro are presented in 6 tables according to their relative effectiveness. A seventh table summarizes what is known about the effects of specific chemicals on SCEs for humans exposed in vivo. The data support the concept that SCEs provide a useful indication of exposure, although the mechanism and biological significance of SCE formation still remain to be elucidated.

ReviewSister-chromatid exchange: second report of the Gene-Tox program

The in vivo micronucleus assay working group of the International Workshop on Genotoxicity Testing (IWGT) discussed new aspects in the in vivo micronucleus (MN) test, including the regulatory acceptance of data derived from automated scoring, especially with regard to the use of flow cytometry, the suitability of rat peripheral blood reticulocytes to serve as the principal cell population for analysis, the establishment of in vivo MN assays in tissues other than bone marrow and blood (for example liver, skin, colon, germ cells), and the biological relevance of the single-dose-level test. Our group members agreed that flow cytometric systems to detect induction of micronucleated immature erythrocytes have advantages based on the presented data, e.g., they give good reproducibility compared to manual scoring, are rapid, and require only small quantities of peripheral blood. Flow cytometric analysis of peripheral blood reticulocytes has the potential to allow monitoring of chromosome damage in rodents and also other species as part of routine toxicology studies. It appears that it will be applicable to humans as well, although in this case the possible confounding effects of splenic activity will need to be considered closely. Also, the consensus of the group was that any system that meets the validation criteria recommended by the IWGT (2000) should be acceptable. A number of different flow cytometric-based micronucleus assays have been developed, but at the present time the validation data are most extensive for the flow cytometric method using anti-CD71 fluorescent staining especially in terms of inter-laboratory collaborative data. Whichever method is chosen, it is desirable that each laboratory should determine the minimum sample size required to ensure that scoring error is maintained below the level of animal-to-animal variation. In the second IWGT, the potential to use rat peripheral blood reticulocytes as target cells for the micronucleus assay was discussed, but a consensus regarding acceptability for regulatory purposes could not be reached at that time. Subsequent validation efforts, combined with accumulated published data, demonstrate that blood-derived reticulocytes from rats as well as mice are acceptable when young reticulocytes are analyzed under proper assay protocol and sample size. The working group reviewed the results of micronucleus assays using target cells/tissues other than hematopoietic cells. We also discussed the relevance of the liver micronucleus assay using young rats, and the importance of understanding the maturation of enzyme systems involved in the processes of metabolic activation in the liver of young rats. Although the consensus of the group was that the more information with regard to the metabolic capabilities of young rats would be useful, the published literature shows that young rats have sufficient metabolic capacity for the purposes of this assay. The use of young rats as a model for detecting MN induction in the liver offers a good alternative methodology to the use of partial hepatectomy or mitogenic stimulation. Additional data obtained from colon and skin MN models have been integrated into the data bases, enhancing confidence in the utility of these models. A fourth topic discussed by the working group was the regulatory acceptance of the single-dose-level assay. There was no consensus regarding the acceptability of a single dose level protocol when dose-limiting toxicity occurs. The use of a single dose level can lead to problems in data interpretation or to the loss of animals due to unexpected toxicity, making it necessary to repeat the study with additional doses. A limit test at a single dose level is currently accepted when toxicity is not dose-limiting.

In vivo erythrocyte micronucleus assay III. Validation and regulatory acceptance of automated scoring and the use of rat peripheral blood reticulocytes, with discussion of non-hematopoietic target cells and a single dose-level limit test.

The effectiveness of 6 chemicals (benzo[a]pyrene), (BaP), cyclophosphamide (CP), diethylnitrosamine (DEN), methyl methanesulphonate (MMS), mitomycin C (MC) and procarbazine (PC) as inducers of micronuclei in foetal liver and maternal bone marrow erythooblasts has been determined, and related to that of γ-radiation. CP DEN, MMS and PC were all more effective in the foetal liver. The induction of micronuclei and SCEs by each chemical in foetal erythroblasts after in vivoexposure was measured. When expressed as induction of sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) per erythroblast/induction of micronuclei per erythroblast (/μM/kg), the ratios obtained were MC 580, BaP 470, DEN 430, CP 258, MMS 140 and PC 13. The lowest doses detected as potentially genotoxic by each test in foetal liver erythroblasts are (with the exception of PC which is a relatively ineffective inducer of SCEs) similar. When isolated foetal livers were exposed in vitro, SCE dose responses to BaP, MC, MMS and PC could be directly related to those from in vivo exposure, indicating the role of the foetal liver in metabolic activation, but CP was considerably more cytotoxic. The transplacental micronucleus test, and in vivo/in vitro method for SCEs in foetal liver erythroblasts, provide sensitive, complementary assays for genotoxic effects of chemicals during prenatal life. Since foetal liver possesses greater metabolic potential than adult bone marrow, the transplacental test respond to genotoxic agents not detected by bone-marrow systems.

Short-term tests for transplacentally active carcinogens A comparison of sister-chromatid exchange and the micronucleus test in mouse foetal liver erythroblasts

The effectiveness of 3 compounds, procarbazine, mitomycin C and cyclophosphamide as inducers of sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in granulocyte-macrophage progenitor cells, in foetal liver and bone marrow from pregnant mice at day 17 of gestation were determined Cyclophosphamide and procarbazine induced similar SCE frquencies in maternal and foetal cells Mitomycin C was slightly less effective in foetal liver than in maternal bone marrow In contrast to the results of SCE induction, cyclophosphamide produced more micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes in foetal liver than in bone marrow The SCE results for mitomycin C and procarbazine are compared with results obtained previously for micronuclei induction in 15-day pregnant animals

Sister-chromatid exchange and micronucleus induction as indicators of genetic damage in maternal and foetal cells.

Effects of diethylstilboestrol-dipropionate on SCEs, micronuclei, cytotoxicity, aneuploidy and cell proliferation in maternal and foetal mouse cells treated in vivo.

The induction of sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) by cyclophosphamide (CP) and procarbazine (PC) in mouse granulocyte-macrophage precursor cells (GM cells) and erythroblasts from foetal liver, and cells from foetal brain and foetal lung has been measured. Agents were administered in vivo, and cells explanted into BrdUrd-containing medium for 2 cell cycles in vitro (using specific growth-promoting substances where necessary) to determine SCE frequency. Tissue and cell-type differences in responses were observed, and it is concluded that the in vivo/in vitro transplacental SCE technique is a useful indicator of genotoxic effects of agents which are potential transplacental carcinogens.

Short-term tests for transplacentally active carcinogens: Induction of sister-chromatid exchanges in foetal brain, lung and blood-forming cells by procarbazine and cyclophosphamide

T. Regan

Papers

Short-term tests for transplacentally active carcinogens A comparison of sister-chromatid exchange and the micronucleus test in mouse foetal liver erythroblasts

Sister-chromatid exchange and micronucleus induction as indicators of genetic damage in maternal and foetal cells.

Effects of diethylstilboestrol-dipropionate on SCEs, micronuclei, cytotoxicity, aneuploidy and cell proliferation in maternal and foetal mouse cells treated in vivo.

Short-term tests for transplacentally active carcinogens: Induction of sister-chromatid exchanges in foetal brain, lung and blood-forming cells by procarbazine and cyclophosphamide