Carcinogenesis, Vol. 22, No. 6, 951-955,
June 2001
© 2001 Oxford University Press
CARCINOGENESIS |
Tumorigenicity of racemic and optically pure bay region diol epoxides and other derivatives of the nitrogen heterocycle dibenz[a,h]acridine on mouse skin
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Laboratory, Great Lakes Center, State University of New York, College at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14222,
1 Laboratory for Cancer Research, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, College of Pharmacy, 164 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8020,
2 Roche Research Center, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., Nutley, NJ 07110 and
3 National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
CD-1 female mice were initiated with a single topical application of 500 nmol dibenz[a,h]acridine (DB[a,h]Acr), its racemic trans-1,2-, 3,4-, 8,9- and 10,11-dihydrodiols, racemic DB[a,h]Acr 3,4-diol 1,2-epoxide-1 and -2 or racemic DB[a,h]Acr 10,11-diol 8,9-epoxide-1 and -2, where the benzylic hydroxyl group is either cis (isomer 1) or trans (isomer 2) to the epoxide oxygen. The mice were subsequently treated twice weekly with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate for 25 weeks. High tumorigenicity was observed only for DB[a,h]Acr, its 10,11-dihydrodiol and DB[a,h]Acr 10,11-diol 8,9-epoxide-2 (3.3, 1.2 and 1.6 tumors/mouse, respectively). The tumor-initiating activity of a 50 nmol dose of DB[a,h]Acr and the optically active (+)- and ()-enantiomers of DB[a,h]Acr 10,11-dihydrodiol and of the optically active DB[a,h]Acr 10,11-diol 8,9-epoxide-1 and -2 were also studied. Only DB[a,h]Acr, ()-DB[a,h]Acr (10R,11R)-dihydrodiol and the bay region (+)-(8R,9S,10S,11R)-diol epoxide-2 were highly active (1.6, 1.7 and 2.4 tumors/mouse, respectively). These results are consistent with previous studies which showed that the corresponding bay region RSSR diol epoxides of benzo[a]pyrene, benz[a]anthracene, chrysene and benzo[c]phenanthrene as well as the aza-polycyclic dibenz[c,h]acridine are the most tumorigenic isomers.