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Biomedical subjects

M Wiessler

Publications and source records attributed to M Wiessler.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

High mutagenicity of N-(alpha-acyloxy)alkyl-N-alkylnitrosamines in S. typhimurium: model compounds for metabolically activated N,N-dialkylnitrosamines.

A series of N,N-dialkylnitrosamines (alkyl means methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl or tert-butyl group) mono-substituted at the alpha-carbon with an acetoxy group, were tested for their mutagenic action in Salmonella typhimurium TA1530 in the presence or absence of a rat-liver supernatant from 9000 X g. The presumed released of methyl, ethyl, n-butyl and n-propyl carbonium ions from the corresponding alpha-acetoxy derivatives, either by enzymic cleavage or by non-enzymic hydrolysis of the ester group, caused high mutagenicity in the bacteria. As has been demonstrated for certain alpha-acetoxy compounds, the mutagenicity of these compounds was inversely related to their half-lives in aqueous media. N-(Acetoxy)methyl-N-tert-butylnitrosamine and a beta-acetoxy derivative of N,N-diethylnitrosamine were not mutagenic either in the presence or in the absence of hydrolysing rat-liver enzymes. These results support the hypothesis that alpha-carbon hydroxylation is one mechanism involved in the metabolic activation of N,N-dialkylnitrosamines.

Genetic Techniques↗

[On the carcinogenic action of N-nitroso compounds. 6th communication: methoxymethyl-methylnitrosamine, 1-(methoxy)-ethyl-ethylnitrosamine, methoxymethyl-ethylnitrosamine, 1-(methoxy)-ethyl-methylnitrosamine, and N-nitrosooxazolidine (author's transl)].

The compounds mentioned in the title were tested for carcinogenicity in rats. All compounds proved to be carcinogens which showed interesting differences above all in the organotropy of action and in the induction periods of tumors.

Animals↗

The interaction of acetoxy-dimethylnitrosamine, a proximate metabolite of the carcinogenic amine, and bacteriophages R17 and T7.

The biological and physicochemical effects of reacting bacteriophages R17 and T7 with acetoxy-dimethylnitrosamine (ADMN) have been studied. The rate-determining step in the reactions appeared to be the loss of the acetoxy group by hydrolysis, the hydroxymethyl-methylnitrosamine generated decomposing rapidly to give a methyldiazonium ion and formaldehyde. In experiments with bacteriophage suspended in phosphate buffer the biological inactivation observed was the sum of the effects of the formaldehyde and of alkylation by the methylcarbonium ion produced from the diazonium ion. In experiments with bacteriophage suspended in Tris--HCl buffer the effects of formaldehyde were eliminated by its reaction with the buffer component. Alkylation by the carbonium ion produced unstable phosphotriesters in the bacteriophage RNA which on hydrolysis led to degradation of the molecule. In phosphate buffer the formaldehyde cross-linked the protein coat of the bacteriophage blocking the extraction of the RNA. Estimates of the mean lethal dose and of the extent of degradation of the RNA following reaction in Tris--HCl buffer were fairly close to those observed in experiments with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNUA).

Binding Sites↗

Mechanisms of resistance to methotrexate in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: circumvention of thymidylate synthase inhibition.

PURPOSE: In about 25% of patients suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treatment failures occur that are most likely due to development of resistance to methotrexate (MTX). Blasts from patients with ALL were evaluated for MTX uptake, formation of long-chain MTX polyglutamates (MTX-Glu5+6), cytotoxicity and thymidylate synthase inhibition by MTX and compared to blasts from patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). METHODS: Radioactively labeled MTX-Glu(n) were analyzed by means of HPLC. Thymidylate synthase activity was measured by a tritium-release assay. Cytotoxicity was determined by trypan blue exclusion. RESULTS: In most ALL blasts (n = 9) large amounts of MTX-Glu5+6 (1.06-7.03 pmol/10(7) cells) and high cytotoxicity (43.5% 92.7%) were found, while in others small amounts of MTX-Glu5+6 (0.0-0.39 pmol/10(7) cells) caused only weak cytotoxicity (6.0% 27.9%) (n = 5, 2 relapsed patients). Resistance to MTX in blasts from AML patients (n = 5) was also caused by reduced synthesis of MTX-Glu5s+6 (0.0-0.42 pmol/10(7) cells). In contrast, some ALL blasts (n = 7, 4 relapsed patients) were able to survive MTX treatment despite large amounts of MTX-Glu5+6 (1.5-5.05 pmol/10(7) cells) and extensive thymidylate synthase inhibition. CONCLUSIONS: Since the majority of ALL patients were examined at first diagnosis, an inherent mechanism of resistance seems most likely. We propose a mechanism based on the switch of thymidylate synthesis to the salvage pathway.

Adolescent↗

Detection of mutations in bacteria and of DNA damage and amplified DNA sequences in mammalian cells as a systematic test strategy for elucidating biological activities of chemical carcinogens.

The interdisciplinary evaluation of risks from carcinogens utilizes, inter alia, data on the activities of the compounds in short-term assays. A systematic approach is being used to determine mutagenesis in bacteria (the study of direct activities and specific modes of metabolic activation), DNA damage within primary mammalian cells (DNA single-strand breaks and persistence of damage, by a method extendable to the in vivo situation) and amplified DNA sequences in cultured cells (as an endpoint probably relevant to carcinogenesis). This test combination was expected to reduce some of the shortcomings of other batteries of tests, which suffer from a lack of appropriate metabolic conversion of compounds, irrelevancy of genetic endpoints and pharmacokinetic limitations. Furthermore, as each assay in the test strategy differs from the others only by one of the parameters described above, a reasonable understanding of divergent test results from assay to assay was anticipated. Several substances were investigated to elucidate why their activities in short-term assays and in carcinogenesis experiments do not correlate. The substances were N-nitrodimethylamine, for which formaldehyde is the reactive intermediate in bacterial mutagenesis but not in mammalian cells or in vivo, N-nitrosodiethanolamine, a carcinogen that must be activated by external alcohol dehydrogenase to be mutagenic in bacteria, N-nitrosodialkylamines, with unique organotropism in vivo for which organ-specific activation was studied in vitro, N-nitroso compounds that are inactivated in vivo but not in vitro, and components of the aristolochic acid mixture which may be metabolized oxidatively or reductively, as well as numerous miscellaneous compounds that were expected to be genotoxins on account of their chemical structure. In addition to the assessment of genotoxicity, the results obtained in individual tests of this strategy yield important data on mechanisms of activity, such as organ-specific activation and deactivation, species variations, in vitro/in vivo correlation and persistence or repair of damage.

Animals↗