The effects of exposure route on DNA adduct formation and cellular proliferation by 1,2,3-trichloropropane.
1,2,3-Trichloropropane (TCP) induces high incidences of tumors at multiple sites in mice and rats when administered chronically by gavage. The animal tumor data are being used to predict human risk from potential exposure to TCP in drinking water. Risk assessment may be affected by differences in the route of exposure. Gavage administration, which results in high bolus concentrations compared to drinking water exposure, may quantitatively affect toxicokinetics, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity. We have examined the effects of TCP exposure by the two routes on the formation of DNA adducts and the induction of cellular proliferation. Male B6C3F1 mice were administered [14C]TCP for 1 week by gavage or in drinking water at the low dose (6 mg/kg) used in the NTP carcinogenesis bioassay. Two target organs (forestomach and liver) and two nontarget organs (glandular stomach and kidney) were examined for DNA adduct formation. Adducts were hydrolyzed from DNA, isolated by HPLC, and quantitated by measuring HPLC fractions for radioactivity. In the forestomach, liver, and kidney, gavage administration of TCP resulted in 1.4-to 2.4-fold greater yields of the major DNA adduct, previously identified as S-[1-(hydroxymethyl)-2-(N7-guanyl)ethyl]glutathione. Significant differences in cell proliferation, as determined by incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine into DNA, were also observed for the two routes. Gavage administration of TCP for 2 weeks resulted in up to a threefold greater cell proliferation rate relative to administration in drinking water. Our findings of exposure-related differences in TCP-induced DNA adduct formation and cell proliferation suggest that a risk assessment based on the existing gavage study may overestimate human risk.