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Biomedical subjects

W M Generoso

Publications and source records attributed to W M Generoso.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Concentration-response curves for ethylene-oxide-induced heritable translocations and dominant lethal mutations.

Male mice were subjected to repeated inhalation exposures to different concentrations (165, 204, 250, or 300 ppm) of ethylene oxide (EtO) during an 8.5-week period. Transmitted clastogenic effects of these exposures were measured in terms of induction of dominant lethal mutations and heritable translocations. The concentration-response curves for both endpoints are not linear but are markedly concave upward. Significant increases in dominant lethals were detected at all concentrations, except the lowest one. In comparison, the incidences of heritable translocations were significantly increased at all concentrations.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed1990

Female-specific dominant lethal effects in mice.

For some chemicals, induction of presumed dominant lethal mutations has been observed only in female mice and not in males. In those cases, questions arise as to (1) whether the increased embryonic mortality is due to genetic effects of the chemicals in the oocyte or, (2) is caused indirectly through maternal toxicity, and, if genetic, (3) the basis for the sex difference. These questions were studied using the compounds adriamycin and platinol. Neither compound induces dominant lethals in male germ cells, but both increased early embryonic mortality when females were treated prior to mating (treatment of maturing oocytes). Reciprocal zygote transfer experiments ruled out, either entirely or for the large part, maternal toxicity as the cause, and cytogenetic analysis of first-cleavage metaphases revealed high incidences of chromosomal aberrations. The results of both of these experiments thus provide evidence that the early embryonic mortality resulted from genetic effects induced in oocytes. Most interestingly, each compound produced unexpected types of chromosomal aberrations. Adriamycin produced deletions, rings, and presumed chromosome-type rearrangements. Platinol, on the other hand, produced a few chromatid-type aberrations, but the bulk of aberrations were characterized by disorganization of the chromatin, minute fragments, and thread-like chromatin bridges between fragments and chromosomes or between two or more chromosomes. The latter type of cytogenetic damage was observed primarily in the centromeric region. It is hypothesized that the female-specific dominant lethal effects of the two compounds are associated with the diffused state of the maturing oocyte chromosomes.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Increased incidence of developmental anomalies among descendants of carriers of methylenebisacrylamide-induced balanced reciprocal translocations.

N,N'-Methylenebisacrylamide (MBA), a dimer of the monomeric acrylamide, was studied for induction of clastogenic effects in germ cells of male mice. It was found to be effective in inducing dominant-lethal mutations and heritable translocations in maturing sperm. The semisterile translocation carriers and their normal counterparts were used to determine the health impact of transmitted chromosomal rearrangements through anatomical analysis of their immediate descendants in utero. As expected, semisterility resulted primarily from embryonic death during the periimplantation stages presumably caused by sperm segregants with unbalanced chromosome complement fertilizing some of the eggs. Among conceptuses that survived to mid- and late-gestation stages, there was an increased incidence of developmental anomalies including fetal death and phenotypic defects. These anomalies are assumed to be caused by certain types of unbalanced segregants that are compatible with survival beyond the periimplantation period. This class of unbalanced segregants represent in humans a major health problem to the mother and her conceptus.

Acrylamides↗
PubMed1990

Molecular and genetic characterization of a radiation-induced structural rearrangement in mouse chromosome 2 causing mutations at the limb deformity and agouti loci.

Molecular characterization of mutations in the mouse, particularly those involving agent-induced major structural alterations, is proving to be useful for correlating the structure and expression of individual genes with their function in the whole organism. Here we present the characterization of a radiation-induced mutation that simultaneously generated distinct alleles of both the limb deformity (ld) and agouti (a) loci, two developmentally important regions of chromosome 2 normally separated by 20 centimorgans. Cytogenetic analysis revealed that an interstitial segment of chromosome 17 (17B- 17C; or, possibly, 17A2-17B) had been translocated into the distal end of chromosome 2, resulting in a smaller-than-normal chromosome 17 (designated 17del) and a larger form of chromosome 2 (designated 2(17). Additionally, a large interstitial segment of the 2(17) chromosome, immediately adjacent and proximal to the insertion site, did not match bands 2E4-2H1 at corresponding positions on a normal chromosome 2. Molecular analysis detected a DNA rearrangement in which a portion of the ld locus was joined to sequences normally tightly linked to the a locus. This result, along with the genetic and cytogenetic data, suggests that the alleles of ld and a in this radiation-induced mutation, designated ldIn2 and ajIn2, were associated with DNA breaks caused by an inversion of an interstitial segment in the 2(17) chromosome.

Abnormalities, Radiation-Induced↗
PubMed1989

Fetal pathology produced by ethylene oxide treatment of the murine zygote.

Exposure of female mice to ethylene oxide by inhalation 1 or 6 h after mating produced not only multitemporal death of conceptuses but also high rates of abnormalities among surviving fetuses. In contrast, only marginal effects were observed when females were exposed 9 or 25 h after mating. The abnormalities found among 17 day gestation live fetuses were predominated by hydrops and eye defects, which, together, constitute 54% of all anomalies. Most of the remaining anomalies were distributed among 5 other types: small size, cleft palate, and cardiac, abdominal wall, or extremity and/or tail defects. In a follow-up study, the fetuses of females treated 6 h postmating were examined at 11-15 days gestation and the progression of fetal death and of malformations was studied. Results indicate that the expression of most fetal anomalies does not become apparent until late in gestation. Several of these induced anomalies are similar to common human sporadic birth defects. This new class of experimentally induced fetal anomalies provides a new avenue for investigating zygotic biology and a system for studying the progression of aberrant development.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Chromosome malsegregation and embryonic lethality induced by treatment of normally ovulated mouse oocytes with nocodazole.

The mouse egg is ovulated with its nucleus arrested at the metaphase-II stage of meiosis. Sperm entry triggers the completion of the second meiotic division. It has been speculated that damage to the meiotic spindle of normally ovulated eggs at around the time of sperm entry could result in chromosome malsegregation and the death of conceptuses with numerical chromosome anomalies. This hypothesis was tested using nocodazole, a microtubule inhibitor. Nocodazole was administered either to maturing preovulatory oocytes or to normally ovulated eggs at one of the following stages: (1) the time of sperm entry, (2) early pronuclear stage, (3) pronuclear DNA synthesis, (4) prior to first cleavage division, (5) early 2-cell stage, or (6) prior to the second cleavage division. Little or no effect was observed for treatment times other than the time of sperm entry, when the egg is being activated to complete the second meiotic division. Remarkably high frequencies of embryonic lethality, expressed at around the time of implantation, were induced at this stage. Cytogenetic analysis of first cleavage metaphases of zygotes treated at the time of sperm entry revealed a high incidence of varied numerical chromosome anomalies, with changes in ploidy being predominant.

Aneuploidy↗
PubMed1989

Fetal anomalies produced subsequent to treatment of zygotes with ethylene oxide or ethyl methanesulfonate are not likely due to the usual genetic causes.

Earlier studies in this laboratory revealed that ethylene oxide (EtO) or ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) induced high frequencies of midgestation and late fetal deaths, and of malformations among some of the surviving fetuses, when female mice were exposed at the time of fertilization of their eggs or during the early pronuclear stage of the zygote. Effects of the two mutagens are virtually identical. Thus, in investigating the mechanisms responsible for the dramatic effects in the early pronuclear zygotes, the two compounds were used interchangeably in the experiments. First, a reciprocal zygote-transfer study was conducted in order to determine whether the effect is directly on the zygotes or indirectly through maternal toxicity. And second, cytogenetic analyses of pronuclear metaphases, early cleavage embryos, and midgestation fetuses were carried out. The zygote transplantation experiment rules out maternal toxicity as a factor in the fetal maldevelopment. Together with the strict stage specificity observed in the earlier studies, this result points to a genetic cause for the abnormalities. However, the cytogenetic studies failed to show structural or numerical chromosome aberrations. Since intragenic base changes and deletions may also be ruled out, it appears that the lesions in question induced in zygotes by the two mutagens are different from conventional ones and, therefore, could be a novel one in experimental mammalian mutagenesis. Alternatively, the mechanism could involve a non-mutational 'imprinting' process that caused changes in gene expression.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1989

Age-dependent modulation of tissue-specific repair activity for 3-methyladenine and O6-methylguanine in DNA in inbred mice.

3-Methyladenine-DNA N-glycosylase (MAG) and O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) activities were assayed in liver, lungs, brain and ovaries of female mice of two inbred stocks, C3Hf and C57BL/E, as a function of age. In addition to differences in the enzyme levels between the two stocks for each organ, the suckling animals (9-day-old) have consistently lower levels of both MAG and MGMT than young adults (7- or 8-week-old). While the MGMT levels in adults did not decrease with age, the MAG levels in 15- to 17-month-old animals were, in general, significantly lower than those in young adults. These results raise the possibility that the older animals are at a higher risk than young adults following exposure to alkylating mutagens.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1988

No evidence found for induction of dominant lethal mutations and heritable translocations in male mice by calcium cyclamate.

Calcium cyclamate, an artificial sweetener, was studied for its effectiveness in inducing transmissible chromosomal aberrations in germ cells of male mice. Both the dominant-lethal and the heritable translocation tests were carried out following daily treatment (on weekdays) of males by oral intubation with the maximum tolerated dose for 6 weeks. Calcium cyclamate is negative in both tests; therefore, there is no evidence of induced chromosome breakage and exchange.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Mouse germ cell mutation tests in genetic risk evaluation of chemical mutagens.

That certain environmental chemicals can induce transmissible mutations in germ cells of experimental mammal is clear. The assumption that under certain conditions these chemicals are also likely to be mutagenic to human germ cells is not detectable. However, it is a difficult challenge to determine the level of human exposure at which such chemicals can be produced and used economically without significantly harming human health. Data on transmitted genetic effects in mice are necessary, not only as a measure of endpoints that are considered directly in genetic risk assessment, but also as the standard for evaluating the usefulness of non-germ-cell effects as predictors in genetic risk assessment. To carry out a "real world" genetic risk assessment exercise, in vivo mouse data are being obtained for two model chemicals--ethylene oxide and acrylamide. Both chemicals are capable of inducing transmissible genetic effects in mice; their production and use involve measurable human exposures; and, because they are socially and economically important, they are not likely to be banned altogether despite their mutagenicity. For both chemicals, data are not sufficient for accurate low-dose and low-dose-rate extrapolations.

Acrylamides↗
PubMed1988

Mutagen-induced fetal anomalies and death following treatment of females within hours after mating.

In an earlier study (Generoso et al., 1987), it was observed that the mutagen, ethylene oxide (EtO), produced remarkable increases in the incidence of developmental abnormalities and death of fetuses when early zygotic stages were exposed. This is a major finding in experimental induction of embryopathy, implicating genetic damage to the zygotes as the likely cause. In the subsequent study reported here, 3 other mutagens--ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS), ethyl nitrosourea (ENU), and triethylene melamine (TEM), were studied for embryopathic effects following exposure of dictyate oocytes, prefertilization oviducal eggs and sperm, early pronuclear zygotes, zygotes undergoing pronuclear DNA synthesis, and two-cell embryos. All 4 mutagens produced developmental abnormalities among living fetuses following exposure of early pronuclear zygotes (the only stage studied for this endpoint in this report). With respect to stage specificity and gestational timing of death of conceptuses, EMS and EtO on one hand and ENU and TEM on the other, are very similar to one another. EMS, like EtO, produced a high incidence of midgestation and late fetal deaths only in prefertilization oviducal eggs and sperm and in early pronuclear eggs. In contrast, ENU and TEM produced high losses of conceptuses in all postmating stages studied but death occurred primarily prior to or around the time of implantation. Thus, the frequency of induction and the expression of embryopathy, which ranged from early embryonic preimplantation and late fetal deaths to subtle fetal anomalies, are dependent upon the stage exposed and the mutagen used.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1987

Acrylamide: induction of heritable translocation in male mice.

Acrylamide (AA), known to induce dominant lethals in male rodents, was studied in the mouse heritable translocation test by using intraperitoneal injections on 5 consecutive days. Matings on days 7-10 following the last injection yielded a high frequency of translocation carriers in the F1 male population, which demonstrated that acrylamide is an effective inducer of translocations in postmeiotic germ cells. As an inducer of both dominant lethals and heritable translocations in late spermatids and early spermatozoa, AA is similar to alkylating agents such as ethylmethanesulfonate and ethylene oxide. However, AA's chemical structure, the nature of adducts formed with DNA, and it lack of mutagenicity in bacteria suggest a different mechanism as the basis for AA's germ cell mutagenicity.

Acrylamide↗
PubMed1987

Exposure of female mice to ethylene oxide within hours after mating leads to fetal malformation and death.

When previously mated female mice were exposed to inhaled ethylene oxide at the time of fertilization of their eggs or during early pronuclear stage of the zygote (before DNA synthesis), a high incidence of mortality among conceptuses and of congenital abnormalities among both the dead and the surviving fetuses was observed. The developmental stage at which death occurred ranged from near the time of implantation to day 17 of gestation when examination of the uterine contents was performed. In comparison, midgestation and late fetal deaths were absent or minimal when the females were exposed either before mating or when conceptuses were in later zygotic stages (pronuclear DNA synthesis) or had reached the early two-cell stage. The random types of congenital abnormality observed and the remarkable stage-dependent sensitivity suggest a genetic basis for the response. The effects differ, both from genetic damages induced in premating germ cells, which lead only to death near the time of implantation, and from teratogenic damage, which leads to malformations only when exposure of embryos occurs during the period of major organogenesis.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1986

A balanced translocation in mice with a neurological defect.

A semisterile male translocation heterozygote [t(2; 14) 1Gso] that exhibited neurological symptoms and an inability to swim (diver) was found among the offspring of male mice treated with triethylenemelamine. All breeding and cytogenetic data showed a complete concordance between translocation heterozygosity and the neurological disorders. Homozygosity for the translocation seemed to be lethal at an early embryonic stage. Despite the distinctive neurologic symptoms, no anatomic or histological defects in either the ear or in the central nervous system were observed. Thus, a balanced chromosomal translocation can produce disease with an inheritance pattern that mimics a single dominant gene defect.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Ethylene oxide dose and dose-rate effects in the mouse dominant-lethal test.

In the dose-response study, male mice were exposed by inhalation to ethylene oxide (EtO) for 4 consecutive days. Mice were exposed for 6 hr per day to 300 ppm, 400 ppm, or 500 ppm EtO for a daily total of 1,800, 2,400, or 3,000 ppm X hr (total exposures of 7,200, 9,600 and 12,000 ppm X hr), respectively. In the dose-rate study, mice were given a total exposure of 1,800 ppm X hr per day, also for 4 consecutive days, delivered either at 300 ppm in 6 hr, 600 ppm in 3 hr, or 1,200 ppm in 1.5 hr. Quantitation of dominant-lethal responses was made on matings involving sperm exposed as late spermatids and early spermatozoa, the most sensitive stages to EtO. In the dose-response study, a dose-related increase in dominant-lethal mutations was observed, the dose-response curve proved to be nonlinear. In the dose-rate study, increasing the exposure concentrations resulted in increased dominant-lethal responses.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1986

Tests for mutagenic effects of ammoniated glycyrrhizin, butylated hydroxytoluene, and gum Arabic in rodent germ cells.

Ammoniated glycyrrhizin, butylated hydroxytoluene, and gum Arabic are "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) substances that are used primarily as additives in foods. These substances were incorporated into rodent diets and fed to male rats and mice for 10 and 8 wk, respectively. The treated male mice and rats were then tested for dominant lethal effects. The mice were also tested for induced heritable translocation. Results of the rat studies indicated a statistically significant dominant lethal effect of each of the compounds tested; however, the biological significance of this response is not known. Results of the mouse dominant lethal and heritable translocation studies, on the other hand, indicated no adverse effects of the compounds tested.

Animals↗