DETECTION OF ANEUPLOIDY-INDUCING CARCINOGENS IN THE SYRIAN-HAMSTER EMBRYO (SHE) CELL-TRANSFORMATION ASSAY

As evidenced by the recent report of the Commission of the European Co mmunities (CEEC) project (Detection of Aneugenic Chemicals-CEEC projec t, 1993), there currently is a great deal of effort towards developing and validating assays to detect aneuploidy-inducing chemicals. In thi s report, we describe the utility of the Syrian hamster embryo (SHE) c ell transformation assay for detecting carcinogens with known or suspe cted aneuploidy-inducing activity. The following carcinogens were test ed: asbestos, benomyl, cadmium chloride, chloral hydrate, diethylstilb estrol dipropionate, and griseofulvin. Thiabendazole, a noncarcinogen, was also tested. Chemicals of unknown or inconclusive carcinogenicity data, colcemid, diazepam, econazole nitrate, and pyrimethamine were a lso evaluated. All of the above chemicals except thiabendazole induced a significant increase in morphological transformation (MT) in SHE ce lls. Based on these results as well as those published in the literatu re previously, the SHE cell transformation assay appears to have utili ty for detecting carcinogens with known or suspected aneuploidy-induci ng ability.