BIOACTIVATION OF AROMATIC-AMINES BY RECOMBINANT HUMAN CYTOCHROME P45011A2 EXPRESSED IN AMES TESTER STRAIN BACTERIA - A SUBSTITUTE FOR ACTIVATION BY MAMMALIAN TISSUE PREPARATIONS
Pd. Josephy et al., BIOACTIVATION OF AROMATIC-AMINES BY RECOMBINANT HUMAN CYTOCHROME P45011A2 EXPRESSED IN AMES TESTER STRAIN BACTERIA - A SUBSTITUTE FOR ACTIVATION BY MAMMALIAN TISSUE PREPARATIONS, Cancer research, 55(4), 1995, pp. 799-802
The most widely used bioassay in genetic toxicology is the Ames test,
which combines a bacterial mutagenicity assay (reversion of Salmonella
typhinurium histidine-auxotrophic tester strains) with an exogenous b
ioactivation system (hepatic postmitochondrial supernatant or ''S9'').
The enzymatic activities of S9 prepared from the tissues of experimen
tal animals are difficult to control. We show that the requirement for
S9 can be obviated by the engineered expression of enzymes of bioacti
vation within the bacterial cell. With this strategy, reactive metabol
ites are produced inside the bacterial cell, proximate to the genetic
target. Species boundaries can be crossed, and chimeric or mutant enzy
mes can be studied. We have constructed an Ames tester strain, express
ing both aromatic amine N-acetyltransferase and human cytochrome P4501
A2, which detects aromatic amine mutagenicity in the absence of S9.