HEAVY CIGARETTE SMOKERS SHOW HIGHER MUTAGENICITY IN URINE

We examined the mutagenicity of cigarette smoker's urine in 32 healthy male cigarette smoker and 37 healthy male non-smoker. Twenty-four-hou r urine specimens were subjected to blue rayon extraction which select ively adsorb polycyclic compounds, after which the elutions were fract ionated by carboxymethyl cellulose column chromatography for removing antimutagenic compounds. The mutagens were measured by using an S9-med iated Salmonella mutagenicity test on strain TA98. Compared with those with non-smokers, smokers' urine showed a significantly higher urinar y level of mutagens in the acid-elutable and in the sum of all chromat ography fractions. A similar tendency was also seen in the alkali-elut able fraction. The subjects were classified into three groups accordin g to the number of smoked cigarettes. Heavy smokers, who smoked more t han 20 cigarettes per day, showed a significantly higher urinary level of mutagens than both non-smokers and light smokers especially in the acid-elutable and in the sum of all chromatography fractions. Our fin dings suggest that smokers are exposed to a great amount of polycyclic carcinogens and mutagens by cigarette smoking. These results also sug gest that urinary level of mutagens measured by using blue rayon extra ction combined with carboxymethyl cellulose chromatography could be a good index for estimating the exposure to carcinogens and mutagens suc h as polycyclic compounds.