ABSENCE OF FORMATION OF BENZO[A]PYRENE DNA ADDUCTS IN THE CUTTLEFISH (SEPIA-OFFICINALIS, MOLLUSCA, CEPHALOPODA)/

Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) injected intramuscularly into the base of the a rms of cuttlefish was released continuously from the injection site an d removed from the organism. Only a portion of the compound accumulate d in the body. Twenty four hr after its injection, 75% of B[a] P appli ed in olive oil was removed from the cuttlefish, and 1.2% was found in the body outside the head, the site of injection. If the carcinogen w as dissolved in dimethylformamide, the removal of B[a]P was slower, so that only 18% of the injected B[a]P was removed from the organism and 0.36% accumulated in the body outside the head 24 hr after injection. The high level of B[a]P in gills and hemolymph 4 hr after injection a nd the kinetics of the decrease of its concentration with time indicat e that these two organs could be involved in the excretion of B[a]P fr om the body. The B[a]P/DNA adducts characteristic for vertebrates coul d not be demonstrated in gills, skin, brain, hepatopancreas, and lymph ocytes of the cuttlefish 24 hr after injection of B[a]P. The dose of t he carcinogen injected into the cuttlefish was 2-4 times higher than t he dose resulting in the formation of a high level of B[a]P/DNA adduct s in the vertebrates. A different metabolism of B[a]P in the tissue of cephalopods, compared to vertebrates, could be less favorable to the process leading to malignant transformation and could explain the abse nce from the literature of reports of tumors in cephalopods. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.