IN-VITRO TRANSFORMATION OF C3H 10T1/2 AND SHE CELLS BY PROPYLENE-OXIDE AND EPICHLOROHYDRIN/

Neoplastic cell transformation by the carcinogenic epoxides, propylene oxide (PO) and epichlorohydrin (ECH), was investigated in two mammali an assays involving murine C3H/10T1/2 cells and Syrian hamster embryo (SHE) cells. In C3H/10T1/2 cells, PO increased the frequency of morpho logical transformations 9-18 times compared to the background frequenc y, at concentrations of 2.5-10mM (1-hour treatment). In SHE cells, a s imilar increase (5-15 times) was reached at concentrations of 5-20mM ( 8-day treatment). In both assays, ECH increased the frequency of morph ological transformations only at the highest exposure levels (2mM for C3H/10T1/2 cells and 0.5mM for SHE cells).