Investigation into the ability of the Salmonella umu test to detect DNA damage using antitumor drugs.

In order to examine the ability of the umu test detecting system, 18 antitumor drugs were tested using the Salmonella umu test. The tested antitumor drugs were selected so as to produce different biochemical actions, and they were classified into three categories; five agents of group I (antimetabolites), eight agents of group II (alkylating agents), and five agents of group III (antibiotics). The results showed that all antimetabolites, all alkylating agents, and three of the antibiotics had positive responses, but the antibiotics aclarubicin (ACR) and chromomycin A3 (CHR) had negative responses.

Evaluation of the Salmonella umu test with 83 NTP chemicals.

There is a need for simple rapid tests for evaluating the carcinogenic potential of the thousands of chemical compounds that are developed each year. The DNA-damaging effects of 83 National Toxicology Program (NTP) chemicals, including noncarcinogens and carcinogens, were examined in the umu test by measuring the expression of the umuDC-lacZ genes in Salmonella typhimurium TA1535/pSK1002. Salmonella were exposed to individual NTP chemicals at 37 degrees C for 2 hr both with and without a rat liver S9 mix; the treated cells were then diluted and incubated for a further 2 hr (posttreatment assay).