Inhibition of intercellular communication in Chinese hamster V79 cells by fractionated asphalt fume condensates |
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Authors: | M Toraason J S Bohrman E Elmore G Wyatt D McGregor S E Willington W Zajac |
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Affiliation: | Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Science, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226. |
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Abstract: | Asphalt fume condensate is a skin carcinogen in mice, yet this complex mixture contains relatively low levels of known carcinogenic initiators. Consequently, its biological activity has been attributed to the presence of cocarcinogenic or tumor-promoting agents. One of several proposed mechanisms of tumor promotion is inhibition of intercellular communication. In an attempt to determine if asphalt fume has tumor-promoting potential inhibition of intercellular communication was measured in V79 cells exposed to fractionated asphalt fume condensate. Fume from air-blown Arabian crude asphalt was trapped and separated into five fractions by preparative-scale high-pressure liquid chromatography. The parent fume condensate and the five fractions inhibited intercellular communication in a concentration-dependent fashion, with a minimum effective concentration of 2.5 microgram/ml for the most potent fraction. Cytotoxicity assays were performed at the same time and concentrations as the metabolic cooperation assays. Cytotoxic responses paralleled the inhibition of intercellular communication. |
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