In vitro transformation potential of N-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in rat tracheal epithelial cells

Nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAHs) are environmental contaminants and potential human airway carcinogens. Agents of this class show a wide range of potencies for toxicity, mutagenicity and carcinogenicity that are associated with the structure of the PAH and the position of the nitro group. In order to evaluate the effect of nitro substitution on in vitro biological activity, the cytotoxicity and transformation potential of two parent PAHs, pyrene and chrysene, and a series of nitro derivatives were examined in the rat tracheal epithelial (RTE) cell system. The nitro derivatives, but not pyrene or chrysene, produced dose-dependent decreases in the colony forming efficiency of the RTE cells. The most cytotoxic agents were 1,6-dinitropyrene and 6-nitrochrysene with ED(50)s of 1.6 mum and 5.9 mum, respectively, followed by 4-nitropyrene and 1-nitropyrene with ED(50)s of 26.3 mum and 44.5 mum, respectively. These compounds were evaluated for transformation potential at three treatment levels that spanned the cytotoxic range, and the assays were scored for morphologically transformed preneoplastic colonies. The control or spontaneous transformation frequency in this series of experiments was 1.79 +/- 0.47 (x 10(-4)). 6-Nitrochrysene and 1,6-dinitropyrene were the only compounds that produced transformation frequencies (12.17 x 10(-4) and 9.68 x 10(-4), respectively) that were statistically different from control. The maximum transformation frequencies of the compounds were compared with published data for liver tumorigenicity in the newborn mouse assay. The orders for tumorigenicity and transformation were the same (1,6-dinitropyrene > 4-nitropyrene > 1-nitropyrene approximately - pyrene and 6-nitrochrysene > chrysene), and the relative potencies of the compounds were similar in the two assays. These results suggest that RTE cells are capable of metabolizing nitro-PAHs to reactive products, and that, within this limited class of compounds, in vitro transformation data in the RTE cell system may be correlated with tumorigenicity in animal studies.