Morphological transformation of C3H/10T1/2 CL8 cells by alkylating agents

The standard method of the C3H/10T1/2 cell transformation assay cannot adequately detect alkylating agents. A modification of the standard procedure as described by Bertram and Heidelberger using a large number of synchronized cells and high levels of toxicity was evaluated for transformation using several alkylating agents. By using this method, N-methyl-N' -nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), beta-propiolactone (BPL), methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), methylnitrosourea (MNU) and 1,3-propane sultone (PS) transformed these cells. However, methyl iodide (MI) failed to induce any transformed foci.