Abstract
In this chapter we describe a simple short-term test for ultimate carcinogens (carcinogens which do not need metabolic activation). It is based on measuring directly the lesions introduced into DNA rather than the biological consequences of DNA damage. The double-stranded circular DNA of phage PM2 is incubated with the agent to be tested, separated from the unreacted chemical, and then tested for DNA lesions by methods which involve simple incubation steps and filtration through nitrocellulose filters. Nitrocellulose filters selectively retain denatured DNA or DNA containing single-stranded regions. This property can be used to measure single- and double-strand breaks (Center and Richardson, 1970), crosslinks, damages which locally denature the DNA helix, damages which render the phosphodiester backbone sensitive to hydrolysis and damages which increase the depurination or depyrimidination rate of the DNA.
Supported by the National Cancer Institute of Canada. Dr. U. Kuhnlein is a Research Scholar of the N.C.I. of Canada and S.S. Tsang is a Research Student of the N.C.I. of Canada.
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© 1981 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
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Kuhnlein, U., Tsang, S.S., Edwards, J. (1981). Detection of DNA-Modifying Agents by Analyzing the Lesions Introduced into Purified PM2 DNA. In: Stich, H.F., San, R.H.C. (eds) Short-Term Tests for Chemical Carcinogens. Topics in Environmental Physiology and Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5847-6_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5847-6_2
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