MUTAGENIC AND RECOMBINOGENIC EFFECTS OF ANTI-TUMOR ANTIBIOTIC ANTHRAMYCIN

  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 38  (9) , 2795-2799
Abstract
Anthramycin, a pyrrolo(1,4)benzodiazepine antibiotic with potent antitumor activity, was tested for its effects on genetic parameters. This antibiotic was nonmutagenic in the Ames strains of Salmonella typhimurium, while mutagenic in only one and antimutagenic in the rest of the genes tested in the eukaryotic organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The antibiotic was a potent recombinogen inasmuch as it induced mitotic crossing over, mitotic gene conversion and possibly other chromosomal alterations in a diploid strain of S. cerevisiae. These studies emphasized the need for a battery of test systems including eukaryotic organisms to detect the genetic activity of certain antitumor drugs. The importance of considering data distinguishing between highly mutagenic and poorly mutagenic cancer chemotherapeutic agents was also discussed.