A potent mutagen and carcinogen. It is a public health concern because of its possible effects on industrial workers, as an environmental pollutant, an as a component of tobacco smoke.

A group of condensed ring hydrocarbons.

7,8,8a,9a-Tetrahydrobenzo(10,11)chryseno (3,4-b)oxirene-7,8-diol. A benzopyrene derivative with carcinogenic and mutagenic activity.

A class of chemicals that contain an anthracene ring with a naphthalene ring attached to it.

Benzopyrenes saturated in any two adjacent positions and substituted with two hydroxyl groups in any position. The majority of these compounds have carcinogenic or mutagenic activity.

A drug-metabolizing, cytochrome P-448 (P-450) enzyme which catalyzes the hydroxylation of benzopyrene to 3-hydroxybenzopyrene in the presence of reduced flavoprotein and molecular oxygen. Also acts on certain anthracene derivatives. An aspect of EC 1.14.14.1.

A major group of unsaturated cyclic hydrocarbons containing two or more rings. The vast number of compounds of this important group, derived chiefly from petroleum and coal tar, are rather highly reactive and chemically versatile. The name is due to the strong and not unpleasant odor characteristic of most substances of this nature. (From Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 12th ed, p96)

The products of chemical reactions that result in the addition of extraneous chemical groups to DNA.

Compounds consisting of two or more fused ring structures.

Substances that increase the risk of NEOPLASMS in humans or animals. Both genotoxic chemicals, which affect DNA directly, and nongenotoxic chemicals, which induce neoplasms by other mechanism, are included.

The chemical alteration of an exogenous substance by or in a biological system. The alteration may inactivate the compound or it may result in the production of an active metabolite of an inactive parent compound. The alterations may be divided into METABOLIC DETOXICATION, PHASE I and METABOLIC DETOXICATION, PHASE II.

Chemical agents that increase the rate of genetic mutation by interfering with the function of nucleic acids. A clastogen is a specific mutagen that causes breaks in chromosomes.

Organic compounds that include a cyclic ether with three ring atoms in their structure. They are commonly used as precursors for POLYMERS such as EPOXY RESINS.

A carcinogen that is often used in experimental cancer studies.

Four fused benzyl rings with three linear and one angular, that can be viewed as a benzyl-phenanthrenes. Compare with NAPHTHACENES which are four linear rings.

Tests of chemical substances and physical agents for mutagenic potential. They include microbial, insect, mammalian cell, and whole animal tests.

A liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase capable of biotransforming xenobiotics such as polycyclic hydrocarbons and halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons into carcinogenic or mutagenic compounds. They have been found in mammals and fish. This enzyme, encoded by CYP1A1 gene, can be measured by using ethoxyresorufin as a substrate for the ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase activity.

A by-product of the destructive distillation of coal used as a topical antieczematic. It is an antipruritic and keratoplastic agent used also in the treatment of psoriasis and other skin conditions. Occupational exposure to soots, tars, and certain mineral oils is known to be carcinogenic according to the Fourth Annual Report on Carcinogens (NTP 85-002, 1985) (Merck Index, 11th ed).

A generic grouping for dihydric alcohols with the hydroxy groups (-OH) located on different carbon atoms. They are viscous liquids with high boiling points for their molecular weights.

Organic compounds containing a BENZENE ring attached to a flavone group. Some of these are potent arylhydrocarbon hydroxylase inhibitors. They may also inhibit the binding of NUCLEIC ACIDS to BENZOPYRENES and related compounds. The designation includes all isomers; the 7,8-isomer is most frequently encountered.

A large group of cytochrome P-450 (heme-thiolate) monooxygenases that complex with NAD(P)H-FLAVIN OXIDOREDUCTASE in numerous mixed-function oxidations of aromatic compounds. They catalyze hydroxylation of a broad spectrum of substrates and are important in the metabolism of steroids, drugs, and toxins such as PHENOBARBITAL, carcinogens, and insecticides.

Carcinogenic substances that are found in the environment.

1,2-Benzphenanthrenes. POLYCYCLIC COMPOUNDS obtained from coal tar.

Agents that reduce the frequency or rate of spontaneous or induced mutations independently of the mechanism involved.

A superfamily of hundreds of closely related HEMEPROTEINS found throughout the phylogenetic spectrum, from animals, plants, fungi, to bacteria. They include numerous complex monooxygenases (MIXED FUNCTION OXYGENASES). In animals, these P-450 enzymes serve two major functions: (1) biosynthesis of steroids, fatty acids, and bile acids; (2) metabolism of endogenous and a wide variety of exogenous substrates, such as toxins and drugs (BIOTRANSFORMATION). They are classified, according to their sequence similarities rather than functions, into CYP gene families (>40% homology) and subfamilies (>59% homology). For example, enzymes from the CYP1, CYP2, and CYP3 gene families are responsible for most drug metabolism.

Phenanthrenes are aromatic hydrocarbons consisting of three benzene rings fused together in a linear arrangement, commonly found in various plants and some animals, and can act as precursors for certain steroid hormones or exhibit pharmacological activities with potential therapeutic uses.

The phenomenon whereby compounds whose molecules have the same number and kind of atoms and the same atomic arrangement, but differ in their spatial relationships. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 5th ed)

Measurement of the intensity and quality of fluorescence.

A deoxyribonucleotide polymer that is the primary genetic material of all cells. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms normally contain DNA in a double-stranded state, yet several important biological processes transiently involve single-stranded regions. DNA, which consists of a polysugar-phosphate backbone possessing projections of purines (adenine and guanine) and pyrimidines (thymine and cytosine), forms a double helix that is held together by hydrogen bonds between these purines and pyrimidines (adenine to thymine and guanine to cytosine).

Elimination of ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS; PESTICIDES and other waste using living organisms, usually involving intervention of environmental or sanitation engineers.

A greasy substance with a smoky odor and burned taste created by high temperature treatment of BEECH and other WOOD; COAL TAR; or resin of the CREOSOTE BUSH. It contains CRESOLS and POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS which are CARCINOGENS. It has been widely used as wood preservative and in PESTICIDES and had former use medicinally in DISINFECTANTS; LAXATIVES; and DERMATOLOGIC AGENTS.

A potent epoxide hydrase and aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase inhibitor. It enhances the tumor-initiating ability of certain carcinogens.

A polyaromatic hydrocarbon inducer of P4501A1 and P4501A2 cytochromes. (Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 1994 Dec:207(3):302-308)

Industrial chemicals which have become widespread environmental pollutants. Each aroclor is a mixture of chlorinated biphenyls (1200 series) or chlorinated terphenyls (5400 series) or a combination of both (4400 series).

Enzymes that catalyze reversibly the formation of an epoxide or arene oxide from a glycol or aromatic diol, respectively.

Cytoplasmic proteins that bind certain aryl hydrocarbons, translocate to the nucleus, and activate transcription of particular DNA segments. AH receptors are identified by their high-affinity binding to several carcinogenic or teratogenic environmental chemicals including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in cigarette smoke and smog, heterocyclic amines found in cooked foods, and halogenated hydrocarbons including dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls. No endogenous ligand has been identified, but an unknown natural messenger with a role in cell differentiation and development is suspected.

A circumscribed benign epithelial tumor projecting from the surrounding surface; more precisely, a benign epithelial neoplasm consisting of villous or arborescent outgrowths of fibrovascular stroma covered by neoplastic cells. (Stedman, 25th ed)

An increase in the rate of synthesis of an enzyme due to the presence of an inducer which acts to derepress the gene responsible for enzyme synthesis.

Experimentally induced new abnormal growth of TISSUES in animals to provide models for studying human neoplasms.

Compounds of the general formula R-O-R arranged in a ring or crown formation.

A group of compounds that are derivatives of methoxybenzene and contain the general formula R-C7H7O.

Reduction of pharmacologic activity or toxicity of a drug or other foreign substance by a living system, usually by enzymatic action. It includes those metabolic transformations that make the substance more soluble for faster renal excretion.

A residue of coal, left after dry (destructive) distillation, used as a fuel.

The combination of two or more different factors in the production of cancer.

A nucleoside consisting of the base guanine and the sugar deoxyribose.

Substances which pollute the soil. Use for soil pollutants in general or for which there is no specific heading.

Substances or energies, for example heat or light, which when introduced into the air, water, or land threaten life or health of individuals or ECOSYSTEMS.

Mixture of 2- and 3-tert-butyl-4-methoxyphenols that is used as an antioxidant in foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

A chemical by-product that results from burning or incinerating chlorinated industrial chemicals and other hydrocarbons. This compound is considered an environmental toxin, and may pose reproductive, as well as, other health risks for animals and humans.

The rate dynamics in chemical or physical systems.

A family of diphenylenemethane derivatives.

Products of the hydrolysis of chlorophylls in which the phytic acid side chain has been removed and the carboxylic acids saponified.

A hepatic carcinogen whose mechanism of activation involves N-hydroxylation to the aryl hydroxamic acid followed by enzymatic sulfonation to sulfoxyfluorenylacetamide. It is used to study the carcinogenicity and mutagenicity of aromatic amines.

7,12-Dimethylbenzanthracene. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon found in tobacco smoke that is a potent carcinogen.

Benzene derivatives that include one or more hydroxyl groups attached to the ring structure.

Agents that emit light after excitation by light. The wave length of the emitted light is usually longer than that of the incident light. Fluorochromes are substances that cause fluorescence in other substances, i.e., dyes used to mark or label other compounds with fluorescent tags.

Widely distributed enzymes that carry out oxidation-reduction reactions in which one atom of the oxygen molecule is incorporated into the organic substrate; the other oxygen atom is reduced and combined with hydrogen ions to form water. They are also known as monooxygenases or hydroxylases. These reactions require two substrates as reductants for each of the two oxygen atoms. There are different classes of monooxygenases depending on the type of hydrogen-providing cosubstrate (COENZYMES) required in the mixed-function oxidation.

Family of small, surface-dwelling fish that inhabit fresh and brackish waters, and coastal marine areas.

A large lobed glandular organ in the abdomen of vertebrates that is responsible for detoxification, metabolism, synthesis and storage of various substances.

Maleimides are a class of chemically reactive compounds containing a maleimide functional group, which can undergo addition reactions with nucleophiles such as thiols, making them useful for the formation of covalent bonds in various bioconjugation and material synthesis applications.

The relationship between the chemical structure of a compound and its biological or pharmacological activity. Compounds are often classed together because they have structural characteristics in common including shape, size, stereochemical arrangement, and distribution of functional groups.

A serotype of Salmonella enterica that is a frequent agent of Salmonella gastroenteritis in humans. It also causes PARATYPHOID FEVER.

Chemical compounds which pollute the water of rivers, streams, lakes, the sea, reservoirs, or other bodies of water.

Injuries to DNA that introduce deviations from its normal, intact structure and which may, if left unrepaired, result in a MUTATION or a block of DNA REPLICATION. These deviations may be caused by physical or chemical agents and occur by natural or unnatural, introduced circumstances. They include the introduction of illegitimate bases during replication or by deamination or other modification of bases; the loss of a base from the DNA backbone leaving an abasic site; single-strand breaks; double strand breaks; and intrastrand (PYRIMIDINE DIMERS) or interstrand crosslinking. Damage can often be repaired (DNA REPAIR). If the damage is extensive, it can induce APOPTOSIS.

Artifactual vesicles formed from the endoplasmic reticulum when cells are disrupted. They are isolated by differential centrifugation and are composed of three structural features: rough vesicles, smooth vesicles, and ribosomes. Numerous enzyme activities are associated with the microsomal fraction. (Glick, Glossary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 1990; from Rieger et al., Glossary of Genetics: Classical and Molecular, 5th ed)

Naturally occurring complex liquid hydrocarbons which, after distillation, yield combustible fuels, petrochemicals, and lubricants.

A subfamily in the family MURIDAE, comprising the hamsters. Four of the more common genera are Cricetus, CRICETULUS; MESOCRICETUS; and PHODOPUS.

'Smoke' is a complex mixture of gases, fine particles, and volatile compounds, generally produced by combustion of organic substances, which can contain harmful chemicals known to have adverse health effects.

A genus of gram-positive, aerobic bacteria. Most species are free-living in soil and water, but the major habitat for some is the diseased tissue of warm-blooded hosts.

A barbituric acid derivative that acts as a nonselective central nervous system depressant. It potentiates GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID action on GABA-A RECEPTORS, and modulates chloride currents through receptor channels. It also inhibits glutamate induced depolarizations.

Either of the pair of organs occupying the cavity of the thorax that effect the aeration of the blood.

A group of guanine ribonucleotides in which the phosphate residues of each guanine ribonucleotide act as bridges in forming diester linkages between the ribose moieties.