Integrated In Vivo Genotoxicity Assessment of Procarbazine Hydrochloride Demonstrates Induction of Pig‐a and LacZ Mutations, and Micronuclei, in MutaMouse Hematopoietic Cells

Procarbazine hydrochloride (PCH) is a DNA‐reactive hematopoietic carcinogen with potent and well‐characterized clastogenic activity. However, there is a paucity of in vivo mutagenesis data for PCH, and in vitro assays often fail to detect the genotoxic effects of PCH due to the complexity of its metabolic activation. We comprehensively evaluated the in vivo genotoxicity of PCH on hematopoietic cells of male MutaMouse transgenic rodents using a study design that facilitated assessments of micronuclei and Pig‐a mutation in circulating erythrocytes, and lacZ mutant frequencies in bone marrow. Mice were orally exposed to PCH (0, 6.25, 12.5, and 25 mg/kg/day) for 28 consecutive days. Blood samples collected 2 days after cessation of treatment exhibited significant dose‐related induction of micronuclei in both immature and mature erythrocytes. Bone marrow and blood collected 3 and 70 days after cessation of treatment also showed significantly elevated mutant frequencies in both the lacZ and Pig‐a assays even at the lowest dose tested. PCH‐induced lacZ and Pig‐a (immature and mature erythrocytes) mutant frequencies were highly correlated, with R(2) values ≥0.956, with the exception of lacZ vs. Pig‐a mutants in mature erythrocytes at the 70‐day time point (R(2) = 0.902). These results show that PCH is genotoxic in vivo and demonstrate that the complex metabolism and resulting genotoxicity of PCH is best evaluated in intact animal models. Our results further support the concept that multiple biomarkers of genotoxicity, especially hematopoietic cell genotoxicity, can be readily combined into one study provided that adequate attention is given to manifestation times. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 60:505–512, 2019. © 2018 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada