Comparative tumorigenicity in newborn mice of chrysene- and 5-alkylchrysene-1,2-diol-3,4-epoxides

We determined the tumorigenicity in newborn mice of racemic anti-1,2-diol-3,4-epoxides of chrysene, 5-methylchrysene, 5-ethylchrysene and 5-propylchrysene. Among the four diol epoxides, only anti-5-methylchrysene-1,2-diol-3,4-epoxide was highly tumorigenic. It was 15-30 times more potent in induction of pulmonary tumors than the other compounds. The results demonstrate that molecular shape is critical in determining the tumorigenic activity of alkylchrysene diol epoxides. A methyl group in the same bay region as the epoxide ring leads to exceptional activity. This may be a consequence of DNA adduct conformation.