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.

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

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

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.

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

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)

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.

Compounds consisting of two or more fused ring structures.

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.

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.

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 carcinogen that is often used in experimental cancer studies.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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).

Carcinogenic substances that are found in the environment.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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).

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

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.

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.

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 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)

A family of diphenylenemethane derivatives.

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)

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

Measurement of the intensity and quality of fluorescence.

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

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

Closed vesicles of fragmented endoplasmic reticulum created when liver cells or tissue are disrupted by homogenization. They may be smooth or rough.

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).