Effect of activated nitrofurans on DNA.

Enzymically activated nitrofurazone reacts with co-valently closed circular DNA (derived from Escherichia coli minicells carrying lambdadv) to give at least two kinds of damage: breaks which are detected on neutral sucrose gradients and alkali-labile lesions in DNA which are converted to breaks when the DNA is subsequently Treated with alkali. DNA, isolated from nimicells exposed to the drug, also contains lesions which are converted to breaks upon treatment with endonuclease preparations obtained from Micrococcus luteus. Minicells repaired both breaks and nuclease-susceptible lesions within 2 h but did not repair alkali labile lesions within that time. Experiments with three other nitrofurans show that there are considerable differences in the degree to which DNA is damaged by activated metabolites of various derivatives and that the potency of the compounds as mutagens and carcinogens is correlated with the amount of damage caused to minicell DNA.