The effect of complete carcinogens on intercellular transfer of lucifer yellow in fibroblast culture.

The effect on permeability of gap junctions of complete powerful carcinogens, 3-methylcholanthrene (MC), 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA), ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS), and weak carcinogens, benz(a)anthracene (BA), benzo(e)pyrene (B(e)P) as well as the aryl-hydroxylase inhibitor 7,8-benzoflavone (7,8-BF) has been studied with the use of a dye-coupling technique and transformed Djungarian hamster DM15 fibroblasts. MC, EMS and 7,8-BF were found to exert a strong inhibitory effect on cell-to-cell dye transfer. BA and DMBA had the uncoupling activity only in 2 out of 4 experiments. B(e)P was not shown to affect LY transfer between DM15 cells. The uncoupling effect of MC, 7,8-BF and EMS (only when EMS used at the concentration of 600 micrograms/ml but not 1000 micrograms/ml) appeared reversible. The causes of failure to detect DMBA and B(e)P effects on gap junctions are discussed.