Lack of UDS activity in the livers of mice and rats exposed to dichloromethane.

Dichloromethane (DCM) has been evaluated for its ability to initiate unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) in the livers of male mice and rats in vivo. Two types of experiment were conducted. In the first, Alpk:AP rats were exposed by oral gavage to 100, 500, or 1,000 mg/kg DCM and hepatocytes assessed for UDS via autoradiography 4 and 12 hours later. In the second, Fischer F344 rats or B6C3F1 mice were exposed by inhalation to either 2,000 or 4,000 ppm of DCM for either 2 or 6 hours, and hepatocytes assessed for UDS immediately after exposure. The dose levels and strains of rodent employed in the latter protocol correspond to those employed in a recent cancer bioassay of DCM conducted by the U.S. National Toxicology Program. DCM failed to induce UDS in any of the experiments. These data are discussed within the context of other evidence indicating DCM to be nongenotoxic in vivo, despite its reported carcinogenicity in the mouse.