DNA damage and repair in mouse embryos following treatment transplacentally with methylnitrosourea and methylmethanesulfonate.

Mouse embryos were labeled in vivo at 10 1/2-12 1/2 days of gestation with [3H]-thymidine and subjected to DNA damage using x-ray, methylmethanesulfonate, or methylnitrosourea. DNA damage and its repair were assessed in specific cell preparations from embryos isolated at intervals thereafter using the highly sensitive method of nucleoid sedimentation, which evaluates the supercoiled state of the DNA. Repair of x-ray damage was demonstrated using trypsin-dispersed cells from whole embryos and from homogenized embryonic liver to show the validity of the analytical approach. The effects of the highly teratogenic methylnitrosourea and the much less teratogenic methylmethanesulfonate were compared in the targeted limb buds using equitoxic doses of the two alkylating agents. DNA supercoiling was fully restored after 24 hr in limb bud cells damaged with methylmethanesulfonate, while as much as 48 hr were required for full repair of methylnitrosourea damage. These results demonstrated the feasibility of studying DNA repair in embryonic tissues after damage in vivo and suggest that the potency of methylnitrosourea as a teratogen may be correlated with a prolonged period required for complete repair of DNA.