Stable heterologous expression of hydroxysteroid sulphotransferase in Chinese hamster V79 cells and their use for toxicological investigations.

Various benzylic alcohols are metabolically activated to electrophilic, potentially mutagenic and carcinogenic sulphuric acid esters. The involved sulphotransferases are not expressed in the cell lines in culture which are commonly used for mutagenicity testing. The liver of adult female rats is very efficient in the bioactivation of 1-hydroxymethylpyrene. The major enzyme involved was purified and identified as hydroxysteroid sulphotransferase a. Its cDNA was stably expressed in Chinese hamster V79 cells, which are particularly suited for the quantitative detection of various types of mutations and other genotoxic and cytotoxic effects. The mRNA, protein and enzyme activity levels in the constructed cell lines (V79rSTa-1 and V79rSTa-2) were measured, and the cells were also used in mutagenicity and cytotoxicity investigations with benzylic alcohols. 1-Hydroxymethylpyrene, 9-hydroxymethylanthracene and 6-hydroxymethylbenzo[a]pyrene showed enhanced cytotoxicity in V79rSTa-1 and V79rSTa-2 cells, as compared with sulphotransferase-deficient control cells. In addition, 1-hydroxymethylpyrene induced sister chromatid exchanges, and 6-hydroxymethylbenzo[a]pyrene induced gene mutations in V79rSTa-1 cells. We intend carrying out more investigations with other chemicals on these cell lines. Their advantages, as compared with systems with external metabolising systems, include the formation of the active metabolites within the target cell, as in ST-proficient cells in vivo, eliminating the problems which may result from restricted intercellular transport of reactive and ionized sulphuric acid conjugates. Furthermore, cells expressing other sulphotransferases, including human enzymes, may be constructed and used for comparative investigations.