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Environmental
Health Perspectives Supplements Volume 110, Number 6, December 2002
Deviation from Additivity in Mixture Toxicity: Relevance of Nonlinear
Dose-Response Relationships and Cell Line Differences in Genotoxicity
Assays with Combinations of Chemical Mutagens and -Radiation
Werner K. Lutz,1 Spyros Vamvakas,1 Annette
Kopp-Schneider,2 Josef Schlatter,3 and Helga Stopper1
1Department of Toxicology, University of Würzburg,
Würzburg, Germany; 2Biostatistics Unit, German Cancer
Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany; 3Food Science Division,
Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, Zürich, Switzerland
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Full Article in PDF
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Abstract
Sublinear dose-response relationships are often seen in toxicity
testing, particularly with bioassays for carcinogenicity. This is the
result of a superimposition of various effects that modulate and contribute
to the process of cancer formation. Examples are saturation of detoxification
pathways or DNA repair with increasing dose, or regenerative hyperplasia
and indirect DNA damage as a consequence of high-dose cytotoxicity and
cell death. The response to a combination treatment can appear to be supra-additive,
although it is in fact dose-additive along a sublinear dose-response
curve for the single agents. Because environmental exposure of humans
is usually in a low-dose range and deviation from linearity is less likely
at the low-dose end, combination effects should be tested at the lowest
observable effect levels (LOEL) of the components. This principle has
been applied to combinations of genotoxic agents in various cellular models.
For statistical analysis, all experiments were analyzed for deviation
from additivity with an n-factor analysis of variance with an interaction
term, n being the number of components tested in combination. Benzo[a]pyrene,
benz[a]anthracene, and dibenz[a,c]anthracene were tested
at the LOEL, separately and in combination, for the induction of revertants
in the Ames test, using Salmonella typhimurium TA100 and rat liver
S9 fraction. Combined treatment produced no deviation from additivity.
The induction of micronuclei in vitro was investigated with ionizing
radiation from a 137Cs source and ethyl methanesulfonate. Mouse
lymphoma L5178Y cells revealed a significant 40% supra-additive combination
effect in an experiment based on three independent replicates for controls
and single and combination treatments. On the other hand, two human lymphoblastoid
cell lines (TK6 and WTK1) as well as a pilot study with human primary
fibroblasts from fetal lung did not show deviation from additivity. Data
derived from one cell line should therefore not be generalized. Regarding
the testing of mixtures for deviation from additive toxicity, the suggested
experimental protocol is easily followed by toxicologists. Key words:
137Cs, Ames test, cell line, chemically induced, dose-response
relationship, drug effects, drug interactions, ethyl methanesulfonate,
gamma rays, genotoxicity, L5178Y, micronuclei, models, mutagens, polynuclear
aromatic hydrocarbons, radiation effects, research design, risk assessment,
statistics, TK6, WTK1. Environ Health Perspect 110(suppl 6):915-918
(2002).
http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2002/suppl-6/915-918lutz/abstract.html
This article is part of the monograph Application
of Technology to Chemical Mixture Research.
Address correspondence to W.K. Lutz, Dept. of Toxicology,
University of Würzburg, Versbacher Str 9, 97078 Würzburg,
Germany. Telephone: 49 931 201 48402. Fax: 49 931 201 48446. E-mail:
lutz@toxi.uni-wuerzburg.de
We thank I. Winkens and M. Kessler for excellent experimental
work. This work was supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Public
Health (grants FE 316.97.0606 and 00.000265).
Received 18 December 2001; accepted 30 May 2002.
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The question whether mixture effects are additive cannot be answered without
information on the dose-response relationship for the single agents. Figure
1 (left) illustrates the problem. Assume that dose level x of substance
A produces response level y. If substance B is added at a dose level
that also produces response level y, and the combined exposure results
in a response level >>2y, one is tempted to call this a supra-additive
combination effect. However, this result could simply be the consequence of
a sublinear dose-response relationship for the single substances; that
is, dose level 2x of A would on its own result in response level >>2y.
Therefore, the response obtained with the combination treatment is not the result
of an interaction. It is still additive.
 |
| Figure 1. Schematic representation of a sublinear
dose-response relationship for agent A (left) and two dose-response
curves for combination effects of dose x of agent A with increasing
dose levels of agent B (right). |
Figure 1 (right) illustrates the situation in more general terms. It shows
different responses when increasing doses of chemical B are added to a fixed
dose x of A. If B acts by "simple joint action" as originally termed
by Bliss (1), the combined response follows the "curve of joint action."
This is also called "dose addition" and indicates the same mode of action of
the two chemicals. On the other hand, if B produces the same type of response
but by a mechanism unrelated to A, the "curve of independent action" is followed.
Based on this concept, all data points between the two curves lie on the "surface
of additivity." This issue was taken up long ago in radiobiology under the concept
of "isoaddition," heteroaddition, and the "envelope of additivity" (2-5).
In chemical mixture toxicology, it has not gained much attention.
For numerous end points of toxicity (e.g., carcinogenicity), sublinear dose-response
relationships are not uncommon (6). This can be explained by superimposition
of various effects that modulate or contribute to the process of cancer formation
(7). For instance, DNA repair processes can become saturated with increasing
doses of a genotoxic carcinogen, or cytotoxicity at high doses can result in
regenerative processes that accelerate the conversion of primary DNA lesions
to mutations. Furthermore, cell death elicits an immune reaction that can be
associated with oxidative stress, which in turn can result in an increased level
of indirect, oxygen-related DNA damage in surviving neighbor cells (7).
For genotoxic carcinogens, therefore, dose-response linearity could only
be postulated for situations in which the effect is dominated by one single
mode of action such as DNA adduct formation. At higher doses, saturation phenomena
and additional mechanisms result in deviation from
linearity.
Environmental exposure of humans is usually in a low-dose range, in most situations
below the lowest observable effect level (LOEL). The best approach, therefore,
to avoid confounding by nonlinear shapes of the dose response is to work at
the limit of detection of a toxic response. This has the additional advantage
that the number of experiments can markedly be reduced. If high dose levels
are to be included in the evaluation of mixture effects, for instance, if there
is interest in accidentally high exposure levels or in pharmacological combination
treatments, it will be necessary to investigate the full dose-response
relationship for the single agents.
The suggested procedure to investigate deviation from additivity at the LOEL
is as follows:
- Determine (or take from literature data) an approximate LOEL for the agents
to be tested in combination.
- Divide each LOEL by the number of agents to be combined (n).
- Measure the effect of the combination of n agents each at LOEL/n.
- Analyze the result for the significance of an interaction term by n-factor
analysis of variance.
In the case of additivity, the response to the combination treatment should
just produce the lowest observable effect in the assay.
We used this type of approach first to investigate the combined mutagenicity
of three mutagens with similar mode of action, the polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons
(PAHs) benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), benz[a]anthracene (B[a]A),
and dibenz[a,c]anthracene (DB[ac]A), in the Ames test using Salmonella
typhimurium tester strain TA100. For the second part, the DNA alkylating
agent ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) and
-Radiation from a 137Cs source
were applied and investigated for the induction of micronuclei in different
cellular eukaryotic model systems of mouse and human origin. Although the initial
modes of action of these two genotoxic agents are different, both lead to the
formation of DNA strand breaks and chromosomal breaks.
Materials and Methods
All compounds, media, and stains were from Sigma (Taufkirchen, Germany). L5178
mouse lymphoma cells were supplied by W.J. Caspary (National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA). Human cell lines
TK6 and WTK1 were purchased from ATCC (Manassas, Virginia, USA). Human fibroblasts
were provided by the Department of Human Genetics, University of Würzburg,
Germany.
Ames Test with Combinations of Three PAHs
As an approximate LOEL, we used the dose resulting in a doubling of the background
numbers of revertants. The corresponding doses for TA100 were taken from the
literature (8) as 0.3, 3, and 0.3 µg/plate, for B[a]P, B[a]A,
and DB[ac]A, respectively.
Treatment solutions were prepared separately for each dose level by weighing
the appropriate amount of chemical and dissolving it in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO).
Dilutions were prepared to obtain the required dose in 20 µL DMSO per plate.
For the combination experiments, appropriate amounts of the three chemicals
were weighed, and the combined portions were dissolved and diluted in DMSO to
a final volume of 20 µL per plate. Salmonella cultures were grown
overnight for approximately 10 hr and had cell titers of 3-4
109/mL. Liver 9,000
g
supernatant (S9; protein concentration, 50 mg/mL) from Arochlor 1254-induced
male Wistar rats and S9 mix containing 5% S9 and an NADPH-regenerating system
were prepared. A modification of the plate incorporation test was used (9).
We added 100 µL bacterial suspension, 20 µL DMSO containing the test
compound(s), and 2 mL top agar containing histidine and biotin to vials prefilled
with 500 µL S9 mix. Components were mixed and plated on Vogel-Bonner medium
E with 1.5% Bacto-Difco agar and 2% glucose. After 2 days of incubation, revertant
colonies were counted with an automated colony counter. Counts were corrected
for overlapping colonies with a computer program. The number of replicates was
n = 6 for the controls, n = 3 for the single agents, and n
= 2 and 4 for the combination experiment at one-third and one "doubling dose,"
respectively.
In Vitro Micronucleus Test
Cells used were L5178Y mouse lymphoma cells, the lymphoblastoid human cell
line TK6, the lymphoblastoid human cell line WTK1, and fibroblasts from lung
tissue of 16-week-old human fetus. The method used for the in vitro micronucleus
test using the L5178Y mouse lymphoma cells and the respective results have been
described previously (10). In short, treatment included irradiation of
the cells from a 137Cs source (662 keV
-Radiation; dose rate, 0.6
or 1 Gy/min), immediately followed by incubation with EMS. After 4 hr, fresh
medium was added, and the cells were incubated for 15 hr (30 hr for the human
cell lines). Cells were put on glass slides and fixed with methanol, and DNA
was stained with Hoechst 33258.
As a modification used for the main experiment with the mouse cells and for
all experiments with the human cells, the inhibitor of cytokinesis cytochalasin
B was added with the medium change, and acridine orange was used for staining.
Cytochalasin B allows the cell to replicate the DNA and form two nuclei but
not to form two cells. Scoring of micronuclei only in binucleated cells allowed
us to restrict the analysis to cells that have undergone one cycle of DNA replication.
This controls for effects of the treatments on the cell cycle.
Pilot studies were performed with all cell lines to investigate the low-dose
linear response range. Doses that resulted in a doubling of the control values
were chosen for the main experiments. No deviation from linearity was seen at
this dose level in any cell line. It has to be noted, however, that background
response and susceptibility of the cells to a doubling dose of the mutagens
changed from cell batch to cell batch, such that responses usually ranged within
a factor of 1.5-3 of the controls. For the main experiments, the number
of independent replicates was n = 3, except for the mouse lymphoma cells
treated with 0.5 Gy alone (one sample lost), for which n = 2.
Statistical Evaluation of Deviation from Additivity
For the testing of a putative supra-additive or subadditive effect of the
combination treatment, the data were evaluated with an n factor analysis
of variance with interaction, n being the number of agents tested in
combination. For the Ames test data with n = 3 chemicals, for instance,
the underlying model is described by the equation y = ctr + a
+ b + c + d + e, where y are the observed
numbers of revertants; ctr is the expected value for the background revertants;
a, b, and c are the expected effects of the single chemicals;
d is the interaction term for the simultaneous administration of the
three chemicals, describing the additional positive or negative effect obtained
by simultaneous administration. Hence, the expected number of revertants for
the simultaneous administration of the chemicals is ctr + a +
b + c + d; e is the error term, accounting for the
variation within groups. The error is assumed to have a normal distribution
with mean 0 and identical standard deviation for all treatment groups. The p-value
is reported for the test of the hypothesis that d = 0. It describes the
probability that the observed difference between the effect of the mixture and
the sum of the single net effects (=additivity) is different from zero by chance
alone. For n = 2, this analysis is available in most basic statistics
software. More elaborate software also allows for n > 2.
Note that for situations with significant nonlinearity in the dose response
for the single agents, the above analysis is not appropriate. Higher-order terms
must be introduced and combination effects analyzed by testing for interaction
of the higher-order terms.
Results
Ames Test with Combinations of Three PAHs
Results are shown in Figure 2. The solvent background derived from six replicates
was 170 ± 26 revertants per plate. The doubling dose considered to represent
an LOEL for the Ames test resulted in slightly more than a doubling of the background
number of revertants for B[a]P (382) and DB[ac]A (407) but was
only about 1.5-fold for B[a]A (262). At one-third of the doubling dose,
the net increase was 28-32% of the effect at the doubling dose, indicating
a linear dose response in this dose range. For B[a]P and DB[ac]A,
the increase was still statistically significant (p < 0.05). Treatment
with the combination of the three mutagens produced the result shown by the
dark gray bars; the calculated additivity is represented with the dark blue
bars. No deviation from additivity was observed.
 |
Figure 2. Mutagenicity in the Ames test (Salmonella
typhimurium TA100/rat liver S9) of B[a]P, B[a]A, and
DB[ac]A, tested individually and in combination. Means and standard
deviations for the experimental results are given.
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Induction of Micronuclei in Eukaryotic Cells by
-Radiation
and EMS
Mouse lymphoma cells L5178Y. A dose-finding study with up to
400 µg/mL EMS or 2 Gy showed no deviation from a linear dose response (10).
Various combinations of EMS and
-Radiation
within that dose range (100-400 µg EMS/mL plus 0.25-1 Gy) reproducibly
showed supra-additivity (10). An additional experiment performed with
the cytochalasin B modification is shown in Figure 3 (left). Supra-additivity
by 40% was statistically significant (p = 0.02), using the two-factor
analysis of variance with an interaction term as described.
 |
Figure 3. Induction of micronuclei in one mouse
cell line and two human cell lines, by treatment with -Radiation, EMS,
and their combination. The horizontally hatched bar represents additivity
(calculated sum of the control level plus the two net effects). BN-cells,
binucleate cells; MN-cells, micronucleus-containing binucleate cells. Means
and standard deviations for the experimental results are given. Asterisk
(*) indicates significant deviation from additivity by two-factor analysis
of variance with interaction (p = 0.02). |
Human cell lines TK6 and WTK1. In view of the results with the
mouse lymphoma cells, the question was whether the observed supra-additivity
for the induction of micronuclei by ionizing radiation and an ethylating agent
was a general phenomenon or whether it was specific for a mouse cell line that
harbors a mutation in the p53 tumor suppressor gene (11). The
lymphoblastoid human cell line TK6 (12), which does not have a p53
mutation (13), was tested. Pilot experiments showed a linear dose response
up to 1 Gy and 200 µg/mL EMS (data not shown). Combination treatment with
0.125 Gy and 25 µg/mL EMS did not result in a deviation from additivity
(Figure 3, center). If at all, a putative deviation would be subadditive.
For the investigation of whether the difference between the mouse lymphoma
cells and the human TK6 cell line was because of the difference in the p53 status,
the related human cell line WTK1 (14), which does have a mutation in
the p53 gene (13), was used. After checking for dose-effect
linearity (data not shown), the main experiment with 0.15 Gy and/or 50 µg/mL
EMS was performed. The results are shown in Figure 2 (right). No deviation from
additivity was seen. Again, if there was a deviation at all, it would be subadditive.
Human primary fibroblasts. One problem when using
cell lines is that they have lost mortality. The genomic changes associated
with this feature might have been responsible for deviation from additivity
in the mouse lymphoma cells. Therefore, "normal" human cells should be investigated.
The results of a pilot study with fetal human fibroblasts treated with 1 Gy
137Cs irradiation and/or 200 µg/mL EMS are shown in Table 1.
There was no indication of a deviation from additivity. Subsequent experiments
confirmed this finding (15).

Discussion
The basic understanding of the toxicology of chemical mixtures was described
more than 60 years ago (1). A recent review gives a comprehensive overview
on the various concepts, experimental strategies, data analyses, and risk assessment
procedures that have been suggested (16). Still, there appears to be
a lack of simple experimental guidelines. The present contribution is an attempt
in this direction. The first point addressed, the problem of nonlinear dose-response
relationships, has been a point of concern, and the idea to focus on a dose
range near the limit of detection has been put forward before (17). Also,
statistical procedures that include information on the dose-response relationship
of the individual components have been suggested (18,19). Our approach
combines the two issues with an experimental protocol that is easily followed
by toxicologists.
LOEL for the Ames Test at the Doubling Dose?
In view of the relative ease in performing an Ames test, numerous mixture
studies have been performed before, but none so far have included dose levels
below the doubling dose. The present results did not indicate any deviation
from additivity. This was not surprising, however, in view of the same mode
of mutagenic action of B[a]P, B[a]A, and DB[ac]A, based
on the formation of DNA adducts of similar type. Additivity had been observed
before, in connection with spiking diesel exhaust particle extracts with PAHs
(20).
As a byproduct, the present study shed some light on the rule of thumb that
the lowest observable effect in the Ames test is a doubling of the control number
of revertants. This simple and convenient rule is still regarded by many as
the lowest acceptable sign of mutagenicity (21). It is often applied
together with the requirement of a dose-dependent response to keep the number
of false-positive results low. Although this criterion might be appropriate
in terms of biological relevance, it is hardly acceptable from a statistical
point of view. Based on the data presented here, it appears that the limit of
detection could be lower by a factor of almost 3 for the strain TA100 and when
based on three independent replicates.
Combined Exposure to Radiation and Chemicals
Annex H of the UNSCEAR 2000 Report (5) is an in-depth discussion of
"combined effects of radiation and other agents" and includes an extensive reference
list. A review that focuses on human health risks is also available (22).
Examples of "synergism" outnumber observations of additivity or antagonism.
This might in part be the result of nonlinear dose-response relationships
when including the high dose levels of exposures at the workplace, in accidents,
and from therapeutic procedures. The UNSCEAR Report states:
In general, for short exposures to high concentrations and for low chronic
concentrations, deviations from additivity are small, if at all existent. In
most epidemiological and experimental studies, effects exceeding a level predicted
from isoaddition have not specifically been demonstrated. (5)
Indeed, recent experimental studies rarely show deviation from additivity.
This includes the effects of the tobacco-related nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone
in combination with
-particle
radiation in a human-hamster hybrid cell assay for toxicity and mutagenicity
(23) or the combined effects of
-Radiation
and ethylene oxide in human diploid fibroblasts (24). The induction of
micronuclei in polychromatic erythrocytes of bone marrow of mice also was additive
for the combination of X rays with cyclophosphamide or mitomycin C (25).
An example for synergistic effects induced by the combination of an activation-independent
alkylating agent with X rays is the induction of mutation in the Tradescantia
stamen-hair system (26).
Cell Line Differences
The difference between the mouse lymphoma cells and the human cell lines could
be due to species differences, the mutation in the p53 gene, or additional
mutations in the mouse cell line (15). Species differences were indicated
by the background number of micronucleus-containing cells and the susceptibility
to the mutagens. Although 0.5 Gy and/or 400 µg/mL EMS were required with
the mouse cells, dose levels lower by a factor of 3-16 were sufficient
for a comparable effect in the human cells.
Although no difference between the human lymphoblastoid cell lines TK6 (normal
p53) and WTK1 (mutant p53) in the response to the combination
treatment was observed in the present study, folate deficiency interacted significantly
with EMS for the induction of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase
mutations in the same two cell lines (27). This illustrates again that
any result of a mixture effect in a cellular model may be not only species specific
and cell-type specific but also agent specific.
Conclusions
- Combination experiments should be performed at the limit of detection of
a toxic effect. First, "low dose" is as close as possible to most environmental
human exposure levels; second, the danger of a nonlinear dose response for
the single agents (which could result in a misinterpretation of the data as
showing deviation from additivity) is minimized; third, the number of dose
levels to be tested is reduced if high dose combinations are not included.
- Analysis of variance with an interaction term is a readily available statistical
procedure that lends itself to the analysis of the mixture data obtained within
a linear dose response.
- Results of cellular systems must be interpreted with extreme caution. They
may be specific to species, cell type, and agent and may not be extrapolated
to other situations.
References and Notes
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(1998).
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Last Updated: January 13, 2002