Comparative potency approach based on H2AX assay for estimating the genotoxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) constitute a family of over one hundred compounds and can generally be found in complex mixtures. PAHs metabolites cause DNA damage which can lead to the development of carcinogenesis. Toxicity assessment of PAH complex mixtures is currently expressed in terms of toxic equivalents, based on Toxicity Equivalent Factors (TEFs). However, the definition of new TEFs for a large number of PAH could overcome some limitations of the current method and improve cancer risk assessment. The current investigation aimed at deriving the relative potency factors of PAHs, based on their genotoxic effect measured in vitro and analyzed with mathematical models. For this purpose, we used a new genotoxic assay (γH2AX) with two human cell lines (HepG2 and LS-174T) to analyze the genotoxic properties of 13 selected PAHs at low doses after 24 h treatment. The dose–response for genotoxic effects was modeled with a Hill model; equivalency between PAHs at low dose was assessed by applying constraints to the model parameters. In the two cell lines tested, we observed a clear dose–response for genotoxic effects for 11 tested compounds. LS-174T was on average ten times more sensitive than HepG2 towards PAHs regarding genotoxicity. We developed new TEFs, which we named Genotoxic Equivalent Factor (GEF). Calculated GEF for the tested PAHs were generally higher than the TEF usually used. Our study proposed a new in vitro based method for the establishment of relevant TEFs for PAHs to improve cancer risk assessment.

► Examination of the genotoxic properties of 13 PAHs on two human cell lines.
► Modelization with a Hill model of the genotoxic dose–response.
► First investigation of the genotoxicity of benzo[c]fluorene on human cell lines.
► Establishment of relevant TEFs for PAHs to improve cancer risk assessment.