Summary
In 1943 Oehlkers reported the induction of large chromosomal alterations by urethan (ethyl carbamate). The chemical mechanism was not known.
In experiments on isolated transforming DNA urethan was ineffective, whereas hydroxy-urethan in the presence of oxygen rapidly inactivated DNA. It was shown furthermore that hydroxyurethan reacted with oxygen producing hydrogen peroxide plus radicals. Both the biological and the chemical reactions of hydroxyurethan were inhibited by catalase, by inhibitors of radicals, or by radical scavengers.
We have therefore concluded, that urethan induces chromosomal breaks and the resulting chromosomal alterations via radicals, after first being converted enzymatically into hydroxyurethan.
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Professor Friedrich Oehlkers gewidmet.
National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness, National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
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Freese, E.B. Der chemismus der urethaninduzierten Mutationen 25 Jahre nach ihrer Entdeckung. Molec. Gen. Genetics 100, 150–158 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00333601
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00333601