Background:A recent review by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) updated the assessments of the > 100 agents classified as Group 1, carcinogenic to humans (IARC Monographs Volume 100, parts A–F). This exercise was complicated by the absence of a broadly accepted, systematic method for evaluating mechanistic data to support conclusions regarding human hazard from exposure to carcinogens.Objectivesand Methods: IARC therefore convened two workshops in which an international Working Group of experts identified 10 key characteristics, one or more of which are commonly exhibited by established human carcinogens.Discussion:These characteristics provide the basis for an objective approach to identifying and organizing results from pertinent mechanistic studies. The 10 characteristics are the abilities of an agent to 1) act as an electrophile either directly or after metabolic activation; 2) be genotoxic; 3) alter DNA repair or cause genomic instability; 4) induce epigenetic alterations; 5) induce oxidative stress; 6) induce chronic inflammation; 7) be immunosuppressive; 8) modulate receptor-mediated effects; 9) cause immortalization; and 10) alter cell proliferation, cell death, or nutrient supply.Conclusion:We describe the use of the 10 key characteristics to conduct a systematic literature search focused on relevant end points and construct a graphical representation of the identified mechanistic information. Next, we use benzene and polychlorinated biphenyls as examples to illustrate how this approach may work in practice. The approach described is similar in many respects to those currently being implemented by the U.S. EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System Program and the U.S. National Toxicology Program.Citation:Smith MT, Guyton KZ, Gibbons CF, Fritz JM, Portier CJ, Rusyn I, DeMarini DM, Caldwell JC, Kavlock RJ, Lambert P, Hecht SS, Bucher JR, Stewart BW, Baan R, Cogliano VJ, Straif K. 2016. Key characteristics of carcinogens as a basis for organizing data on mechanisms of carcinogenesis. Environ Health Perspect 124:713–721; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509912

Background: The U.S. EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) completed an updated toxicological review of dichloromethane in November 2011.Objectives: In this commentary we summarize key results and issues of this review, including exposure sources, identification of potential health effects, and updated physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling.Methods: We performed a comprehensive review of primary research studies and evaluation of PBPK models.Discussion: Hepatotoxicity was observed in oral and inhalation exposure studies in several studies in animals; neurological effects were also identified as a potential area of concern. Dichloromethane was classified as likely to be carcinogenic in humans based primarily on evidence of carcinogenicity at two sites (liver and lung) in male and female B6C3F1 mice (inhalation exposure) and at one site (liver) in male B6C3F1 mice (drinking-water exposure). Recent epidemiologic studies of dichloromethane (seven studies of hematopoietic cancers published since 2000) provide additional data raising concerns about associations with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma. Although there are gaps in the database for dichloromethane genotoxicity (i.e., DNA adduct formation and gene mutations in target tissues in vivo), the positive DNA damage assays correlated with tissue and/or species availability of functional glutathione S-transferase (GST) metabolic activity, the key activation pathway for dichloromethane-induced cancer. Innovations in the IRIS assessment include estimation of cancer risk specifically for a presumed sensitive genotype (GST-theta-1+/+), and PBPK modeling accounting for human physiological distributions based on the expected distribution for all individuals 6 months to 80 years of age.Conclusion: The 2011 IRIS assessment of dichloromethane provides insights into the toxicity of a commonly used solvent.Citation: Schlosser PM, Bale AS, Gibbons CF, Wilkins A, Cooper GS. 2015. Human health effects of dichloromethane: key findings and scientific issues. Environ Health Perspect 123:114–119; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1308030

Conflict of Interest Statement: MTS has received consulting fees from attorneys representing plaintiffs in cases involving exposure to benzene, glyphosate and other chemical agents. DWF has received consulting fees from attorneys in cases involving exposure to asbestos, PCBs, TCE and other chemical agents. SM and HL are employees of Amgen. MF was an employee of Amgen during the initial meetings and is currently an employee of Expansion Therapeutics. The other authors declare no competing interests. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the decisions, policy or views of their respective institutions. Reference to commercial products or services does not constitute endorsement. Manuscript word count: excluding references, tables and figure 6,883.Figure and tables; Manuscript figures: 1; Manuscript tables: 2

Background:Assessing chemicals for their potential to cause male reproductive toxicity involves the evaluation of evidence obtained from experimental, epidemiological, and mechanistic studies. Although mechanistic evidence plays an important role in hazard identification and evidence integration, the process of identifying, screening and analyzing mechanistic studies and outcomes is a challenging exercise due to the diversity of research models and methods and the variety of known and proposed pathways for chemical-induced toxicity. Ten key characteristics of carcinogens provide a valuable tool for organizing and assessing chemical-specific data by potential mechanisms for cancer-causing agents. However, such an approach has not yet been developed for noncancer adverse outcomes.Objectives:The objective in this study was to identify a set of key characteristics that are frequently exhibited by exogenous agents that cause male reproductive toxicity and that could be applied for identifying, organizing, and summarizing mechanistic evidence related to this outcome.Discussion:The identification of eight key characteristics of male reproductive toxicants was based on a survey of known male reproductive toxicants and established mechanisms and pathways of toxicity. The eight key characteristics can provide a basis for the systematic, transparent, and objective organization of mechanistic evidence relevant to chemical-induced effects on the male reproductive system. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP5045

Studying the potential role of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)alpha in the initiation of genomic instability is necessary to understand whether TNFalpha can serve as a signalling mediator of radiation-induced genomic instability in non-irradiated bystander cells. In this study, we examined whether TNFalpha could initiate processes through oxidative stress signalling that lead to DNA damage and genomic instability in primary vascular endothelium. In these cells, low linear energy transfer (LET) radiation (0.1-2 Gy) induced the secretion of TNFalpha into the culture medium. When added ectopically, TNFalpha at concentrations ranging from 0.1 ng ml(-1) to 10 ng ml(-1) increased (twofold to threefold) intracellular oxidative stress. Next, to examine whether TNFalpha induces genetic damage, cells were treated with TNFalpha for 5 h and analysed immediately using the single cell gel electrophoresis assay or after 3 days, 12 days and 20 days using solid stain chromosomal analysis. Cells exposed to 0.1 Gy, 1 Gy or 2 Gy or treated with 100 microM H2O2 were used as positive controls. The results showed that TNFalpha as low as 0.1 ng ml(-1) could initiate increased DNA damage compared with untreated controls. When examined in the progeny cells after several generations, the chromosomal instability appeared to be carried over even after day 12 and day 20. The increased genetic damage is inhibited in cells that are pre-incubated with the antioxidant enzyme catalase, the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine or the metal chelator pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate. These results clearly indicate that TNFalpha at concentrations at which no cytotoxicity is observed could induce genetic damage through free radical generation, which could, in turn, lead to the delayed events associated with genomic instability.

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Structural chromosomal rearrangements are commonly observed in tumor karyotypes and in radiation-induced genomic instability. Here we report the effects of TP53 deficiency on karyotypic stability before and after irradiation using related cells and clones differing in cellular TP53 status. The parental cell line, TK6, is a TP53 wild-type human B-lymphoblastoid line with a highly stable karyotype. In the two TK6 derivatives used here, TP53 has been inactivated by biochemical means (expression of HPV16 E6; TK6-5E) or genetic means (allelic inactivation; NH32). Biochemical inactivation of TP53 (TK6-5E) had little effect on the spontaneous karyotype, whereas allelic inactivation of TP53 (NH32) resulted in a modest increase in spontaneous karyotypic instability. After 2 Gy gamma irradiation, the number of unstable clones derived from TP53-deficient cells was significantly elevated compared to the TP53 wild-type counterpart. Extensively destabilized clones were common after irradiation in the set of clones derived from NH32 cells, and one was observed in the set of TK6-5E clones; however, they were never observed in TK6-derived clones. In two of the irradiated NH32 clones, whole chromosomes or chromosome bands were preferentially involved in alterations. These results suggest that genomic instability may differ both quantitatively and qualitatively as a consequence of altered TP53 expression. Some of the results showing repeated and preferential chromosome involvement in aberrations support a model in which instability may be driven by cis mechanisms.