Assessment of the genotoxicity of trichloroethylene in the in vivo micronucleus assay by inhalation exposure

The in vivo genotoxic potential of trichloroethylene (TCE) was evaluated by examining the incidence of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MN-PCEs) in the bone marrow. Groups of male CD rats were exposed by inhalation to targeted concentrations of 0 (negative control), 50, 500, 2500 or 5000 ppm for 6 consecutive hours on a single day. The exposure concentrations were selected to overlap those employed by a published study that reported a 2- to 3-fold increase in the frequency of micronuclei in male rats following a single inhalation exposure to 5, 500 and 5000 ppm TCE for 6h but not following repeated exposure to similar concentrations. In addition, any treatment-related findings were assessed in the context of potential TCE-induced hypothermia. Clinical signs consistent with marked TCE-induced sedation were observed in rats exposed to 5000 ppm and subsequently three rats died prior to the end of the 6h exposure period. No remarkable changes in body temperature were observed in surviving animals monitored with transponders before and after exposures. There were no statistically significant increases in the frequencies of MN-PCEs in groups treated with the test material as compared to the negative controls. The positive control animals showed a significant increase in the frequency of MN-PCEs and a decrease in the relative proportion of PCEs among erythrocytes as compared to the negative control animals. There were no statistically significant differences in the per cent PCEs in groups treated with the test material. As no increase in the incidence of micronuclei was observed in any of the TCE exposure groups, kinetochore analyses were not performed. Under the experimental conditions used, TCE was considered to be negative in the rat bone marrow micronucleus test.