The toxicity of the mutagen 'MX' and its analogue, mucochloric acid, to rainbow trout hepatocytes and gill epithelial cells and to Daphnia magna.

The cytotoxicity of the, in Salmonella, potent mutagenic compound, 3-chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone (MX) and its structural analogue 3,4-dichloro-5-hydroxy-2[5H]-furanone (mucochloric acid, MCA), was studied in freshly isolated rainbow trout hepatocytes and gill epithelial cells by determining 86Rb-leakage and decrease in fluorescence intensity in calcein AM-loaded cells. The acute toxicity of the compounds to Daphnia magna was studied by determining the concentration causing immobilization of the organism. MX proved to be more toxic than MCA both in the cellular assays and in the acute toxicity test with D. magna. MX was more toxic to hepatocytes than to gill epithelial cells. The uptake of [14C]MX was also much more efficient in hepatocytes than in gill epithelial cells. The uptake of [14C]MX in hepatocytes was not inhibited by taurocholic acid in excess, indicating that MX is not taken up by the carrier complex responsible for the uptake of taurocholate in the hepatocytes. Both the acute toxicity to D. magna and cytotoxicity of MX and MCA was rather low (EC50 values > 0.1 mM) and we conclude that it is very unlikely that MX and MCA at concentrations occurring in recipients receiving chlorination effluents from pulp mills or chlorinated domestic sewage, as regards their acute toxicity, implies a risk for aquatic animals.