| Abstract: | Since lower animals develop neoplasia rarely or not at all, the DNA- and chromosomal-alterations observed in them after exposure to genotoxic chemicals should be correlated to some genotoxic endpoint other than neoplasia. On the basis of good correlations between induction of DNA- and chromosomal-alterations and the induction of gene mutations, this paper argues that in natural species a variety of manifestations of the mutational event may actually prove to be of much greater biological and ecological importance than induction of neoplasia. These manifestations include impairments in enzyme function, altered protein turnover, impairments in general metabolism, production of initiators of cytotoxic injuries, inhibition of growth, degenerative processes and atrophy in tissues and organs, decreased scope for growth in organisms, faster ageing, decreased fitness and well-being, impairments in immunoresponse and reproduction, increased frequency of diseases and neoplasia, impairments in adaptation, survival, and succession, and finally, extinction of species. Taken together, these ‘symptoms’ constitute a syndrome of a disease which etiologically could be named the genotoxic disease syndrome. |
