Genotoxic effects of association of the biogenic amines cadaverine and putrescine on the Xenopus tropicalis fibroblast cell line

Abstract During cadaveric decomposition, necro-leachate is released into the surrounding environment, containing organic compounds such as the biogenic amines cadaverine (CAD) and putrescine (PUT). In this study, we performed the first integrated assessment of the genotoxic effects of CAD and PUT combinations at different concentrations (CAD: 0.3 × 10⁻ 3 , 0.6 × 10⁻ 3 , and 1.1 × 10⁻ 3 mol/L; PUT: 0.6 × 10⁻ 3 , 6.0 × 10⁻⁶, and 6.0 × 10⁻⁷ mol/L) using Xenopus tropicalis (Speedy lineage) fibroblast cells. We evaluated genotoxicity via comet assay, micronucleus test, and flow cytometry. After 24 h of exposure, cells exposed to a combination of CAD 0.3 × 10⁻ 3 mol/L and PUT 6.0 × 10⁻⁶ mol/L (8) exhibited significantly increased frequency of micronuclei (1.88 vs. 0.88 in the negative control; p <0.05) and nuclear budding (3.11 vs. 0.70; p <0.05). We observed nuclear alterations (3.47 vs. 0.70; p <0.05) for CAD 0.3 × 10⁻ 3 mol/L + PUT 6.0 × 10⁻⁷ mol/L (9). After 48 h, the highest concentration tested CAD 1.1 × 10⁻ 3 + PUT 0.6 × 10⁻ 3 mol/L (5) induced marked DNA fragmentation (~ 9% vs. 1% in the negative control; p < 0.05), S-phase cell cycle arrest (~ 12% vs. 7% in the negative control; p <0.05) and apoptosis. These findings confirm the genotoxic potential of 8 and 9 and whereas 5 was associated with more pronounced apoptotic and cytotoxic effects. Our results provide mechanistic evidence of the genotoxic potential of CAD and PUT combinations, supporting further investigation of their environmental and toxicological relevance.