A previously described SAR model of human developmental toxicity was analyz
ed further. The model shows a number of mechanistic similarities with SAR m
odels of other toxicological phenomena (systemic toxicity, chromosomal and
genomic effects). This implies that there are many targets associated with
developmental effects. Surprisingly the analyses revealed no significant me
chanistic overlap between developmental toxicity in humans and mutagenicity
in Salmonella, a surrogate for the occurrence of point mutations. Our stud
y indicates that this lack of similarity is likely the result of the pre-sc
reening strategies which largely eliminate Salmonella mutagens from among t
he therapeutics introduced into human medicine. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B
.V. All rights reserved.