Prostaglandins are endogenous mediators formed from arachidonic acid by cyclooxygenases and prostaglandin synthases during inflammatory processes. The five-membered ring can be dehydrated, and α,β-unsaturated cyclopentenone PGs (cyPGs) are generated. Recent studies have been focused on their potential pharmacological use against inflammation and cancer. However, little is known so far about possible adverse health effects of cyPGs. We addressed the question whether selected cyPGs at a concentration range of 0.1-10 μM exhibit mutagenic and genotoxic properties in the hamster lung fibroblast V79 cell line and whether these effects are accompanied by a depletion of intracellular glutathione (GSH). The cyPGs 15-deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2 (15dPGJ2) and prostaglandin A2 (PGA2) significantly induced DNA damage in V79 cells after 1 h of incubation. Furthermore, a more pronounced increase in formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase (FPG) sensitive sites, indicative of oxidative DNA-damage, was observed. The findings on DNA-damaging properties were supported by our results that 15dPGJ(2) acts as an aneugenic agent which induces the amount of kinetochore positive micronuclei associated with an increase of apoptosis. The strong potency of cyPGs to rapidly bind GSH measured in a chemical assay and to significantly reduce the GSH level after only 1 h of incubation may contribute to the observed oxidative DNA strand breaks, whereas directly induced oxidative stress via reactive oxygen species could be excluded. However, after an extended incubation time of 24 h no genotoxicity could be measured, this may contribute to the lack of mutagenicity in the hypoxanthine phosphorybosyltransferase (HPRT) assay. In conclusion, potential in vitro genotoxicity of cyPG and a strong impact on GSH homeostasis have been demonstrated, which may be involved in carcinogenesis mediated by chronic inflammation.