Sister chromatid exchanges of human peripheral blood lymphocytes induced by N,N-diethylaniline in vitro

N,N-Diethylaniline is a reagent used in organic synthesis and is an important intermediate in the manufacturing of dyes. To evaluate its genotoxicity, we examined whether it can induce sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in human lymphocytes. We found that N,N-diethylaniline significantly increased the frequency of SCEs both in the absence and presence of S-9 mix. The SCEs from cultures treated by N,N-diethylaniline in the presence of S-9 mix displayed a marked increase which was about 5-fold greater than the control. ANOVA analyses indicated that there is a dose–response relationship between doses of N,N-diethylaniline and the frequency of SCEs, especially in the presence of S-9 mix. The results suggested that N,N-diethylaniline has genotoxicity.     

Sister chromatid exchanges in cultured peripheral lymphocytes from twins

Summary Sister chromatid exchange points (SCE points) on individual chromosomes were studied in cultured lymphocytes from 11 monozygotic (MZ) and nine dizygotic (DZ) same-sexed pairs by means of sequential Q-banding and BUdR-Giemsa techniques. No statistically significant variation between unrelated individuals with respect to SCE points on specific chromosomes was found. Intrapair differences in the number of SCE points on specific chromosomes were not significantly smaller between MZ twin partners as compared with DZ partners. The results suggest that genetic factors do not play any major role in the frequency and distribution of SCE in normal subjects.     

Sister chromatid exchanges in lymphocytes of nuclear medicine physicians

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess whether occupational exposure to chronic, low doses of Iodine 131 (I-131) and Technetium 99m (Tc-99m) may lead to genotoxicity. Medical personnel occupied in nuclear medicine departments are occupationally exposed to low doses of I-131 and Tc-99m. The determination of the frequency of sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) and of cells with a high frequency of SCEs (HFC) is considered to be a sensitive indicator for detecting genotoxic potential of mutagenic and carcinogenic agents. Therefore, we examined peripheral lymphocytes from nuclear medicine physicians for the presence of both SCE and HFC. METHODS: Sixteen exposed nuclear medicine physicians (non-smokers) were compared to 16 physicians (non-smokers) who had not been exposed to chemical or physical mutagens in their usual working environment at the same hospital. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference was found between SCE frequencies and HFC percentages measured in lymphocytes from the exposed and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: The present observation on the effect of chronic low doses of I-131 and Tc-99m indicates the possibility of genotoxic implications of this type of occupational exposure. Hence, the personnel who work in nuclear medicine departments should carefully apply the radiation protection procedures and should minimize, as low as possible, radiation exposure to avoid possible genotoxic effects.     

Sister chromatid exchanges induced in cultured mammalian cells by chromate

Chromate compounds induced sister chromatoid exchanges (SCEs) and chromosome aberrations in cultured mammalian cells. Similar increases in SCE frequency were observed in human fibroblasts exposed to the compounds K2Cr2O7 and K2CrO4. Marked increases in SCE frequency in cells exposed to chromate for a 48-h period were detected at concentrations between 10(-7) and 10(-6) M. Chromosome aberrations (primarily chromatid breaks) were also produced in human cells exposed to K2CrO4 at concentrations between 8 . 10(-7) and 3 . 10(-6) M. K2CrO4, but not the trivalent compound CrCl3, induced SCEs in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells at low concentrations.     

Micronuclei and sister chromatid exchanges induced by capsaicin in human lymphocytes

Escherichia coli has provided an important model system for understanding the molecular basis for genetic instabilities associated with repeated DNA. Changes in triplet repeat length during growth following transformation in E. coli have been used as a measure of repeat instability. However, very little is known about the molecular and biological changes that may occur on transformation. Since only a small proportion of viable cells become competent, uncertainty exists regarding the nature of these transformed cells. To establish whether the process of transformation can be inherently mutagenic for certain DNA sequences, we used a genetic assay in E. coli to compare the frequency of genetic instabilities associated with transformation with those occurring in plasmid maintained in E. coli. Our results indicate that, for certain DNA sequences, bacterial transformation can be highly mutagenic. The deletion frequency of a 106 bp perfect inverted repeat is increased by as much as a factor of 2 x 10(5) following transformation. The high frequency of instability was not observed when cells stably harboring plasmid were rendered competent. Thus, the process of transformation was required to observe the instability. Instabilities of (CAG).(CTG) repeats are also dramatically elevated upon transformation. The magnitude of the instability is dependent on the nature and length of the repeat. Differences in the methylation status of plasmid used for transformation and the methylation and restriction/modification systems present in the bacterial strain used must also be considered in repeat instability measurements. Moreover, different E. coli genetic backgrounds show different levels of instability during transformation.     

Sister chromatid exchanges in isolabeling

Isolabeling observed by autoradiography in sister chromatids at the second or later metaphases after incorporation of ³H-thymidine has sometimes been ascribed to an exchange between the multiple DNA duplexes in polynemic sister chromatids. An analysis reported here on the frequency and size of isolabeled regions in chromosomes of the rat kangaroo shows that all isolabeling can be accounted for by sister chromatid exchanges coupled with the image spread that can occur in tritium autoradiographs. Hence, in this case it becomes unnecessary to postulate binemy or polynemy to explain isolabeling.     

Sister chromatid exchanges induced in human lymphocyte chromosomes by trifluralin, atrazine and simazine

Many epidemiological and experimental "in vivo" studies have proved in recent years the carcinogenic properties of herbicides. In order to evaluate the "in vitro" action on the human DNA of Trifluralin, Atrazine and Simazine (active principles of herbicides Treflan and Fogard S respectively) the authors have studied the rates of SCE in cultures of human lymphocytes exposed to different concentrations of a solution 1 ppm of the substances. Trifluralin and Simazine, but not Atrazine, increase SCE per cell, with statistical significance, in the cultures with the highest concentrations of these substances. (SCE per cell: Trifluralin 5.27 +/- 1.38, Simazine 5.09 +/- 1.19, Control 3.51 +/- 1.14).     

Sister chromatid exchanges in barley

Summary A mean frequency of 20.6 sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) per cell has been observed in a reconstructed karyotype of Hordeum vulgare by application of the FPG technique after unifilar incorporation of BrdU into chromosomes. The involvement in SCEs of the 48 segments into which the chromosome set had been subdivided was, with a single deviation, length proportional and independent of the segment's heterochromatin content. Asymmetric bands, indicative of an uneven distribution of adenine and thymidine between the DNA strands in adenine (A)-thymidine (T) rich chromosome regions, could not be detected after incubation of the cells in BrdU for one cycle of DNA replication.     

Dose dependence of sister chromatid exchanges in human lymphocytes induced by in vitro α-particle irradiation

Exposure of human G₀ lymphocytes to high-LET particles under different conditions has been seen, unlike low-LET radiations, to be substantially effective in the induction of sister chromatid exchanges (SCE). However, whereas for fast neutrons a linear dose response of SCE has been determined, there is no sign of a dose-response relationship for α-particles. A likely reason for this lack of dose dependence may be the irradiation procedure. Therefore, a technique developed in our laboratory to ensure uniformity of irradiation with α-particles was used in the present study. Monolayers of 3 h-stimulated lymphocytes were exposed with α-particles from ²⁴¹Am. Underdispersion was found for the cell-to-cell variance of the number of SCE. The dose response of SCE was linear, with a yield of 3.4 SCE per cell and per Gray. Received: 26 April 1996 / Accepted in revised form: 24 July 1996     

Sister chromatid exchanges in Drosophila melanogaster cell lines in vitro

The frequency of sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in two cell lines of Drosophila melanogaster with different karyotypes (XX and XY) was determined, considering (1) the distribution of SCEs within each chromosome, with reference to eu- and heterochromatin and (2) the distribution of SCEs in different chromosomes. A comparison was made between chromosome pairs within each karyotype and between the two different karyotypes. The following results were obtained. The SCEs are not randomly distributed along chromosomes, since exchanges were never observed in heterochromatin. SCEs are more frequent in XY than in XX cells; moreover, in both cell types there exists a significantly higher frequency of SCEs in the X chromosome than in the autosomes. These findings are discussed in relation to chromosome aberrations and mitotic recombination.     

Sister chromatid exchanges and heterochromatin

Summary The inter- and intrachromosomal distribution patterns of SCEs obtained with or without mutagen treatment are reviewed and compared, with each other as to their relation to heterochromatin and with the distribution patterns of chromatid aberrations that occurred either spontaneously in chromosomes of repair-defective human syndromes or after treatment with the mutagens (BrdU, ethylalcohol, DMBA, TMBA, maleic hydrazide, MMS, MMC). The conclusions are: No general rule is detectable for nonrandom involvement of heterochromatin in spontaneous SCEs. Mutagen-induced SCEs show the same or very similar distribution patterns as the spontaneous ones and are in no case as preferentially located as chromatid aberrations (which involve mainly the junctions between eu- and heterochromatin or other special regions). Therefore, a specific mutagen sensitivity of heterochromatincontaining chromosome regions as observed for chromatid aberrations does not exist (or is less pronounced) for SCEs. This supports the inference that different mechanisms underlie the origins of the two phenomena.     

Sister chromatid exchanges in protein-energy malnutrition

Summary The frequency of sister chromatid exchanges in children suffering from severe protein-energy malnutrition was investigated by the fluorescent-plus-Giemsa method. Children suffering from kwashiorkor had significantly higher mean SCEs per circulating lymphocyte than did normal children. A small but statistically significant decrease in these levels was observed following nutritional rehabilitation.     

Sister chromatid exchanges in Tradescantia paludosa

A modified fluorescence-plus-Giemsa technique is described that allows differential staining of sister chromatids in root tip cells from cuttings of Tradescantia paludosa. With this staining technique, chromatids with both DNA strands unsubstituted are differentiated from chromatids containing 5-bromouracil in place of thymine in one of the strands of the DNA duplex. The baseline level of sister chromatid exchanges was shown to be dependent on the concentration of 5-bromodeoxyuridine in the treatment solution, the mean frequency being 43.5 sister chromatid exchanges per cell for the experimental protocol suggested.     

Sister chromatid exchanges in Vicia faba

The relationship between chromosomal aberrations and sister chromatid exchanges (SCE's) after treatment of Vicia faba root tips with thiotepa, caffeine and 8-ethoxycaffeine (EOC) was studied by using a modified fluorescent plus Giemsa (EPG) technique. At concentrations which had little effect on the frequency of chromosomal aberrations, thiotepa strongly increased the frequency of SCE's, provided that the chromosomes were allowed to replicate between treatment and fixation. Frequently, the size of the exchanged material was smaller than the diameter of the chromatid. Post-treatments with caffeine of roots previously exposed to thiotepa strongly increased the frequency of aberrations, but had little effect on the frequency of SCE's. In contrast to thiotepa, EOC caused only a slight increase in the frequency of SCE's even at concentrations which produced a high frequency of chromosomal aberrations. Thus, there was not a close correlation between SCE's and chromosomal aberrations. Single-strand exchanges between the DNA double helices in sister chromatids were not detected.     

Sister chromatid exchanges in Allium cepa

Differential staining of sister chromatids with Giemsa after BrdU incorporation into DNA was performed in Allium cepa L. chromosomes. A treatment solution containing 10^–7 M FdU, 10^–4 M BrdU and 10^–6 M Urd was found to ensure BrdU incorporation without affecting cell cycle duration. After several procedures before staining the slides with Giemsa had been tested, treatment with the fluorochrome compound 33258 Hoechst, exposure to UV light and heating at 55° C in 0.5×SSC, were found to be essential for good differentiation. The distribution of SCEs per chromosome agrees with the expected Poisson distribution. The mean value of SCEs per chromosome occurring when cells were exposed to the treatment solution for two consecutive rounds of replication (=5.5) was double the mean value observed when cells were exposed to the same treatment for only one round of replication (=2.8). SCEs were found to occur more frequently in those chromosome regions corresponding neither to C-bands nor to late replicating DNA-rich regions. Finally, the occurrence of SCEs involving less than the width of a chromatid is discussed.     

Sister chromatid exchanges in Vicia faba

Evolutionary loss of the Y chromosome has occurred in Climacia areolaris (Hagen) of the neuropteran family Sisyridae. The diploid set comprises 6 pairs of autosomes, plus 2 X chromosomes in the female and 1 X in the male. The Y is retained in Sisyra vicaria (Walker) of the same family: its chromosome number is 14 in both sexes including 2X chromosomes in the female and 1X plus Y in the male. Two alternative pathways for the segregation of the sex chromosomes-distance segregation and sex bivalent formation-co-exist in the latter species in a ratio of approximately 1 to 6; the possible phylogenetic significance of this feature is discussed.