The Production of Chromosome Aberrations in Various Mammalian Cells by Triethylenemelamine

The cytogenetic effects of triethylenemelamine (TEM) were studied using five different mammalian tissues. Treatments of 0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg TEM on differentiating mouse spermatogonia and bone marrow cells showed no significant differences in the frequency of chromosomal aberrations produced in these two tissues. At higher doses, however, the sensitivites of the two tissues appear to be different. The frequency of aberrations varies with time after treatment, with the greatest amount occurring at the latter fixation times. Results of an experiment on primary spermatocytes indicated a correlation between the frequency of chromosome aberrations and DNA replication. Human peripheral leukocytes were utilized in an attempt to clarify the cell-stage specificity of TEM-induced chromosome aberrations. Cultures were treated with TEM prior to PHA stimulation (G0), as well as various time intervals after stimulation (late G,1 S, and G2). The most sensitive stages of the cell cycle to aberration induction were later G1 and S, with chromatid aberrations the predominant type. A very low yield of chromosome damage was observed with the G0 and G1 treated stages. The experiments described tend to support the view that TEM is most effective at inducing aberrations when an intervening round of DNA replication has occurred.