Severe chromosomal damage in mammalian cells induced by pulse labeling with small amounts of [3H]thymidine.
Pulse labeling of cultured mammalian cells with tritiated thymidine ([3H]TdR; different specific activities, 2-47 Ci/mmole) for 30 min at low concentrations of radioactivity (0.2-2 microCi/ml) causes an unusually high degree of chromosomal aberrations which becomes fully evident in the cohort of cells analyzed 8 h later. The effect depends on the total amount of radioactivity. In HeLa cells up to 93% aberrant metaphases with up to 3.6 aberrations per metaphase were observed; in CHO cells the corresponding figures are 62% aberrant metaphases with 1 aberration per metaphase. The results may be valuable (i) for users of the pulse-labeling technique for analysis of cell-cycle kinetics, as this shows the technique as such may delay the labeled cohort of cells and therefore interferes with the matter under study and (ii) for risk assessment.
Färber
B
B
Institute of Experimental Pathology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg.
Kinzel
V
V
D000818:Animals; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D006224:Cricetinae; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007553:Isotope Labeling; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013936:Thymidine / Q000009:adverse effects*
D011868:Radioisotopes; D013936:Thymidine