Differential staining of chromosomes and spindle cannot be used as an assay to determine the effect of cancer promoters on primary cultures of human fibroblasts.
The differential staining technique allows simultaneous visualization of chromosomes and spindle fibers. The relative sensitivity of this test for chemicals with high tumor-promoting activity (TPA and iodoacetic acid) or for low tumor-promoting chemicals (4 beta-PDD and alpha-phorbol) was analyzed. Moreover, to ensure a complementary reference system, metals with possible mutagenic (As greater than Hg greater than Cd) and carcinogenic (As greater than Cd = Hg) properties were tested in parallel. As and Hg, which are known as spindle poisons, do induce, as expected, a disaggregation of the spindle fibers; with Cd, no clear-cut disappearance of the spindle is observed. As far as the cancer promoters are concerned, there is no evidence that their ability to induce mitotic aneuploidy in yeast would be confirmed by the induction of spindle disappearance and/or abnormal chromosome segregation in primary cultures of human fibroblasts.
D002273:Carcinogens; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002877:Chromosomes, Human / Q000187:drug effects*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D008938:Mitosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D008941:Spindle Apparatus / Q000187:drug effects*; D013194:Staining and Labeling
D002273:Carcinogens