title: Genotoxic activity of azidothymidine (AZT) in in vitro systems.
abstract: The genotoxic activity of azidothymidine (AZT) was evaluated in vitro, measuring cytogenetic parameters in two cell systems. In human lymphocytes AZT induced a statistically significant increase in chromosome breakage at 100 micrograms/ml and in micronucleated cells at the highest dose assayed (500 micrograms/ml). Sister-chromatid exchanges (SCE) showed a two-fold increase over control values at 50 micrograms/ml. Lymphocyte cycle kinetics showed an important delay at 500 micrograms/ml. In Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, AZT produced a significant increase in chromosome aberrations and SCE at 1000 and 500 micrograms/ml, respectively. At 2500 micrograms/ml the drug produced a delay in cell cycle progression. These results suggest that AZT is a DNA-damaging agent in both cell systems assayed. Moreover, human lymphocytes seem to be more sensitive to AZT than CHO cells.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Investigaciones Hematológicas Mariano R. Castex, Academia Nacional de Medicina, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: González Cid
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Larripa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D016466:CHO Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured / Q000187:drug effects; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D006224:Cricetinae; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D015162:Micronucleus Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D008940:Mitotic Index; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D009153:Mutagens / Q000633:toxicity*; D012854:Sister Chromatid Exchange; D015215:Zidovudine / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D009153:Mutagens; D015215:Zidovudine