title: Colcemid increases the frequency of chromosome abnormalities in human sperm.
abstract: The effect of Colcemid on the frequency and type of chromosomal abnormalities in human sperm was investigated. Using the human sperm and zona-free hamster egg fusion technique, penetrated eggs were cultured in the presence or absence of Colcemid. We used two different times of Colcemid treatment: standard Colcemid treatment (Colcemid-5 h) or long Colcemid treatment (Colcemid-17 h). Each Colcemid series had its own control series without Colcemid, thus ensuring that Colcemid was the only significant variable. A total of 771 sperm karyotypes from one normal donor was analyzed: 286 in the Colcemid-5 h series, 262 in the Colcemid-17 h series, and 223 in the two control series. In both Colcemid series there was a significant increase in the frequencies of hypohaploidy vs. hyperhaploidy (9.4% and 7.3% vs. 2.4% and 1.1%, for the Colcemid-5 h and Colcemid-17 h series, respectively), in contrast to those obtained in the control series, in which the frequencies of hypohaploidy and hyperhaploidy were close to the 1:1 relationship (4.9% vs. 4.0%) expected from nondisjunction. There was a significant increase in the frequency of structural abnormalities in both Colcemid series (16.1% and 14.5% for the Colcemid-5 h and Colcemid-17 h series, respectively) compared to the control series (6.3%). These results suggest that Colcemid significantly increases the frequency of hypohaploidy and unstable structural aberrations in human sperm.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Celular, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Márquez
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Egozcue
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Martorell
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Templado
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations / Q000235:genetics*; D025063:Chromosome Disorders; D004247:DNA / Q000096:biosynthesis; D003703:Demecolcine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping; D008297:Male; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D004247:DNA; D003703:Demecolcine