title: Benzene metabolites induce the loss and long arm deletion of chromosomes 5 and 7 in human lymphocytes.
abstract: Two of the most common cytogenetic changes in therapy- and chemically-related leukemia are the loss and long (q) arm deletions of chromosomes 5 and 7 (i.e. -5, -7, del(5q) and del(7q)). We have used a novel fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) procedure to determine if the benzene metabolites hydroquinone (HQ) and 1,2,4-benzenetriol (BT) can induce these specific changes in human lymphocytes cultured as whole blood. Metaphase spreads were prepared and hybridized with centromeric probes for chromosomes 1, 5 and 7 and sequence specific probes for 5q31 and 7q36-qter. HQ and BT significantly increased monosomy 5 and 7 by 3-5 fold (p < 0.0001). Both HQ and BT also significantly increased the rate of del(5q) and del(7q) by 8-12 fold (p < 0.0001). Chromosome 7 was especially susceptible to aneusomy induction by HQ and BT at low doses. These results show that metabolites of benzene are highly effective in inducing changes in chromosomes 5 and 7 that are involved in the development of myeloid leukemia.
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley 94720-7360, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000782:Aneuploidy; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D002895:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 5; D002897:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 7; D006801:Humans; D006873:Hydroquinones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D007223:Infant; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D009153:Mutagens / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D006873:Hydroquinones; D009153:Mutagens; C013038:hydroxyhydroquinone; C031927:hydroquinone