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Elevated sister chromatid exchange rate in lymphocytes of subjects treated with arsenic

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Summary

An elevated sister chromatid exchange (SCE) rate was found in the lymphocytes of six patients treated with arsenic. All had stigmata of arsenic use as well as biopsy-proven skin cancers. The arsenic exposed patients had a mean of 14.00 SCE/mitosis while 44 normal controls had a mean of 5.8 SCE/mitosis. Chromosome breakage analysis revealed no difference between the two groups.

SCE rate has been shown to be elevated in a variety of systems where cell cultures or experimental animals were exposed to known mutagens and carcinogens. We suggest that the relationship carcinogen exposure-elevated SCE rate-cancer may also be valid in humans treated with arsenic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University of Minnesota, 55 455, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Walter Burgdorf

  2. Department of Genetics and Cell Biology, School of Dentistry, University of Minnesota, 55 455, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Karen Kurvink

  3. Division of Oral and Human Genetics, School of Dentistry, University of Minnesota, 55 455, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Jaroslav Cervenka

Authors
  1. Walter Burgdorf
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  2. Karen Kurvink
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  3. Jaroslav Cervenka
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Additional information

This paper is supported in part by USPHS Grants No. T01 AM 05 560 (WB) and 5T01 GM 01 156 (KK).

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Burgdorf, W., Kurvink, K. & Cervenka, J. Elevated sister chromatid exchange rate in lymphocytes of subjects treated with arsenic. Hum Genet 36, 69–72 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00390438

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00390438

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