Chromosomal Aberrations in cultured Human Leucocytes induced by Cadmium Sulfide

Abstract

The induction of chromosomal aberrations in human leucocytes by various exogenous agents including sodium cyclamate, caffeine, and LSD has been studied extensively (Cohen,1963 ; Obe,1969 ; Vig et al., 1970; Stone et al., 1970 ; Ostertag and Greif,1967 ; Cohen et at.,1967) . Cadmium compounds are chemicals known to have been the cause of the some of human diseases such as Itai Itai disease by enviromental pollution. It is important to know whether these compounds give damage to the genetic material of human cells. To determine this problem, we examined for chromosome damage of cultured human leucocyte cells treated with cadmium sulfide. The results of the observation are preliminarily described in this paper. Material and methods. Human leucocytes from a normal female were cultured according to the routine phytohemagglutinin method. The cultures were incubated at 37°C for 72 hours, and during the last 8 and 4 hours of incubation cadmium sulfide (CdS) was added at the final concentration of 6.2x10-2 pg/ml of culture fluid. Control cultures were incubated at 37°C for 72 hours without addition of CdS. Colcemid at a concentration of 0.02 p g/ml was added to the cultures 3 hours before harvest in order to obtain metaphase chromosomes. Slides were prepared by the routine air-drying methods and stained with Giemsa. In each case, fifty well-spread metaphase plates were examined for the chromosomal analysis.