Adriamycin-Induced Chromosome Aberrations in Human Fibroblasts 2

Abstract

Adriamycin (AM) induced chromosome lesions and cell division delay in human foreskin fibroblasts. Cells treated with 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05 µg AM/ml culture medium for 1 hour and evaluated 5–12 hours post treatment exhibited a wide spectrum of cytogenetic injuries, ranging from moderately damaged meta phases with predominantly simple chromatid-type lesions to heavily damaged meta phases with chromosome stickiness and fragmentation. In moderately damaged metaphases that could be scored for specific types of aberrations, we observed a paucity of chromatid exchanges and chromosome-type lesions even in cultures having a very high frequency of breakages. Further, the distribution of breaks among chromosomes within groups A-G appeared to be random, which suggested that the drug does not show breakage specificity in human fibroblasts. The number of heavily damaged metaphases increased with an increase in concentration of AM and with longer periods of recovery.