INDUCTION OF STRUCTURAL CHROMOSOME-ABERRATIONS IN HUMAN LYMPHOCYTE-CULTURES AND CHO CELLS BY PERMETHRIN

The pyrethroid insecticide permethrin was tested for its ability to in duce structural chromosome aberrations (CA) in human lymphocyte cultur es and CHO cells, in order to confirm the clastogenic effect of itself and to compare the response of the two different cell types. permethr in was tested in the range of 50-200 mu g/ml in human lymphocyte cultu res and in the range of 20-100 mu g/ml in CHO cells. In both lymphocyt e and CHO cultures, assays were performed in the absence and in the pr esence of a rat liver activation system (S9 mix). In the absence of S9 mix, two experiments with different duration of the treatment were ca rried out. Permethrin induced CA in both cultures when it was evaluate d in the absence of a metabolic activation system. The activity of a g iven concentration of permethrin seemed to be decreased more by the re duction of the time of exposure than by the presence of S9 mix. Aberra tions induced by permethrin were mainly chromosome-type aberrations in both cultures. Thus, permethrin can be characterised as an S-phase in dependent clastogenic agent. The response of both lymphocyte and CHO c ultures was similar, indicating that both systems showed the same sens itivity for detecting the clastogenicity in vitro of permethrin. (C) 1 994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.