CYTOGENETIC DAMAGE-INDUCED IN HUMAN-LYMPHOCYTES BY 4 VANADIUM COMPOUNDS AND MICRONUCLEUS ANALYSIS BY FLUORESCENCE IN-SITU HYBRIDIZATION WITH A CENTROMERIC PROBE

The genotoxicity of four vanadium compounds, sodium metavanadate (NaVO 3), ammonium meta-vanadate (NH4VO3), sodium ortovanadate (Na3VO4) and vanadyl sulfate (SVO5), was evaluated in human lymphocyte cultures usi ng structural and numerical chromosome aberrations, micronuclei, siste r-chromatid exchanges and satellite chromosome associations as endpoin ts. These compounds were not found to increase the frequency of struct ural chromosome aberrations whereas a significant increase in numerica l aberrations, micronuclei and satellite associations was found. Since these results could have been related to a possible mechanism of the action of vanadium as a mitotic spindle poison, the fluorescence in si tu hybridization (FISH) technique was applied to the human lymphocyte micronucleus assay, by means of an alphoid centromere-specific DNA pro be. The four vanadium salts showed a micronucleus percentage with posi tive signal (presence of centromere and thus of whole chromosome(s)) t hat was always higher than 68% at all doses tested. That confirmed the aneuploidogenic potentiality of vanadium.