Chromosome loss and damage as measured by biological markers

A short-term test system is described which utilizes cultured somatic mammalian cells to measure the ability of environmental agents to produce mutation, chromosome aberrations, and chromosome non-disjunction. Antigens expressed on the surface of a human-hamster hybrid cell depend upon the presence of human chromosome No. 11, the sole human chromosome in the hybrid. Treatment of the hybrid with mutagen increases the frequency of genetic changes in specific regions of chromosome 11. The mutants form colonies in the presence of specific antisera and complement that kill the wild-type cells. This method has been shown to measure the different kinds of chromosome lesions produced by standard mutagens like N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, X-irradiation, caffeine, ultraviolet light, and ethylmethane sulfonate. Thus, this methodology offers promise for detecting mutagenic actions peculiar to eukaryotic cells and for illuminating basic mechanisms of mammalian cell mutation and chromosomal lesions, including nondisjunction