Effect of sex, age and cultivation time on number of satellites and acrocentric associations in man.

Lymphocyte cultures of 120 normal persons evenly distributed in relation to sex and age groups were studied. A total of 3900 cells were examined, 3600 in 3-day cultures and 300 in cultivations maintained for 2 days. In both age groups (10--13; 62--96 years) men showed higher numbers of satellites per cell but less cells with D/G associations. Older subjects presented a lower number of cells with D satellites and acrocentric associations; the pattern of these associations, however, did not seem to vary with age. The mean number of associations per cell decreased significantly in 3-day as opposed to 2-day cultures.