In vitro effect of karathane LC (dinocap) on human lymphocytes.

Karathane LC (active ingredient dinocap), a contact fungicide and a non-systemic acaricide was investigated for its ability to induce chromosome aberrations (CAs) and sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in cultured human lymphocytes of peripheral blood. In addition to the cytogenetic analysis, the effect of karathane LC on the cell proliferation kinetics (CPK) by the replication index (RI) was studied. The mitotic index (MI) was also determined to detect the cytotoxic effect. Lymphocytes were treated with four different concentrations (5, 10, 15 and 20 microg/ml) of karathane LC for 24 and 48 h. Significant differences between exposed and non-exposed groups found in CAs, SCEs and MI demonstrate the mutagenic, clastogenic and also the cytotoxic effect of karathane LC.