A comparison of chromosome aberration induction by 25 compounds tested by two Chinese hamster cell (CHL and CHO) systems in culture.

Twenty-five chemicals were tested for the induction of chromosomal aberrations in 2 cultured mammalian cell systems, Chinese hamster lung cells (CHL) and Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO). This study was carried out to provide a data set that would permit an assessment of the extent to which the 2 systems agree in the results produced. Results presented for the 2 systems in this paper are not based on the same criteria but rather on the criteria standardly used in each of the systems. In tests conducted in the absence of S9 mix, 7 chemicals gave positive results in both systems and 12 were negative in both. In tests with S9 mix, 5 were positive in both systems and 9 were negative in both. When the overall results including tests both with and without S9 mix were considered, the 2 systems agreed on 15 results, 11 positives and 4 negatives. A review of the test conditions and data suggests that disagreements in test results were more often due to differences in the protocols used in these 2 systems than to a difference in the sensitivities of the 2 cell lines.