Treatment of lymphocyte cultures with a hypoxanthine-xanthine oxidase system induces the formation of transferable clastogenic material.

Culture medium of lymphocyte cultures that have been exposed to the superoxide generating system hypoxanthine plus xanthine oxidase (X-XO) contains substances with chromosome damaging properties. This is demonstrated by the ability of ultrafiltrates of such culture media to induce chromosomal aberrations and sister chromatid exchanges in the lymphocytes of blood test cultures. Culture medium becomes active about 15 hours after the addition of X-XO and stimulation by phytohemagglutinin. Concomitant with the accumulation of clastogenic material, assays for conjugated dienes and thiobarbituric acid-reactive material which measure lipid-peroxidation become positive in the culture media. When cells are pretreated with superoxide dismutase or glutathione peroxidase before the addition of X-XO neither clastogenic substances nor lipid peroxidation products are detected. Catalase is a less efficient protector.