Differential effects of pre- and posttreatment of sodium arsenite on the genotoxicity of methyl methanesulfonate in Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Pretreatment of sodium arsenite reduces hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase mutagenicity and overcomes the inhibition of mitosis and cell proliferation but has no apparent effect on the cytotoxicity and clastogenicity in methyl methanesulfonate (MMS)-treated Chinese hamster ovary cells. Posttreatment of sodium arsenite drastically increases the cytotoxicity, clastogenicity, hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase mutagenicity, and inhibition of mitosis and cell proliferation induced by MMS. Sodium arsenite either pre- or posttreatment has no apparent effect on the MMS-induced sister chromatid exchanges. The present results indicate that pretreatment of sodium arsenite not only does no harm but may even benefit the MMS-treated cells. On the contrary, posttreatment of sodium arsenite is cogenotoxic.