[Effect of N-nitrosodimethylamine and precursors of this carcinogen on rat kidney cells in monolayer culture].

Kidney tissue culture of 3-day old rats was cultivated in the presence of carcinogenic N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), sodium nitrite, amidopyrine and a combination of these substances forming NDMA. All these substances induce changes in the number of DNA-synthesizing cells, monolayer density, percentage ratio of epithelial and fibroblastoid cells in the kidney cultures. The above changes are typical of each of the tested components, that permits using one-layer culture of the rat kidneys as a model for investigating cell response to the precursors of NDMA and to this carcinogen.