Chromosomal breakage in Crohn's disease: anticlastogenic effect of D-penicillamine and L-cysteine.

The incidence of chromosome breakage was found to be elevated in 42 patients with Crohn's disease. This phenomenon was much more striking in cultures set up with TCM 199 than in cultures set up with RPMI 1629 rich in L-cysteine. The drug D-penicillamine, a close analog of L-cysteine, gave an apparent therapeutic response in several patients and reduced the chromosome breakage frequency in the lymphocytes of these patients in vitro and in vivo.