Effect of pH on the bleomycin-induced DNA single-strand scission in L1210 cells and the relation to cell survival.

The susceptibility of cultured L1210 cells to bleomycin was investigated as a function of pH of the medium, and was compared with DNA damage measured by alkaline elution. With increasing pH of the medium, both cytotoxicity and DNA damage increased. This was observed in the effects of bleomycin on cell proliferation, colony-forming ability, and DNA elutability. The reduction of colony-forming ability correlated with DNA single-strand scission, and this correlation was independent of pH.