Evaluation of a mutation test using S49 mouse lymphoma cells and monitoring simultaneously the induction of dexamethasone resistance, 6-thioguanine resistance and ouabain resistance.

A test for the detection of chemically induced mutants in S49 mouse lymphoma cells is described. These cells can be plated in parallel in several selective media; the induced frequencies of dexamethasone-resistant, 6-thioguanine-resistant and ouabain-resistant mutants were compared. The first two selection systems permit the detection of all kinds of mutation that result in alteration or partial or complete loss of the gene product concerned, whereas ouabain-resistant mutants can only be induced with strong point mutagens in these cells. Dexamethasone resistance is the marker induced at the highest frequency among these three. Data obtained from this selection system are therefore the most amenable to statistical analysis. Dexamethasone resistance is expressed within a short time after mutagenesis (3 days), and because S49 cells do not display metabolic co-operation, large numbers of cells can be screened. A metabolizing system in vitro with rat-liver homogenate may be included in tests of indirectly acting mutagens. These features make the S49 mutation test system using dexamethasone resistance as the main marker and other markers as internal controls an attractive tool in mutation testing in somatic cells in vitro.