A comparison of the cytogenetic response to asbestos and glass fibre in Chinese hamster and human cell lines. Demonstration of growth inhibition in primary human fibroblasts.

Asbestos and fine glass fibre, which induce high levels of chromosome aberrations and polyploidy in Chinese hamster permanent cell lines, were found to cause no increase in chromosome damage or polyploidy in primary human fibroblasts or in human lymphoblastoid lines. In common with permanent cell lines of hamster or human origin, treatment of primary human fibroblasts with higher doses of asbestos or fine glass resulted in almost total growth inhibition, showing that the primary cells are not unaffected by these agents. The reason for lack of evident cytogenetic damage in primary cells may lie in the greater spontaneous karyotype instability of transformed (permanent) cell lines or may be connected with the less efficient DNA repair capacity of Chinese hamster ovary cells.