Effects of colchicine, Colcemid and vincristine on ethyl methanesulfonate-induced sister chromatid exchanges and chromosomal aberrations in Chinese hamster cells.

The effect of colchicine, Colcemid and vincristine on ethyl methanesulfonate-induced sister chromatid exchanges and chromosomal aberrations was studied in Chinese hamster cells. The number of ethyl methanesulfonate-induced sister chromatid exchanges was markedly decreased with increasing doses of colchicine and vincristine. In the presence of colchicine, ethyl methanesulfonate-induced chromosomal aberrations increased; these were mainly breaks and fragmentations. The effects were most prominent at the earlier stage of the cell cycle. Colchicine, Colcemid and vincristine had no effect on spontaneous sister chromatid exchanges or chromosomal aberrations.