Induction of unscheduled DNA synthesis in human myeloma cells.

Unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) induced by melphalan, nitrogen mustard and ultra-violet irradiation was studied in bone marrow cells from myeloma patients. In a previous study, normal bone marrow cells in various stages of maturation were found to display a gradual decrease in UDS parallel with the process of maturation. Myeloma cells showed a similar pattern. Poorly differentiated myeloma cells exhibited a similar level of UDS to myeloblasts and erythroblasts. Irrespective of which repair-inducing agent was used, the relationship between the levels of UDS in the various cell types was constant. This indicates that the differences in the level of UDS in the various cell types was not due to differences in the uptake of the repair-inducing agent.