Studies on the influence of liquid holding in con-A stimulated human peripheral blood lymphocytes on mitosis and X-ray induced chromosome aberrations.

A method suitable for performance of liquid-holding (LH) experiments with human lymphocytes in vitro is described. The lymphocytes are stimulated with concanavalin A (Con A) and after washing off the Con A with a sugar-containing medium are liquid-held in Con A-free medium for different times, after which they are restimulated with Con A. The BUdR-labeling method was used to determine the proportion of first-, second-, and third-division cells. With this system we were able to show that the frequencies of X-ray-induced chromosomal aberrations are not influenced by liquid holding, supporting the idea that these aberrations are fixed shortly after irradiation by misrepair. This sytem may prove useful for investigation of specific problems in mutagenicity research, especially those involving mutagens, which induce delayed formation of chromosome aberrations.