Long-lasting persistence of elevated sister-chromatid exchange frequencies induced by perinatal benzo(a)pyrene treatment in rat bone-marrow cells.

In this work the possibility that a mutagenic factor acting in utero or in the perinatal period might lead to elevated mutagenic rates in bone-marrow cells after a considerable period of time was examined. An aromatic hydrocarbon, benzo(a)pyrene was used as the test substance. Benzo(a)pyrene treatments resulted in significantly higher sister-chromatid exchange (SCE)-frequencies in both fetal and neonatal groups in both sexes, even four months after exposure. In a second experiment we examined whether mutagenic exposure suffered in utero could make the individual more susceptible to mutagenic effects in adulthood. Preliminary results indicate that such a possibility could exist.