Genotoxic activity of nitrilotriacetic acid in Chinese hamster cells.

Nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), a chelating agent, was tested for its ability to induce chromosomal damage in Chinese hamster cells. The chemical was shown to exert a weak genotoxic activity increasing the frequency of micronuclei after prolonged treatments. The analysis of kinetochore containing-micronuclei showed that NTA prevailingly induces chromosomal aberrations as compared to chromosome loss in hamster cells. Furthermore, immunostaining with an alpha-tubulin antibody showed clear alterations in the interphase microtubule network of cells treated for 24 h with 3 mM NTA. The microtubule effects of the chemical may be partly responsible for its cytotoxic effects.