Clastogenic effects of N-nitrosodimethylamine and dinitrosoglycolurile in murine bone marrow cells and cow lymphocytes.

The clastogenic effects of N-nitrosodimethylamine (N-DMA) and dinitrosoglycolurile (DNSGU) were studied in the bone marrow of mice and in peripheral blood lymphocytes of cows. None of the tested compounds showed significant enhancement of chromosome aberrations at doses 1/2 LD50 and 1/10 LD50 in murine bone marrow cells. Treatment of cow peripheral blood lymphocytes with N-DMA at concentration of 6 x 10(-5) mol/l (or 12 x 10(-5) mol/l for DNSGU) produced statistically significant increase of chromosomal breaks. The clastogenic effect was also observed in cultures treated with DNSGU at the highest tested concentration (12 x 10(-4) mol/l), but the exposure to N-DMA at parallel concentration had a toxic effect. At the lowest doses of N-DMA and DNSGU (6 x 10(-6) and 12 x 10(-6) mol/l, respectively) no clastogenic effect was obtained.