Study on cytological effects of carofur -- a new mutagen.

Chinese hamster cells (line V-79) and human leukocytes in vitro and mice of the CBA strain were treated with carofur (also called nifurprazinum), an antibacterial agent of pharmaceutical importance. At concentrations as low as 20 ppm, the in vitro treatments of cells of Chinese hamster and human lymphocytes expressed chromosome aberrations, almost exclusively of deletion type. This effect resembles that of fluorodeoxyuridine but may not necessarily reflect the same basic mechanism involved. When Chinese hamster cells were treated with 5 ppm or more of carofur for 24 hr, a 3-fold increase in the frequency of somatic sister chromatid exchanges was observed. An interesting phenomenon of "centromeric association" was observed in the bone marrow cells of mice treated with carofur, where the centromeres of the acrocentric chromosomes were oriented towards each other in groups of 2's or more.