Relationship between sister chromatid exchanges and structural chromosome aberrations in lymphocytes of 100 individuals

Abstract

Sister chromatid exchanges and structural chromosome aberrations, i.e. chromatid and isochromatid gaps, chromatid breaks and interchanges, acentric fragments, pericentric inversions, marker chromosomes, rings and dicentric chromosomes, were analyzed in peripheral blood lymphocytes of 100 individuals. The subjects belonged to six different groups: 22 factory workers occupationally exposed to ethylene oxide; 17 factory workers occupationally exposed to epoxy resins; 13 factory workers occupational^ exposed to organic solvents, mainly toluene; 7 bus drivers; 6 chronic alcoholics; and 35 factory workers with no occupational exposure to any known genotoxicant. In the total material there was a highly significant correlation between the number of each structural aberration type recorded and the number of cells with such aberrations. There was no correlation between sister chromatid exchange frequency and the frequency of the different types of structural chromosome aberrations, neither in the different exposure groups, nor among unexposed individuals.