DNA content of cells in human buccal smears. A preliminary study

The DNA content of the cells from human buccal smears, stained by the Feulgen method, was estimated by absorbtion microdensitometry using a Quantimet 720 D image analyser. It was concluded from measurements that most of the cells in buccal smears contained 2C DNA; however, among the cells from male donors a substantial proportion of cells (about 17%) contained less than 2C DNA. This difference between population of male cells versus female cells was statistically significant. The mean value of DNA content was estimated to be 7.7% lower for male cells than for female cells. The conclusions are preliminary because relatively small samples of cells have been measured.