Microspectrofluorometric evaluation of single- and double-stranded DNA in short-term cultured human glioma cells

Seven cerebral gliomas in short-term culture were studied by microspectrofluorometry and acridine orange staining to assess their nuclear content of single- and double-stranded DNA. Benign gliomas showed a diploid DNA pattern, whereas malignant gliomas revealed a higher frequency of DNA aneuploidy and hyperploidy. The content of single-stranded DNA remained relatively low in benign gliomas; however, that in malignant gliomas varied widely. After ACNU treatment, the double-stranded DNA histograms showed S-phase-specific accumulation in all cases but 1 with increasing concentrations of ACNU. The single-stranded DNA content decreased considerably in 2 cases, which responded well to chemotherapy and showed clinical amelioration.