The clastogenic activity of 1,6-dinitropyrene in peripheral human lymphocytes

The ability of 1,6-dinitropyrene to induce chromosome damage in peripheral human lymphocyte cultures has been demonstrated. Low levels of clastogenic activity were detected following 3-h treatments with 1,6-dinitropyrene in the presence of a rat-liver cytosol fraction. The clastogenic activity reached a peak at a concentration of 1.25 micrograms/ml of 1,6-dinitropyrene after which the frequency of aberrations decreased. This unusual genotoxic dose response is similar to that found previously in yeast and rat-liver cells. The fact that a positive result was obtained using human lymphocytes shows that, in the presence of the appropriate activation system, dinitropyrene is genotoxic in human cells.