Increase of sister chromatid exchange formation induced by diethylstilbestrol

The latent appearance of genital tract tumors in young women is highly correlated with prenatal exposure to synthetic estrogens such as diethylstilbestrol (DES). To extend the information on the mutagenic effect of DES, the frequency of sister chromatid exchange (SCE) was determined in bone marrow cells of Sprague-Dawley rats and in cultured FR3T3 rat fibroblasts. In this study a significant increase of SCE frequency after the application of different concentrations of DES could be observed both in vivo and in vitro.