Cytogenetic study of DDT on human lymphocytes in vitro

The cytogenetic effect of DDT on human blood cultures, in vitro, was investigated. Two types of experiment were carried out: one, in which the DDT concentrations found in the culture media were similar to those found in the plasma of individuals of the Brazilian population (0.06--0.20 mug/ml); in the second experiments, doses ranging from 1 to 15 mug/ml were used. No correlation was found between DDT doses and cells with chromosomal aberrations. The Poisson test of comparison between means showed that at certain DDT concentrations (0.20, 4.05 and 8.72 mug/ml) the proportion of cells with structural aberrations was significantly greater than in the controls.