[Induction effects of sulfur dioxide inhalation on chromosomal aberrations in mouse bone marrow cells].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the induction effects of sulfur dioxide (SO(2)) inhalation on chromosomal aberrations (CA) in mouse bone marrow cells.

METHODS

The mice were treated with SO(2) for 4 h/day x 7 days at various concentrations of SO(2), then mitotic indices and CA in the bone marrow cells were analyzed.

RESULTS

SO(2) increase the frequencies of CA and aberrant cells in mouse bone marrow cells in dose-dependent manner. The frequencies (%) of the aberrant cells in mouse bone marrow cells induced by SO(2) at concentrations of 0, 14, 28, 56 and 84 mg/m(3) were 1.81, 3.00, 3.58, 4.26 and 4.86, respectively. SO(2) at low concentrations induced only chromatid-type CA, but at high concentrations it induced both chromatid-type and chromosome-type CA. SO(2) inhalation decreased the mitotic indices of the bone marrow cells.

CONCLUSIONS

SO(2) inhalation may inhibit mitoses and increase CA frequencies of the bone marrow cells; therefore, it is a clastogenetic and genotoxic agent. It implies that long time exposure of SO(2) pollutant at low concentration in air may be a potential risk to induce damage of cytogenetic material in humans.