ANTHRAMYCIN-INDUCED SISTER-CHROMATID EXCHANGE AND CAFFEINE POTENTIATION IN THE CHROMOSOMES OF INDIAN MUNTJAC

Cell-cycle kinetics, sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and chromosome aberrations were studied from the skin fibroblasts of the Indian muntjac after treatment with 100 .mu.g/ml of caffeine and 0.05 .mu.g/ml of anthramycin. The cultures were incubated for a period which was sufficient for the completion of 2 consecutive cell cycles and both the drugs appeared to produce a slight inhibitory effect. When anthramycin-treated cells were post-treated with caffeine, the cells did not proceed beyond 1 cycle and exhibited a mitotic block. The SCE frequency in the control and the experiments with caffeine and anthramycin was 8.63, 18.32 and 34.38/cell, respectively. The SCE were randomly distributed among all chromosomes unlike a non-random distribution within the X chromosomes. Caffeine and anthramycin produced only 0.5% and 3.1% cells with chromosome aberrations, respectively. Potentiation of chromosome aberrations was observed when the anthramycin-treated cells were post-treated with caffeine. Caffeine potentiation presumably results from an inhibition of the cells to cycle and a failure to repair the effect of the mutagen on DNA.