Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 August 2014
The frequency of structural chromosomal aberrations has been examined in peripheral blood lymphocyte cultures from 18 normal individuals. A mean rate of aberrations was observed of 7.38%, and a mean breakage/metaphase index of 0.036. Individual values ranged, for the aberration index, from 4% to 15%; and, for the breakage/metaphase index, from 0.00 to 0.08. Only gaps and breakage were observed. The translocation cross and chromatid-ring observed derive from a series of experiments on homologous plasma cultures. As for the influence of different cultural environments, it has been observed that the rate of spontaneous aberrations behaved independently from the age of the blood sample, from the addition of penicillin in the culture, and from the concentration of phytohemoagglutinin. Using veal's fetal serum, the rate of aberrations failed to show any variation, even with a time of culture prolonged up to 96 hours; while, using homologous plasma, the time of culture having been prolonged, structural aberrations have shown a considerable increase. The study of the mitotic index in the different cultural conditions has indicated the possibility of favoring the growth of leucocyte cultures.