Sensitivity to bleomycin and arabinoside cytosine in lymphocytes of patients affected by neuroblastoma and in those of their parents.

Abstract

Chromosomal instability has been described in patients affected by various tumors. We previously reported a high sensitivity to fragile sites induction by aphidicolin in lymphocytes from patients affected by neuroblastoma and in those from their parents. In the search for the most suitable clastogenic agent to enhance the possible differences between healthy controls and patients affected by tumors, we have now tested two other drugs: bleomycin, a radiomimetic agent already used in vitro on chromosomes of patients affected by other tumors and arabinoside cytosine, an inhibitor of DNA polymerases alfa and beta. We observed a high sensitivity to bleomycin both in patients and in their parents, but to arabinoside cytosine only in NB patients. Moreover, the two drugs induced more fragile sites in 1p in patients and in their parents than in healthy controls. This phenomenon, which we already observed after treatment with aphidicolin, might be related to the frequent deletions and loss of heterozigosity in 1p in neuroblastoma cells.