The transition from late G1 to early S phase is most vulnerable to the coclastogenic effect of ultraviolet radiation plus arsenite.

It has previously been reported that chromosome aberrations induced by ultraviolet (UV) radiation can be enhanced by treatment with sodium arsenite for 24 h post-irradiation. Using synchronized CHO-K1 cells, it has now been established that cells in the transitional stage from late G1 to early S phase are most vulnerable to the coclastogenic effect of treatment with UV radiation and arsenite. This result cannot be explained by the special vulnerability of cells in the late G1 to early S transition to UV clastogenicity, as the coclastogenic effects of UV and caffeine or UV and arabinofuranosylcytosine were detected when treating the mid-S but not late-G1 or G2 phase cells.