Aneuploidy induction by water extract from Tripterygium hypoglaucum (Level) Hutch in mouse bone marrow cells.

The aneuploidy-inducing activity of a Chinese medicinal herb, Tripterygium hypoglaucum (level) Hutch (THH), was investigated by means of three cytogenetic end-points, i.e. C-mitotic (CM) effects, micronuclei (MN) and parallel chromosome structural aberration (CA) analyses in vivo. The CA analysis was expected to reflect the origins of MN induced by clastogens or aneugens. The experiments were performed on mouse bone marrow cells. The animals were treated with the crude water extracts of THH (single i.p. injection) in the dose range 120-686 mg/kg. Colchicine (COL) was taken as a positive control for its known aneuploidy-inducing effects. THH showed similar genotoxic effects to COL in CM, MN and CA analyses: positive CM effects were observed accompanied with increases of mitotic index and frequencies of CM cells as well as decreased frequencies of anaphase in all of the THH-treated groups. The compound showed a positive MN response in bone marrow polychromatic erythrocytes but was negative in CA analyses. No sex differences were found in any treated group. The preliminary results suggested that THH is an aneuploidy inducer in mouse bone marrow cells under the present experimental conditions.