Mutagenesis Advance Access originally published online on December 8, 2006
Mutagenesis 2007 22(1):69-74; doi:10.1093/mutage/gel053
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Genotoxic effects induced by formaldehyde in human blood and implications for the interpretation of biomonitoring studies
Institut für Humangenetik, Universität Ulm D-89069 Ulm, Germany
Formaldehyde (FA) was tested for its genotoxicity in human blood cultures. We treated blood samples at the start of the culture to follow FA-induced DNA damage (DNA–protein crosslinks, DPX), its repair and its genetic consequences in form of sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) and micronuclei (MN). Our results clearly indicate that DPX (determined by the comet assay) are induced at FA concentrations of 
25 µM. DPX induced by FA concentrations up to 100 µM are completely removed before lymphocytes start to replicate. SCE are induced at concentrations >100 µM parallel to the induction of cytotoxicity (measured as reduction of the replication index). MN were not induced by FA concentrations up to 250 µM (the highest analyzable concentration) added at the start of the blood cultures in the cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) test. FA-induced cytotoxicity (measured as reduction of the nuclear division index) possibly prevented division of damaged cells. MN were only significantly induced in human blood when proliferating cells were exposed to FA during the last cell cycle before preparation. Several human biomonitoring studies reported increased frequencies of SCE and MN in lymphocytes of subjects exposed to FA. Our results characterize the genotoxic potential of FA in cultured lymphocytes and lead to the conclusion that cytogenetic effects of FA are very unlikely to occur in blood cultures of FA-exposed subjects.
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +49 731 500 65440; Email: guenter.speit{at}uni-ulm.de
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