Cellular toxicity in Chinese hamster ovary cell cultures. II: A statistical appraisal of sensitivity with the rabbit alveolar macrophage,Syrian hamster embryo,BALB 3T3 mouse,and human neonatal fibroblast cell systems

Chinese hamster ovary, rabbit alveolar macrophage, Syrian hamster embryo, BALB 3T3 mouse, and human neonatal fibroblast cells were employed in a statistical evaluation of the relative sensitivity of the cells to toxic substances. The cells were exposed to 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene, 2,4-dimethylphenol, Aroclor 1248, cadmium chloride, lead sulfate, nickel nitrate, lead oxide-coated fly ash, and a fine particulate from coal combustion. A filter-disk technique was used to measure the inhibition of protein and DNA synthesis. A quantitative ranking of cell-system sensitivity was determined from comparisons of statistically significant differences (P ? 0.01) in protein and DNA synthesis expressed as a percentage of control. An overall ranking of sensitivity showed that rabbit alveolar macrophages, Syrian hamster embryo cells, and Chinese hamster ovary cells were more sensitive than another of the five cell systems in 75, 68, and 62% of the experiments, respectively. The corresponding values for BALB 3T3 mouse and human neonatal fibroblast cells were 38 and 28%, respectively, under our experimental conditions. Detailed data on the control cell cultures are also presented.