Normal red blood cells partially decrease diepoxybutane-induced chromosome breakage in cultured lymphocytes from Fanconi anaemia patients.

Fanconi anaemia (FA) is a cancer-prone chromosome instability syndrome characterized by hypersensitivity to DNA cross-linking agents, such as diepoxybutane (DEB). Previous studies have shown that normal red blood cells (RBC) can protect cultured lymphocytes against chromosomal breaks induced by DEB. The present study was designed to analyse influence of RBCs from normal individuals on frequency of DEB-induced chromosome breaks in lymphocyte cultures from FA patients. A comparative study was performed between DEB-induced chromosome breaks in cultures of FA lymphocytes with either autologous or heterologous RBCs. A further comparative study was carried out between whole blood cultures from FA patients performed on two occasions, before and 1 week after transfusion of RBCs. It was observed that normal RBCs compared to FA RBCs, partially reduced chromosome breaks in cultured FA lymphocytes. A significant reduction in DEB-induced breaks was also observed in FA cultured lymphocytes obtained 1 week after transfusion of RBCs, in comparison to those observed in the same patients before RBC transfusion. This study shows that DEB-induced chromosome instability in FA lymphocytes is partially reduced by normal RBCs. This effect may have some clinical relevance in vivo, whenever FA patients receive a RBC transfusion.