DNA Damage Induced by Gaseous Formaldehyde on Marrow Cells of Mice Tested by RAPD Assay

In order to explore distant-site genotoxic effect of gaseous formaldehyde on genetic material of marrow cells in mice. SPF-class Kun Ming male mice were exposed to gaseous formaldehyde for 72 hours in such concentration as 0.5mg/m³, 1.0mg/m³ and 3.0mg/m³. We applied the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method to evaluate the genotoxic effect of the gaseous formaldehyde. The results of the RAPD profiles showed obvious differences between normal and exposed groups. The number of the varied bands increased gradually with the concentration of gaseous formaldehyde. Genomic template stability (GTS) analysis showed that with the increase of the gaseous formaldehyde concentration, the polymorphisms were50%, 39.66%, 32.76% and the GTS were 50%, 60.34%, 67.24% respectively. These results suggest that gaseous formaldehyde has significant genotoxicity and damage effect on the genetic material in marrow cells in this concentration range. Meanwhile, the DNA polymorphisms detected by RAPD technique could be used as a biomarker for detecting genetic effects of formaldehyde stress on mice.