Sulindac sulfide is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with chemopreventive effect on human cancer cells. Due to the involvement of the somatic recombination in the carcinogenic process, sulindac sulfide's recombinogenic potential was evaluated by the Homozygotization Index (HI) in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. The drug's recombinogenic potential was evaluated by its capacity to induce homozygosis of recessive genes from heterozygous diploid cells. Sulindac sulfide at 175 and 350 µM concentrations induced mitotic recombination in A. nidulans diploid cells, with HI values for genetic markers higher than 2.0, and significantly different from control HI values. The recombinogenic effect of NSAID was related to the induction of DNA strand breaks and cell cycle alterations. Sulindac sulfide's carcinogenic potential was also discussed.
antineoplastic agents; mitotic crossing-over; secondary malignances
