engleski

Control values for micronucleus frequency in the reticulocytes of mothers and newborns

The introduction of micronucleus (MN) assay in vivo has made it possible for the first time to evaluate genome damage both in mothers and newborns. Like the in vitro MN assay, this method detects genome damage caused by clastogens and aneugens. However, the in vivo MN assay requires a small blood sample of 5 µ ; L, which makes it applicable for small children and newborns. The aim of this study was to establish the baseline MN frequency and to detect possible differences in MN frequency between mothers and newborns. Twenty mothers and their newborns were sampled three days after delivery. The mean age of the mothers was 26.4 (range 18-34). In the analyzed group, 14 newborns were boys and 6 girls. The slides were analyzed according to Hayashi et al., 1990. For each subject 10, 000 reticulocytes were analyzed. The average MN frequency in mothers was 1.95 and in newborns 1.90. There was no difference in the MN frequency between the sexes in the newborns. The results of this study have confirmed that this method is informative for studies in which blood-sample volume is limited. The sensitivity of the method will be evaluated by future research in populations occupationally or environmentally exposed to transplacental genotoxic agents or transplacental drugs (teratogenic agents).

in vivo micronucleus; mother; child

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