Original Research Article
Year: 2018 | Month: February | Volume: 8 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 111-117
Micronuclei Count in Oral Exfoliated Cells - A Tool for Biomonitoring DNA Damage in Tobacco Users
Pooja Siwach1, Arush Thakur2
1Assistant Professor, Department of Dentistry, Government Medical College and General Hospital, Dhule, Maharashtra, India. 424001
2Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Government Dental College and Hospital, Mumbai, India. 400001
ABSTRACT
Aim: To compare and correlate the frequency of Micronuclei in individuals with tobacco habits but without any clinical lesion, patients clinically diagnosed with leukoplakia and healthy individuals without any tobacco habit. And also to compare papanicolau stained smears to that of Acridine orange for the estimation of micronuclei frequency.
Materials and Methods: Smears were made from 10 individuals without any tobacco habit, 10 individuals with tobacco habit but without any clinically identifiable oral changes and 10 individuals with clinically diagnosed leukoplakia. Cytological smears from the same patient were stained with both PAP and Acridine orange stain. Numbers of micronuclei in 2000 cells were counted in each patient.
Statistical analysis used: Comparison of number of micronuclei (papanicolau stained smears) among different groups was done using Kruskal Wallis test. While, comparison of number of micronuclei (papanicolau stained smears v/s acridine orange) among different groups was done using Mann Whitney U test.
Results: There was increase in micronuclei frequency from control to tobacco users to clinically diagnosed leukoplakia patients, but difference was not statistically significant. The micronuclei count was4-5 times higher in Papanicolau stained slides as compared to acridine orange stain.
Conclusion: Genotoxic effect by carcinogen may manifest in various ways like apoptosis or nuclear degeneration and therefore, only counting micronuclei in exfoliated epithelial cells as biomarkers of exposure to lifestyle and occupation related genotoxic carcinogens warrants further evaluation. DNA specific dyes like Acridine orange should be preferred over other stains, for micronuclei estimation so as to reduce the overestimation.
Key words: Micronuclei; tobacco; exfoliated cells; leukoplakia; papanicolau; acridine orange