title: Chromosome aberrations and rogue cells in lymphocytes of Chernobyl clean-up workers.
abstract: A cytogenetic analysis was performed on peripheral blood lymphocytes from 183 Chernobyl clean-up workers and 27 control individuals. Increased frequencies of chromosome aberrations were associated with exposure to radiation at Chernobyl, alcohol abuse and a history of recent influenza infection. However, only approximately 20% of Chernobyl clean-up workers had an increased frequency of dicentric and ring chromosomes. At the same time, an increased frequency of acentric fragments in lymphocytes of clean-up workers was characteristic. The use of multivitamins as dietary supplement significantly decreased the frequency of chromosome aberrations, especially of chromatid breaks. Rogue cells were found in lymphocytes of 28 clean-up workers and 3 control individuals. The appearance of rogue cells was associated with a recent history of acute respiratory disease (presumably caused by adenoviral infection) and, probably, alcohol abuse. Dicentric chromosomes in rogue cells were distributed according to a negative binomial distribution. Occurrence of rogue cells due to a perturbation of cell cycle control and abnormal apoptosis is suggested.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Genetics, Vilnius University, Lithuania.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Lazutka
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000437:Alcoholism; D017209:Apoptosis; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002453:Cell Cycle; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D004261:DNA Replication; D006801:Humans; D007251:Influenza, Human; D007621:Karyotyping; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008938:Mitosis; D008957:Models, Genetic; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D011210:Power Plants; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release; D012854:Sister Chromatid Exchange; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014455:Ukraine; D014815:Vitamins
chemical_list: D014815:Vitamins