title: Influence of GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms on the frequency of chromosome aberrations in lymphocytes of smokers and pesticide-exposed greenhouse workers.
abstract: The influence of polymorphic glutathione S-transferases mu (GSTM1) and theta (GSTT1) on the rate of chromosome aberrations (CA) in peripheral lymphocytes of 30 pesticide-exposed floriculturists and 32 control subjects was studied. Pesticide exposure was not associated with elevated frequencies of CA. Among cigarette smokers, a statistically significant (p = 0.026) increase in baseline CA frequencies was observed in subjects with a homozygous deletion of the GSTM1 gene (GSTM1 null, n = 36) in comparison with those having at least one copy of the gene (GSTM1 positive, n = 26). This effect was mainly due to an excess of chromatid-type aberrations (p = 0.006). In addition, the few individuals (n = 5) deficient for both GSTM1 and GSTT1 showed significantly higher (p = 0.012) CA counts than GSTM1 positive GSTT1 nulls. Despite the limited number of subjects genotyped, the results seem to indicate an association between smoking induced CA frequencies and GSTM1 polymorphism, and a possible interaction between the GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes. The findings may be explained by the reduced detoxification capacity of GSTM1 null and GSTT1 null individuals.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Ambiente e del Territorio, Università di Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Scarpato
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hirvonen
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Migliore
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Falck
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Norppa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000383:Agriculture; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000235:genetics; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010575:Pesticides; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012907:Smoking
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; D010575:Pesticides; D005982:Glutathione Transferase