Chromosomal alterations affecting the 1cen-1q12 region in buccal mucosal cells of betel quid chewers detected using multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization.
Epidemiological studies have shown that a high incidence of oral cancers is associated with chewing betel quid. Since chromosomal aberrations are involved in many types of cancers, we investigated whether increased frequencies of chromosomal alterations could be detected in the oral mucosa cells of betel quid chewers as compared to non-chewers. Due to the difficulty in culturing these epithelial cells, we used multicolor FISH with adjacent DNA probes to detect hyperdiploidy and breakage/exchanges affecting the 1cen-q12 region in interphase cells. Buccal mucosa cells from 19 male betel quid chewers and 23 non-chewers were hybridized and 1000 cells per donor were evaluated. A highly significant increase in the frequency of breakage affecting 1cen-1q12 region was observed in the mucosa cells of the chewers as compared to the non-chewers. A good correlation was also seen between breakage and duration of chewing. A modest increase in hyperdiploidy for chromosome 1 was also observed among chewers who had used betel quid for many years. These results indicate that this FISH approach can be useful for human biomonitoring, particularly for detecting alterations in non-dividing cells.
Rupa
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DS
Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program, University of California, Riverside 92521, USA.
Eastmond
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DA
D001114:Areca / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D002878:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 1; D004032:Diet; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000737:chemistry*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D013997:Time Factors