title: Correlation between the level of cytogenetic aberrations in cultured human lymphocytes and the age and gender of donors.
abstract: To answer whether the age-related accumulation of chromosomal damage differs in men and women, and whether the aberration level in centenarians is proportional to their age, cytogenetic aberrations in dividing cells were analyzed. G-band karyotyping of mitotic spreads from lymphocytes was performed in 52 Polish centenarians and 71 controls (aged 21-78). Statistical evaluation was performed using nonparametric tests and regression analysis. The average level of all chromosomal aberrations was comparable in centenarians of both genders, but the age-related increase in chromosomal damage occurred faster in women than in men. Aging in both genders was marked by the increasing level of all aberrations rather than by chromosome-specific changes; the loss of X chromosome was the leading contributor in women. The age-related increase in the level of chromosomal damage reflected accumulation of dividing cells with a small number of aberrations. Individuals who survive to the extreme old age appear to accumulate aberrations at the slower rate.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human Genetics, Clinical and Molecular Genetics, Strzeszyńska 32, Poznań A 60-479, Poland.
authors.forename: Alina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wojda
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zietkiewicz
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mossakowska
authors.forename: Włodzimierz
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pawłowski
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Skrzypczak
authors.forename: Michał
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Witt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D016922:Cellular Senescence / Q000235:genetics*; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008940:Mitotic Index; D011044:Poland; D012737:Sex Factors