Sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and high-frequency cells (HFC) in peripheral blood lymphocytes of healthy Tunisian smokers.
Cigarette smoking is a major public health problem in Tunisia as it concerns up to 30-35% of the adult population, raising important national issues on tobacco-related disease. The aim of this study was to establish whether cigarette smoking increases sister chromatid exchange (SCE) in peripheral blood lymphocytes of smokers (n=14) compared with non-smokers (n=15) in Sfax, Tunisia. The smokers were subdivided in two subgroups according to the duration of the smoking habit: heavy smokers (>10 years) and light smokers (≤10 years). After signing a consent form, volunteers provided a blood sample (5ml) to establish cell cultures during 72h. For SCE analysis, 30 second-division metaphases were examined from each subject. We determined the frequency of SCE, the percentage of high-frequency cells (HFC) and that of the high-frequency cell individual (HFI). The results show a significantly higher SCE frequency in smokers (8.65±1.43) than in non-smokers (7.16±1.3; p<0.01). A significant difference in SCE frequency was also shown when comparing the two subgroups of smokers (p<0.05). Interestingly, no significant difference was found when comparing the light smokers with non-smokers (7.82±1 vs 7.16±1.3, respectively, p>0.05). The percentages of HFC and HFI were significantly higher in smokers (11.2±7.8% and 78.6%, respectively) than in non-smokers (4±2.2% and 20%, respectively, p<0.01). Our study indicates that the genotoxic effects in lymphocytes from healthy Tunisian smokers are most likely caused by cigarette-smoke constituents. This effect was mainly observed in smokers who had been smoking during more than 10 years. These results provide scientific evidence to urge the prevention of tobacco consumption.
Ben Salah
Ghada
G
Laboratory of Human Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Sfax, Tunisia.
Kamoun
Hassen
H
Rebai
Ahmed
A
Ben Youssef
Achraf
A
Ayadi
Hajer
H
Belghith-Mahfoudh
Neila
N
Fourati
Amine
A
Ayadi
Hamadi
H
Fakhfakh
Faiza
F
D000328:Adult; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D020732:Cytogenetic Analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008677:Metaphase / Q000235:genetics; D008875:Middle Aged; D012854:Sister Chromatid Exchange / Q000235:genetics*; D012907:Smoking; D013997:Time Factors; D014416:Tunisia; D055815:Young Adult