title: Evaluation of smoking genotoxicity in Turkish young adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  For the past few decades, it has been widely known in developed countries that tobacco is dangerous, but it is still insufficiently realized how big these dangers really are.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine and evaluate micronuclei (MN) frequencies of young smokers and nonsmokers in three different tissues (peripheric blood lymphoctes, buccal mucosa, and exfoliative urothelial cells) at the same time.
  
  
  METHODS
  MN assay was performed on buccal mucosa, urothelial cells, and peripheric blood lymphocyte samples obtained from 15 healthy male smokers (>5 pack-years) and 15 healthy male nonsmoker controls who had not been exposed to any known genotoxic agent.
  
  
  METHODS
  The statistical differences between smoker and nonsmoker groups were calculated by using student t test. The differences between smoker-group tissues were compared by ANOVA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was found that MN frequency (mean value ± standard deviation) in oral mucosa cells from smokers and controls were 1.20 ± 0.22% and 0.26 ± 0.10%; in urothelial exfoliative cells, 1.29 ± 0.28% and 0.12 ± 0.08%; in peripheric blood lymphocytes, 1.53 ± 0.23% and 0.38 ± 0.12%, respectively. The mean MN frequencies in buccal mucosa, urothelial exfoliative cells, and peripheric blood lymphocytes were significantly higher in smokers than in those of controls (P<0.05). All tissues were affected from smoking, but the most destructive effect was seen in urothelial cells of smokers (P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data showed that cigarette smoke is a DNA damage causitive agent on exfoliative buccal mucosa and urothelial cells and peripheric blood lymphocytes of young smokers, but it has most destructive effect on urothelial cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, University of Selçuk, Meram Medical Faculty, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ayse G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Zamani
authors.forename: H Gul
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Durakbasi-Dursun
authors.forename: Sennur
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Demirel
authors.forename: Aynur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Acar