EFFECTS OF GENOME INSTABILITY IN LYMPHOCYTES AND BUCCAL EPITHELIOCYTES OF CHILDREN FROM THE CITY WITH BIG PULP AND PAPER INDUSTRY
Introduction. Analysis of literature has shown genotoxicants (mutagens and carcinogens) to be present in the atmospheric emissions of pulp and paper industry (PPI). Moreover, among PPI workers from different countries, there was identified an additional risk of cancer, which suggests its high probability among residents of the cities where the PPI is located. The recognized index of genotoxic effects is an increased level of genome instability, which is determined, in particular, in the micronucleus test. The scope of the study - the comparative analysis of the effects of genomic instability in the two tissues - blood lymphocytes cultured with Cytochalasin B, and buccal epithelial cells in the second grade school children (8-9 years old, boys and girls), whose schools were located at different distances from the pulp and paper mill. Material and methods. The study was carried out in the city of Koryazhma, the Arkhangelsk Region (42000 citizens), where the pulp and paper plant as the city-forming industry was located. For the analysis, we subdivided the territories on which the schools were located, into 3 groups according to their distance from the pulp and paper mill. The effects of genomic instability were determined by cytome analysis in the micronucleus test. Results. Cytome analysis of cultivated lymphocytes demonstrated that levels of genome instability indices (including cell frequencies with micronuclei and nucleoplasm bridges, apoptosis, as well as changes in the spectrum of cell populations) to decrease along with the rising the distance between the pulp and paper mill and schools where the children go. In buccal epithelial cells, the manifestations of genomic instability effects were less systematic, which did not allow making a definitive conclusion. At the same time, in both tests, gender differences in the results of cytome analysis were revealed (for example, the alteration of frequency of lymphocytes with genetic damage dependence on the distance between schools and the PPI was more pronounced among boys). Conclusion. According to the results of this study and taking into consideration the data of literature, we hypothesized that the discovering of gender dimorphism in the effects of genome instability may indicate the presence of toxic and/or genotoxic compounds in an environment.