ANALYSIS OF MICRONUCLEI FREQUENCY IN EPITHELIAL CELLS AND LYMPHOCYTES AND ITS CORRELATION WITH GLUTATHIONE-S-TRANSFERASE GENE POLYMORPHISM IN PATIENTS WITH TICK-BORNE ENCEPHALITIS

Abstract

Objective - to study the changes in the frequency of micro-nucleated peripheral blood lymphocytes and buccal epithelial cells in patients with tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) during the acute and convalescent periods of the disease and their correlation with variants of glutathione-S-transferase ( GSTM1 or GSTT1 ) genes in the patient’s genotype. Material and methods. The study included 54 patients with TBE and 35 healthy (control) residents of the Tomsk and Tyumen regions. The enrolled participants were examined by clinical, laboratory and cytogenetic methods. The latter included micronucleus assay in buccal cells and peripheral blood cytokinesis-blocked lymphocytes. The material for the study (peripheral blood and buccal cell smears) was obtained repeatedly during the admission of patients to treatment, and after 1 week, 1, 3 and 6 months. The allele variants of the GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes were detected by polymerase chain reaction. Results The study demonstrated a significant increase in the frequency of micronucleated cells in TBE patients compared with the control group. The most significant and the most prolonged increase in the frequency of micronucleated cells was associated with the mutant inactive alleles of the GSTM1 (0/0) and GSTT1 (0/0) genes. Conclusion. If a TBE patient was a carrier of the mutant inactive alleles of GSTM1 (0/0) and GSTT 1(0/0) genes, the cytogenetic instability in T lymphocytes of the peripheral blood could persist for half a year. Key words: buccal epithelium, cytokinesis-blocked lymphocytes, glutathione-S-transferase, micronucleus analysis, tick-borne encephalitis

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