Chromosome painting and the accumulation of stable cytogenetic damage with age in healthy controls

Journal Article · Wed Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1995 · Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis

OSTI ID:115714

Tucker, J D; Ramsey, M J; Lee, D A ^[1]

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1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, CA (United States); and others

Chromosome painting is now routinely used to identify induced stable chromosomal rearrangements, which are difficult and expensive to analyze with classical cytogenetic methods. Theoretically the inherent stability of translocations, in contrast to unstable dicentrics, enables their use as a biodosimeter for chronic and temporally-displaced exposure. To quantify the effects of adverse exposure, it is important that the baseline frequency of stable aberrations be well understood. Recently we have used chromosome painting to show that translocations accumulate with age. We have now extended this study to nearly 100 subjects ranging in age from newborns (umbilical cord bloods, n=14) to adults aged 19-79 years. All subjects were healthy, had not received chemo- or radiotherapy, and had not been occupationally or accidentally exposed to radiation or chemicals. We scored the equivalent of 1000 metaphase cells for each subject, and observed an overall average of 1.36 stable aberrations per 100 cells. Stable aberrations increased significantly with age, and were observed at frequencies of 0.19{plus_minus}0.04, 0.77{plus_minus}0.07, and 2.39{plus_minus}0.24 per 100 cells in cord blood, adults aged 19 to 49, and adults over age 50, respectively. To understand the extent that lifestyle factors influence the frequency of stable aberrations, each subject (or one parent of each newborn) completed a comprehensive questionnaire inquiring about lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and dietary habits. No smoking effect is apparent in adults, however newborns whose mothers smoked during pregnancy had a 2.6-fold increase in stable aberration frequencies (p=0.033). Repeat samples from a subset of the adults suggest that individual translocation frequencies change little over a period of -3 years.

• OSTI ID: 115714
• Report Number(s): CONF-9503160--
• Journal Information: Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis, Journal Name: Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis Journal Issue: Suppl.25 Vol. 25; ISSN 0893-6692; ISSN EMMUEG
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

55 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
BASIC STUDIES
ADULTS
AGE DEPENDENCE
CHROMOSOMAL ABERRATIONS
EVALUATION
HUMAN POPULATIONS