Abbreviations:
HPRT: hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl-transferase
LI: labeling index
MF: mutation frequency
VF: variant frequency of HPRT mutations
PBLs: peripheral blood lymphocytes
PHA: phytohemagglutinin-P
TG: 6-thioguanine
CEJOEM 1996, 2:317-328
Abstract: The determination of the mutation frequencies
in the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl-transferase (HPRT) genes in
human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) of 101 historical controls (HC)
and 87 industrial control (IC) donors was made to detect the level of spontaneous
mutagenic effects in human populations with no known exposure to genotoxic
agents. Mean values of the variation frequency (VF) in the two control
populations were as follows (mean±SE): 6.94±1.03×10–6
in historical controls and 5.68±0.61×10–6 in the industrial
control group. The results were analyzed related with age, gender, life-style
(smoking and drinking habits), seasonal factors and in case of the historical
controls with residential area. In historical controls VF showed a significant
increase among regular alcohol consumers, and it was elevated among smokers.
In industrial controls, smoking and drinking habits did not influence the
frequency of mutations. We observed an increase in VF parallel to age and
a decrease in labeling index (LI) among women.
Key words: Genotoxicity, lymphocytes, control human populations, HPRT point mutations, cancer risk assessment
| Received: 2 October 1996
Accepted: 10 November 1996 Posted: 15 February 1999 |
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