Conventional/Molecular Cytogenetics And Flow Cytometric Glycophorin A Assay In Children Exposed To The Chernobyl Fallout.
M. Spanò*, E. Cordelli, G. Leter, L. Stronati, A. Testa, L. Padovani and F. Mauro, Department of Environment, ENEA Casaccia, 00060 Rome, Italy
Conventional cytogenetic analysis has demonstrated an increase of chromosome damage in 41 contaminated children coming from the area contaminated by the Chernobyl accident. The present study has been focussed on long-term stable biomarkers of exposure to whole body radiation, i.e., chromosome aberrations and somatic mutations. Chromosome translocations have been investigated by chromosome painting with probes specific for chromosomes 2, 3, and 4. Somatic mutations have been studied looking at the loss of heterozigosity at the glycophorin A (GPA) locus. A subset of 13 children has been selected for chromosome painting after whole body counting. Preliminay data show the presence of rearrangements and breaks among the contaminated subjects. Another subset of 21 children, exhibiting the MN blood group type, underwent the flow cytometric GPA assay and no differences in the frequency of variant erythrocytes has been highlighted between the control and the contaminated group. These data indicate that molecular cytogenetics and flow cytometry represent useful tools for a careful monitoring of radiation-induced long-term effects.