Carbon Disulfide (CS2) Induced Chromosomal Alterations and Apoptosis in Circulated Blood Lymphocytes of Personnel Working in Viscose Industry

Background and objective: Carbon disulfide (CS2) is a naturally occurring chemical substance in the environment and also an important endogenous substance in the human body. This study was done to collect data on the effects and to find a possible relationship between in-vivo CS2 induced apoptosis and genotoxic effects.Material and method: Circulated blood lymphocytes (PBL) of 41 workers occupationally exposed to Carbon disulfide (CS2) in viscose industry were investigated. The participants involved three groups. The first group included 41 participants exposed to CS2 together with various confounding factors; the second group comprised of 41 participants who were inhabitant of viscose industry and were partially exposed to CS2 in long periods; and third group consisting 41 participants as control group who were not exposed to any kind of chemicals and radiation hazards. Ambient air concentrations of CS2 were measured in different workplaces. Measures of genotoxicity included the determination of the frequencies of chromosomal aberrations (CA), sister-chromatid exchange (SCE), HPRT mutations (variant frequency, VF), and measurement of UV-induced unscheduled DNA-repair synthesis (UDS). The percentages of premature centromere division (PCD) and of cells with a high frequency of SCE (HF/SCE) were also scored. Apoptosis and c l proliferation were determined by flow cytometry.Results: In both CS2 exposed groups, the apoptotic activity and the CA levels in PBLs were significantly higher than in controls. CA was mostly breaks of the chromatid type. In group II, CA was slightly lower in comparison with group I, which can be attributed to a different rate of elimination of damaged lymphocytes as a consequence of CS2 induced apoptotic activity.Conclusion: The results demonstrate that exposure to CS2 induced apoptosis and CA, indicating an excess cancer risk among participants occupationally exposed to CS2. The results also emphasized the importance of the measurement of occupationally exposed pollutants such as CS2 in order to avoid genotoxic effects in the workers.

Corrigendum: Zivkovic L, Bajic VP, Zukovec D, Cabarkapa A, Spremo-Potparevic B. Alterations of acrocentric chromosomes in peripheral blood lymphocytes in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Arch biol sci. 2013;65(2):439-45 DOI:10.2298/ABS1302439Z

The Editor-in-Chief has been informed that Fig. 2 in the article: Alterations of acrocentric chromosomes in peripheral blood lymphocytes in patients with Alzheimer?s disease, published in the Archives of Biological Sciences in 2013, Vol. 65, Issue 2, has already been presented in the article: Zivkovic L, Spremo-Potparevic B, Plecas-Solarovic B, Djelic N, Ocic G, Smiljkovic P, Siedlak S, Smith M, Bajic V. Premature centromere division of metaphase chromosomes in peripheral blood lymphocytes of Alzheimer's Disease patients: relation to gender and age. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2010;65A(12):1269-74. DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glq148, and is described by a different legend. <br><br><font color="red"><b> Link to the corrected article <u><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/ABS1302439Z">10.2298/ABS1302439Z</a></b></u>

Chromosome instability in Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer?s disease (AD), as the most common form of dementia, has for many years attracted the attention of researchers around the world, primarily because of the problems of reliable diagnostic methods that could help in the early detection of this devastating disease. One of the important aspects of genetic research related to AD is the analysis of chromosome instability which includes: aneuploidies of different chromosomes, telomere shortening and the phenomenon of premature centromere division (PCD). The aim of this study was to describe specific biomarkers in different types of cells as potential parameters for the diagnosis of AD in order to promptly recognize pre-symptomatic stages and prevent the development of disease and/or slow down its progression.

The effect of paclitaxel alone and in combination with cycloheximide on the frequency of premature centromere division in vitro

Premature centromere division (PCD) can be viewed as a manifestation of chromosome instability. In order to evaluate the ability of Paclitaxel (Ptx) and Cycloheximide (Cy) to induce PCD we used a cytokinesis block micronucleus assay (CBMN), fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), and the chromosome aberration (CA) assay in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. Results showed that Ptx can induce PCD alone or in combination with Cy. These findings call us to pay more attention to PCD as a parameter of genotoxicity in the pre-clinical research of mono and/or combinational therapies for cancer treatment.