Micronuclei in blood lumphocytes of existing and former coal miners: evaluation of the effect of anthracosilicosis

Background. The purpose of this study was to investigate the genotoxic risk in anthracosilicosis patients and in those with occupational exposure to coal dust. Materials and methods. We studied micronuclei (MN) and other cytogenetic lesions in blood lymphocytes in three groups of men comparable in age: 74 coal miners suffering from anthracosilicosis (AS), 41 healthy miners, and 70 control donors. Results. A significant increase in the frequency of MN was revealed with a simultaneous decrease in proliferative activity in samples of healthy and sick miners compared with the control. The level of MN in the lymphocytes of patients with AS significantly exceeded the corresponding indicator in the sample of healthy miners (1.22 0.05% versus 1.03 0.07%; p 0.01). The age of the subjects and the status of smoking did not have a significant effect on the frequency of cytogenetic parameters. Conclusion. AS in miners makes an additional contribution to the formation of DNA damage in lymphocytes. This contribution is probably due to oxidative stress accompanying inflammatory processes in pulmonary fibrosis. The results of the study also indicate the absence of differences in the frequency of MN when comparing subgroups of current and former miners. This means that the genotoxic effects in the lymphocytes of miners are able to persist for a long time after the termination of exposure by adverse factors in coal mining.