Micronucleus Assay for Monitoring the Genotoxic Effects of Arsenic: A Systematic Review

Publication date: Available online 6 February 2019Source: Mutation Research/Reviews in Mutation ResearchAuthor(s): Ju Dong, Jun-qin Wang, Qin Qian, Guo-chun Li, Dong-qin Yang, Chao JiangAbstractThe micronucleus (MN) assay has been used to determine the potential genotoxic effects and cancer risk in human populations exposed to arsenic. Some of these studies have found an increase in MN frequencies among exposed individuals, but different results have also been found by others. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to investigate whether MN can be used as an effective biomarker for the arsenic exposure, as well as which kind of cells show stronger effects in the MN assay upon arsenic exposure and on the MN frequency. A systematic review was conducted, the meta-analysis showed that the overall estimates of MR were 2.95 (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.00 to 4.35), 2.36 (95% CI: 1.77 to 3.15), and 2.82 (95% CI: 1.86 to 4.28) for the use of lymphocytes, buccal cells, and urothelial cells in the MN assay, respectively. Subgroup analysis showed that when the exposure method was drinking water, the MN frequencies increased significantly in lymphocytes (MR = 3.59, 95% CI: 2.30 to 5.60), in buccal cells (MR = 2.29, 95% CI: 1.69 to 3.10), and in urothelial cells (MR = 3.16, 95% CI: 2.02 to 4.97). However, when the exposure method was the occupational setting, the MN detection using lymphocytes didn’t find significant differences between groups. Subgroup analysis also sh...
Source: Mutation Research Reviews in Mutation Research - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research