Antioxidant status and cytogenetic damage in hospital workers occupationally exposed to low dose ionizing radiation

Publication date: February–March 2020Source: Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis, Volumes 850–851Author(s): Jianfang Gao, Xiaomei Dong, Taixiu Liu, Lilong Zhang, Lin AoAbstractThe aim of the present study was to assess the oxidative stress level and chromosomal damage induced by occupational exposure to low dose ionizing radiation (LDIR). Two hundred and eighteen hospital workers occupationally exposed to LDIR were included in this study, along with 118 healthy age- and gender-comparable controls. Occupational dosimetry records were collected over the last year and revealed that the accumulated annual dose for each hospital worker was below the permissible limit of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The individuals’ oxidative and antioxidative status were determined by measuring the activities of copper zinc-superoxide dismutase (CuZn-SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT) enzymes, and the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) in erythrocytes. The effect of radiation on chromosomal integrity was measured by the frequency of micronuclei (MN) formation using the cytokinesis block technique. Our results showed that the activities of CuZn-SOD and CAT enzymes and MDA levels observed in the hospital workers were higher than those in the controls (p < 0.05). We did not find significant difference in GSH-Px enzyme activity between the two groups (p = 0.247). A higher frequency of MN was found in ex...
Source: Mutation Research Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research