Evaluation of the frequency of sister chromatid exchanges and micronuclei in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus
BackgroundOxidative stress induced DNA damage seems to play a role in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and its complications. The sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and micronucleus (MN) assays are used to evaluate the presence and extent of chromosomal damage. We aimed in this study to evaluate diabetic children with associated genotoxicity using two cytogenetic assay systems (SCE and MN) SCE and MN frequencies were assessed in cultured lymphocytes from diabetic children, and this was correlated with some parameters of T1DM. Participants and methodsThe study was conducted on 66 participants; the patient group consisted of 51 children with T1DM. Fifteen healthy children of same age and sex distribution served as controls. Full history taking, thorough clinical examination, and relevant laboratory investigations were performed for participants, including fasting and postprandial blood glucose, as well as glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) SCE and MN tests were carried out on lymphocyte cell cultures for all participants. ResultsThe mean age of type 1 diabetic children was 10.77+ 3.46 years, with a mean duration of diabetes of 3.78+ 3.88 years. Patients showed a higher frequency of SCE and MN compared with controls (5.93+ 2.06 and 3.92+ 1.25, and 27.10+ 17.76 and 3.85+ 5.19, respectively; P<0.001 and P<0.001, respectively) Our results showed a positive nonsignificant correlation of duration of the disease with MN and SCE, a positive significant correlation between SCE and postprandial blood glucose levels (r=0.326 and P=0.04) and a positive nonsignificant correlation between SCE and HbA1c. ConclusionOur study revealed a statistically significant difference in MN and SCE frequencies between the patient and control groups, and SCE may be a more sensitive early parameter for genomic instability. An increased level of SCE and MN can be a common cytogenetic marker in children with T1DM.