Anderson D, Yu T W, Hambly R J, Mendy M, Wild C P
BIBRA International, Carshalton, Surrey, United Kingdom.
Teratog Carcinog Mutagen. 1999;19(2):147-55.
The single cell gel electrophoresis assay (Comet assay) was used to measure DNA damage in peripheral lymphocytes from a group of individuals from The Gambia in order to determine whether such damage could be associated with increased exposure to aflatoxin in this population. Responses obtained were correlated to responses previously obtained [1] in a cross-sectional study in the same individuals of various cytogenetic alterations [chromosomal aberrations, micronuclei (crest positive and negative staining), and sister chromatid exchanges], and aflatoxin-albumin adducts. Analysis of variance methods were used to assess the effects of smoking, GSTM1 genotype, sex, age, and smoking status. A comparison was also made between The Gambian individuals and a group of healthy, non-smoking volunteers in the United Kingdom where aflatoxin exposure would be expected to be low. From the earlier study [1], it was determined that the levels of the sister chromatid exchanges and micronuclei were higher in The Gambian group than in a European group where aflatoxin exposure was lower, but that there were no correlations between the adduct levels and the cytogenetic abnormalities at the individual level. In the present study, DNA damage as measured in the Comet assay was not significantly higher than in the healthy United Kingdom volunteers. In addition, there were no associations between cytogenetic damage, GSTM1 genotype, age, sex, lifestyle factors (smoking and aflatoxin exposure), and Comet response at the individual level. Comet response was higher in females than males in The Gambia if one outlier was excluded from analysis and not taking into account other sources of variability. It would appear that DNA damage as measured in the Comet assay in peripheral blood lymphocytes is not a sensitive genotoxic marker of aflatoxin exposure in this population.
采用单细胞凝胶电泳试验（彗星试验）检测了一组来自冈比亚的个体外周血淋巴细胞中的DNA损伤情况，以确定这种损伤是否与该人群中黄曲霉毒素暴露增加有关。将获得的结果与之前在同一批个体中进行的一项横断面研究[1]中获得的结果进行了关联分析，该研究涉及各种细胞遗传学改变[染色体畸变、微核（着丝粒阳性和阴性染色）以及姐妹染色单体交换]和黄曲霉毒素 - 白蛋白加合物。使用方差分析方法评估吸烟、GSTM1基因型、性别、年龄和吸烟状态的影响。还将冈比亚个体与一组预计黄曲霉毒素暴露水平较低的英国健康非吸烟志愿者进行了比较。根据早期研究[1]，确定冈比亚组中姐妹染色单体交换和微核的水平高于黄曲霉毒素暴露较低的欧洲组，但在个体水平上，加合物水平与细胞遗传学异常之间没有相关性。在本研究中，彗星试验检测到的DNA损伤并不显著高于英国健康志愿者。此外，在个体水平上，细胞遗传学损伤、GSTM1基因型、年龄、性别、生活方式因素（吸烟和黄曲霉毒素暴露）与彗星试验反应之间没有关联。如果在分析中排除一个异常值且不考虑其他变异来源，冈比亚女性的彗星试验反应高于男性。外周血淋巴细胞彗星试验检测到的DNA损伤似乎不是该人群中黄曲霉毒素暴露的敏感遗传毒性标志物。
