[Association of the glycophorin A gene mutation in peripheral erythrocytes and chronic benzene poisoning].

OBJECTIVE

To explore the association of the glycophorin A(GPA) gene mutation in peripheral erythrocytes and chronic benzene poisoning.

METHODS

Sixty-three patients with chronic benzene poisonings and 45 benzene-exposed workers who were engaged in the same job title were investigated. Fluorescence immunolabeling technique and flow cytometry were used to detect GPA mutation frequency in peripheral read blood cell.

RESULTS

A significant decrease in WBC count and neutrophil count was found in patients with chronic benzene poisoning compared with control individuals (P<0.01). The WBC count and neutrophil count both decreased along with the GPA-NN frequency, and the trends were significant(P<0.05).Both WBC counts and neutrophil counts decreased as the frequency, and trends were significant(P<0.05). GPA-NN frequency increased along with the accumulative exposure score, and the trend was significant (P = 0.0026). There was no significant trend between the GPA-Nphi frequency and the accumulative exposure score (P = 0.2037).

CONCLUSION

A decrease in WBC count and neutrophil count is found in patients with chronic benzene poisoning, which can arise from genetic damage in bone marrow stem cells, namely gene-duplicating mutations (NN) at the GPA locus in bone marrow cells of MN-heterozygous subjects, GPA-NN mutagens contributed to the pathogenesis of chronic benzene poisoning.