CVARG, Centro de Vulcanologia e Avaliação de Riscos Geológicos, Ponta Delgada, Portugal.
Environ Int. 2012 Nov 15;49:51-6. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2012.08.008. Epub 2012 Sep 13.
The present study was designed to evaluate whether chronic exposure to a volcanically active environment might result in genotoxic and cytotoxic effects in human oral epithelial cells. A study group of 120 individuals inhabiting a volcanically active environment (exposed group; Furnas village) and a reference group of 122 individuals inhabiting a village without manifestations of volcanic activity (Santo António village) were examined in this study. Individuals from Furnas village inhabit a volcanically active environment marked by several degassing manifestations, including fumarolic fields, thermal and cold CO₂ springs and soil diffuse degassing areas. For each individual, 1000 buccal epithelial cells were analyzed for the frequency of micronucleated cells (MNC) and the frequency of cells with other nuclear anomalies (ONA: pyknosis, karyolysis and karyorrhexis), by using the micronucleus assay. Information on life-style factors and an informed consent were obtained from each participant. The frequencies of MNC and of ONA per 1000 cells in the exposed group (4.3‰ and 23.5‰, respectively) were significantly higher than in the reference group (1.7‰ and 7.7‰, respectively). The risk of having a high frequency of MNC or ONA was 2.4 and 3.1-fold higher in exposed individuals compared to reference group. The analyzed confounding factors (age, gender, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and mouthwash use) did not show any significant association with the frequency of MNC or ONA. The higher risk of DNA damage in individuals inhabiting a volcanically active environment is for the first time clearly highlighted with this biomonitoring study. Given that MNC in oral epithelia are recognized as a predictive biomarker of cancer risk within a population of healthy subjects, these findings could contribute to explain the high incidence rates of lip, oral cavity and pharynx cancers previously referred for Furnas village inhabitants.
本研究旨在评估人类口腔上皮细胞在慢性暴露于火山活跃环境中是否会产生遗传毒性和细胞毒性作用。该研究检查了一个居住在火山活跃环境中的研究组（120 人，暴露组； Furnas 村）和一个居住在没有火山活动迹象的村庄（Santo António 村）的对照组（122 人）。来自 Furnas 村的居民居住在一个以多个脱气现象为标志的火山活跃环境中，包括喷气孔、热和冷的二氧化碳泉以及土壤弥散脱气区。对每个个体，分析了 1000 个口腔上皮细胞中的微核细胞（MNC）和具有其他核异常（ONA：浓缩、核溶解和核碎）的细胞的频率，使用微核测定法。从每个参与者那里获得了生活方式因素和知情同意的信息。暴露组（分别为 4.3‰和 23.5‰）的 MNC 和 ONA 的频率明显高于对照组（分别为 1.7‰和 7.7‰）。与对照组相比，暴露个体发生高频率 MNC 或 ONA 的风险分别高出 2.4 倍和 3.1 倍。分析的混杂因素（年龄、性别、吸烟状况、饮酒和使用漱口水）与 MNC 或 ONA 的频率没有显示出任何显著关联。这项生物监测研究首次明确强调了居住在火山活跃环境中的个体的 DNA 损伤风险较高。鉴于口腔上皮细胞中的 MNC 被认为是健康人群中癌症风险的预测生物标志物，这些发现可能有助于解释之前提到的 Furnas 村居民唇、口腔和咽癌发病率较高的原因。
