Original Articles
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2001. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 15, 2001; 7(2): 235-237
Published online Apr 15, 2001. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v7.i2.235
Peripheral blood lymphocytes DNA in patients with chronic liver diseases
Vasiliy I Reshetnyak, Tatyana I Sharafanova, Ludmila U Ilchenko, Elena V Golovanova, Gennadiy G Poroshenko
Vasiliy I Reshetnyak, Tatyana I Sharafanova, Ludmila U Ilchenko, Elena V Golovanova, Gennadiy G Poroshenko, Central Research Institute of Gastroenterology, Moscow, Russia
Vasiliy I Reshetnyak, graduated from First Moscow Medicine Institute as a doctor in 1977; got master degree at A.N. Bach Institute of Biochemistry, Russia Academy Sciences, Moscow in 1982; got doctor degree at Central Research Institute of Gastroenterology, Moscow in 1996, is now deputy director of Central Research Institute of Gastroenterology, Moscow; had more than 70 papers published, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Russian Gastroenterological Journal with 1995; Vice-President of the Gastroenterological Scientific Society of Russia with 1998.
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Dr. V.I. Reshetnyak, the Central Research Institute of Gastroenterology, shosse Entuziastov 86, Moscow, Russia, 111123. entero@aha.ru
Telephone: +7-95-3043019 Fax: +7-95-3050758, 7-95-3043035
Received: February 26, 2001
Revised: February 27, 2001
Accepted: March 1, 2001
Published online: April 15, 2001
Abstract

AIM: Of this investigation is to reveal the damage to peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) DNA in the patients with chronic liver diseases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen-nine patients with chronic liver diseases (37 patients with chronic viral hepatitis, 2 patients with liver cirrhosis of mixed etiology (alcohol + virus G), 30 women with primary biliary cirrhosis-PBC) were examined. The condition of DNA structure of PBL was measured by the fluorescence analysis of DNA unwinding (FADU) technique with modification. Changes of fluorescence (in %) reflected the DNA distractions degree (the presence of DNA single-stranded breaks and alkalinelabile sights).

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The quantity of DNA single-stranded breaks and alkalinelabile sights in DNA in all patients with chronic viral hepatitis didn’t differ from the control group, excluding the patients with chronic hepatitis (CH) C + G. Patients with HGV and TTV monoinfection had demonstrated the increase of the DNA single-stranded breaks PBL quantity. This fact may be connected with hypothesis about the viruses replication in white blood cells discussed in the literature. Tendency to increase quantity of DNA PBL damages in the patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) accordingly to the alkaline phosphatase activity increase was revealed. Significant decrease of the DNA single-stranded breaks and alkalinelabile sights in the PBC patients that were treated with prednison was demonstrated. Probably, the tendency to increase the quantity of DNA single stranded breaks and alkalinelabile sights in lymphocytes of the PBC patients was depended on the surplus of the blood bile acid content.

Keywords: hepatitis, chronic/immunology, liver cirrhosis/immunology, DNA damage, lymphocytes