M. E. Scoglio

Biomonitoring of DNA damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes of subjects with dental restorative fillings

Dental fillings provide a major iatrogenic exposure to xenobiotic compounds due to the high prevalence of surface restorations in developed countries. Experimental data suggest that both amalgams, which contain mercury, and resin-based dental materials cause an impairment of the cellular pro- and anti-oxidant redox balance. The aim of this study was to assess the potential genotoxicity of dental restorative compounds in peripheral blood lymphocytes of young exposed subjects compared with controls. The study examined, by use of the comet assay, 68 carefully selected subjects taking into account the major known confounding factors. In the 44 exposed subjects, the mean numbers of restored surfaces was 3.0 and 3.8 in males and females, respectively. Tail length, percentage of DNA in the tail, tail moment or Olive tail moment were twofold higher in the exposed group than in unexposed controls, with significant differences. No significant difference was observed between amalgam and composite fillings. Furthermore, as shown by multivariate analysis, the association between dental fillings and DNA damage was enhanced by the number of fillings and by the exposure time. Among the lifestyle variables, a moderate physical activity showed a protective effect, being inversely correlated to the DNA damage parameters evaluated. On the whole, the use of DNA-migration allowed us to detect for the first time the potential adverse impact on human health of both kinds of dental filling constituents, the amalgams and the methacrylates. The main mechanism underlying the genotoxicity of dental restorative materials of various nature may be ascribed to the ability of both amalgams and methacrylates to trigger the generation of cellular reactive oxygen species, able to cause oxidative DNA lesions.

Prevalence of SENV-H and SENV-D Virus: Epidemiological Study in Blood Donors and Dialysis Patients

Introduction. Recently, the identification of the SEN virus as a possible etiological agent of parental transmission hepatitis led to the study of the prevalence of such pathogen agents, particularly SENV-H, in our population. This paper compares the rate prevalence in high-risk subjects, such as dialysis patients, and low-risk subjects, such as blood donors. Material and Methods. The study was carried out on SEN virus DNA extracted from serum of dialysis patients and blood donors, and the presence of viral genomes was performed by the nested PCR method. Results. The results showed a higher prevalence in male blood donors, supporting the hypothesis of an epidemiological role for sexual and also parental transmission, as is clearly demonstrated by the high prevalence in dialysis patients. The result reduced the importance of the possible etiological role of the SEN virus due to the high percentage of positivity in healthy population, and it induces one to consider poorly significant the pathogenicity of such viral agents. Conclusion. For this instance, the authors, in agreement with the phylogenically related TT virus, described SEN viruses as absolutely not pathogens and considered them as “simple guests.”

Infezione da SENV D e SENV - H in soggetti sani ed in pazienti emodializzati

Obiettivi a) valutare la sovrapponibilita dei risultati con i dati nazionali e internazionali ricercando il SENV-D e il SENV-H in un campione di popolazione sana, costituita da donatori di sangue di Messina; b) valutare se la presenza di tali virus, in soggetti dializzati di tre centri di dialisi locali, sia significativa rispetto alla popolazione sana e se la prevalenza sia sovrapponibile a quella riportata in letteratura; c) fornire, visti i pochi dati esistenti in bibliografia riguardo la diffusione del SENV nei soggetti dializzati, un elemento epidemiologico inesistente attualmente nella nostra zona. d) adottare, eventualmente, misure preventive nei sopraccitati centri di dialisi Metodo: la presenza del SENV-D e SENV-H e effettuata mediante metodica PCR: Il DNA viene estratto dai campioni con il kit QIAamp DNA e gli amplificati sono rivelati tramite elettroforesi su gel di agarosio. Risultati : e stata evidenziata, sui 50 donatori di sangue sin qui testati, una percentuale di positivita per SENV - H del 2% e dello 0% per SENV - D. Per quanto riguarda i 20 soggetti dializzati finora esaminati ed appartenenti ad uno dei sopracitati centri, e stata riscontrata una positivita solo per SENV – H pari al 10%. Conclusioni : i risultati preliminarmente ottenuti sulla popolazione sana, evidenziano una sovrapponibilita di diffusione del SENV – H con i dati riportati da altri autori in letteratura, mentre quelli relativi ai dializzati rivelano una positivita piu bassa.