Cytogenetic monitoring of hospital staff exposed to ionizing radiation: Optimize protocol considering DNA repair genes variability

AbstractPurpose: Chronic occupational exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) induces a wide spectrum of DNA damages. The aim of this study was to assess the frequencies of micronucleus (MN), sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) and to evaluate their association with XRCC1 399 Arg/Gln and XRCC3 241 Thr/Met polymorphisms in Hospital staff occupationally exposed to IR.Materials and Methods: A questionnaire followed by a cytogenetic analysis was concluded for each subject in our study. The exposed subjects were classified into two groups based on duration of employment (Group I < 15 years; Group II ≥ 15years). The genotypes of all individuals (subjects and controls) were determined by the polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).Results: DNA damages frequencies were significantly greater in IR workers compared to controls (p<0.05). However, no association arised between XRCC1 399 Arg/Gln and XRCC3 241 Thr/Met polymorphisms in one hand, and the severity of DNA damages in the studi...