The effect of folate and riboflavin on chromosomes 8 and 17 aneuploidy in lymphocytes of breast cancer patients and normal controls

OBJECTIVE: The research was to test the effect of folate (FA) and riboflavin (RF) on chromosome 8 and 17 aneuploidy in lymphocytes of breast cancer patients and normal controls. METHODS:Lymphocytes were cultured in each of the four media:high (200 nmol/L,HF) and low (20 nmol/L,LF) FA,high (500 nmol/L,HR) and low (1 nmol/L,LR) RF media (LFLR,LFHR,HFLR,HFHR). Chromosomes 8 and 17 aneuploidy was measured in mononucleated (MONO) and cytokinesis-blocked binucleated (BN) cells using dual-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). RESULTS:In lymphocytes of breast cancer subjects and controls,LF media (LFLR or LFHR) induced significant and similar increases in frequencies of aneuploidy of chromosomes 8 and 17 relative to culture in HF media (HFLR or HFHR) (P0.01). The frequency of 8 and 17 aneuploidy in breast cancer subjects was significantly higher than those of normal controls (P0.01). FA and breast cancer status had significant impact on the frequency of aneuploidy (P0.01),while effect of FA was stronger deficiency. RF deficiency partially affected chromosome segregation,but not significantly (P0.05). CONCLUSION:FA deficiency is a possible cause of chromosome 8 and 17 aneuploidy. FA is the dominant factor that affects chromosome segregation in our experimental system.