GENDER PECULIARITIES OF THE SPECTRUM OF CHROMOSOMAL ABERRATIONS IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD LYMPHOCYTES OF HEALTHY PERSONS AND PATIENTS WITH GENERALIZED PERIODONTITIS
Authors: Khomyk M. I. , Kovalchuk L. Ye. , Melnychuk H. M. 
Published: March 2019

Introduction. Generalized periodontitis (GP) refers to the diseases with multifactorial heredity, in which the variability of one or another sign is determined not by one major gene, but by the influence of a large number of hereditary and external factors with small effects. An important component for the research of immuno-cytogenetic status of healthy persons and patients with multifactorial diseases is the study of chromosomal abnormalities. For this purpose, a method of metaphase analysis of karyotype in peripheral blood lymphocytes is used.

Aim is to investigate gender peculiarities of the frequency and spectrum of chromosomal aberrations (CA) in peripheral blood lymphocytes of GP patients with chronic course of various degrees of development.

Methods. There were examined 54 patients, who were divided into three groups: 18 persons (8 men and 10 women) healthy (group I); 24 persons (by 12 men and women) – patients with the GP of the initial-I degree (group II) and 12 persons (by 6 men and women) with II-III degree of GP (group III).

Analysis of metaphase chromosomes was performed in venous blood according to the methodology of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine in the accredited genetic laboratory of the State Medical University, SHEI “Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University” after lymphocytes cultivation in the nutrient medium «PB-max» during 72 hours at a temperature of +37ºС. In each preparation, at least 100 metaphases with a good chromosomal dispersion were analyzed. Microscopic examination was performed using a microscope «Axioskop» company Zeizz (magnification×1000) at the optical-electronic complex “Metacan-2”. The frequency and spectrum of CA in men and women in terms of gaps, ruptures, single and paired fragments, translocations, deletions, dicentricks were studied.

Results. It has been determined, that the frequency of CA increased with the degree of GP development (p<0.001; p1<0.001) and did not significantly depend on the gender, however, there was a tendency to increase the number of CA in women of all groups. In this case, the presence of gender dimorphism in the CA spectrum in GP patients was found with the increase of the frequency of gaps in all men, depending on the increase of the disease development degree (p<0.05; p<0.01), while in women with II-III degree the number of such aberrations decreased in relation to the indicators of GP patients of the initial-I degree. We’ve also discovered the characteristic gender peculiarities of chromosomal aberrations – paired fragments. Their number in men with GP of II-III degree was lower than the indices of patients with GP of the initial-I degree, and in women – it was higher. Gender dimorphism was manifested in relation to translocations that were not manifested in healthy men at all, while in the ill women of both groups the indices were prevalent than those in men.

Some gender difference is also a significant increase in the proportion of gaps (p≤0.001) and deletions among all CA in women suffering from GP of both degrees, whereas in the ill men, the number of this type of aberrations increased slightly. A gender peculiarity has also been determined regarding the important marker of CA of chromatid type – single fragments. The frequency of such aberrations in men with GP gradually increased, depending on the degree of the disease development, while women tended to reduce the number of single fragments in the case of GP of the initial-I degree and their certain increase in GP of II-III degree compared with healthy ones.

Conclusion. Most of the CA were found in all of the examined patients, however, in GP patients they were significantly more. In this case, in an increase of the degree of the disease development, changes in the structure of the chromosomes occurred more often. The presence of dicentric chromosomes (dicentrics) in patients with GP of II-III degree of men and women showed instability of the genotype, which caused the violation of the implementation of genetic information. An increase in the number of CA in the GP may indicate a slight weakening of the protective forces of the patients’ bodies, because this precludes the elimination of cells with a broken genetic apparatus.