BACKGROUND: The use of cancer-related biomarkers in newborns has been
very limited.
OBJECTIVE: We investigated the formation of micronuclei (MN) in
full-term and preterm newborns and their mothers from the Rhea cohort
(Crete), applying for the first time in cord blood a validated
semiautomated analysis system, in both mono-and binucleated T
lymphocytes.
METHODS: We assessed MN frequencies in peripheral blood samples from the
mothers and in umbilical cord blood samples. We calculated MN in
mononucleated (MNMONO) and binucleated (MNBN) T lymphocytes and the
cytokinesis block proliferation index (CBPI) in 251 newborns (224 full
term) and 223 mothers, including 182 mother-child pairs. Demographic and
lifestyle characteristics were collected.
RESULTS: We observed significantly higher MNBN and CBPI levels in
mothers than in newborns. In newborns, MNMONO and MNBN were correlated
(r = 0.35, p < 0.001), and we found a moderate correlation between
MNMONO in mothers and newborns (r = 0.26, p < 0.001). MNMONO frequencies
in newborns were positively associated with the mother’s body mass index
and inversely associated with gestational age and mother’s age, but we
found no significant predictors of MNBN or CBPI in newborns.
CONCLUSIONS: Although confirmation is needed by a larger study
population, the results indicate the importance of taking into account
both mono-and binucleated T lymphocytes for biomonitoring of newborns,
because the first reflects damage expressed during in vivo cell division
and accumulated in utero, and the latter includes additional damage
expressed as MN during the in vitro culture step
