Assessment of genotoxicity of waterpipe and cigarette smoking in lymphocytes using the sister‐chromatid exchange assay: A comparative study

Abstract

Tobacco smoking is a major world health problem. Recently, waterpipe smoking has become more popular in many countries. Although the genotoxicity associated with cigarette smoking has been extensively investigated, studies evaluating such toxicity in waterpipe users are still lacking. In this study, we examined the genotoxicity of waterpipe smoking in lymphocytes compared with the genotoxicity of cigarette smoking. Genotoxicity was evaluated using the sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) assay. Fifty waterpipe smokers and 18 healthy nonsmokers participated in this study. Additionally, 18 heavy cigarette smokers (CS) were recruited for comparison. The results show that waterpipe smoking and cigarette smoking significantly increase the frequencies of SCEs (P < 0.01) compared with those of nonsmokers, indicating the genotoxic effect of tobacco smoking. In addition, frequencies of SCEs were significantly higher among waterpipe smokers compared with CS (P < 0.01), indicating that waterpipe smoking is more genotoxic than cigarette smoking. Moreover, the frequency of SCEs increased with the extent of waterpipe use. In conclusion, waterpipe smoking is genotoxic to lymphocytes and the magnitude of its genotoxicity is higher than that induced by regular cigarette smoking.

Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamine Exposures in Smokers and Nonsmokers Exposed to Cigarette or Waterpipe Tobacco Smoke

“…In addition, waterpipe smoking has been associated with increased frequency of chromosomal damage ( El-Setouhy et al, 2008 ;Khabour, Alsatari, Azab, Alzoubi, & Sadiq, 2010 ;Yadav & Thakur, 2000 ).…”

Sister chromatid exchange, (SCE), High-Frequency Cells (HFCs) and SCE distribution patterns in peripheral blood lymphocytes of Spanish adult smokers compared to non-smokers

“…These compounds suffer transformations due to the high temperatures achieved during the tobacco consumption and some of them are toxics and carcinogenics [2]. Among these compounds more than 50 are known carcinogens, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs), N-nitrosamines, aromatic amines, and trace metals [3]. Actually, it was stated that tobacco smoking is the single largest cause of cancer worldwide [1].…”

“…Actually, it was stated that tobacco smoking is the single largest cause of cancer worldwide [1]. If we take into account the data, 5-6 million deaths each year are attributed to tobacco use and this annual toll may increase to 10 million within the next 20-30 years [3].…”

“…The literature demonstrated the importance of using SCE technique to evaluate the tobacco-related genotoxic effect [3,[7][8][9]. The analysis of SCE is frequently complemented with the analysis of cells containing a high frequency of SCE (HFC) which are defined as cells whose SCE frequency exceeds the 95th percentile of the SCE distribution in a pooled data set from control individuals [10].…”

Tempol prevents genotoxicity induced by vorinostat: role of oxidative DNA damage

“…2 9 [M2] ? 3 9 [CM3])/ 100, where M1, M2 and M3 are the number of cells at the first, second and third metaphase, respectively (Khabour et al 2011;Ivett and Tice 1982). Depending on the proliferation index, the average generation time was calculated as the number of hours for the cells in BrdU, divided by proliferation index (Kaya and Topaktas 2007).…”