Sister-chromatid exchange analysis on long-term benzathine penicillin for secondary prophylaxis of rheumatic fever

Abstract

A single intra-muscular injection of 1.2 millions units of benzathine penicillin every 4 weeks is the most widely used method for the antibiotic prophylaxis of rheumatic fever. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of long-term benzathine penicillin on DNA in patients with rheumatic fever. Thirty children with confirmed rheumatic fever who were on the benzathine penicillin prophylaxis were enrolled in the study, and 30 similar normal children served as a control group. To detect any DNA damage, SCE analysis were performed in circulating lymphocytes of the subjects. A statistically significant increased frequency of SCE was observed in children on the benzathine penicillin prophylaxis (no = 30, mean SCEs/cell +/- SD 7.54 +/- 1.81) as compared to a control group (no = 30, mean SCEs/cell +/- SD 5.82 +/- 1.40). It has been suggested that the difference in the SCE frequencies was induced by the administration of the benzathine penicillin for a long time, and further investigations are needed to confirm this toxic effect.

Investigation of DNA damage in lymphocytes exposed to benzathine penicillin G

“…Serum penicillin concentration of 0.002−0.5 µg/mL is lethal for a majority of susceptible Gram‐positive bacteria and the concentration of 0.02 µg/mL or above was detected in more than 80% of serum samples obtained at the third week after intramuscular administration of BPG 3,12 . In previous studies, a significant increase in SCE frequency in children who were on long‐term BPG therapy for prophylaxis for RF, had been shown 4 . It was also confirmed by comet assay method in another study 5 .…”

“…Despite its common use, there is no comprehensive report on the genotoxic effect of BPG in the literature. Recently, an increased frequency of SCE was detected in children with rheumatic fever (RF) who are on long‐term BPG prophylaxis, suggesting that these changes may be due to long‐term BPG therapy or the underlying disease 4 . The findings, indicating some level of DNA damage, were then supported by comet assay 5 .…”

Elevated frequency of sister chromatid exchanges of lymphocytes in sarin-exposed victims of the Tokyo sarin disaster 3 years after the event

“…A second reason is that antibiotics (penicillin and streptomycin) were used in the present study, but not in the previous one (Li et al, 1998). It has been reported that penicillin and streptomycin significantly increase the baseline number of SCEs in human lymphocytes from 6.50 ± 0.39 to 8.02 ± 0.39 (Das and Sharma, 1983) and from 5.82 ± 1.40 to 7.54 ± 1.81 of SCEs/cell (Dundaroz et al, 2001). A third possible reason is that the culture conditions were different between the two papers.…”

Is there a connection between synthetic bone grafts and sisters chromatide exchange?

“…Using the sisters chromatid exchange method, mutagenetic and carcinogenic potentials of different substances were examinated [16,17,[20][21][22][23][24][25]. Antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were just some of the most investigated subjects.…”

“…Also the metabolites of Amoxicillin do not have a significant effect on cell proliferation [20]. Benzathine penicillin G (BPG) might also be considered as the "safe" antibiotic for a short-term ex posure [23], although in cases of a long-time exposure, SCE frequency changes might be expected [24]. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) include variety of chemicals with analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects [16].…”