Cytogenetic Changes in T Lymphocytes in Miners

Objective: to study the impact of chromium levels on cytogenetic impairments in T lymphocytes in miners from the south of Kuzbass.

Subjects and methods. Peripheral blood leukocytes were cultured, as described by P. S. Moorhead (1960), by using the cytogenetic assay of the obtained specimens. Analysis of chromosomes considered changes in the number of chromosomes (hyper-, hypo-, or polyploid sets of chromosomes) and their structural derangement. Ninety-three miners from Novokuznetsk and Mezhdurechensk (Kemerovo Region) were examined. According to the length of underground service, the miners were divided into 2 groups: 1) 32 miners with a service length of 1—5 years; 2) 31 with a service length of 10—15 years. A control group included 30 employees from the mine maintenance departments. The mean age of the miners was 38.6±3.4 years. Previous coal chemical analysis in a number of mines revealed significant concentrations of chromium compounds (as high as 298 mg/kg in the clarke of 83 mg/kg). Lymphocytic chromium was quantified by the atomic emission method using inductively bound plasma. The statistically data were processed using a package of Statistica 5.01 computer programs.

Results. Cytogenetic study and measurement of peripheral blood chromium were made in miners with a various underground service length. They were found to have elevated peripheral blood T lymphocytes with cytogenetic disorders, which correlated with the increased blood chromium levels.

Conclusion. Thus, the miners with an underground service length of 10—15 years were ascertained to have high blood chromium levels, which was accompanied by increases in the count of both cells with chromosomal structural aberrations and those with poly- and hyperploidy.

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