Correlation between genotoxicity and interleukin-6 in smokers: A rodent model

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relation between genotoxicity and interleukin-6 in rats exposed to cigarette smoke. Study Design: An experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Army Medical College, Rawalpindi and Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, in 2016. Methodology: Seventy healthy Sprague Dawley rats were placed in smoke chambers at animal house of National Institute of Health, Islamabad. Cigarette smoke was given to them for 3 months. Genotoxicity was assessed by Cytokinesis Block Micronucleus (CBMN) assay. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit was used to determine Interleukin-6 in study samples. Pearson correlation was used to find the correlation between genotoxicity and IL-6. Results: The mean IL-6 and micronuclei frequency was 49.48 ±19.69 ng/L and 6.77 ±0.73, respectively. Weak positive association was found between micronuclei frequency and IL-6 in smoke exposed rats (r=0.266, N=70, p=0.026). Conclusion: Genotoxicity and inflammation are associated in smokers. The present study concluded that smoke exposure elicited a proinflammatory profile, which might have promoted DNA damage in smokers.