Advance Search

Evaluation of genotoxic effect of different smoking habits by detecting micronucleus frequency in university students, A case control study: Genotoxic Effect of Different Smoking Habits by Detecting Micronucleus Frequency

Genotoxic Effect of Different Smoking Habits by Detecting Micronucleus Frequency

Reshna Kamal Albarzanji
Department of Physiology, Microbiology and Genetics, College of Medicine; Hawler Medical University; Erbil, Iraq.
Keywords:
Copyright and Licensing:

Copyright (c) 2026 Reshna Kamal Albarzanji (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Share:
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

Abstract

Background and objective: Cigarettes, shisha, and e-cigarettes are significant etiologic factors of oral cancers. Buccal mucosa is the first tissue that faces the pollutants and might reflect unhealthy processes in the body. Micronuclei are chromosomal fragments generated in interphasic cells. The present study was undertaken to investigate the association of cigarette, shisha, and e-cigarette use and micronucleus induction in the buccal mucosa.

Methods: The present study was carried out on 120 healthy volunteers (56 males and 64 females) aged 18–30 years old and divided into four groups: e-cigarette consumers, cigarette smokers, shisha smokers, and non-smokers. After filling out the questionnaire, participants were asked to rinse their mouths with water, and then oral mucosa samples were taken, processed, and stained for micronucleus detection.

Results: The frequency of micronucleus (mean ±SD) was 34.3±6.5 vs 16.76±4.27 (P <0.001), 37.1±8.31 vs 16.76±4.27 (P <0.001), 39.1±3.25 vs 16.76±4.27 (P <0.001) in cigarette vs control, shisha vs control, and e-cigarette vs control, respectively. Among the studied tobacco-related habits, and in respect to genotoxicity, e-cigarette revealed highest significant impact (P <0.001). In respect to the gender, no significant (P >0.05) differences were observed between male and female students who use tobacco related habits.

Conclusion: The rate of exfoliated buccal epithelial cells with micronuclei in the buccal mucosa of e-cigarette, shisha, and cigarette users was significantly higher compared with the non-smokers group, which might lead to undesired clinical consequences. However, further studies concerning the association of genetic aberrations on the nucleotide level and tobacco-related habits are recommended.

PDF
PDF

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

  1. WHO. fact sheet. 2025. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer
  2. Balraj L, Nagaraj T. and Unnikrishnan K. The correlation between micronuclei count and smoking behavior: A hospital-based study. J Oral Res. 2020;9:102–108. 10.17126/joralres.2020.016
  3. WHO. ‘Tobacco 31’, WHO. 2023 (July). Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/factsheets/detail/tobacco.
  4. Zhou G, Xiao W, Xu C, Hu Y, Wu X, Huang F, et al. Chemical constituents of tobacco smoke induce the production of interleukin-8 in human bronchial epithelium, 16HBE cells. Tob Induc Dis. 2016;14:1–9. 10.1186/s12971-016-0089-4
  5. Chaturvedi P, Singh A, Chien C Y,& Warnakulasuriya S. Tobacco related oral cancer. BMJ. 2019;365:12142–52. 10.1136/bmj.l2142
  6. Chen S, Wang Y, Zhang H, Chen R, Lv F, Li Z, et al. The antioxidant MitoQ protects against CSE-induced endothelial barrier injury and inflammation by inhibiting ROS and autophagy in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Int J Biol Sci. 2019;15:1440–51. 10.7150/ijbs.30193
  7. Kagemichi N,Umemura M, Ishikawa S, Iida Y, Takayasu S, Nagasako A, Nakakaji1 R, Akimoto T, Ohtake M, Horinouchi T, Yamamoto, T, and Ishikawa1 Y. Cytotoxic effects of the cigarette smoke extract of heated tobacco products on human oral squamous cell carcinoma: the role of reactive oxygen species and CaMKK2. J Physiol Sci. 2024;74:35. 10.1186/s12576-024-00928-1
  8. Feliciano J R, Li D and Xie, Z. Public Perceptions of Flavored Waterpipe Smoking on Twitter. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;20(7):5264. 10.3390/ijerph20075264
  9. Rogers I, Memon A, Paudyal P. Association between Smokeless Tobacco Use and Waterpipe Smoking and the Risk of Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Current Epidemiological Evidence. Asian Pacific J Cancer Prev. 2022;23:1451–63. 10.31557/APJCP.2022.23.5.1451
  10. Bhat SN, Varsha V, Girish H, Murgod S, Savita J, Umapathy T. Micronuclei assay in smokers v/s non smokers-gaining genomic insight. Ijocr. 2015;3(3):35–41. http://www.ijocrweb.com/pdf/2015/July-September/9241_Original%20Article.pdf
  11. Dehghannezhad M, Naderi, N J, Semyari H. Micronucleus assay of buccal mucosa cells in waterpipe (Hookah) smokers: A cytologic study. Iran J Pathol. 2020;15:75–80. 10.30699/ijp.2020.101701.2010
  12. TellezC S,Juri D, Phillips L, Do K, Yingling C, Thomas C, et al. Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of E-cigarette generated aerosols containing diverse flavoring products and nicotine in oral epithelial cell lines. Toxicol Sci. 2021;179:220–8. 10.1093/toxsci/kfaa174
  13. Salih D, Salih S, Abdo R, Rasool C, and Alassady A. Micronucleus Assay of Buccal Mucosa Cells in Cigarette and Waterpipe Smokers in Duhok, Iraq. Ann Med Res. 2022;29(5):454-7. https://www.annalsmedres.org/index.php/aomr/article/view/4134
  14. Hussain Z, Sullivan R. Tobacco in post-conflict settings: The case of Iraq. Ecancer Medical Science. 2017;11:735. 10.3332/ecancer.2017.73515.
  15. Chadi N, Hadland S E, Harris S K. Understanding the implications of the “vaping epidemic” among adolescents and young adults: A call for action. Subst Abus. 2019;40(1):7–10. 10.1080/08897077.2019.1580241
  16. Miech R, Johnston L, O’Malley P M, Jerald G. Trends in Adolescent Vaping, 2017–2019. N Eng J Med. 2020;381(15):1490–1. 10.1056/NEJMc1910739
  17. Collins L, Glasser AM, Abudayyeh H, Pearson J L, Villanti A C. E-cigarette marketing and communication: How E-Cigarette Companies Market E-Cigarettes and the Public Engages with E-cigarette Information. Nicotine Tob Res. 2019;21:14–24. 10.1093/ntr/ntx284
  18. LathaH A, Kommalapati V, Chowdary Y V, Shekar P C, Kumar K K, Paul T R. Molecular Pathogenesis of Oral Cancer – An Overview. J Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 2024;15(2):251-8.
  19. Shashikala R, Indira A P, Manjunath G, Rao K, Akshatha B. Role of micronucleus in oral exfoliative cytology. J Pharm Bioallied Sci. 2015;7(Suppl2):S409–S13. 10.4103/0975-7406.163472
  20. Cordelli E, Bignami M, Pacchierotti F. Comet assay: A versatile but complex tool in genotoxicity testing. Toxicol Res (Camb). 2021;10(1):68-78. 10.1093/toxres/tfaa093
  21. Kwon M, Leibowitz M L, Lee J H. Small but mighty: the causes and consequences of micronucleus rupture. Exp Mol Med. 2020;52:1777–86. 10.1038/s12276-020-00529-z
  22. Li Y, Hecht S S. Carcinogenic components of tobacco and tobacco smoke: A 2022 update. Food Chem Toxicol. 2022;165:113179. 10.1016/j.fct.2022.113179.
  23. Mohammed A M, Hussen D F, Rashad H, and Hasheesh A. The micronuclei scoring as a biomarker for early detection of genotoxic effect of cigarette smoking. Asian Pacific J Cancer Prev. 2020;21(1):87–92. 10.31557/APJCP.2020.21.1.87
  24. Haleem A M, Amin S, Mahmood U H. Heavy metal and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in cigarettes: An analytical assessment. Popul. Med. 2020;2:1–4. 10.18332/popmed/122558
  25. Sadiq D A, Muneer W A. Carbon Monoxide and Carbon Dioxide Level Distribution of Rojhelat Cafe in Duhok City. Sci J Univ Zakho. 2018;6:70–73. 10.25271/2018.6.2.453
  26. Ahmed S M. Prevalence and Perceptions toward Electronic Cigarettes (Vaping) Use among Medical Students: A New Public Health Challenge in Kurdistan Region, Iraq J Med Chem Sci. 2024;7:720–8. 10.26655/JMCHEMSCI.2024.5.8
  27. Sahu R, Shah K, Malviya R, Paliwal D, Sagar S, Singh S, et al. E-Cigarettes and Associated Health Risks: An Update on Cancer Potential. Adv Respir Med. 2023;91(6):516–31. 10.3390/arm91060038
  28. Komura M, Sato T, Yoshikawa H, Nitta N A, Suzuki Y, Koike K, et al. Propylene glycol, a component of electronic cigarette liquid, damages epithelial cells in human small airways. Respir Res. 2022;23:1–12. 10.1186/s12931-022-02142-2
  29. KucharskaM, Wesołowski W, Czerczak S,and Soćko, R. Testing of the composition of e-cigarette liquids—Manufacturer-declared vs. true contents in a selected series of products. Med Pr. 2016;67(2):239–53. 10.13075/mp.5893.00365
  30. Lerner C A, Rutagarama P, Ahmad T, Sundar I, Elder A, Rahman I. Electronic cigarette aerosols and copper nanoparticles inducemitochondrial stress and promote DNA fragmentation in lung fibroblasts. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2016;477(4):620–5. 10.1016/j.bbrc.2016.06.109
  31. PopA M, Coroș R, Stoica A M, Monea M. Early diagnosis of oral mucosal alterations in smokers and e-cigarette users based on micronuclei count: A cross-sectional study among dental students. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(24):13246. 10.3390/ijerph182413246
  32. Haverić A, Haverić S, Ibrulj S. Chromosome aberrations frequency in peripheral blood lymphocytes in young tobacco smoking and non-smoking people. J Heal Sci. 2016;6(2):121–7. https://doi.org/10.17532/jhsci.2016.368
  33. Habib E, Helaly M, Elshaer A, Sriwi D, Ahmad M S, Mohamed M I, et al. Prevalence and perceptions of e-cigarette use among medical students in a Saudi University. J Fam Med Prim Care. 2022;9(6):3070–5. 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_235_20
How to Cite
Albarzanji, R. K. (2026). Evaluation of genotoxic effect of different smoking habits by detecting micronucleus frequency in university students, A case control study: Genotoxic Effect of Different Smoking Habits by Detecting Micronucleus Frequency . Zanco Journal of Medical Sciences (ZJMS), 30(1), 168–178. https://doi.org/10.15218/zjms.2026.012

Send mail to Author

Send Cancel