CORRELATIONS OF SMOKING AND DRINKING IN PREGNANT MOTHERS BY COMET ASSAY FOR ESTIMATION OF DNA DAMAGE WITH IMPLICATIONS TO FETUSES IN UTERO.

Abstract

Mothers who are smoking and drinking are in the risk of foetuses having Intra-uterine grown retardation, low birth weight and delivery the foetuses in their earlier weeks of gestation. Pregnant Smoking and Drinking mothers have spontaneous miscarriages and also have babies who die in utero because of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). This causes genotoxicity in fetuses passes through placenta and harm the health of newborn by oxidative damage by producing Oxidative Reactive substances (ORS) and Reactive Nitrogen species (RNS). Single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) commonly known as COMET assay is the diagnosis of choice to indicate breakage in DNA strand and therefore is highly sensitive method to detect damage in gene by genotoxic agents caused by Smoking and Drinking in fetuses. Mothers who Smoke and Drink were taken in the present study and blood samples were collected from them and then analysed for the Mild, Moderate and Severe DNA damage which can be induced in the fetus in utero. There were collaborated with the samples also collected from pregnant mothers with no co-morbidities. The parameters were then analysed by ImageJ Software.

Key Words: Genotoxic, Oxidative damage, Fetus in Utero, Single cell Gel Electrophoresis, DNA strand.