Estudo citogenético em camundongos C57BL/6 selvagens e knockout para o gene da galectina-2 tratados com o carcinógeno 4NQO.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to observe the possible difference of the genotoxic effect caused by the chronic treatment with 4-nitroquinoline carcinogen (4NQO) in wild-type and knockout mice for the galectin-3 gene. Wild-type C57BL/6 mice (WT) and knockout mice (KO) for the galectin-3 gene were orally treated with 4NQO and killed at 16° (WT16/KO16) and 32° week (WT32/KO32). After the treatment of each sub-group the animals had suffered euthanasia, the tongue had been remove and used for microscopical analyses and the bone marrow was removed of femur and submitted to micronuclei (MN) test. To the end of the experiment, 100% of the groups WT and KO of 16 and 32 weeks had presented alterations in the tongue epithelial tissue that could have been recognized as displasia, carcinoma in situ or carcinoma. In the groups treated with 4NQO the number of micronucleated PCE was significantly higher in WT when compared with the animals knockout (KO). The present study revealed that knockout mice for galectin-3 when submitted to the chronic treatment with carcinogen presents minor number of micronuclei, what it can indicate a lesser susceptibility the expression of these damages.