Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of coastal sediments subjected to discharges of oil formation water

The routine discharge water into the coastal water of Halul Island which represents one of the important ecological and economic sites in the Arabian Gulf, has raised concern over the potential impact that these waters may have no marine life. In the present study, the concentrations of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs] in Halul coastal sediments and their cytotoxic and genotoxic effects on the examined fish cells are presented. The PAHs concentrations were supersingly high indicating the possibility of severe oil pollution in the sediments of the studied area. Extracts of sediment samples collected from the immediate vicinity of the disposal outfall produced genotoxic responses in the form of nondisjunctions, lagging chromosomes, chromosome fragments, and chromosome bridges in the examined fish cells. Extracts of sediments of only 2 samples, collected downstream the disposal outfall, out of 11 were not only mutagenic, but could also augment the synthesis of the altered DNA. Organisms exposed to such sediments may be vulnerable to the development of neoplastic tissue [cancer]. The results suggested that the correlation between the degree of deviation of the immunological changes in fish cells and sediments PAHs concentrations was so strong that immunological measurements have been suggested as sensitive biomarkers of exposure and effects

Chemiluminescence during monocyte phagocytosis of opsonized zymosan in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: effect of treatment

The phagocytic activity of the peripheral blood monocytes from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma [NHL] patients was studied by chemiluminescence. The chemiluminescence index [CI] for phagocytic activity of 15 NHL patients and another 15 healthy individuals of matched age and sex were determined. The selected patients represented various clinical stages and different pathological grades. There was a statistical decrease in the CI [P<0.001] in untreated NHL patients, regardless of their clinical stage or pathological grade, as compared to the control group. There was a remarkable decrease in the CI determined for the patients of the clinical stages HI and IV [P<0.001] in comparison to those at stages I and II. The CI showed a decreasing trend with the advancement of the pathological grade. The results of chemo-or radio-therapy treatment were noticeable in improving the CI of the patients at stages IJI and low grade lymphoma. In view of the obtained results of the present study, it is suggested that the CI can be used as a useful marker in determining the effect ofchemo- or radio-therapy in NHL patients