Micronucleated erythrocytes in peripheral blood from neonate rats fed by nursing mothers exposed to X-rays

Most women with breast cancer can become pregnant and give birth while undergoing radiation therapy and breastfeeding is generally not contraindicated. The induction of long-lived reactive species in proteins, such as casein by X-ray radiation and DNA damage to unexposed organisms, has been shown when ingesting irradiated cheese. To determine whether exposing lactating rats to X-rays increases the number of micronucleated erythrocytes (MNEs) in peripheral blood of their unexposed or breastfeeding rat pups, 15 female Wistar rats were divided into three groups: Negative control; Experimental group exposed to X-rays, and group exposed to X-rays plus vitamin C. The mothers of groups 2 and 3 were irradiated for three consecutive days after giving birth, returning them to their respective cages each time to continue lactation. A blood sample was taken from the mothers and pups at 0, 24, and 48 hr. Blood smears were stained with acridine orange to analyze MNEs. In mother rats, the frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MNPCEs) increased significantly at 24 and 48 hr in both study groups exposed to radiation. Likewise, in rat pups the MNPCE and MNE frequencies increased in both groups with radiation and radiation plus vitamin C at 24 and 48 hr, and a protection from vitamin C was observed. In conclusion, the genotoxic damage produced in rat pups that were lactated by mothers irradiated with X-rays is possibly due to the effect of long-lived reactive species that were formed in the breast milk of female Wistar rats during the irradiation process.