Quick assessment of DNA damage in cervical epithelial cells using a chromatin dispersion test

This study was aimed to quantify genomic DNA breakages in the cervical epithelium cells of patients diagnosed with different grades of cervical lesions using a quick test based on chromatin dispersion after controlled protein depletion. The association between the progressive stages of cervical dysplasia and the levels of DNA damage, taking into account the presence of papillomavirus human (HPV) infection, was investigated.

A hospital-based unmatched case-control study was conducted during 2018 with a sample of 78 women grouped according to histological diagnosis as follows: 23 women with low grade-squamous intraepithelial lesion (LG-SIL), 34 women with high grade- squamous intraepithelial lesion (HG-SIL), and three women with cervical carcinoma (CC). In parallel, 15 women without cervical lesions were included as a Control cohort. DNA damage levels in cervical epithelial cells were assessed using the chromatin dispersion test (CDT) and controlled in parallel with DNA breakage detection coupled with florescent in situ hybridization (DBD‒FISH) using whole genomic DNA probes.

CDT produces different morphotypes in the cervical epithelium that can be associated with the level of DNA breakage revealed with DBD‒FISH. A significant increase of DNA damage was correlated with the histological progression of the patients and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.

The CDT is a simple, accurate and inexpensive morphological bioassay to identify different levels DNA damage that can be associated with the level of abnormal cells present in the cervical epithelium in patients who commonly present HPV infection.