EVALUATION OF THE CONDENSED CHROMATIN INDEX IN MITOGEN- STIMULATED LYMPHOCYTES PUVA TREATED PATIENTS* PUVA Tedavisi Gören Hastalarin Mitojenle Uyarilmiş Lenfositlerindeki Yoğunlaşmiş Kromatin İndeksinin Değerlendirilmesi

Photochemotherapy with psoralens and UV-A (PUVA) is a treatment used widely in some skin disease like as vitiligo and psoriasis. PUVA treatment induces also chromatin condensation and apoptosis in several cell types. The aim of this study is to assay if the condensed chromatin index (CCi) in stimulated lymphocytes of PUVA treated patients may be used as a test method for the detection of DNA damage like the micronucleus (MN) and the sister chromatid exchange (SCE) methods. A special image analysis procedure has been designed to evaluate CCi in the nucleus. The work was initiated with the Mitogenstimulated lymphocytes of 20 PUVA treated patients. The mean CCi (CCmi) have been evaluated at zero time (n=20) and after 20 (n=16), 40 (n=12), 60 (n=10) sessions of PUVA treatment in 100 mitogenstimulated interphase nuclei for each patient. These sessions correspond reciprocally to 57.67 ± 23.74, 181.43 ± 46.42 and 299.56 ± 61.03 joules/cm of UVA and 0.6x20, 0.6x40, 0.6x60 mg/kg of methoxypsoralen (8-MOP). There was no difference between CCmi obtained before treatment (zero time) and after 20, 40 sessions of PUVA treatment (p> 0.05). However, statistically significant difference was found between untreated and 60 sessions treated individuals (p<0.05). CCi sensitivity begins after the moderate term of PUVA treatment corresponding to nearly 300 Joules/cm of UVA and 0.6x60 mg/kg of 8MOP.