The effect of combined therapy with ritodrine, erythromycin and verapamil on the frequency of micronuclei in peripheral blood lymphocytes of pregnant women

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to investigate the genotoxic effect of combined pharmacotherapy applied in post-operative treatment of cervical cerclage in pregnant women over six days. This study included 19 phenotypically healthy pregnant women in mid-trimester with a diagnosis of cervical insufficiency, mean age 28±5.33. The frequency of micronuclei (MN) was estimated in peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients before surgical intervention and after the end of applied pharmacotherapy by application of cytokinesis block micronucleus (CBMN) test. Mean value of baseline MN frequency was 6.84±2.91 MN/1000 binucleated cells, and after the end of the applied therapy, 10.32±4.27 MN/1000 binucleated cells (P<0.001) were found. The data of cell proliferation index showed that the combined therapy did not induce significant difference in cell kinetics (P>0.05). Our results showed that combined pharmacotherapy treatment over six days significantly increased the frequency of MN in peripheral blood lymphocytes of pregnant women.