Genetic control of homocysteine metabolism in children living near the chоrnobyl exclusion zone

Abstract

The aim of study: to determine the involvement of folate cycle genes in the occurrence of hyperhomocysteinemia in children from Ivankivskyi district of Kyiv region of Ukraine 35 years after the accident at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. Research methods. Immunochemical, mathematical and statistical. Results. Homocysteine levels were determined in 217 children aged 12-17 from Ivankivskyi district of Kyiv region, as well as genetic polymorphisms of the folate cycle. An excess of homocysteine in the blood over 10 µmol/l (a state of hyperhomocysteinemia) was detected in 65.44 % (142 out of 217) of those examined, among boys – 69.79 % (67 out of 96), among girls – 61.98 % (75 out of 121). The largest proportion of hyperhomocysteinemia cases was registered in the subgroup of children with the basic polymorphism MTHFR: 677TT – 94.44 % of cases. In most cases, hyperhomocysteinemia in children was associated with an environmental factor, including radioactive elements and their decay products. The system for the prevention of hyperhomocysteinemia and its consequences in children living in areas affected by the accident at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant should include regular monitoring of the content of radionuclides in the body of children and locally produced food, the content of homocysteine in the blood, and assessment of the state of folate cycle genes.