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Is micronucleus assay in oral exfoliated cells a useful biomarker for biomonitoring populations exposed to pesticides? A systematic review with meta-analysis

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Abstract

The systematic review (SR) with meta-analysis aimed to infer if micronucleus assay using oral mucosal cells a useful biomarker for biomonitoring populations continuously exposed to pesticides (EP). The SR has been made in accordance with the PRISMA-P guidelines. The PICOS strategy has focused to answer the following question: “Does exposure to pesticides cause genetic damage in oral cells?” The literature search was made in the following scientific databases: Web of Science, PubMed/Medline, and Scopus. The approach was defined as follows: standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The quality assessment of manuscripts was obtained by the EPHPP (Effective Public Health Practice Project). The GRADE tool was chosen for assessing the quality of evidence. A total of 108 articles were selected in this setting. After screening abstracts and titles, 23 manuscripts were evaluated for eligibility. After reviewing the studies, two were considered weak and 22 were classified as moderate or strong. The meta-analysis data pointed out statistically significant differences in volunteers exposed to EP (SMD = 1.23, 95% CI, 0.69 to 1.77, p < 0.001), with a Tau2 = 1.44; Chi2 = 566.38, and p < 0.001, so that the selected manuscripts were considered heterogeneous and the I2 of 97% indicated high heterogeneity. Taken together, this review was able to validate the micronucleus assay in oral exfoliated cells as a useful biomarker in individuals continuously exposed to EP because the studies categorized as moderate and strong have demonstrated positive response related to mutagenesis.

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Funding

The authors acknowledge research grants received from CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnológico) and CAPES. DVS thanks CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) for grants received scholarship. MBV, ACMR, and DAR thank CNPq for productivity fellowships.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biosciences, Institute of Health and Society, Federal University of São Paulo, UNIFESP, Rua Silva Jardim, 136, Room 332, Vila Mathias, Santos, SP, 11050-020, Brazil

    Ingra Tais Malacarne, Daniel Vitor de Souza, Barbara dos Anjos Rosario, Milena de Barros Viana, Ana Claudia Muniz Renno & Daniel Araki Ribeiro

  2. Department of Dentistry, Federal University of Sergipe, UFS, Aracaju, SE, Brazil

    Wilton Mitsunari Takeshita

  3. Department of Pathology, Botucatu Medical School, São Paulo State University, UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brazil

    Daisy Maria Favero Salvadori

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  1. Ingra Tais Malacarne
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  2. Wilton Mitsunari Takeshita
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  3. Daniel Vitor de Souza
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  4. Barbara dos Anjos Rosario
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  5. Milena de Barros Viana
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  6. Ana Claudia Muniz Renno
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  7. Daisy Maria Favero Salvadori
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  8. Daniel Araki Ribeiro
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Contributions

Study design: DVS, BAR, and DAR. Data search: DVS, BAR, and DAR. Data analysis: DVS, BAR, WMT, MBV, ACMR, and DAR. Writing the paper: all authors.

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Correspondence to Daniel Araki Ribeiro.

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Malacarne, I.T., Takeshita, W.M., de Souza, D.V. et al. Is micronucleus assay in oral exfoliated cells a useful biomarker for biomonitoring populations exposed to pesticides? A systematic review with meta-analysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 64392–64403 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22015-x

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