Cell death indicators in children under exposure to excessive intake of chlorine compounds with drinking water

Abstract

Objective. The study of the immune status features including cell death markers in children consuming drinking water with excessive content of chlorine compounds. Materials and methods. Including the control group, 498 pre-school children were surveyed. The control group comprised 212 children living on territories where circulating groundwater is used as a source of domestic water supply. The study group consisted of 286 children living on territories with sources of domestic water supply presented by surface water of low quality due to microbiological indicators, which calls for the use of chlorine-containing agents for water disinfection. To conduct the study the chemical-analytical, immunological and statistical methods were used. Results. It was revealed that in the blood of children consuming hyperclorinated water, the concentration of chloroform in a range of 0 mg/dm3 - 0.2300 mg / dm3 has been identified, meanwhile in the biological medium of the control group children, the chloroform has not been detected. Using flow cytometry the statistically significant (р = 0.001) decrease (up to 1.7 fold) of Annexin V-FITC +PI- -cells amount (early apoptosis) and up to 2.4 fold increase (р = 0.001) of Annexin V-FITC+PI+ -cells content (late apoptosis / necrosis) was found in those children, who were exposed to the excessive content of chloroform with drinking water, relative to the values fixed in non-exposed children. Conclusions. It was demonstrated that under the increased chlorine compounds concentrations in blood the probable mechanism of apoptotic effect was related to the enzyme systems activation, associated with glutathione peroxidase, glutathione transferase, superoxide dismutase. The reference concentrations for chlorine-containing compounds in blood were proved by the criteria of IL6 and CD4+ -, CD8+ -, CD19+ -, CD25+ - lymphocytes content and their acceptable concentration range in blood (0.00001 mg / dm3 - 0.0181 mg / dm3) was defined.