Mitochondrial DNA Deletions in Peripheral Blood of the Offspring of Workers Exposed to Occupational Chronic Ionizing Irradiation

Mitochondrial DNA deletions are a recognized factor in mitochondrial disorders and aging. The purpose of this work was to study the prevalence of large-scale mitochondrial DNA deletions in peripheral blood samples from offspring whose parents were the employees of the Mayak Production Association, who were exposed to combined external gamma and internal alpha irradiation in the preconception period. By PCR amplification of extended fragments, a 4977 bp deletion and deletions ranging in size from 7436 to 8044 bp were detected. It was found that the prevalence of deletions in the studied groups of these offspring shows a tendency to increase, but there were no statistically significant differences with the control group.