The effects of smoking, hypertension and cardiovascular disease on the estimation of unscheduled DNA synthesis and covalent binding to DNA induced by N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminofluorene in resting human mononuclear leukocytes.

The levels of N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminofluorene (NA-AAF)-induced unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) and of NA-AAF binding to DNA have been determined in resting mononuclear leukocytes from individuals with various smoking habits, heart infarct patients and subjects diagnosed for hypertension. Age-matched and blood-pressure-controlled smokers (n = 99) had significantly elevated levels of NA-AAF-induced UDS and NA-AAF binding to DNA when compared to nonsmokers (n = 75) similarly corrected for age and blood pressure. Heart infarct patients without any history of risk factors, as well as diagnosed hypertensives with normalized blood pressure, were not significantly different from matched controls when assessed by the NA-AAF method. Our results support the theory that increased mutagen sensitivity is associated with smoking and high blood pressure but not with cardiovascular disease itself via some mechanism of genetic selection.