Investigation of Genotoxic Effect of Escherichia coli in Urinary Tract Epithelial Cells with Micronucleus Assay

Objective: E. coli is a type of bacterium that causes urinary tract infections in women. The aim of the work was to investigate the possible use of epithelial cells from the urinary tract in identifying infections–related DNA damage effects in women. Methods: Epithelial cells from urinary tract were collected from 40 E .coli infection and 40 control (non- infection) women and subjected to micronucleus assay. Number of cells with micronucleus, binucleus cells were counted in two groups as parameters for the evaluation of genome stability. All of urine samples pH, leukocyte, leukocyte esterase, nitrite results measured with H-800 urine analyzer and FUS-200 urine sediment analyzer. Result: E. coli infection and non-infection cases test results were statistically evaluated with Mann-Whitney U and Independent Sample T test. A p-value of <0.05 was found statistically significant for micronucleus, binucleus, and urine , leukocyte, leukocyte esterase and nitrite parameters. pH results were not found statistically significant (p>0,05). Conclusion: The detection of E. coli in urinary tract epithelial cells showed that induce DNA damage. It can be said that patients with early antibiotics and doses, early treatment may help to reduce the level of DNA damage