Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks healthy cells, is associated with elevated risk of lymphoma. Rituximab, a treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, has been approved as a treatment for RA. We studied the effects of rituximab on chromosomal stability in collagen-induced arthritis DBA/1J animal models. Micronucleus levels were increased in the mouse models, mainly due to chromosome loss, as detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization; rituximab-treated arthritic mice had significantly less micronucleus formation. Serum 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, a DNA oxidative stress marker, was increased in the mice models but reduced following rituximab administration.
Keywords: 8-OHdG; Aneugenicity; Anti-CD20; Clastogenicity; Inflammation; Oxidative DNA damage.
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