Elevated levels of DNA damage, decreased efficacy of DNA repair and high susceptibility to mutagens have been associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Micronuclei (MN) are a sensitive indicator of genetic damage and a marker of DNA damage. MN is also a morphological marker of chromosomal instability. So the presence of MN in cells reflects structural chromosomal aberrations arising during mitosis. Our aim was to evaluate the frequencies of micronuclei, as a biomarker for DNA damage, in Giemsa stained buccal cells of T2DM patients and healthy controls. A case-control study of seventy six patients with T2DM and twenty five control group participants were recruited from different areas of West Bengal for determination of frequency of MN. All procedures were done with the informed consent of participants. In the present study, frequency of MN found in T2DM patients was 4.08±3.77, which was much higher than the control group participants (1.1±0.9). Frequency of MN increased due to the elevated level of DNA damage in these patients than the controls. Hence, in the present study, increased DNA damage may be due to increased oxidative stress leading to genomic instability, which in turn may lead to the progression of T2DM and its complications and contribute to an increased risk for cancer. This depicts that MN may be a useful constituent in a panel of biomarkers for the risk of late diabetic complications and can be a predisposing factor for development of cancer.
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