Damage to cellular and isolated DNA induced by a metabolite of aspirin

Abstract

Aspirin has been proposed as a possible chemopreventive agent. On the other hand, a recent cohort study showed that aspirin may increase the risk for pancreatic cancer. To clarify whether aspirin is potentially carcinogenic, we investigated the formation of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), which is correlated with the incidence of cancer, in cultured cells treated with 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,3-DHBA), a metabolite of aspirin. 2,3-DHBA induced 8-oxodG formation in the PANC-1 human pancreatic cancer cell line. 2,3-DHBA-induced DNA single-strand breaks were also revealed by comet assay using PANC-1 cells. Flow cytometric analyses showed that 2,3-DHBA increased the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in PANC-1 cells. The 8-oxodG formation and ROS generation were also observed in the HL-60 leukemia cell line, but not in the hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2)-resistant clone HP100 cells, suggesting the involvement of H 2O 2. In addition, an hprt mutation assay supported the mutagenicity of 2,3-DHBA. We investigated the mechanism underlying the 2,3-DHBA-induced DNA damage using 32P-labeled DNA fragments of human tumor suppressor genes. 2,3-DHBA induced DNA damage in the presence of Cu(II) and NADH. DNA damage induced by 2,3-DHBA was enhanced by the addition of histone peptide-6 [AKRHRK]. Interestingly, 2,3-DHBA and histone peptide-6 caused base damage in the 5′-ACG-3′ and 5′-CCG-3′ sequences, hotspots of the p53 gene. Bathocuproine, a Cu(I) chelator, and catalase inhibited the DNA damage. Typical hydroxyl radical scavengers did not inhibit the DNA damage. These results suggest that ROS derived from the reaction of H 2O 2 with Cu(I) participate in the DNA damage. In conclusion, 2,3-DHBA induces oxidative DNA damage and mutations, which may result in carcinogenesis.