Amount Of DNA Fragmentation Research Articles

Genotoxic Activity of 1,3-Dichloropropene in a Battery of in Vivo Short-Term Tests

The genotoxic activity of 1,3-dichloropropene, which has been classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans, was investigated in rats given high single doses of this chloroolefin. A dose-related amount of DNA fragmentation was observed at doses ranging from 62.5 to 250 mg/kg in liver and gastric mucosa, both of which are targets of DCP carcinogenic activity, as well as in the kidney. The frequency of DNA breaks, that were to a large extent repaired within 24 hr, was higher after po than after ip administration in the liver, while the converse occurred in the kidney. Any evidence of DNA fragmentation was, in contrast, absent in lung, bone marrow, and brain which are not sites of DCP-induced tumor development. A role of cytochrome P450 in the activation of DCP is suggested by the lower degree of liver DNA fragmentation observed in rats pretreated with methoxsalen. DCP produced a dose-dependent reduction of the liver GSH level, an effect that presumably hinders its detoxification and thus favors its DNA-damaging activity. In contrast with the satisfactory prediction of DCP carcinogenic activity provided by the results of the in vivo DNA damage/alkaline elution assay, neither the in vivo rat hepatocyte DNA repair assay nor the micronucleus assay, carried out on bone marrow, spleen, and liver cells of partially hepatectomized rats, supplied any evidence of DCP genotoxicity.

Effect of ten thiocompounds on rat liver DNA damage induced by a small dose of N-nitrosodimethylamine.

The use in a chemoprevention study of high doses of the genotoxic agent might result in erroneous information because of possible nonlinearity of pharmacokinetic processes and toxicity-induced derangement of physiological defense mechanisms. According to these premises ten thiocompounds, potentially active as inhibitors of metabolic activation and/or scavengers, were examined for their capability of reducing the frequency of liver DNA lesions induced by a very small dose of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). This was accomplished by means of a viscometric technique previously found suitable to detect a minimal amount of DNA fragmentation. Rats were injected i.p. or i.v. with 1 mmol/kg of thiocompound, 0.2 mg/kg NDMA given by gavage 1 h afterwards, and killed for DNA damage assessment 14 h later. Statistically significant changes of viscometric parameters, which are considered indicative of a protective activity, were produced by disulfiram (DSF), and to a lower extent by diethyldithiocarbamate (DEDTC). Any modification of NDMA-induced DNA damage was absent in rats pretreated with glutathione reduced form (GSH) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Allyl disulfide (ADS), L-cysteine (CYS), N-acetylcysteine (NAC), alpha-mercaptopropionylglycine (MPG), ethylxanthic acid (PEX), and 2-mercaptoethane sulfonic acid (MESNA) increased in various degree the frequency of DNA-strand breaks. In subsequent experiments the protective activity of DSF was found to be dose-related, dependent on the time of administration, and greater by oral route. Taken as a whole, these results suggest that several putative anticarcinogens might be ineffective against the DNA-damage produced by the low doses encountered in human exposure.

Comparison of DNA alkylation, fragmentation, and repair in maternal and fetal tissues of pregnant rats treated with a single dose of ethyl methanesulfonate, ethyl‐N‐nitrosourea, N‐nitrosodiethylamine, and methyl‐N‐nitrosourea

The occurrence and persistence of DNA damage, as detected by the alkaline elution technique, have been studied in some tissues of both fetal and adult Sprague-Dawley rats (18th day of gestation) after administration of a single equimolar dose (0.5 mmol/kg) of ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS), N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), and N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU). EMS, ENU, and MNU, injected intravenously, produced a statistically significant increase of DNA elution rate, which is considered indicative of DNA fragmentation, in both maternal and fetal liver, kidney, and brain. NDEA, introduced by gastric gavage, induced DNA breaks in both liver and kidney of dams, but only in the liver of fetuses. The frequency of DNA lesions was found to vary with the four alkylating agents and in the three organs tested, to exhibit a different time course, and usually to be higher in maternal than in fetal tissues. Results provided by the concomitant determination of DNA binding levels demonstrated a satisfactory correlation with the amounts of DNA fragmentation. In contrast, the values of both these parameters did not show any positive correlation with the different susceptibility of the three organs to tumor induction. In conclusion, these findings suggest that when a compound is not available in radiolabeled form, measurement of DNA fragmentation may represent a useful alternative to the determination of DNA binding level in order to obtain information on the distribution of its reactive species in maternal and fetal tissues.

Correlation between clinical activity of systemic lupus erythematosus and the amounts of DNA in DNA/anti-DNA antibody immune complexes.

The relationship between clinical activity of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and molecular sizes of DNA fragments isolated from DNA/anti-DNA antibody immune complexes were examined. Among sera from twenty-eight patients with SLE examined, three different molecular sizes of DNA were identified, namely, DNA of m.v. 25,000 with 30 to 50 base pairs (bp); m.w. 100,000 with 150 to 200 bp; and m.w. 200,000 with 300 bp. On the basis of the molecular sizes of DNA fragments, we can divide patients with SLE into four groups. The first group contained DNA predominantly of m.w. 25,000. The second group contained DNA predominantly of m.w. 100,000. The third group contained DNA of m.w. 200,000. The fourth group contained both m.w. 25,000 and 100,000. A method to quantitate the amounts of DNA in DNA/anti-DNA immune complexes was developed. The amount of DNA fragments was estimated by measuring the amount of 32P-phosphate incorporated into 5 ends of DNA. Patients with severe disease tended to have greater amounts of DNA (up to 400 ng/ml serum). Two serial studies also support this result. Thus, the quantitative analysis shows that the amount of DNA in the immune complexes is highly correlated with disease activity (r = 0.864; p less than 0.001). These results suggest that DNA/anti-DNA immune complexes may play some role in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis.