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3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA lyase (HL) deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorderaffecting the final step of leucine degradation and ketogenesis and biochemically characterized by the predominant accumulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaric (HMG) and 3-methylglutaric (MGA) acids in biological fluids and tissues of affected patients. Considering that previous studies reported that HMG and MGA have pro oxidant properties, the present study evaluated the ex vivo and in vitro effects of HMG and MGA on frequency and index of DNA damage in cerebral cortex and striatum of young rats. The ex vivo effects of both organic acids on 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (OHdG) levels and their in vitro effects on 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin (DCFH) oxidation and glutathione (GSH) concentrations in rat striatum were also determined. We also investigated the ex vivo effects of both organic acids on 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (OHdG) levels in rat striatum. In the ex vivo experiments, DNA damage was determined in striatum homogenates prepared 30 min after a single intrastriatal administration of HMG or MGA. On the other hand, the in vitro evaluation was performed after an incubation of rat cerebral cortex or striatum homogenates or slices in the presence of HMG or MGA during 1 h at 37 °C. We observed that the intrastriatal administration of HMG and MGA increased the frequency and the index of DNA damage, as well as OHdG staining in rat striatum. We also verified that MGA, but not HMG, increased DNA damage frequency and index in vitro in striatum of rats. In contrast, no alterations were verified in vitro in cerebral cortex. Finally, we found that HMG and MGA increased DCFH oxidation and decreased GSH concentrations in rat striatum. Therefore, it may be presumed that DNA damage provoked by HMG and MGA possibly via reactive species generation is involved, at least in part, in the pathophysiology of brain injury, particularly in the striatum of HL-deficient patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]