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Results reveal that photoexcitation of the endogenous photosensitizer UVA specifically oxidizes the central guanine of 5'-GGG-3' in telomere sequence resulting in the production of 8-oxodG. Data show UVA dose-dependent increase in the formation of 8-oxodG in fibroblasts and Hl-60 cells.

Research has been conducted on the pepleomycin-mediated DNA cleavage of isolated and cellular DNA. Results indicate that bleomycin amplifiers bind to DNA and enhance drug-mediated DNA degradation that leads to apoptosis.

The use of (super)32 P-labeled DNA fragments obtained from the human tumor suppressor gene in studying the ability of oxidative DNA damage by BzPO is discussed. Results indicate the difference between the BzPO-derived reactive species and phenyl radicals.

The mechanism behind the site-specific DNA damage by NADPH with copper(II) was evaluated by DNA sequencing analysis, which utilized the 32P 5' end-labeled DNA fragments prepared from human p53 tumor inhibitor. Indeed, NADH and other endogenous reductants bring on DNA damage in the presence of Cu(II), with the inducing effect order of ascorbate > GSH > NADH > NADPH. Spectroscopic results suggest the production of a high redox potential copper from DNA/metal ion, which oxidizes NADH, and the reaction of H2O2 with Cu(I) which gives active oxygen species responsible for DNA damage.

Production of active species causing DNA cleavage is facilitated by Cu(I) and H2O2. Commercial metallothionein (MT) and Cu2Cd5-MT causes nonoxidative cleavage of the deoxyribose phosphate backbone through its DNA recognition. Cu2Cd5-MT induced cleavage particularly at the central guanine residue of the 5'-GGT-3' sequence. DNA cleavage is inhibited in an efficient way by EDTA but not by bathocuproine and catalase.

The mechanism of DNA damage photosensitized by Nile blue (NB) was studied using (32)P-5'-end-labeled DNA fragments. NB bound to the DNA strand was possibly intercalated through an electrostatic interaction. Photoirradiated NB caused DNA cleavage at guanine residues when the DNA fragments were treated with piperidine. Consecutive guanines, the underlined G in 5'-GG and 5'-GGG, were selectively damaged through photoinduced electron transfer. The fluorescence lifetime of NB was decreased by guanine-containing DNA sequence, supporting this mechanism. Single guanines were also slightly damaged by photoexcited NB, and DNA photodamage by NB was slightly enhanced in D2O. These results suggest that the singlet oxygen mechanism also partly contributes to DNA photodamage by NB. DNA damage photosensitized by NB via electron transfer may be an important mechanism in medicinal applications of photosensitizers, such as photodynamic therapy in low oxygen.

Benz[a]anthracene (BA) is one of the most abundant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are ubiquitous environmental pollutants. PAH carcinogenesis is explained by DNA adduct formation by PAH diol epoxide and oxidative DNA damage by PAH o-quinone. Benz[a]anthracene-trans-3,4-dihydrodiol (BA-3,4-dihydrodiol) is a minor metabolite but shows higher mutagenicity and tumorigenicity than parent BA. We confirmed that a BA o-quinone type metabolite, benz[a]anthracene-3,4-dione (BA-3,4-dione), induced oxidative DNA damage in the presence of cytochrome P450 reductase. Interestingly, we found that BA-3,4-dihydrodiol nonenzymatically caused Cu(II)-mediated DNA damage including 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine formation and the addition of NADH enhanced DNA damage. BA-3,4-dihydrodiol induced a double-base lesion of C and G at the 5'-ACG-3' sequence complementary to codon 273 of the human p53 tumor suppressor gene, which is known as a hotspot. The DNA damage was inhibited by catalase and bathocuproine, indicating the involvement of H(2)O(2) and Cu(I). Time-of-flight mass spectroscopic study suggested that BA-3,4-dihydrodiol undergoes Cu(II)-mediated autoxidation leading to the formation of its hydroxylated form of BA-3,4-dihydrodiol, capable of causing oxidative DNA damage. It is noteworthy that BA-3,4-dihydrodiol can nonenzymatically induce DNA damage more efficiently than BA-3,4-dione with metabolic activation. In conclusion, oxidative DNA damage induced by BA-3,4-dihydrodiol not only via quinone-type redox cycle but also via a new type of redox cycle participates in the expression of carcinogenicity of BA and BA-3,4-dihydrodiol.

We examined the mechanism of DNA damage induced by carcinogenic Ni(II) in the presence of SH compounds. In the presence of model endogenous SH compounds, dithiothreitol (DTT), 1,4-dithio-L-threitol, and dithioerythritol, Ni(II) induced damage to (32)P-5'-end-labeled DNA fragments obtained from the human c-Ha-ras-1 protooncogene and the p53 tumor suppressor gene. The intensity of Ni(II)-mediated DNA damage induced by DTT was stronger than that by other model endogenous SH compounds, 1,4-dithio-L-threitol and dithioerythritol. DNA damage induced by Ni(II) plus DTT was observed only when the DNA was treated with piperidine, suggesting that Ni(II) plus DTT caused only base damage. Formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase, which is known to recognize 8-oxodG as well as Fapy residues, treatment induced cleavage sites, mainly guanine residues, particularly at the 5'-GG-3', 5'-GGG-3', and 5'-GGGG-3' sequences, in DNA incubated with Ni(II) in the presence of DTT. SOD and catalase inhibited the DNA damage, suggesting that DNA damage involved superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide. Sodium azide, a potent and relatively specific scavenger of (1)O(2), inhibited DNA damage by Ni(II) in the presence of DTT, whereas the sequence specificity of DNA damage was different from that obtained by (1)O(2) generating agent. The formation of 8-oxodG in calf thymus DNA by Ni(II) was observed with the physiological thiols, dihydrolipoic acid and mercaptopyruvate, as well as with DTT. These results suggest that Ni(II) and DTT form a reactive species, which may be responsible for causing guanine-specific DNA damage. Endogenous SH compounds, which have similar chemical structures to DTT, would participate in nickel carcinogenesis through causing oxidative DNA damage.

We examined the redox properties of the "carcinogenic" catechol and the "noncarcinogenic" hydroquinone in relation to different DNA damaging activities and carcinogenicity using 32P-labeled DNA fragments obtained from the human genes. In the presence of endogenous NADH and Cu2+, catechol induces stronger DNA damage than hydroquinone, although the magnitudes of their DNA damaging activities were reversed in the absence of NADH. In both cases, DNA damage resulted from base modification at guanine and thymine residues in addition to strand breakage induced by Cu+ and H2O2, generated during the oxidation of catechol and hydroquinone into 1,2-benzoquinone and 1,4-benzoquinone, respectively. EPR and 1H NMR studies indicated that 1,2-benzoquinone is converted directly into catechol through a nonenzymatic two-electron reduction by NADH whereas 1,4-benzoquinone is reduced into hydroquinone through a semiquinone radical intermediate through two cycles of one-electron reduction. The reduction of 1,2-benzoquinone by NADH proceeds more rapidly than that of 1,4-benzoquinone. This study demonstrates that the rapid 1,2-benzoquinone two-electron reduction accelerates the redox reaction turnover between catechol and 1,2-benzoquinone, resulting in the enhancement of DNA damage. These results suggest that the differences in NADH-mediated redox properties of catechol and hydroquinone contribute to their different carcinogenicities.