DNA damage Flashcards
why is DNA repair critical?
Our cells needs to cope with constant endogenous and exogenous DNA
damage
what diseases can DNA damage be implicated in?
–Neurological (Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s)
–Diabetes
–Atherosclerosis (cardiovascular diseases)
–Ageing
what are exogenous and endogenous sources of DNA damage?
exo- radiation, smoking
endo- cellular metabolism, replication stress, spontaneous
what nucletide bases are pyramidine/ purine?
pyrimidine- C,T,U
purine- A,G
what base is only in RNA/ dna?
RNA= URACIL
DNA=THYMINE
How are nucleic acids formed?
the phosphate group of one nucleotide joins with a hydroxyl group of an an adjacent nucleotide
this forms a phosphodiester bond
how many H bonds are there in a C-G and T-A dna double helix?
CG=3
TA=2
what is DNA constantly under attack from?
including active oxygen species that are by-products of metabolism.
*Many environmental agents and chemicals in food attack and modify DNA
eg hypoxia, oncogenes, mitochondrial DNA mutations, tumor suppressor genes
what are the different ways that DNA can be attacked?
oxidative attack- H
hydolysis N-H
methylation- N
What happen in aqueous solution at 37 degreese?
there is spontaneous deamination of C, A,
and G bases in DNA. C deaminates to form U, A to hypoxanthine, and G to
xanthine.
what is spontaneous depurination due to?
cleavage of the glycosyl bond connecting purines to the backbone, leaving the backbone of the DNA intact, occurs at a substantial rate.
what are depurinated sites called?
abasic (lacking a base) or AP sites
(originally meaning apurinic, lacking a purine, but since generalized to
lacking any base)
what happens in depurination?
lose a base eg guanine
what happens in deamination?
lose amonium
what can alter specific bases within DNA after replication is complete?
variety of chemical agents eg ROS- hydroxyl radical