DNA Damage Flashcards
What are the two types of DNA damage?
- Spontaneous alterations and damage to DNA
2. Environmental damage to DNA
What is DNA damage most commonly caused by?
Chemicals or radiation
How are people exposed to chemical carcinogens?
It’s a result of being exposed due to occupation, pollution in the ambient environment, lifestyle choices or pharmaceutical use.
What do chemical carcinogens act through?
They act through “genotoxic” or DNA damaging mechanisms, which involve covalent binding of the chemical to DNA (DNA adduct formation)
What is a necessary requirement for tumor induction when exposed to cancer carcinogens?
They’re typically frequent and/or chronic over the years which results in the accumulation of DNA damage or DNA adduct formation
What have studies in animal models indicated about environmental DNA damage?
The ability to reduce DNA damage will also result in the reduction of tumour risk
What was the hypothesis determined by the animal model studies?
Individuals having the highest levels of DNA adducts may have an increased cancer risk, compared to individuals with the lowest levels of DNA adducts
What is a DNA adduct?
A segment DNA that is bound to a cancer causing agent
What did Poirier review in 2012?
He reviewed 12 investigations showing a 2- to 9-fold increased risks for cancer in individuals having the highest DNA adduct levels, compared matched individuals with the lowest DNA adducts
What other preliminary evidence did the studies reviewed by Poirier provide?
It provided preliminary evidence that multiple types of DNA adducts combind, or DNA adducts combined with other risk factors (eg., infection or inflammation), may be associated with more than 10-fold higher cancer risks, compared to those found with a single carcinogen
What did the data from the preliminary evidence reviewed by Poirier suggest?
It suggested that a reduction in human DNA adduct level is likely to produce a reduction in human cancer risk
What reactive oxygen species are produced by normal metabolism?
Superoxide and hydrogen peroxide
What is NOX?
NAD(P)H oxidase (NOX) is a membrane bound enzyme that macrophages use to produce O2- to kill bacteria
Is NOX upregulated or downregulated in TAMs?
Upregulated
How does the Fenton reaction lead to DNA damage?
Reduced transition metals react with hydrogen peroxide to produce hydroxyl radicals which have the capacity to damage macromolecules (eg., DNA)
What are the three ways radical oxides, from the Fenton reaction, damage biomolecules?
- Scission: DNA double-strand breaks
- Modification: 8-oxoguanine, HNE, etc.
- Cross-links: thymine-tyrosine cross-links, etc.
What cancer causing mutations of the genome are due to damage of biomolecules?
- Amplification
- Deletion
- Point mutation
- Translocation (fusion gene)
What does oxidation of DNA lead to?
DNA damage and mispairing
How can Chromosome Aberrations be detected?
- Microscopy detection
2. Importance of double strand breaks
How can micronuclei be detected?
- Microscopy detection
2. Flow cytometry detection