Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Atomic Force Microscopy Investigations of DNA Lesion Recognition in Nucleotide Excision Repair
10:59

Atomic Force Microscopy Investigations of DNA Lesion Recognition in Nucleotide Excision Repair

Published on: May 24, 2017

Inhibition of DNA alkylation damage with inorganic salts

Elizabeth E Hamilton1, Jonathan J Wilker

  • 1Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, 560 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.

Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry : JBIC : a Publication of the Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry
|September 21, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Dietary inorganic compounds like selenium and vanadium protect DNA from alkylating agents found in tobacco and food. Anionic oxo species inhibit DNA damage by acting as nucleophilic targets for carcinogens.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Toxicology

Background:

  • Human exposure to alkylating agents from carcinogens in tobacco and food is common.
  • Dietary inorganic compounds, including selenium and vanadium, have demonstrated chemoprotective effects in previous studies.
  • DNA alkylation damage is a significant concern in toxicology and cancer research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the chemoprotective potential of inorganic compounds against DNA alkylation.
  • To elucidate the biochemical mechanisms by which certain inorganic compounds protect DNA.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized an enzyme cleavage assay to detect and quantify DNA alkylation.
  • Tested the inhibitory effects of various simple salts and anionic oxo species on DNA alkylation.

Main Results:

  • Simple inorganic salts (e.g., NaCl, NiCl2) did not inhibit DNA alkylation.
  • Anionic oxo species, specifically sodium selenate (Na2SeO4) and sodium vanadate (Na3VO4), effectively inhibited DNA alkylation.
  • The protective effect was observed in biochemical assays assessing DNA damage.

Conclusions:

  • Anionic oxo species of selenium and vanadium can protect DNA from alkylation damage.
  • These oxo species likely act as nucleophilic targets, intercepting electrophilic alkylating agents before they damage DNA.
  • Findings suggest a potential dietary strategy for mitigating DNA damage from environmental carcinogens.

More Related Videos

Evaluating In Vitro DNA Damage Using Comet Assay10:43

Evaluating In Vitro DNA Damage Using Comet Assay

Published on: October 11, 2017

Formation of Covalent DNA Adducts by Enzymatically Activated Carcinogens and Drugs In Vitro and Their Determination by 32P-postlabeling09:33

Formation of Covalent DNA Adducts by Enzymatically Activated Carcinogens and Drugs In Vitro and Their Determination by 32P-postlabeling

Published on: March 20, 2018

Related Concept Videos

Nucleotide Excision Repair01:08

Nucleotide Excision Repair

Overview
Overview of DNA Repair02:25

Overview of DNA Repair

In order to be passed through generations, genomic DNA must be undamaged and error-free. However, every day, DNA in a cell undergoes several thousand to a million damaging events by natural causes and external factors. Ionizing radiation such as UV rays, free radicals produced during cellular respiration, and hydrolytic damage from metabolic reactions can alter the structure of DNA. Damages caused include single-base alteration, base dimerization, chain breaks, and cross-linkage.
Chemically...
Base Excision Repair01:54

Base Excision Repair

One of the common DNA damages is the chemical alteration of single bases by alkylation, oxidation, or deamination. The altered bases cause mispairing and strand breakage during replication. This type of damage causes minimal change to the DNA double helix structure and can be repaired by the base excision repair (BER) pathways. BER corrects damaged DNA sequences by removing the damaged base and restoring the original base sequence using the complementary strand as a template.
The first step of...
DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle02:36

DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle

In response to DNA damage, cells can pause the cell cycle to assess and repair the breaks. However, the cell must check the DNA at certain critical stages during the cell cycle. If the cell cycle pauses before DNA replication, the cells will contain twice the amount of DNA. On the other hand, if cells arrest after DNA replication but before mitosis, they will contain four times the normal amount of DNA. With a host of specialized proteins at their disposal,cells must use the right protein at...
DNA Damage Can Stall the Cell Cycle02:36

DNA Damage Can Stall the Cell Cycle

In response to DNA damage, cells can pause the cell cycle to assess and repair the breaks. However, the cell must check the DNA at certain critical stages during the cell cycle. If the cell cycle pauses before DNA replication, the cells will contain twice the amount of DNA. On the other hand, if cells arrest after DNA replication but before mitosis, they will contain four times the normal amount of DNA. With a host of specialized proteins at their disposal,cells must use the right protein at...
Inhibitors of Bacterial DNA Synthesis01:28

Inhibitors of Bacterial DNA Synthesis

Bacterial pathogens depend on precise and efficient DNA replication to sustain infection. Two type II topoisomerases—DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV—are critical to this process, as they resolve DNA supercoiling and unlink chromosomes during replication. Fluoroquinolones, synthetic derivatives of quinolones, exploit this mechanism by stabilizing the transient DNA–enzyme cleavage complex, preventing strand religation, and causing lethal double-strand breaks. These antibiotics are selectively...