Relationship between DNA lesions, DNA repair and chromosomal damage induced by acetaldehyde

Acetaldehyde (AA) was tested along with two other crosslinking agents: formaldehyde (FA), an inducer of DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs) and mitomycin C (MMC), an inducer of interstrand crosslinks (ICLs), to find out whether the mechanism of action of AA resembles more MMC or FA. Using a modification of the standard protocol for comet assay we demonstrate that AA induces crosslinks. Using a combination of alkaline comet version and proteinase-K, a clear abrogation of AA-induced reduction in DNA migration, like after FA treatment, was observed demonstrating that both agents induce DPCs, whereas MMC induces predominantly ICLs. A possible correlation between the types of induced crosslink and the induction chromosome damage in different repair deficient mutant Chinese hamster ovary cell lines treated with AA, MMC and FA was investigated. TCR/NER pathways are involved in repairing FA induced DPCs, but less in AA-induced DPCs. Our preliminary data suggest that DPCs are weaker inducers of SCEs in comparison with ICLs.