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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Fast and Specific Assessment of the Halogenating Peroxidase Activity in Leukocyte-enriched Blood Samples
Published on: July 28, 2016
Vitamin E protects mononuclear leucocyte DNA against damage mediated by phagocyte-derived oxidants
A M van Staden1, C E van Rensburg, R Anderson
1Department of Immunology, University of Pretoria, Republic of South Africa.
Abstract:
The protective effects of physiological concentrations (3-12.5 micrograms/ml) of vitamin E (VE, dl-alpha-tocopherol) on the formation of DNA single-strand breaks in mononuclear leukocytes (MNL) in close proximity to activated phagocytes have been investigated in vitro. Human neutrophils, activated by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), induced DNA-strand breaks in neighbouring lymphocytes. Vitamin E caused dose-related protection of MNL DNA against phagocyte-mediated oxidative damage. This apparently novel protective activity of vitamin E is due primarily to the inhibitory effects of this agent on the generation of reactive oxidants by activated neutrophils and is apparently unrelated to the classical oxidant-scavenging properties of VE.
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