Effect of different vitamin A status on carcinogen-induced DNA damage and repair enzymes in rats

The effect of different vitamin A status on events following DNA damage by hepatocarcinogens was investigated in rats. Formation of single-strand breaks in nuclear DNA induced by aflatoxin B1 and N-nitrosodimethylamine was observed to be more pronounced after vitamin A-deficiency. This enhanced damage was reversed upon vitamin A supplementation. Subsequent to DNA damage, the induction of repair enzymes poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, DNA polymerase beta and DNA ligase was found to be significantly higher in vitamin A-deficient rats. Vitamin A supplementation brought down the induction to the levels found in rats maintained on normal diet. Vitamin A thus may control carcinogenesis by manipulating molecular events at the initiation stage.