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. 2002 Aug 20;106(8):927-32.
doi: 10.1161/01.cir.0000026393.47805.21.

Elevated levels of oxidative DNA damage and DNA repair enzymes in human atherosclerotic plaques

Wim Martinet  1 , Michiel W M Knaapen, Guido R Y De Meyer, Arnold G Herman, Mark M Kockx
Affiliations

Elevated levels of oxidative DNA damage and DNA repair enzymes in human atherosclerotic plaques

Wim Martinet et al. Circulation. .

Abstract

Background: The formation of reactive oxygen species is a critical event in atherosclerosis because it promotes cell proliferation, hypertrophy, growth arrest, and/or apoptosis and oxidation of LDL. In the present study, we investigated whether reactive oxygen species-induced oxidative damage to DNA occurs in human atherosclerotic plaques and whether this is accompanied by the upregulation of DNA repair mechanisms.

Methods and results: We observed increased immunoreactivity against the oxidative DNA damage marker 7,8-dihydro-8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG) in plaques of the carotid artery compared with the adjacent inner media and nonatherosclerotic mammary arteries. Strong 8-oxo-dG immunoreactivity was found in all cell types of the plaque including macrophages, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells. As shown by competitive ELISA, carotid plaques contained 160+/-29 8-oxo-dG residues/10(5) dG versus 3+/-1 8-oxo-dG residues/10(5) dG in mammary arteries. Single-cell gel electrophoresis showed elevated levels of DNA strand breaks in the plaque. The overall number of apoptotic nuclei was low (1% to 2%) and did not correlate with the amount of 8-oxo-dG immunoreactive cells (>90%). This suggests that initial damage to DNA occurs at a sublethal level. Several DNA repair systems that are involved in base excision repair (redox factor/AP endonuclease [Ref 1] and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 [PARP-1]) or nonspecific repair pathways (p53, DNA-dependent protein kinase) were upregulated, as shown by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Overexpression of DNA repair enzymes was associated with elevated levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen.

Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence that oxidative DNA damage and repair increase significantly in human atherosclerotic plaques.

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