Detection of single-strand breaks and base damage in DNA of blood cells from leukaemia patients receiving chemo- and radiotherapy

• Published in: International journal of radiation biology Vol. 62; no. 1; p. 33
• Main Authors: van Loon, A A, Raadsheer, F C, Timmerman, A J, Haanen, C, Wessels, J, van der Schans, G P, Lohmans, P H, Baan, R A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 1992
• Subjects: Acute Disease; Adult; Cyclophosphamide - adverse effects; Cyclophosphamide - therapeutic use; DNA Damage; DNA, Single-Stranded - drug effects; DNA, Single-Stranded - radiation effects; Humans; Leukemia - blood; Leukemia - drug therapy; Leukemia - radiotherapy; Leukemia, Myeloid - blood; Leukemia, Myeloid - drug therapy; Leukemia, Myeloid - radiotherapy; Leukocytes - drug effects; Leukocytes - radiation effects; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - blood; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - drug therapy; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - radiotherapy; Male; Middle Aged; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma - blood; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma - drug therapy; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma - radiotherapy; Whole-Body Irradiation - adverse effects
• ISSN: 0955-3002
• DOI: 10.1080/09553009214551801

Chemotherapy combined with total-body irradiation (TBI), a conditioning regimen for bone-marrow transplantation (BMT), causes lesions in the cellular DNA of the patients treated. To understand possible consequences of the DNA damage induced during such treatment, information is required about the nature of the damage, the level of induction and its persistence, and about the importance of the various lesions for cell-lethality and/or mutation induction. Recently, we developed a sensitive immunochemical method to quantify single-strand breaks (SSB) in the DNA of mammalian cells. In addition, a modification of the so-called alkaline elution technique was introduced which allows quantification of SSB together with base damage (SSB+BD). These methods have now been applied successfully to study the in vivo induction and repair of DNA damage in WBC of leukaemia patients who prior to BMT were treated with cyclophosphamide (CY) and received TBI. SSB and SSB+BD were determined after two treatments with CY (60 mg kg-1) followed by TBI (4.5-8.6Gy). The CY treatments gave rise to rather persistent SSB. In addition to these, radiation-induced SSB and SSB+BD could be detected shortly after TBI. However, 105 min after TBI, these SSB could be observed no longer, as a result of rapid repair.