• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.23 no.8
• /
• pp.963-969
• /
• 2013

Although it is popularly believed that vitamin C protects cells from various genotoxicants, the degrees and mechanisms of itsprotective actions are not fully understood. In this study, vitamin C's protective effects against various genotoxicants were quantified, together with subsequent analyses on the mechanisms of these protective effects. Comet assay was employed to measure the degree of DNA damage in Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO-K1) exposed to five genotoxicants, $H_2O_2$, $HgCl_2$, N-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO), and UV-irradiation. In cases cells were treated with $H_2O_2$, $HgCl_2$, and 4NQO together with vitamin C, the damage to DNA decreased to the level of the control group. In cases of UV-irradiation, the protective effect of vitamin C appeared, but did not reach the control levels. Interestingly, vitamin C did not have protective effects against the genotoxicity of MNNG. The degrees of DNA damage of cells treated with vitamin C prior to exposure togenotoxicants were 28~49% lower than those of cells treated with vitamin C after being exposed to genotoxicants. In conclusion, vitamin C had strong antioxidanteffects against genotoxicants by being a primary antioxidant blocking genotoxicity reaching the cells, rather than being a secondary antioxidant acting on post-exposure DNA repair processes. However, vitamin C's protective effects appearto be limited, as there are genotoxicants, such as MNNG, whosegenotoxicityis not affected by vitamin C. Therefore, the results of this study warrant furtherstudies on toxic mechanisms of genotoxicants and their interactions with protective mechanisms of vitamin C.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.14 no.11
• /
• pp.1071-1079
• /
• 2005

Using single cell gel electrophoresis, DNA single strand breaks were determined in various marine organisms. DNA damage on fish blood cells was detected to know whether there was a difference between Incheon, Pohang, Masan, and Tongyeong as a control site. Tongyeong showed the lowest DNA damage among the study areas. Mussels, transplanted to Masan Bay for one month, revealed high DNA damage at sites with high economical activity. In two weeks exposure of polychaete to Incheon sediments, higher DNA damage was detected in the sediment adjacent to Incheon harbor than open sea. These results suggested that the marine organism from the polluted area revealed a relatively high DNA damage. In addition, these areas might be contaminated with genotoxic compounds and comet assay was useful as a bioassay to detect DNA damage in marine organisms.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.461-469
• /
• 2014

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent pollutants in aquatic environments, often causing the decline or disappearance of wild populations. In this study, we used a random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) assay to evaluate the effects on the genomic DNA of olive flounder embryo and larval stages of exposure to Aroclor 1254 at concentrations of 1, 5, 10, 20, and $40{\mu}g/L$. We compared RAPD fingerprints of exposed and non-exposed samples. Polymorphisms were revealed as the presence and/or absence of DNA fragments between the two samples. A dose-dependent increase in the number of polymorphic bands was observed with Aroclor 1254 treatment. Also, RAPD profiles of animals exposed to Aroclor 1254 exhibited an increase in the frequency values (FV) compared to the control. A phenogram constructed using neighbor-joining method indicated that genomic template stability in developing embryo and larval stages was significantly affected at ${\geq}5{\mu}g/L$. This study suggested that DNA polymorphisms detected by RAPD analysis could be used as an investigative tool for environmental toxicology and as a useful biomarker in early life stages for the detection of potential genotoxicants.