Catechol induces a time dependent DNA damaging in freshly rat brain cells

BARRETO G , ALVAREZ LDG , OLIVEIRA DM , EZEQUIEL SARACENO, LAURA-AON BERTOLINO, FRANCISCO CAPANI , EL-BACHÁ RS

Lisboa, Portugal

Congreso; Sociedad de Biologia de Portugal; 2008

Catechol is a genotoxic agent assumed to induce DNA damage via the oxidative pathway. In order to estimate catechol´s toxicity on DNA damage, rat brain cells were incubated at 37º for up to 20 minutes with increasing concentrations of catechol. The comet assay was carried out in order to evaluate the DNA damage, and the cells were classified as 0-4 damage level. Tail length was measured in order to quantify the harm extension. The results suggested that rat brain cells are sensitive towards catechol-induced DNA damage in a dose and time-dependent manner, as observed by a increasing of the tail length, when the cells were subjected to alkaline single cell electrophoresis. Furthermore, an increasing occurrence on the formation of comets levels 2 and 4 were observed.  When the cells were treated in the presence of 10 mM catechol, the DNA damage was considerably higher compared to the negative control, representing an increase of 200% in the damages, and even so to hydrogen peroxide used as positive control, whose DNA damage increase was about 150% higher than the ones observed in the negative control. This effect was found to be dose related. In the present study, DNA damage was observed, and we suggested that it is probably due to semiquinones and reactive quinones generation.