Nucleotide excision repair deficiency increases levels of acrolein-derived cyclic DNA adduct and sensitizes cells to apoptosis induced by docosahexaenoic acid and acrolein.

The acrolein derived cyclic 1,N(2)-propanodeoxyguanosine adduct (Acr-dG), formed primarily from ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) under oxidative conditions, while proven to be mutagenic, is potentially involved in DHA-induced apoptosis. The latter may contribute to the chemopreventive effects of DHA. Previous studies have shown that the levels of Acr-dG are correlated with apoptosis induction in HT29 cells treated with DHA. Because Acr-dG is shown to be repaired by the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway, to further investigate the role of Acr-dG in apoptosis, in this study, NER-deficient XPA and its isogenic NER-proficient XAN1 cells were treated with DHA. The Acr-dG levels and apoptosis were sharply increased in XPA cells, but not in XAN1 cells when treated with 125µM of DHA. Because DHA can induce formation of various DNA damage, to specifically investigate the role of Acr-dG in apoptosis induction, we treated XPA knockdown HCT116+ch3 cells with acrolein. The levels of both Acr-dG and apoptosis induction increased significantly in the XPA knockdown cells. These results clearly demonstrate that NER deficiency induces higher levels of Acr-dG in cells treated with DHA or acrolein and sensitizes cells to undergo apoptosis in a correlative manner. Collectively, these results support that Acr-dG, a ubiquitously formed mutagenic oxidative DNA adduct, plays a role in DHA-induced apoptosis and suggest that it could serve as a biomarker for the cancer preventive effects of DHA.

Detection of acrolein-derived cyclic DNA adducts in human cells by monoclonal antibodies.

Acrolein (Acr) is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant found in cigarette smoke and automobile exhaust. It can also be produced endogenously by oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The Acr-derived 1,N(2)-propanodeoxyguanosine (Acr-dG) adducts in DNA are mutagenic lesions that are potentially involved in human cancers. In this study, monoclonal antibodies were raised against Acr-dG adducts and characterized using ELISA. They showed strong reactivity and specificity toward Acr-dG, weaker reactivity toward crotonaldehyde- and trans-4-hydroxy-2-nonenal-derived 1,N(2)-propanodeoxyguanosines, and weak or no reactivity toward 1,N(6)-ethenodeoxyadenosine and 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine. Using these antibodies, we developed assays to detect Acr-dG in vivo: first, a simple and quick FACS-based assay for detecting these adducts directly in cells; second, a highly sensitive direct ELISA assay for measuring Acr-dG in cells and tissues using only 1 µg of DNA without DNA digestion and sample enrichment; and third, a competitive ELISA for better quantitative measurement of Acr-dG levels in DNA samples. The assays were validated using Acr-treated HT29 cell DNA samples or calf thymus DNA, and the results were confirmed by LC-MS/MS-MRM. An immunohistochemical assay was also developed to detect and visualize Acr-dG in HT29 cells as well as in human oral cells. These antibody-based methods provide useful tools for the studies of Acr-dG as a cancer biomarker and of the molecular mechanisms by which cells respond to Acr-dG as a ubiquitous DNA lesion.