Organ-specific differences in 8-oxoguanosine glycosylase (OGG1) repair following acute treatment with benzo[a]pyrene.

The lung has been shown to be a target organ for the deleterious effects of Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), regardless of the route of exposure. 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (oxo8dG) is a mutagenic lesion formed in DNA following exposure to B[a]P. The objective of this study was to determine the capacity of different organs to repair oxo8dG following intraperitoneal (i.p.) treatment with B[a]P. Male Spraque-Dawley rats were administered 20 mg/kg B[a]P i.p., 2 times/day for 5 days. A 26% decrease in the capacity to remove oxo8dG was observed in lung tissue at 72 hours and recovered 20% above control values at 120 hours. The capacity of the liver and kidney remained at baseline for all time points analyzed. A 7-fold increase in oxo8dG was observed in the lung at 72 hours. This study demonstrates that organ-specific differences exist in the capacity to remove oxo8dG and further demonstrates the susceptibility of lung tissue to the effects of B[a]P.