ABSTRACT
DNA damage under oxidative stress leads to oxidation of guanine base. The identification of the resulting guanine lesions in cellular DNA is difficult due to the sensitivity of the primary oxidation products to hydrolysis and/or further oxidation. We isolated dehydroguanidino-hydantoin (DGh) (or oxidized guanidinohydantoin), a secondary oxidation product of guanine, and showed that this lesion reacts readily with nucleophiles such as asymmetric peroxides and transforms to 2,4,6-trioxo-1,3,5-triazinane-1-carboxamidine residue. Further hydrolysis of this intermediate leads to cyanuric acid and finally to urea residue. This work demonstrates a new possible pathway for the formation of the well-known carboxamidine precursor of cyanuric acid lesion.