Aqueous and methanolic extracts of natural herb, Convolvulus pluricalus (CP) was monitored for their antioxidant ability against photosensitization and radiation induced damages in rat brain mitochondria. Both the extracts of CP (50 μg /ml assay) showed significant protection against the formation of the lipid peroxidation product, TBARS. Protein oxidation and degradation of proteins was shown ...

DNA is subjected to many endogenous and exogenous damages. All organisms have developed a complex network of DNA repair mechanisms. A variety of different DNA repair pathways have been reported: direct reversal, base excision repair, nucleotide excision repair, mismatch repair, and recombination repair pathways. Recent studies of the fundamental mechanisms for DNA repair processes have revealed...

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. Current therapy includes surgery, radiation and chemotherapy with temozolomide (TMZ). Major determinants of clinical response to TMZ include methylation status of the O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter and mismatch repair (MMR) status. Though the MGMT promoter is methylated in 45% of cases, f...

Clustered DNA damage induced by ionizing radiation is refractory to repair and may trigger carcinogenic events for reasons that are not well understood. Here, we used an in situ method to directly monitor induction and repair of clustered DNA lesions in individual cells. We showed, consistent with biophysical modeling, that the kinetics of loss of clustered DNA lesions was substantially comprom...

UVA (320-400 nm) represents the main spectral component of solar UV radiation, induces pre-mutagenic DNA lesions and is classified as Class I carcinogen. Recently, discussion arose whether UVA induces DNA double-strand breaks (dsbs). Only few reports link the induction of dsbs to UVA exposure and the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Using the Comet-assay and γH2AX as markers for dsb...

evidence supports the involvement of nitric oxide (no) in a varity of male reproductive processes such as spermatogenesis, spermiogenesis, sperm motion, sperm metabolism and sperm capacitation. however, low concentration of no is essential in biology and physiology of spermatozoa, but high amounts of no is toxic and has negative effects on sperm functions. on the other hand, it is established t...

Sites of oxidative damage in mitochondrial DNA have been identified on the basis of DNA-mediated charge transport. Our goal is to understand which sites in mitochondrial DNA are prone to oxidation at long range and whether such oxidative damage correlates with cancerous transformation. Here we show that a primer extension reaction can be used to monitor directly oxidative damage to authentic mi...