Naslov
Comet Assay as a Sensitive Tool for Evaluation of DNA Damaging Effect of Natural Toxins

Autori
Gajski, Goran ; Garaj-Vrhovac, Vera

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
Abstracts of the 8th International Conference on Coelenterate Biology / - Lahti, 2013

Skup
8th International Conference on Coelenterate Biology

Mjesto i datum
Eilat, Izrael, 01.12.2013. - 05.12.2013

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
Comet assay; DNA damage; Natural toxins

Sažetak
The comet assay is now a well-established genotoxicity test for the estimation of DNA damage at the individual cell level both in vivo and in vitro exposed to variety of chemical agents including natural toxins. It is a predictive test that allows for the detection of DNA alterations of diverse kinds, such as single-strand DNA breaks, alkali-labile sites, double-strand DNA breaks, incomplete repair sites, and inter-strand crosslinks. As compared to other cytogenetic test, comet assay is capable of detecting overall damage and is characterized by a high sensitivity when it comes to the detection of primary DNA damage even at low exposure level. Present study aimed to investigate possible genotoxic effect of several natural toxins from honey bees (bee venom and melittin) and cyanobacteria (microcystin and cylindrospermopsin) in human peripheral blood lymphocytes using alkaline version of the comet assay. Our results showed increased DNA damage in human peripheral blood lymphocytes after the treatment with all tested toxins indicating that such exposure could influence genome stability. Gained results indicate that comet assay is reliable and sensitive method for measuring adverse effects of different natural toxins and its use could be also extended to toxicological characterization of cnidarians venoms and toxins. Since marine natural products are a gold mine of bioactive compounds that are extensively being explored for possible therapeutic benefits there is also a need for the estimation of their possible damaging effect, and the comet assay could be a perfect candidate for genotoxicity testing of a variety of marine toxins.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Biologija

POVEZANOST RADA