DNA damage induced by the direct effect of radiation

Yokoya, Akinari; Shikazono, Naoya; Fujii, Kentaro; Urushibara, Ayumi; Akamatsu, Ken; Watanabe, Ritsuko

Ionizing radiation induces a variety of damages in cellular DNA, which is thought to be the critical target of biological effects of radiation, by both direct energy deposition on DNA (direct effect) and reactions with diffusible water radicals (indirect effect). One of the goals of our study is to clarify the nature of DNA damage induced by direct effect. The yields of single- and double-strand breaks, base lesions and clustered damage induced in a plasmid DNA were measured after exposing to various kinds of radiation (ion particles; 20 to 500 keV/ , photons; 0.4 keV to 1.3 MeV). Base excision repair enzymes were used to detect the oxidative base lesions. In order to obtain more detailed insights into the physicochemical mechanism of DNA damage induction, short-lived base radicals by applying an EPR spectrometer at a synchrotron ultrasoft X-ray beamline. Experimental evidences obtained by these methods will be discussed in comparison with the previous plasmid data.