Libyan Journal of Medicine, cilt.5, sa.1, ss.1-6, 2010 (SCI-Expanded)
Background: Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a common reactive oxygen intermediate generated by various forms of oxidative stress. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the DNA damage capacity of H2O2 in HepG2 cells. Methods: Cells were treated with H2O2 at concentrations of 25 μM or 50 μM for 5 min, 30 min, 40 min, 1 h, or 24 h in parallel. The extent of DNA damage was assessed by the comet assay. Results: Compared to the control, DNA damage by 25 and 50 μM H2O2 increased significantly with increasing incubation time up to 1 h, but it was not increased at 24 h. Conclusions: Our findings confirm that H2O2 is a typical DNA damage-inducing agent and thus is a good model system to study the effects of oxidative stress. DNA damage in HepG2 cells increased significantly with H2O2 concentration and time of incubation but later decreased likely due to DNA repair mechanisms and antioxidant enzymes. © 2010 Ghazalla M. Benhusein et al.