DNA damage lesions as potential biomarkers

TOXI 4

Amanda C. Bryant-Friedrich, friedric@oakland.edu, Department of Chemistry, Oakland University, 2200 Squirrel Road, Rochester, MI 48309
The National Institutes of Health defines a biomarker as “a characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biological processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic intervention”. Biomarkers of disease processes can offer the opportunity for early diagnosis, well-defined treatment and contribute to disease prevention. To identify new substrates as well as methods for the validation and quantification of biological markers of oxidative stress, we have employed systems developed in our laboratory that allow for the independent generation of reactive intermediates in oligonucleotides. We have evaluated the detection of DNA damage fragments generated under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions using a variety of analytical techniques including capillary electrophoresis, mass spectrometry and spin-trapping. It is the goal of this work to assist in the elucidation of the relationship between oxidative damage; the formation of DNA based biomarkers and the initiation and progression of disease.