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Nuclear DNA strand breaks during ethanol‐induced oxidative stress in rat brain
Author(s) -
Renis M.,
Calabrese V.,
Russo A.,
Calderone A.,
Barcellona M.L.,
Rizza V.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/0014-5793(96)00647-3
Subject(s) - hippocampus , oxidative stress , cerebellum , lipid peroxidation , dna damage , oxidative phosphorylation , mitochondrion , ethanol , chemistry , mitochondrial dna , apoptosis , nuclear dna , biochemistry , medicine , biology , dna , endocrinology , gene
Free radical‐mediated oxidative damage has been implicated in the pathophysiological mechanisms of apoptosis. In this study we report that statistically significant strand breaks were induced primarily in the hippocampus and cerebellum during chronic, and not acute, ethanol treatment. Damage to DNA observed in hippocampus and cerebellum was also correlated with significant modification in the activities of mitochondrial respiratory complexes I and IV and with a significant increase in lipid peroxidation products. This finding lends support to the fact that hippocampus and cerebellum are brain areas particularly vulnerable to redox changes induced by alcohol intoxication, suggesting lower threshold levels of ethanol tolerance.