title: DNA damage in a human population affected by chronic psychogenic stress.
abstract: The effects of chronic psychogenic stress on the expression of DNA damage and cellular response to the damage were investigated. Using the comet assay, basal DNA damage was found to be similar in lymphocytes of both affected and non-affected populations (n = 30 in both groups). The induction of DNA damage in lymphocytes by external factors (H2O2 and gamma-irradiation), was also investigated. In these studies, cells were treated with 50, 100 and 150 microM H2O2 for 5 minutes or with 0.8, 2.5 and 4.2 Gy gamma-rays. A significant difference was found between the chronically stressed and the control populations, indicating the enhanced sensitivity of the former population. Cells were also held for 2 hours after the treatment, allowing time for the cells to deal with the induced DNA damage. Based on the level of residual DNA strand breaks, cells from the stressed population had more breaks than the controls. Gender does not alter these findings. In conclusion, our data indicate that cells from the stressed population were more sensitive to the induction of DNA damage and had higher level of residual damage. Therefore, stress conditions may cause the affected individuals to be susceptible to environmental mutagenic agents.
authors.affiliation: DNA Repair Laboratory, Institute of Biology, National Center of Scientific Research, Demokritos, Division of Cell Biology and Biophysics, Department of Cell Biology, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dimitroglou
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zafiropoulou
authors.forename: Niki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Messini-Nikolaki
authors.forename: Stavros
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Doudounakis
authors.forename: Smaragdi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsilimigaki
authors.forename: Stylianos M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Piperakis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D020552:Comet Assay; D004249:DNA Damage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes; D008297:Male; D013315:Stress, Psychological