title: L-carnitine enhances resistance to oxidative stress by reducing DNA damage in Ataxia telangiectasia cells.
abstract: In this study, the modulating effect of L-carnitine on tert-butyl-hydroperoxide-induced DNA damage was compared with that of mannitol, a well known scavenger of hydroxyl radicals, both in normal and Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM)-deficient lymphoblastoid cell lines established from A. telangiectasia (A-T) patients. The alkaline version of the comet assay was employed to measure the frequency of single-strand breaks (SSBs) and alkali-labile sites induced by t-butyl-OOH immediately after treatment and at different recovery times in normal and A-T cell lines, with and without pre-treatment with L-carnitine. In addition, both the yield of induced chromosomal damage and the effect on cell proliferation were evaluated. Our results show that pre-treatment of cells with L-carnitine produced an enhancement of the rate and extent of DNA repair in A-T cell lines at early recovery time; furthermore, in samples pre-treated with L-carnitine a reduction of all types of chromosomal aberration was observed, both in A-T and in wild-type cell lines. The reducing effect of L-carnitine pre-treatment on oxidative DNA damage was more prominent than that of pre-treatment with mannitol. In conclusion, we demonstrated a protective effect of L-carnitine on oxidative stress-induced DNA damage in A-T cells, suggesting its possible role in future pharmacological applications in A-T therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agrobiology and Agrochemistry, University of Tuscia, Via San Camillo de Lellis snc, Viterbo, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berni
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meschini
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Filippi
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Palitti
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Amicis
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chessa
mesh_terms: D001260:Ataxia Telangiectasia / Q000235:genetics*; D002331:Carnitine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D020552:Comet Assay; D004249:DNA Damage; D006801:Humans; D008940:Mitotic Index; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D002331:Carnitine