title: Cigarette smoke-induced DNA damage and repair detected by the comet assay in HPV-transformed cervical cells.
abstract: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the causative factor in the development and progression of cervical cancers in >97% of the cases, although insufficient. Epidemiological studies suggest an elevated risk of cervical cancer for cigarette smokers; therefore, we examined cigarette smoke-induced DNA damage and repair in HPV16-transformed human ectocervical cells (ECT1/E6 E7). Cells were treated with cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) for 72 h to assess the formation of single- and double-strand DNA breaks, measured by alkaline and neutral single cell gel electrophoresis assays, respectively. The mean tail length of cells with single-strand breaks was increased by 1.8-, 2.7- and 3.7-fold (p<0.001) after treatment with 4, 8 and 12 microg/ml CSC, respectively. The tail length with double-strand breaks was also increased dose-dependently. These results were further supported by measurement of the mean tail moment: the increase in both single- and double-strand breaks were much more pronounced with increasing concentration of CSC, by up to 23.5-fold (p<0.0001 for both assays). To examine the DNA repair, cells were treated with CSC for 72 h, followed by CSC withdrawal and re-incubation of the cells with fresh medium for 24, 48, or 72 h. Both single- and double-strand DNA breaks were removed during the initial 24 h but no further removal of the damage was observed. Up to 80% of residual single- and double-strand DNA breaks (p<0.05) were found to persist at all CSC concentrations examined. Ellagic acid, a known antioxidant and free-radical scavenger, was found to significantly inhibit DNA breaks induced by CSC. Thus, free radicals may be a plausible source of CSC-induced DNA damage. These data show that CSC-mediated DNA strand breaks are highly persistent, and suggest that persistence of cigarette smoke-associated DNA damage in the presence of HPV infection may lead to increased mutations in cervical cells and ultimately higher cancer risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA.
authors.forename: Afsoon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moktar
authors.forename: Srivani
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ravoori
authors.forename: Manicka V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Vadhanam
authors.forename: C Gary
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Gairola
authors.forename: Ramesh C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Gupta
mesh_terms: D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral / Q000502:physiology*; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000821:virology*; D020552:Comet Assay; D004249:DNA Damage; D004260:DNA Repair; D005260:Female; D052162:Human papillomavirus 16; D006801:Humans; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000150:complications*; D012906:Smoke / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D012906:Smoke