Abstract
RESIDUAL DNA lesions in the template strand during replication may represent the ‘stumbling blocks’ responsible for mutagenesis and initiation of malignant transformation. The fraction of specific lesions which remains unexcised at the time of DNA replication is determined by their ‘excisability’1 in a particular tissue. Lesions which become refractory to excision and remain in the DNA over many generations, referred to as ‘persistent lesions’, may play a crucial role in the transformation process2–4. We have studied the ‘excisability’ and ‘persistence’ of the covalent DNA adducts produced in the epithelioid human alveolar tumour cell A549 (ref. 5) by benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P)6, and found that the excisability of the covalent B(a)P–DNA adducts in A549 cells was poor and that a sizeable fraction of the lesions persisted over several generations. The poor repairability by excision of these and related lesions in human lung cells may represent a factor in lung carcinogenesis by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
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FELDMAN, G., REMSEN, J., SHINOHARA, K. et al. Excisability and persistence of benzo(a)pyrene DNA adducts in epithelioid human lung cells. Nature 274, 796–798 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/274796a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/274796a0
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