Aging and defense against generation of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine in DNA

The imbalance between the formation of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) in DNA and the efficiency of cellular systems of DNA protection and repair is considered an important factor in the age-dependent development of cancer. This study investigated the relationship between oxidatively damaged DNA and the activity of the DNA repair system and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine 5′-triphosphate pyrophosphohydrolase (8-oxodGTPase) activity in liver and lung tissue from mice at 10–100 weeks of age. The level of 8-oxodG increased with age, whereas the level of formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase sites was unaltered. The enzyme activity toward single oxygen-induced DNA damage and mRNA expression levels of Ercc1, Neil1, and Ogg1 remained unaltered with age. However, the 8-oxodGTPase activity in the liver was 18% (95% CI: 0.2–37%) lower in mice at 25 and 50 weeks than in 10-week-old mice. The 10- and 100-week-old mice had similar 8-oxodGTPase activity. In contrast, the mRNA expression of Nudt1 was statistically unaltered that likely resulted from higher variation of measurements. The accumulation of 8-oxodG with age is not a direct consequence of decreased enzyme activity toward singlet oxygen-induced substrate DNA. An age-related higher level of 8-oxodG even occurs concomitantly with high 8-oxodGTPase activity.