Oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA in Huntington's disease parietal cortex

Oxidative damage to DNA may play a role in both normal aging and in neurode generative diseases. Using a sensitive high-performance liquid chromatograp hy (HPLC) assay, we examined concentrations of 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine ( OH(8)dG) in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) isolated from frontal and parietal ce rebral cortex and from cerebellum in 22 Huntington's disease (HD) patients and 15 age-matched normal controls. A significant increase in OH(8)dG in mt DNA of parietal cortex was found in HD patients as compared with controls, while there were no significant changes in frontal cortex or cerebellum. Th e present findings are consistent with regionally specific oxidative damage in HD, which may be a further evidence of a metabolic defect. (C) 1999 Els evier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.