HIGH DIETARY OMEGA-6 POLYUNSATURATED FATTY-ACIDS DRASTICALLY INCREASETHE FORMATION OF ETHENO-DNA BASE ADDUCTS IN WHITE BLOOD-CELLS OF FEMALE SUBJECTS

Lipid peroxidation generates reactive aldehydes such as trans-4-hydrox y-2-nonenal and malonaldehyde, which form promutagenic exocyclic DNA a dducts in human cells and may contribute to diet-related cancers. Usin g ultrasensitive detection methods, analysis of WBC DNA from volunteer s in a dietary study revealed that high intake of omega-6 polyunsatura ted fatty acids increased malonaldehyde-derived adducts in male and fe male subjects. In contrast, etheno adducts (1,N-6-ethenodeoxyadenosine ; 3,N-4-ethenodeoxycytidine) were not elevated in males but were, on a verage, 40 times higher in females, displaying a huge intersubject var iation in lipid peroxidation-derived DNA damage. Exocyclic DNA adducts are promising biomarkers for examining the hypothesis of possible lin ks between increased intake of dietary omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty a cids, DNA damage, and elevated cancer risk for breast, colon, and pros tate.