J. Nair et al., HIGH DIETARY OMEGA-6 POLYUNSATURATED FATTY-ACIDS DRASTICALLY INCREASETHE FORMATION OF ETHENO-DNA BASE ADDUCTS IN WHITE BLOOD-CELLS OF FEMALE SUBJECTS, Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention, 6(8), 1997, pp. 597-601
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.