Ellagic acid provokes DNA damage in human HEK-293 cells

Objective To investigate ellagic acid（ EA）-induced DNA damage and the roles of oxidative stress in the damage in HEK-293 cells. Methods The single cell gel electrophoresis assay（ SCGE） was used to detect DNA damage. To elucidate the possible mechanism of DNA damage caused by EA in HEK-293 cells,we used fluorescence spectrophotometer to monitor the levels of reactive oxygen species（ ROS） and glutathione（ GSH）. 8-hydroxyderoxy-guanosine（ 8-OHdG） was also measured with immunocytochemistry staining analysis. Results The EA at 120 μmol/L,for one hour caused DNA migration in the SCGE with significant increases in tail DNA%（ 12. 34 ± 4. 21μm）,tail length（ 20. 76± 3. 59 μm）,and tail moment（ 3. 16 ± 0. 74）. The increased level of intracellular ROS（ P ＜ 0. 01） and the decreased level of intracellular GSH（ P ＜ 0. 05） were observed. EA at dose of 60 μmol / L- 120 μmol / L for 3 hours caused a significant oxidative damage through increased 8-OHdG formation in HEK-293 cells. Conclusion EA could break the balance of oxidative system and anti-oxidative system and the oxidative stress may be an important mechanism in EA-induced DNA damage in human HEK-239 cells.