Investigation ofBenzene-DNA Adducts andTheir Detection inHumanBone Marrow

Wehaveexamined DNAadduct formation inHL-60cells andhumanbonemarrowtreated witheither hydroquinone orp-benzoquinone andhavefound that these treatments produce thesameDNAadduct inboth cell types. TheDNAadductlevel fromthese treatments varied from0.05 to7.5adducts per107 nucleotides asafunction oftreatment time and concentration forbothcompounds. Reaction ofcalf thymus DNAwithp-benzoquinone produced three adducts asdetected by32P-posdabeling Theseadducts have beenidentified as(3'-hydroxy)-3,N4-benzetheno-2'-deoxycytidine-3'-phosphate; (3'-hydroxy)-l,N'benzetheno-2'-deoxyadenosine-3 '-phosphate; and(3'-hydroxy)-1,N2-benuetheno-2'-deoxyguanosine3'-phosphate. TheDNAadduct formed inHL-60 cells didnotcorrespond toanyoftheprincipal adducts formed inDNA reacted with p-benzoquinone, ggeting that cellular environment modifies DNAadduct production byp-benzoquinone. These studies demonstrate that DNAadduct formation occurs inhumanbonemarrowtreated withbenzene metabolites andsuggest that P1-enhanced 32P-postlabeling maybeusedtodetect DNAadducts resulting frombenzene exposure.