Antigenotoxic Effects of N-acetylcysteine on Benzo[a]pyrene induced DNA Damage in HepG2 Cells as measured by the Alkaline Comet Assay

Authors

Loni A. O'Neil, Brigham Young University
M. Todd O'Neil, Brigham Young University
Dr. Kim L. O'Neill, Brigham Young University

Keywords

antigenotoxic effects, N-acetylcysteine, DNA damage, HepG2 cells, alkaline comet

College

Life Sciences

Department

Microbiology and Molecular Biology

Abstract

A major factor involved in the risk of developing cancer with the probability of enhancing or suppressing carcinogens is dietary composition. A chemoprevention approach to cancer means preventing this disease by the administration of one or several compounds. For a number of years, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has shown in studies to be an effective chemopreventive agent, but there have also been some studies disproving the effectiveness of NAC.1, 2 This is because NAC has different functions in different cell types. Because of this, we decided to test the effectiveness of NAC against DNA damage in human HepG2 cells and to determine the effectiveness using the Alkaline Comet Assay. Our hypothesis is that NAC will be effective in either preventing or repairing DNA damage caused by B[a]P.

Recommended Citation

O'Neil, Loni A.; O'Neil, M. Todd; and O'Neill, Dr. Kim L. (2013) "Antigenotoxic Effects of N-acetylcysteine on Benzo[a]pyrene induced DNA Damage in HepG2 Cells as measured by the Alkaline Comet Assay," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 1201.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/1201