The Damage Effects Of SO₂ Inhalation And SO₂ Derivatives On DNA Of Different Organs From Mice

Considered as the most atmospheric pollutant, the toxicity of sulfur dioxide (SOj) was paid more attention to home and abroad. The DNA damage caused by SO: was paid more attention to in recent years. Based on the early work, we studied the effects of SO2 in the following aspects:The first part, damage effects of SO2 derivatives injection on DNA of cells in miceSulfite and hydrosulfite are two kinds of SO: derivatives in vivo. The damage effects of SOjderivatives injection on DNA of stomach, liver, spleen and kidney cells from mice were studied with the single cell microgel electrophoresis technique (Comet test). After exposure to S02derivatives at 0.125,0.250and0.500g/Kg body weight, tail lengths of nuclear DNA of stomach , liver, spleen and kidney cells from mice were increased,respectively ( P<0.001 ) . The results showed that DNA damage of stomach , liver, spleen and kidney celts were in a dose-dependent manner(r>0.94). The results also indicated that DNA damage of these cells from male mice was more serious than that from female mice, which remains to be further studied.The second part, damage effect of SO: inhalation on DNA of lung cells in ratsAfter exposure to SO: at 28mg/m3, damage effect of SO2 inhalation on DNA of lung cells in rats was studied with comet assay. The result showed that the comet tails lengthened significantly in lung cells from rats when the animals were treated by SO2 of 28mg/m3 (P<0.01) . The results also indicated that DNA damage of lung cells from male rats was more serious than that from female rats. In addition, compared with the control, the body weights of the rats were decreased, and ratios between lung and body weight were increased.The third part, determination of sulfite levels in mice organs after SO2 inhalation by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection (FD).To study whether SO2 can enter into the different organs in mice after SO2 inhalation, the content of sulfite of brains, hearts and lungs from male mice were determined by HPLC-FD. The analytic results showed sulfite content in mice organs from the SO2-exposed groups was increased significantly (P<0.05) compared with the control groups .The sulfite content was in a dose-dependent manner(r>0.92). The results indicated SO2 could transform into sulfite in vivo after SO: inhalation and distribution into lung and other organs such as brain and heart, these results offer a support for the viewpoint that SO2 is a systemic toxic agent.