A Study Of DNA Damage In The Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Complicated By HCC Using Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis

Objective: In order to understand the relationship between DNA damage and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and the tanshinone (丹参酮 TAN) protection for this damage.Methods : We detected DNA in peripheral blood lymphocytes of three groups in healthy people, in patients with chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis B complicated by HCC. In the group of patients with chronic hepatitis B we did treatment of both TAN and H2O2 in vitro. The tail extent, tail inertia, percentage of tail DNA and Olive tail moment are selected as parameters, which could be measured by the fluorescent pictures of single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) and IMI 1.0 comet assay analysis software.Results: We found that there were no obvious comet tail in healthy people and a little of comet tail in the group of patients with chronic hepatitis B. However, there was obvious comet tail in the group of patients with chronic hepatitis B complicated by HCC. The mean levels and percentage of these four parameters were significantly higher in the group of patients with chronic hepatitis B complicated by HCC than those both in healthy people and in other group of patients with chronic hepatitis B(p<0.05) . There was no significance by comparison between healthy people and in the group of patients with chronic hepatitis B (p>0.05), although these parameters in the later group were higher than that in the former. In vitro the parameters were decreased in the group of patients with chronic hepatitis B after TAN and H2O2 were treated together, there was significant difference comparing to that in the group only H2O2 treated (p<0.05).Conclusion: DNA is apparently damaged in peripheral blood lymphocytes in the patients with chronic hepatitis B complicated by HCC. Its damage is almost undistinguishable in two groups of patients with chronic hepatitis B and healthy people. TAN can reduce the DNA injury due to H2O2 in peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with chronic hepatitis B. It shows that TAN has effect on resisting DNA oxidization and protects DNA from H2O2 damage.