Objective To investigate the association between DNA damage and expression of mono-ubiquitinated histone H2A in human bronchial epithelial cells (16HBE) exposed to benzoapyrene (BaP).
Methods The 16HBE cells collected at the logarithmic phase of growth were exposed to BaP at the concentration of 2μmol/L for 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24 and 48 h respectively. DNA damage was determined by comet assay and expressed as olive tail moments (OTM). Protein expression was detected by Western-blot.
Results The results of comet assay showed that the OTM values increased with exposure time and a significant in crement was found as compared with the control group (P<0.01). After exposed to 2μmol/L BaP for 2 h, the mono-ubiquitination levels of histone H2A increased significantly when compared with the control group (P<0.01). The regression analysis showed a significant correlation between OTM and the levels of mono-ubiquitinated histone H2A, and the determination coefficient was 0.910 (P<0.01).
Conclusion The findings suggest a close correlation between DNA damage and the levels of mono-ubiquitinated histone H2A in 16HBE cells exposed to BaP.
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