The basal levels of 8-oxoG and other oxidative modifications in intact mitochondrial DNA are low even in repair-deficient (Ogg1(-/-)/Csb(-/-)) mice.

Abstract Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is assumed to be highly prone to damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS) because of its location in close proximity to the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Accordingly, mitochondrial oxidative DNA damage has been hypothesized to be responsible for various neurological diseases, ageing and cancer. Since 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG), one of the most frequent oxidative base modifications, is removed from the mitochondrial genome by the glycosylase OGG1, the basal levels of this lesion are expected to be highly elevated in Ogg1−/− mice. To investigate this hypothesis, we have used a mtDNA relaxation assay in combination with various repair enzymes …