Paula V. Bennett

TL;DR: It is shown that ionizing radiation does induce clustered DNA damages containing abasic sites, oxidized purines, or oxidized pyrimidines, and even low doses (0.1-1 Gy) of high linear energy transfer ionizing Radiation induce clustered damages in human cells.

TL;DR: Using highly purified enzymes that cleave DNA at specific classes of damage and electrophoretic assays developed for quantifying isolated and clustered damages in high molecular length genomic DNAs, the relative frequencies of total lesions and of clustered damages involving both strands are determined, and the composition and origin of such clusters are determined.

TL;DR: X rays induce abasic clusters, oxidized pyrimidine clusters, and oxidized purine clusters in DNA in human cells, and the relative levels of specific cluster classes depend on the environment of the DNA.

TL;DR: The existence of abasic clusters in 28SC monocytes, several days after irradiation suggests that they constitute persistent damages that could lead to mutation or cell killing, and in vitro repair experiments that used 28SC cell extracts further support the idea of slow processing of specific, closely spaced abAsic clusters.

TL;DR: The theoretical basis, biochemical requirements and practical aspects of this approach are presented, and examples of their applications in identification and quantitation of complex clustered damages are shown.