DNA and protein adducts as markers of genotoxicity.

Determination of the interaction products (adducts) of a carcinogen with DNA or protein indicates the amount of genotoxic material that has reached the tissue under study and provides a valuable biomarker of exposure for molecular epidemiological studies. DNA adducts may also give further information with regard to the mutagenic significance of the exposure. The sensitivity and applicability of the analytical methods for the detection and quantification of carcinogen adducts has greatly increased in recent years, and DNA damage levels as low as one adduct per 10(8) nucleotides can now routinely be measured. The discovery of many types of endogenously-produced damage of DNA and protein has demonstrated previously unsuspected sources of genotoxicity, the biological consequences of which are so far not known.