@article{MilićCeppiBruzzoneetal.2021,
  author    = {Milić, Mirta and Ceppi, Marcello and Bruzzone, Marco and Azqueta, Amaya and Brunborg, Gunnar and Godschalk, Roger and Koppen, Gudrun and Langie, Sabine and M{\o}ller, Peter and Teixeira, Jo{\~a}o Paulo and Alija, Avdulla and Anderson, Diana and Andrade, Vanessa and Andreoli, Cristina and Asllani, Fisnik and Bangkoglu, Ezgi Eyluel and Barančokov{\´a}, Magdalena and Basaran, Nursen and Boutet-Robinet, Elisa and Buschini, Annamaria and Cavallo, Delia and Costa Pereira, Cristiana and Costa, Carla and Costa, Solange and Da Silva, Juliana and Del Boˊ, Cristian and Dimitrijević Srećković, Vesna and Djelić, Ninoslav and Dobrzyńska, Malgorzata and Duračkov{\´a}, Zdenka and Dvoř{\´a}kov{\´a}, Monika and Gajski, Goran and Galati, Serena and Garc{\´i}a Lima, Omar and Giovannelli, Lisa and Goroshinskaya, Irina A. and Grindel, Annemarie and Gutzkow, Kristine B. and Hern{\´a}ndez, Alba and Hern{\´a}ndez, Carlos and Holven, Kirsten B. and Ibero-Baraibar, Idoia and Ottestad, Inger and Kadioglu, Ela and Kažimirov{\´a}, Alena and Kuznetsova, Elena and Ladeira, Carina and Laffon, Blanca and Lamonaca, Palma and Lebailly, Pierre and Louro, Henriqueta and Mandina Cardoso, Tania and Marcon, Francesca and Marcos, Ricard and Moretti, Massimo and Moretti, Silvia and Najafzadeh, Mojgan and Nemeth, Zsuzsanna and Neri, Monica and Novotna, Bozena and Orlow, Irene and Paduchova, Zuzana and Pastor, Susana and Perdry, Herv{\´e} and Spremo-Potparević, Biljana and Ramadhani, Dwi and Riso, Patrizia and Rohr, Paula and Rojas, Emilio and Rossner, Pavel and Safar, Anna and Sardas, Semra and Silva, Maria Jo{\~a}o and Sirota, Nikolay and Smolkova, Bozena and Staruchova, Marta and Stetina, Rudolf and Stopper, Helga and Surikova, Ekaterina I. and Ulven, Stine M. and Ursini, Cinzia Lucia and Valdiglesias, Vanessa and Valverde, Mahara and Vodicka, Pavel and Volkovova, Katarina and Wagner, Karl-Heinz and Živković, Lada and Dušinsk{\´a}, Maria and Collins, Andrew R. and Bonassi, Stefano},
  title     = {The hCOMET project: International database comparison of results with the comet assay in human biomonitoring. Baseline frequency of DNA damage and effect of main confounders},
  series = {Mutation Research/Reviews in Mutation Research},
  volume    = {787},
  journal   = {Mutation Research/Reviews in Mutation Research},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.mrrev.2021.108371},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-371614},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {The alkaline comet assay, or single cell gel electrophoresis, is one of the most popular methods for assessing DNA damage in human population. One of the open issues concerning this assay is the identification of those factors that can explain the large inter-individual and inter-laboratory variation. International collaborative initiatives such as the hCOMET project - a COST Action launched in 2016 - represent a valuable tool to meet this challenge. The aims of hCOMET were to establish reference values for the level of DNA damage in humans, to investigate the effect of host factors, lifestyle and exposure to genotoxic agents, and to compare different sources of assay variability. A database of 19,320 subjects was generated, pooling data from 105 studies run by 44 laboratories in 26 countries between 1999 and 2019. A mixed random effect log-linear model, in parallel with a classic meta-analysis, was applied to take into account the extensive heterogeneity of data, due to descriptor, specimen and protocol variability. As a result of this analysis interquartile intervals of DNA strand breaks (which includes alkali-labile sites) were reported for tail intensity, tail length, and tail moment (comet assay descriptors). A small variation by age was reported in some datasets, suggesting higher DNA damage in oldest age-classes, while no effect could be shown for sex or smoking habit, although the lack of data on heavy smokers has still to be considered. Finally, highly significant differences in DNA damage were found for most exposures investigated in specific studies. In conclusion, these data, which confirm that DNA damage measured by the comet assay is an excellent biomarker of exposure in several conditions, may contribute to improving the quality of study design and to the standardization of results of the comet assay in human populations.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{AngayFriedrichPinneckeretal.2018,
  author    = {Angay, Oguzhan and Friedrich, Mike and Pinnecker, J{\"u}rgen and Hintzsche, Henning and Stopper, Helga and Hempel, Klaus and Heinze, Katrin G.},
  title     = {Image-based modeling and scoring of Howell-Jolly Bodies in human erythrocytes},
  series = {Cytometry Part A},
  volume    = {93},
  journal   = {Cytometry Part A},
  doi       = {10.1002/cyto.a.23123},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-221140},
  pages     = {305-313},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {The spleen selectively removes cells with intracellular inclusions, for example, detached nuclear fragments in circulating erythrocytes, called Howell-Jolly Bodies (HJBs). With absent or deficient splenic function HJBs appear in the peripheral blood and can be used as a simple and non-invasive risk-indicator for fulminant potentially life-threatening infection after spleenectomy. However, it is still under debate whether counting of the rare HJBs is a reliable measure of splenic function. Investigating HJBs in premature erythrocytes from patients during radioiodine therapy gives about 10 thousand times higher HJB counts than in blood smears. However, we show that there is still the risk of false-positive results by unspecific nuclear remnants in the prepared samples that do not originate from HJBs, but from cell debris residing above or below the cell. Therefore, we present a method to improve accuracy of image-based tests that can be performed even in non-specialized medical institutions. We show how to selectively label HJB-like clusters in human blood samples and how to only count those that are undoubtedly inside the cell. We found a "critical distance" dcrit referring to a relative HJB-Cell distance that true HJBs do not exceed. To rule out false-positive counts we present a simple inside-outside-rule based on dcrit—a robust threshold that can be easily assessed by combining conventional 2D imaging and straight-forward image analysis. Besides data based on fluorescence imaging, simulations of randomly distributed HJB-like objects on realistically modelled cell objects demonstrate the risk and impact of biased counting in conventional analysis. © 2017 The Authors. Cytometry Part A published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of ISAC.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{HadiBankogluStopper2023,
  author    = {Hadi, Naji Said Aboud and Bankoglu, Ezgi Eyluel and Stopper, Helga},
  title     = {Genotoxicity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in metabolically inactive human cervical cancer HeLa cells co-cultured with human hepatoma HepG2 cells},
  series = {Archives of Toxicology},
  volume    = {97},
  journal   = {Archives of Toxicology},
  number    = {1},
  doi       = {10.1007/s00204-022-03394-z},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324708},
  pages     = {295-306},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are secondary plant metabolites, which can be found as contaminant in various foods and herbal products. Several PAs can cause hepatotoxicity and liver cancer via damaging hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells (HSECs) after hepatic metabolization. HSECs themselves do not express the required metabolic enzymes for activation of PAs. Here we applied a co-culture model to mimic the in vivo hepatic environment and to study PA-induced effects on not metabolically active neighbour cells. In this co-culture model, bioactivation of PA was enabled by metabolically capable human hepatoma cells HepG2, which excrete the toxic and mutagenic pyrrole metabolites. The human cervical epithelial HeLa cells tagged with H2B-GFP were utilized as non-metabolically active neighbours because they can be identified easily based on their green fluorescence in the co-culture. The PAs europine, riddelliine and lasiocarpine induced micronuclei in HepG2 cells, and in HeLa H2B-GFP cells co-cultured with HepG2 cells, but not in HeLa H2B-GFP cells cultured alone. Metabolic inhibition of cytochrome P450 enzymes with ketoconazole abrogated micronucleus formation. The efflux transporter inhibitors verapamil and benzbromarone reduced micronucleus formation in the co-culture model. Furthermore, mitotic disturbances as an additional genotoxic mechanism of action were observed in HepG2 cells and in HeLa H2B-GFP cells co-cultured with HepG2 cells, but not in HeLa H2B-GFP cells cultured alone. Overall, we were able to show that PAs were activated by HepG2 cells and the metabolites induced genomic damage in co-cultured HeLa cells.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{DjelićBorozanDimitrijevićSrećkovićetal.2022,
  author    = {Djelić, Ninoslav and Borozan, Sunčica and Dimitrijević-Srećković, Vesna and Pajović, Nevena and Mirilović, Milorad and Stopper, Helga and Stanimirović, Zoran},
  title     = {Oxidative stress and DNA damage in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from normal, obese, prediabetic and diabetic persons exposed to thyroid hormone in vitro},
  series = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
  volume    = {23},
  journal   = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
  number    = {16},
  issn      = {1422-0067},
  doi       = {10.3390/ijms23169072},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-285988},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Diabetes, a chronic group of medical disorders characterized byhyperglycemia, has become a global pandemic. Some hormones may influence the course and outcome of diabetes, especially if they potentiate the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). There is a close relationship between thyroid disorders and diabetes. The main objective of this investigation was to find out whether peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are more prone to DNA damage by triiodothyronine (T\(_3\)) (0.1, 1 and 10 μM) at various stages of progression through diabetes (obese, prediabetics, and type 2 diabetes mellitus—T2DM persons). In addition, some biochemical parameters of oxidative stress (catalase-CAT, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances—TBARS) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were evaluated. PBMCs from prediabetic and diabetic patients exhibited increased sensitivity for T\(_3\) regarding elevated level of DNA damage, inhibition of catalase, and increase of TBARS and LDH. PBMCs from obese patients reacted in the same manner, except for DNA damage. The results of this study should contribute to a better understanding of the role of thyroid hormones in the progression of T2DM.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{WinkelbeinerWandtEbertetal.2020,
  author    = {Winkelbeiner, Nicola and Wandt, Viktoria K. and Ebert, Franziska and Lossow, Kristina and Bankoglu, Ezgi E. and Martin, Maximilian and Mangerich, Aswin and Stopper, Helga and Bornhorst, Julia and Kipp, Anna P. and Schwerdtle, Tanja},
  title     = {A multi-endpoint approach to base excision repair incision activity augmented by PARylation and DNA damage levels in mice: impact of sex and age},
  series = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
  volume    = {21},
  journal   = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
  number    = {18},
  issn      = {1422-0067},
  doi       = {10.3390/ijms21186600},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-285706},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {Investigation of processes that contribute to the maintenance of genomic stability is one crucial factor in the attempt to understand mechanisms that facilitate ageing. The DNA damage response (DDR) and DNA repair mechanisms are crucial to safeguard the integrity of DNA and to prevent accumulation of persistent DNA damage. Among them, base excision repair (BER) plays a decisive role. BER is the major repair pathway for small oxidative base modifications and apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites. We established a highly sensitive non-radioactive assay to measure BER incision activity in murine liver samples. Incision activity can be assessed towards the three DNA lesions 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), 5-hydroxy-2'-deoxyuracil (5-OHdU), and an AP site analogue. We applied the established assay to murine livers of adult and old mice of both sexes. Furthermore, poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (PARylation) was assessed, which is an important determinant in DDR and BER. Additionally, DNA damage levels were measured to examine the overall damage levels. No impact of ageing on the investigated endpoints in liver tissue were found. However, animal sex seems to be a significant impact factor, as evident by sex-dependent alterations in all endpoints investigated. Moreover, our results revealed interrelationships between the investigated endpoints indicative for the synergetic mode of action of the cellular DNA integrity maintaining machinery.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BankogluSchueleStopper2021,
  author    = {Bankoglu, Ezgi Eyluel and Schuele, Carolin and Stopper, Helga},
  title     = {Cell survival after DNA damage in the comet assay},
  series = {Archives of Toxicology},
  volume    = {95},
  journal   = {Archives of Toxicology},
  number    = {12},
  doi       = {10.1007/s00204-021-03164-3},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265339},
  pages     = {3803-3813},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {The comet assay is widely used in basic research, genotoxicity testing, and human biomonitoring. However, interpretation of the comet assay data might benefit from a better understanding of the future fate of a cell with DNA damage. DNA damage is in principle repairable, or if extensive, can lead to cell death. Here, we have correlated the maximally induced DNA damage with three test substances in TK6 cells with the survival of the cells. For this, we selected hydrogen peroxide (H\(_{2}\)O\(_{2}\)) as an oxidizing agent, methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) as an alkylating agent and etoposide as a topoisomerase II inhibitor. We measured cell viability, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and micronucleus frequency on the following day, in the same cell culture, which had been analyzed in the comet assay. After treatment, a concentration dependent increase in DNA damage and in the percentage of non-vital and apoptotic cells was found for each substance. Values greater than 20-30\% DNA in tail caused the death of more than 50\% of the cells, with etoposide causing slightly more cell death than H\(_{2}\)O\(_{2}\) or MMS. Despite that, cells seemed to repair of at least some DNA damage within few hours after substance removal. Overall, the reduction of DNA damage over time is due to both DNA repair and death of heavily damaged cells. We recommend that in experiments with induction of DNA damage of more than 20\% DNA in tail, survival data for the cells are provided.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BankogluStippGerberetal.2021,
  author    = {Bankoglu, Ezgi Eyluel and Stipp, Franzisca and Gerber, Johanna and Seyfried, Florian and Heidland, August and Bahner, Udo and Stopper, Helga},
  title     = {Effect of cryopreservation on DNA damage and DNA repair activity in human blood samples in the comet assay},
  series = {Archives of Toxicology},
  volume    = {95},
  journal   = {Archives of Toxicology},
  number    = {5},
  doi       = {10.1007/s00204-021-03012-4},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265326},
  pages     = {1831-1841},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {The comet assay is a commonly used method to determine DNA damage and repair activity in many types of samples. In recent years, the use of the comet assay in human biomonitoring became highly attractive due to its various modified versions, which may be useful to determine individual susceptibility in blood samples. However, in human biomonitoring studies, working with large sample numbers that are acquired over an extended time period requires some additional considerations. One of the most important issues is the storage of samples and its effect on the outcome of the comet assay. Another important question is the suitability of different blood preparations. In this study, we analysed the effect of cryopreservation on DNA damage and repair activity in human blood samples. In addition, we investigated the suitability of different blood preparations. The alkaline and FPG as well as two different types of repair comet assay and an in vitro hydrogen peroxide challenge were applied. Our results confirmed that cryopreserved blood preparations are suitable for investigating DNA damage in the alkaline and FPG comet assay in whole blood, buffy coat and PBMCs. Ex vivo hydrogen peroxide challenge yielded its optimal effect in isolated PBMCs. The utilised repair comet assay with either UVC or hydrogen peroxide-induced lesions and an aphidicolin block worked well in fresh PBMCs. Cryopreserved PBMCs could not be used immediately after thawing. However, a 16-h recovery with or without mitotic stimulation enabled the application of the repair comet assay, albeit only in a surviving cell fraction.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{ReimannStopperHintzsche2020,
  author    = {Reimann, Hauke and Stopper, Helga and Hintzsche, Henning},
  title     = {Long-term fate of etoposide-induced micronuclei and micronucleated cells in Hela-H2B-GFP cells},
  series = {Archives of Toxicology},
  volume    = {94},
  journal   = {Archives of Toxicology},
  issn      = {0340-5761},
  doi       = {10.1007/s00204-020-02840-0},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235039},
  pages     = {3553-3561},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {Micronuclei are small nuclear cellular structures containing whole chromosomes or chromosomal fragments. While there is a lot of information available about the origin and formation of micronuclei, less is known about the fate of micronuclei and micronucleated cells. Possible fates include extrusion, degradation, reincorporation and persistence. Live cell imaging was performed to quantitatively analyse the fates of micronuclei and micronucleated cells occurring in vitro. Imaging was conducted for up to 96 h in HeLa-H2B-GFP cells treated with 0.5, 1 and 2 µg/ml etoposide. While a minority of micronuclei was reincorporated into the main nucleus during mitosis, the majority of micronuclei persisted without any alterations. Degradation and extrusion were observed rarely or never. The presence of micronuclei affected the proliferation of the daughter cells and also had an influence on cell death rates. Mitotic errors were found to be clearly increased in micronucleus-containing cells. The results show that micronuclei and micronucleated cells can, although delayed in cell cycle, sustain for multiple divisions.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{ReimannStopperPolaketal.2020,
  author    = {Reimann, Hauke and Stopper, Helga and Polak, Thomas and Lauer, Martin and Herrmann, Martin J. and Deckert, J{\"u}rgen and Hintzsche, Henning},
  title     = {Micronucleus frequency in buccal mucosa cells of patients with neurodegenerative diseases},
  series = {Scientific Reports},
  volume    = {10},
  journal   = {Scientific Reports},
  doi       = {10.1038/s41598-020-78832-y},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-231430},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {Neurodegenerative diseases show an increase in prevalence and incidence, with the most prominent example being Alzheimer's disease. DNA damage has been suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis, but the exact mechanisms remain elusive. We enrolled 425 participants with and without neurodegenerative diseases and analyzed DNA damage in the form of micronuclei in buccal mucosa samples. In addition, other parameters such as binucleated cells, karyolytic cells, and karyorrhectic cells were quantified. No relevant differences in DNA damage and cytotoxicity markers were observed in patients compared to healthy participants. Furthermore, other parameters such as lifestyle factors and diseases were also investigated. Overall, this study could not identify a direct link between changes in buccal cells and neurogenerative diseases, but highlights the influence of lifestyle factors and diseases on the human buccal cytome.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{NaseemOthmanFathyetal.2020,
  author    = {Naseem, Muhammad and Othman, Eman M. and Fathy, Moustafa and Iqbal, Jibran and Howari, Fares M. and AlRemeithi, Fatima A. and Kodandaraman, Geema and Stopper, Helga and Bencurova, Elena and Vlachakis, Dimitrios and Dandekar, Thomas},
  title     = {Integrated structural and functional analysis of the protective effects of kinetin against oxidative stress in mammalian cellular systems},
  series = {Scientific Reports},
  volume    = {10},
  journal   = {Scientific Reports},
  doi       = {10.1038/s41598-020-70253-1},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-231317},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {Metabolism and signaling of cytokinins was first established in plants, followed by cytokinin discoveries in all kingdoms of life. However, understanding of their role in mammalian cells is still scarce. Kinetin is a cytokinin that mitigates the effects of oxidative stress in mammalian cells. The effective concentrations of exogenously applied kinetin in invoking various cellular responses are not well standardized. Likewise, the metabolism of kinetin and its cellular targets within the mammalian cells are still not well studied. Applying vitality tests as well as comet assays under normal and hyper-oxidative states, our analysis suggests that kinetin concentrations of 500 nM and above cause cytotoxicity as well as genotoxicity in various cell types. However, concentrations below 100 nM do not cause any toxicity, rather in this range kinetin counteracts oxidative burst and cytotoxicity. We focus here on these effects. To get insights into the cellular targets of kinetin mediating these pro-survival functions and protective effects we applied structural and computational approaches on two previously testified targets for these effects. Our analysis deciphers vital residues in adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) and adenosine receptor (A2A-R) that facilitate the binding of kinetin to these two important human cellular proteins. We finally discuss how the therapeutic potential of kinetin against oxidative stress helps in various pathophysiological conditions.},
  language  = {en}
}