ABSTRACT
This chapter relates to work with copper and iron. The author believes that these metals are good choices for metal-mediated DNA damage because copper and iron are two major transition metals in the biological environment that can catalyze extensive DNA damage in vitro and in vivo. The chapter discusses that DNA lesions created by these metals can be related to clinical conditions, since it is well established that overload of copper or iron in humans or rodents leads to specific diseases associated with oxidative DNA damage and an increased incidence of cancer. The DNA in many human disorders, including xeroderma pigmentosum, ataxia telangiectasia, Hutchinson-Gilford progeria, retinoblastoma, Fanconi's anemia, Bloom's, Cockayne's, and Werner's syndromes, and possibly Down syndrome, show increased sensitivity to the induction of damage. DNA damage also develops as a secondary effect in the course of other diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and various inflammatory conditions.
