[DNA damage and the mechanism following UV-B irradiation in lens epithelial cells].

DNA damage and its mechanism following ultraviolet-B (UV-B) irradiation were investigated in quantifying DNA strand break in bovine lens epithelial cells. In contrast, the DNA relative migration distance was as little as 0.14 +/- 0.34 (mean +/- standard deviation) in controls, 1.10 +/- 0.89 at 0.5 kJ/m2 irradiation, 1.61 +/- 1.05 at 1 kJ/m2, 4.65 +/- 1.18 at 3 kJ/m2, and 6.10 +/- 0.93 at 5 kJ/m2. The degree of DNA strand break increased with the intensity of the UV-B irradiation. 1.10-phenanthroline, an iron ion chelator, significantly reduced DNA strand break. These results suggest that the Fenton reaction might participate in DNA damage of normal lens epithelial cells following UV-B exposure.