1Department of Biotechnology, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Nagarjunanagar - 522 510, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India
2Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore – 560 080, India
3Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore, India
4INDICASAT, City of Knowledge, Clayton, Republic of Panama
*For Correspondence – kjr5n2009@gmail.com
Online published on 29 October, 2013.
Copper is one of the most prevalent biological transition metals, and plays a fundamental role in the biochemistry of the human nervous system. Without its catalytic presence, in trace or ultra trace amounts, many biochemical reactions would not take place. Copper becomes potentially toxic to cells when its concentration surpasses normal levels, because at higher concentrations, it generates free radicals (ROS). ROS damages DNA by breaking the DNA strands or modifying the bases and/or deoxyribose sugars, leading to conformational changes and stability of DNA. These conformational changes in DNA may lead to DNA stability in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. In this review, we have focused on copper induced conformational change in DNA and DNA damage, and its implications on Alzheimer's disease.
Trace metals, Alzheimer's disease, DNA polymorphism, oxidative stress, DNA damage, Parkinson's disease
