The erythrocytes serve as the principal vehicle for the effective transport of O2 and CO2 between
the lungs and tissues. Their survivability in blood circulation
depends on some factors affecting their mechanical behavior
such as the structural and functional integrity of cell membranes. Erythrocytesare well equipped with several biological
mechanisms to defend themselves against intracellular oxidative stress, including many antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione
(GSH), and glutathione transferase (GST) [6]. Up to now,
there are no studies reporting the hematotoxic and genotoxic
effects of KBrO3 on mice, and the mechanism of the DNA
damage caused by bromate remains understood. The
genotoxic effect may be explained by DNA bases modified
by oxidation which disturbs the balance between lesion inductions from free radical processes and repair effects. In fact,
the first frontier of cellular defense against DNA damage
consists on endogenous nonenzymatic radical scavengers
such as GSH, vitamin C and E, and antioxidant enzymes like
SOD, CAT, and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) as well as
highly specified DNA repair pathways.