It is well established that mammalian erythrocytes are an
ideal cell model to study free radical-mediated injury, since
they are enucleated and have a short life span. Indeed, erythrocytes are particularly sensitive to oxidative damage due to
the presenceofahighcontentofpolyunsaturatedfatty acidsin
their membranes and high cellular concentrations of oxygen
and hemoglobin (Hb) [5]. The erythrocytes serve as the principalvehiclefortheeffectivetransportofO2andCO2between
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 equippedwithseveral 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.