The dNTP imbalance death.

The mechanism of intracellular deoxyribonucleoside-triphosphates (dNTP) pool imbalance-induced cell death in mouse FM3A (F28-7) cells was studied. When the cells were treated with 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FdUrd), deoxyadenosine, 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine, or alpha,alpha-bis(2-hydroxy-6-isopropyltropon-3-yl)-4-methoxytolu ene, an imbalance in the cellular dNTP pool was induced. The imbalance was followed by DNA double-strand breaks and subsequent cell death. Fragmented DNA appeared to be approximately 100-200 kbp in size. The base of 5'-termini in the DNA were adenine and thymine. The endonuclease toward double stranded DNA has been found in a fraction of FdUrd treated cell lysate, and isolated using column chromatography. We propose the new mechanism dNTP pool imbalance induced cell death named; dNTP Imbalance Death.     

dNTP pool imbalance induced endonuclease: 5-fluorodeoxyuridine induced DNA double strand break in mouse FM3A cells and the mechanism of cell death.

The mechanism of intracellular deoxyribonucleotide triphosphates (dNTP) pool imbalance-induced cell death in mouse FM3A cells was studied. When the cells were treated with 1 microM 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FdUrd), the imbalance of the cellular dNTP pool was induced. The imbalance was followed by DNA double stranded breaks and subsequent cell death. The endonuclease toward double stranded DNA has been found in a fraction of FdUrd treated cell lysate, and isolated using column chromatography. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed a major protein species of approximate 45 kDa. The endonuclease was revealed, using electrophoretic separation in SDS-polyacrylamide gels containing DNA, by incubating the gels in buffer to remove SDS and to allow renaturation and enzyme activity.     

Detection of deoxyribonucleoside-triphosphate imbalance death-induced DNA double strand breakage in FM3A cells by orthogonal-field-alternation gel electrophoresis (OFAGE)

The mechanism of intracellular deoxyribonucleoside-triphosphate (dNTP) imbalance death of mouse mammary tumor FM3A cells was studied. When the cells were exposed to 5-fluorodeoxyuridine, deoxyadenosine, or 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine, dNTP pool imbalance resulted. The imbalance was followed by DNA double strand breaks and subsequent cell death. The DNA double strand breaks have been directly examined by means of orthogonal-field-alternation gel electrophoresis (OFAGE). Fragmented DNA band appeared to be approximately 100-200 kb in size.     

Deoxyribonucleoside-triphosphate imbalance death: deoxyadenosine-induced dNTP imbalance and DNA double strand breaks in mouse FM3A cells and the mechanism of cell death

The mechanism of deoxyadenosine (dAdo)-induced death of mouse mammary tumor FM3A cells was studied. When the cells were exposed to dAdo at 3 mM, an imbalance of intracellular dNTP pool resulted: dATP concentration was elevated 100-fold and the dGTP concentration was reduced to less than 1% of the control values. The imbalance was followed by breakage of mature DNA. DNA double strand breaks were observed in the dAdo treated cells 12 hr after the administration. We assume that the double strand breaks play an important role in the process of the dAdo-mediated cell death, and that the intracellular dNTP imbalance is the trigger of these events.     

dNTP imbalance and DNA double strand breaks in mouse FM3A cells and the mechanism of cell death

The mechanism of intracellular deoxyribonucleoside-triphosphate (dNTP) imbalance death of mouse mammary tumor FM3A cells was studied. When the cells were exposed to 5-fluorodeoxyuridine, deoxyadenosine, or 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine, dNTP pool imbalance resulted. The imbalance was followed by DNA double-strand breaks and subsequent cell death. The DNA double strand breaks were directly examined by means of orthogonal-field-alternation gel electrophoresis (OFAGE). Fragmented DNA band appeared to be approximately 100-200 kbp in size. The bases of 5'-termini in the DNA were cytosine and thymine. The imbalance induced endonuclease has been isolated by DEAE-agarose column chromatography.     

The mechanism of dNTP-unbalanced cell death induced by 5-fluorouracil and its derivatives

The mechanism of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FdUR)-induced death of mouse mammary tumor FM3A cells was studied. When the cells were exposed to 5-FU or FdUR, an unbalance of intracellular dNTP pool resulted. The unbalance was followed by breakage of mature DNA. DNA double strand breaks were observed in the FdUR (1 microM) treated cells 16 hrs after the administration. We assume that the double strand breaks play an important role in the mechanism of the FdUR-mediated cell death. In addition, the activity that can induce DNA double strand breaks was detected in the lysate of FdUR treated FM3A cells. Since intracellular dNTP pool unbalance seems to be the trigger of these events, this phenomenon may be termed as dNTP-unbalanced cell death.     

Transient inhibition of DNA synthesis by 5-fluorodeoxyuridine leads to overexpression of dihydrofolate reductase with increased frequency of methotrexate resistance

Transient but incomplete suppression of DNA synthesis by a single exposure of an asynchronous population of cells to 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FdUrd) increases the frequency of appearance of methotrexate (MTX)-resistant colonies. This increase was greater than 10-fold following a 6-h incubation of cells with 3 microM FdUrd prior to selection in MTX, an interval one-half the normal L1210 cell cycle time. During this period of exposure to FdUrd, DNA synthesis decreased to 25% of control rates and cells accumulated at the G1/S interface. The 6-h incubation with FdUrd resulted in greater than a 2.5-fold increase in the dihydrofolate reductase protein level in the treated cell population, which was accounted for, at least in part, by increased de novo synthesis of the enzyme as assessed by [35S]methionine labeling. This increase in dihydrofolate reductase was associated with a decrease in growth inhibition by MTX. A brief reversal (2 h) of FdUrd-induced DNA synthesis inhibition by the addition of thymidine eliminated the amplification of dihydrofolate reductase and the enhanced emergence of MTX-resistant clones. Beyond this, an analysis of clones that survive MTX selection indicates that the dihydrofolate reductase gene copy in cells spontaneously resistant to 50 nM MTX and those which resulted after the additional pretreatment with FdUrd for 6 h are comparable with a 2-4-fold amplification of enzyme in most clones. These studies demonstrate that FdUrd enhancement of dihydrofolate reductase expression can have a profound effect upon the incidence and expression of MTX resistance and that dihydrofolate reductase gene amplification may be another basis for antagonism between these agents.     

DNA synthesis in L-cells in the presence of 5-fluorodeoxyuridine.

After 16 h of incubation with 10-minus6 M FdUrd, the rate of (32P) orthophosphate uptake into DNA isolated from L-cells amounted to 15% of that of an untreated culture, although cell division had stopped several hours earlier. All 4 deoxynucleotides were present in this DNA but its nucleotide composition, as measured by enzymatic digestion and chromatography, reflected a decreased thymidine precursor pool in FdUrd-treated cells. Sedimentation analysis in alkaline sucrose gradients revealed that the DNA formed in the presence of FdUrd had a sedimentation coefficient of 10 S which corresponded to a single-stranded molecular weight of 5.5.105. This DNA could be "chased" into a high molecular weight DNA if the FdUrd block was bypassed with added dThd or BrdUrd. Other analyses failed to detect RNA covalently linked to the DNA fragments at a level of more than 5% RNA or about 90 ribonucleotides. The accumulation of these DNA fragments could be explained by assuming that in the presence of limiting precursor pool the rate of DNA chain initiation is greater than the rate of chain elongation.     

Accumulation of DNA strand breaks during thymineless death in thymidylate synthase-negative mutants of mouse FM3A cells

Thymidylate synthase-negative mutants of cultured mouse cells were immediately committed to cell death upon thymidine deprivation, especially when the cells were synchronized in the S phase. Thymidylate deprivation induced single strand breaks in chromosome-size DNA strands, as measured by alkaline sucrose gradient sedimentation, giving rise to two peaks, one with large and the other with small fragments, the latter about the size of T4 DNA. An increase in the small DNA fragments paralleled that of thymineless death. Thymidine deprivation also produced double strand DNA fragments as determined by a method of neutral filter elution, and their extent paralleled that of cell death. Double-stranded DNA eluted through the filter sedimented as a single peak both in a neutral and in an alkaline sucrose gradient that coincided with that of the above small DNA fragments. Therefore, the strand breaks seemed to occur in some defined portions of the genome and in a specific manner compared to breaks induced by x-rays, which occurred rather randomly. Cycloheximide blocked both thymineless death and the production of the small DNA fragments. The strand breaks induced by thymidine starvation were not repaired but instead advanced on subsequent incubation of the cells in growth medium containing thymidine.     

Repair of idarubicin-induced DNA damage: A cause of resistance?

Idarubicin, a widely used anticancer drug inhibits topoisomerase (topo) IIalpha and induces DNA double strand breaks. The finding that idarubicin-induced DNA damage is repaired before cell death is initiated encouraged us to examine the role of DNA repair for the cytotoxicity of idarubicin in human promyelocytic HL60 leukaemia cells. We found that DNA double strand breaks induced by a 90 min transient exposure to 0.5 microgml(-1) idarubicin were rapidly repaired throughout the whole population, while topo IIalpha itself was degraded. In spite of DNA repair, the vast majority of cells died within 40 h. Using differential staining of the chromatids and microscopic evaluation of DNA break points, we found evidence for a high number of false ligations of loose DNA strands arising from the inhibition of topo IIalpha action by idarubicin. If mainly actively transcribed genes are affected, this results in a disruption of vital genetic information, of regulatory sequences and, ultimately, in induction of the cell death pathway. Our results confirm the hypothesis that misrepair of DNA damage is a decisive event in idarubicin-induced cell death. They are discussed in the context of topo IIalpha-function and the currently known mechanisms of DNA double strand break repair.     

Consequences of the depletion of cellular deoxynucleoside triphosphate pools on the excision-repair process in cultured human fibroblasts

DNA excision repair requires the insertion of bases into gaps in the DNA which arise during the removal of damaged sites from the chromatin. The number of bases required is dependent on the amount of damage and the patch size of repair in response to the particular type of damage. In cells in which the ability to synthesize deoxynucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs) has been compromised, repair cannot proceed to completion following doses of DNA-damaging agents which induce repair that requires greater than the steady-state level of dNTPs. Repair is thus not equally sensitive to depletion of dNTPs when measured in rapidly cycling cells with relatively high dNTP pools or in non-cycling cells with significantly smaller pools. Critical depletion of dNTPs results in the production of long-lived DNA strand breaks at repairing sites and reduction in the number of sites initiating repair. On the other hand, elevation of dNTP pools to 10–50-fold normal levels did not inhibit repair. This indicates that dNTP pool depletion but not general pool-imbalance affects DNA excision repair.     

Possible inducible nature of radioresistant DNA synthesis stimulated by 5-fluorodeoxyuridine

A study was made of the effect of cycloheximide on the radioresistant DNA synthesis stimulated by preincubation of cells with 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FdUrd). It was shown that after the cycloheximide treatment the radioresistant DNA synthesis was absent while in FdUrd-treated cells it did occur. It is assumed that the FdUrd-stimulated radioresistant DNA synthesis is of an inducible nature.     

Differences in Phosphorylated Histone H2AX Foci Formation and Removal of Cells Exposed to Low and High Linear Energy Transfer Radiation

The use of particle ion beams in cancer radiotherapy has a long history. Today, beams of protons or heavy ions, predominantly carbon ions, can be accelerated to precisely calculated energies which can be accurately targeted to tumors. This particle therapy works by damaging the DNA of tissue cells, ultimately causing their death. Among the different types of DNA lesions, the formation of DNA double strand breaks is considered to be the most relevant of deleterious damages of ionizing radiation in cells. It is well-known that the extremely large localized energy deposition can lead to complex types of DNA double strand breaks. These effects can lead to cell death, mutations, genomic instability, or carcinogenesis. Complex double strand breaks can increase the probability of mis-rejoining by NHEJ. As a consequence differences in the repair kinetics following high and low LET irradiation qualities are attributed mainly to quantitative differences in their contributions of the fast and slow repair component. In general, there is a higher contribution of the slow component of DNA double strand repair after exposure to high LET radiation, which is thought to reflect the increased amount of complex DNA double strand breaks. These can be accurately measured by the γ-H2AX assay, because the number of phosphorylated H2AX foci correlates well with the number of double strand breaks induced by low or / and high LET radiation.     

Sanguinarine causes DNA damage and p53-independent cell death in human colon cancer cell lines

The benzophenanthridine alkaloid sanguinarine has antimicrobial and possibly anticancer properties but it is not clear to what extent these activities involve DNA damage. Thus, we studied its ability to cause DNA single and double strand breaks, as well as increased levels of 8-oxodeoxyguanosine, in human colon cancer cells and found DNA damage consistent with oxidation. Since the tumor suppressor p53 is frequently involved in inducing apoptosis following DNA damage we investigated the effect of sanguinarine in wild type, p53-mutant and p53-null colon cancer cell lines. We found them to be equally sensitive to this plant compound, indicating that cell death is not mediated by p53 in this case. In addition, our observation that apoptosis induced by sanguinarine is initiated very rapidly raised the question whether there is enough time for cellular signaling in response to DNA damage. Moreover, the abundance of double strand breaks is not consistent with only oxidative damage to DNA. We conclude that the majority of DNA double strand breaks in sanguinarine-treated cells are likely the result, rather than the cause, of apoptotic cell death and that apoptosis induced by sanguinarine is independent of p53 and most likely independent of DNA damage.     

Reactions of deoxyribonucleotide synthesis system to irradiation and their modification by radioprotectors

The paper covers the problem on reactions of deoxyribonucleotide (dNTP) synthesis system in blood-forming organs of animals induced by irradiation. The synthesis of dNTP is a rate-limiting stage for DNA synthesis. Cellular requirements for dNTP pools during DNA synthesis are related with ensuring of the accuracy of DNA copying during replication and repair. It has been shown that organism defence mechanisms against irradiation include the following stages: 1. The prompt SOS-activation of dNTP synthesis 30 min later after irradiation, playing the important role in protecting of cell's genetic apparatus from damage. 2. The inhibition of dNTP synthesis within 3-24 h after irradiation resulting to the imbalance of four dNTP and the decrease of their pools. As result of that, the abnormal repair is observed due to depurinations, errors of base incorporations and "misrepair". 3. The restore of dNTP synthesis occurred 2 days later after irradiation. The increase of dNTP pools promotes the increase of DNA synthesis rate as well as proliferative activity of cells. Confirming the fact that the alterations in dNTP pools play essential role in the production of DNA lesions became an important step in understanding of the multistage process leading to radioprotection. To get high and balanced pools of dNTP needed for the increase in the volume of repair of DNA lesions the radioprotectors with high efficiency relative to the survival test were used in experiments. They induced the elevated dNTP synthesis in bone marrow and spleen during the time when the irradiation alone caused the essential prolonged suppression of dNTP synthesis as well as DNA and protein synthesis in organs of nonprotected animals. It has been shown that substances with antioxidant and antiradical activity induced the dNTP synthesis, too. In vivo regulatory factors of dNTP synthesis have been studied to elucidate the mechanisms of getting of high and balanced dNTP pools by using of different substances.     

用脉冲电场凝胶电泳检测电离辐射所致哺乳动物细胞DNA双链断裂

 本文将反向交变电场和六角形电极电场这两种脉冲电场凝胶电泳技术应用于X线照射小鼠乳癌细胞SR-1所致DNA双链断裂的检测,在本实验条件下,用这种电泳都能检测到低至1.5Gy照射所产生的DNA双链断裂,并且用六角形电极电场电泳获得了DNA双链断裂程度与照射剂量之间的良好线性关系,此外,还用此方法观察了不同浓度自由基清除剂DMSO对X线照射SR-1细胞所致DNA双链断裂的保护作用,结果进一步证实本方法的可靠性。     

Cellular responses to etoposide: cell death despite cell cycle arrest and repair of DNA damage

The topoisomerase IIα inhibitor etoposide is a ‘broad spectrum’ anticancer agent and a potent inducer of DNA double strand breaks. DNA damage response of mammalian cells usually involves cell cycle arrest and DNA repair or, if unsuccessful, cell death. We investigated these processes in the human colon cancer cell line HT-29 treated with three different etoposide regimens mimicking clinically relevant plasma concentrations of cancer patients. Each involved a period of drug-free incubation following etoposide exposure to imitate the decline of plasma levels between the cycles of chemotherapy. We found a massive induction of double strand breaks that were rapidly and nearly completely fixed long before the majority of cells underwent apoptosis or necrosis. An even greater percentage of cells lost clonogenicity. The occurrence of double strand breaks was accompanied by a decrease in the levels of Ku70, Ku86 and DNA-PK_cs as well as an increase in the level of Rad51 protein. Twenty-four hours after the first contact with etoposide we found a pronounced G₂/M arrest, regardless of the duration of drug exposure, the level of double strand breaks and the extent of their repair. During the subsequent drug-free incubation period, the loss of clonogenicity correlated well with the preceding G₂/M arrest as well as with the amount of cell death found several days after exposure. However, it correlated neither with early apoptosis or necrosis nor with any of the other investigated parameters. These results suggest that the G₂/M arrest is an important determinant in the cytostatic action of etoposide and that the removal of DNA double strand breaks is not sufficient to ensure cell survival.     

DNA precursor asymmetries, replication fidelity, and variable genome evolution.

Balanced pools of deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs) are essential for DNA replication to occur with maximum fidelity. Conditions that create biased dNTP pools stimulate mutagenesis, as well as other phenomena, such as recombination or cell death. In this essay we consider the effective dNTP concentrations at replication sites under normal conditions, and we ask how maintenance of these levels contributes toward the natural fidelity of DNA replication. We focus upon two questions. (1) In prokaryotic systems, evidence suggests that replication is driven by small, localized, rapidly replenished dNTP pools that do not equilibrate with the bulk dNTP pools in the cell. Since these pools cannot be analyzed directly, what indirect approaches can illuminate the nature of these replication-active pools? (2) In eukaryotic cells, the normal dNTP pools are highly asymmetric, with dGTP being the least abundant nucleotide. Moreover, the composition of the dNTP pools changes as cells progress through the cell cycle. To what extent might these natural asymmetries contribute toward a recently described phenomenon, the differential rate of evolution of different genes in the same genome?     

DNA precursor pools and ribonucleotide reductase activity: distribution between the nucleus and cytoplasm of mammalian cells.

Nuclear and whole-cell deoxynucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) pools were measured in HeLa cells at different densities and throughout the cell cycle of synchronized CHO cells. Nuclei were prepared by brief detergent (Nonidet P-40) treatment of subconfluent monolayers, a procedure that solubilizes plasma membranes but leaves nuclei intact and attached to the plastic substratum. Electron microscopic examination of monolayers treated with Nonidet P-40 revealed protruding nuclei surrounded by cytoskeletal remnants. Control experiments showed that nuclear dNTP pool sizes were stable during the time required for isolation, suggesting that redistribution of nucleotides during the isolation procedure was minimal. Examination of HeLa whole-cell and nuclear dNTP levels revealed that the nuclear proportion of each dNTP was distinct and remained constant as cell density increased. In synchronized CHO cells, all four dNTP whole-cell pools increased during S phase, with the dCTP pool size increasing most dramatically. The nuclear dCTP pool did not increase as much as the whole-cell dCTP pool during S phase, lowering the relative nuclear dCTP pool. Although the whole-cell dNTP pools decreased after 30 h of isoleucine deprivation, nuclear pools did not decrease proportionately. In summary, nuclear dNTP pools in synchronized CHO cells maintained a relatively constant concentration throughout the cell cycle in the face of larger fluctuations in whole-cell dNTP pools. Ribonucleotide reductase activity was measured in CHO cells throughout the cell cycle, and although there was a 10-fold increase in whole-cell activity during S phase, we detected no reductase in nuclear preparations at any point in the cell cycle.