Evidence for Two Mechanisms of Photoreactivation in Escherichia coli B

Escherichia coli B phr^-, which is not photoreactivable under certain conditions, has been shown to exhibit photoreactivation of killing in the logarithmic growth phase at 3341 A. Dependence of the reaction upon (a) wavelength, (b) dose, and (c) dose rate of the reactivating radiation, as well as upon (d) temperature during reactivation treatment, is very similar to that of photoprotection. We conclude that this photoreactivation is similar in mechanism to photoprotection, believed to be an indirect repair process, the initial step of which is non-enzymatic and leads to a growth-division delay. We therefore call the present phenomenon “indirect photoreactivation.” Similar studies suggest that indirect photoreactivation of killing occurs also in the parent strain, E. coli B (Harm). It has often been supposed that all photoreactivation results from a photoenzymatic reaction similar to that found to operate in vitro on transforming DNA. Our data provide the first evidence for two distinct types of photoreactivation of cell killing, one of which appears not to involve photoenzymes. These experiments also show that photoprotection results from intracellular events that can be induced by treatment after, as well as before, far ultraviolet irradiation.     

Photoreactivation inChlamydomonas reinhardi Dangeard

The existence of photoreactivation in the green unicellular algaChlamydomonas reinhardi Dangeard was demonstrated. The dose reduction factor was constant throughout practically the whole of the dose range and was approximately 0.5. Photoreactivation was not found in cells irradiated with X-rays. The maximum photoreactivation after ultraviolet irradiation was reached after about 30 minutes’ illumination with 2,300Lx. No difference was found between the rate of photoreactivation carried out immediately and 30 minutes after ultraviolet irradiation. The rate of photoreactivation, under the given conditions, seems to be limited chiefly by the supply of light energy. The photoreactivation enzyme is probably a stable component of the cell.     

Photoreactivation reverses ultraviolet radiation induced premutagenic lesions leading to frameshift mutations in Escherichia coli

Summary The effect of photoreactivation of the ultraviolet radiation induced reversion of a trpE9777 frameshift mutation was studied in a uvrA6 derivative of Escherichia coli K12. Two different photoreactivation treatments were used, one providing a single flash of photoreactivating light and another providing 10 min of light from fluorescent lamps. The reversion frequency of the trpE9777 frameshift mutation was strongly reduced when subsequently exposed to visible light. The dose modification factor (the ratio of equally effective doses), for cells challenged with single-flash photoreactivation, for survival and induction of reversion to Trp⁺ was 3.6 and 3.4, respectively. UV induction of RecA protein synthesis was not reversed by a single flash of photoreactivation. The dose modification factor for 10 min of fluorescent lamp photoreactivation for survival and for induction of reversion to Trp⁺ was 6.5 and 6.3, respectively. The dose modification factor for 10 min of photoreactivation for induction of RecA protein was 1.7–2.5. Photoreactivation decreased the reversion of trpE9777 and increased survival to the same extent. We concluded that cyclobutyl pyrimidine dimers are the premutagenic lesions of UV mutagenesis of the trpE9777 allele in a uvrA6 background.     

The role of chloride ion on the photoreactivation of the oxygen-evolving center of tris-washed, 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol-treated grana

Chloride ion is found to be an essential factor in photoreactivation of the oxygen-evolving center. Tris-washed, 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol-treated grana are low in both Mn content and oxygen-evolving activity. These grana can restore high oxygen-evolving activity, however, by incorporating Mn2+ ion under weak light in the presence of chloride and calcium ions with dithiothreitol. This restoration is called photoreactivation. When chloride ion is omitted from the medium for the photoreactivation, the recovery of oxygen-evolving activity is inhibited. Other anions, such as bromide and nitrate anions, could also mediate the reactivation; but, anions of weak acids or polyvalent strong acids were not effective. Chloride ion is also required in the light-induced H+ and Mn2+ uptake of these grana, which are essential partial reactions for the reactivation. It is therefore concluded that chloride ion plays an important role in the photoreactivation.     

UV-inducible DNA repair in the cyanobacteria Anabaena spp.

Strains of the filamentous cyanobacteria Anabaena spp. were capable of very efficient photoreactivation of UV irradiation-induced damage to DNA. Cells were resistant to several hundred joules of UV irradiation per square meter under conditions that allowed photoreactivation, and they also photoreactivated UV-damaged cyanophage efficiently. Reactivation of UV-irradiated cyanophage (Weigle reactivation) also occurred; UV irradiation of host cells greatly enhanced the plaque-forming ability of irradiated phage under nonphotoreactivating conditions. Postirradiation incubation of the host cells under conditions that allowed photoreactivation abolished the ability of the cells to perform Weigle reactivation of cyanophage N-1. Mitomycin C also induced Weigle reactivation of cyanophage N-1, but nalidixic acid did not. The inducible repair system (defined as the ability to perform Weigle reactivation of cyanophages) was relatively slow and inefficient compared with photoreactivation.     

Efficacy of UV Irradiation in Inactivating Cryptosporidiumparvum Oocysts

To evaluate the effectiveness of UV irradiation in inactivating Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts, the animal infectivities and excystation abilities of oocysts that had been exposed to various UV doses were determined. Infectivity decreased exponentially as the UV dose increased, and the required dose for a 2-log₁₀ reduction in infectivity (99% inactivation) was approximately 1.0 mWs/cm² at 20°C. However, C. parvum oocysts exhibited high resistance to UV irradiation, requiring an extremely high dose of 230 mWs/cm² for a 2-log₁₀ reduction in excystation, which was used to assess viability. Moreover, the excystation ability exhibited only slight decreases at UV doses below 100 mWs/cm². Thus, UV treatment resulted in oocysts that were able to excyst but not infect. The effects of temperature and UV intensity on the UV dose requirement were also studied. The results showed that for every 10°C reduction in water temperature, the increase in the UV irradiation dose required for a 2-log₁₀ reduction in infectivity was only 7%, and for every 10-fold increase in intensity, the dose increase was only 8%. In addition, the potential of oocysts to recover infectivity and to repair UV-induced injury (pyrimidine dimers) in DNA by photoreactivation and dark repair was investigated. There was no recovery in infectivity following treatment by fluorescent-light irradiation or storage in darkness. In contrast, UV-induced pyrimidine dimers in the DNA were apparently repaired by both photoreactivation and dark repair, as determined by endonuclease-sensitive site assay. However, the recovery rate was different in each process. Given these results, the effects of UV irradiation on C. parvum oocysts as determined by animal infectivity can conclusively be considered irreversible.     

Inducible reactivation of UV-irradiated cholera phage e5 in Vibrio cholerae MAK757

Summary The survival of UV-irradiated cholera phage e5 was found to increase when the host cells, Vibrio cholerae MAK757, were exposed to a low dose of UV irradiation before phage infection (Weigle reactivation), indicating the existence of a UV-inducible DNA repair pathway (SOS repair) in V. cholerae MAK757. The induction signal generated by UV irradiation was transient in nature and lasted about 20–30 min at 37°C. Maximal weigle reactivation of the phage was obtained when the host cells were irradiated with a UV dose of 16 J/m². V. cholerae MAK757 was also found to possess efficient photoreactivation and host cell reactivation of UV-damaged DNA in phage e5.     

The effect of plasmid R391 and other IncJ plasmids on the survival of Escherichia coli after UV irradiation

The presence of the IncJ plasmids R391, R997, R705, R706, R748 and R749 was shown to sensitize Escherichia coli AB1157 and both its uvrA and lexA derivatives to UV irradiation. No alteration in post-irradiation survival was observed in a recA mutant containing these plasmids, compared with the non-plasmid-containing recA strain. Analysis of recombination frequency in Hfr crosses to recA+ cells containing plasmid R391 indicated a reduction in recombination frequency compared with that obtained in similar crosses to a non-plasmid-containing strain. This effect was not due to plasmid-encoded restriction or entry exclusion systems and therefore must be considered as a real block in recombination. When cells containing plasmid R391 were irradiated and allowed to photoreactivate, an increase in survival was observed which was comparable to that observed in the non-plasmid-containing derivative. This indicated that post-irradiation processing of UV-induced damage, or lack of such processing, by mechanisms other than photoreactivation was responsible for the UV sensitivity associated with plasmid R391.     

Influence of Infected Cell Growth State on Bacteriophage Reactivation Levels

Reactivation of UV-C-inactivated Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteriophages D3C3, F116, G101, and UNL-1 was quantified in host cells infected during the exponential phase, during the stationary phase, and after starvation (1 day, 1 and 5 weeks) under conditions designed to detect dark repair and photoreactivation. Our experiments revealed that while the photoreactivation capacity of stationary-phase or starved cells remained about the same as that of exponential-phase cells, in some cases their capacity to support dark repair of UV-inactivated bacteriophages increased over 10-fold. This enhanced reactivation capacity was correlated with the ca. 30-fold-greater UV-C resistance of P. aeruginosa host cells that were in the stationary phase or exposed to starvation conditions prior to irradiation. The dark repair capacity of P. aeruginosa cells that were infected while they were starved for prolonged periods depended on the bacteriophage examined. For bacteriophage D3C3 this dark repair capacity declined with prolonged starvation, while for bacteriophage G101 the dark repair capacity continued to increase when cells were starved for 24 h or 1 week prior to infection. For G101, the reactivation potentials were 16-, 18-, 10-, and 3-fold at starvation intervals of 1 day, 1 week, 5 weeks, and 1.5 years, respectively. Exclusive use of exponential-phase cells to quantify bacteriophage reactivation should detect only a fraction of the true phage reactivation potential.     

The effect of post-UV dark incubation on survival of chick-embryo fibroblasts after photoreactivation

A survival assay with chick-embryo fibroblasts was used to study photoreactivation of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation-induced damage. The kinetics of the photoreactivation was studied as a function of the length of a post UV dark incubation period of from 0 to 18 h at 38.5 degrees C. The logarithmic survival curve with no photoreactivation had a Do of about 4.3 J/m2 giving approximately 0.8% relative plating efficiency after a UV dose of 21 J/m2. At this dose the efficiency of photoreactivation (survival increase per unit blacklight dose) increased with post UV incubation time reaching a maximum at 4-6 h, then declining until there was little photoreactivation observed for times longer than about 11 h. The possibility that this effect was produced by pre-UV perturbations of the cell cycle was eliminated by the fact that the same results were achieved after several rather different trypsinization protocols. The shape of the photoreactivation vs. blacklight curve at the time of peak efficiency showed a threshold up to about 3 kJ/m2, a rising portion and a plateau after 12-16 kJ/m2 when the survival increased by a factor of roughly 8.     

The formation of photoreactivable damage by direct excitation of DNA in X-irradiated E. coli cells

The role of the direct excitation process in the formation of photoreactivable damage (pyrimidine dimers) in E. coli WP2 hcr-exr- cells has been studied. The pyrimidine dimers were detected by photoreactivation following anoxic irradiation by X-rays (220 kVp). The dose modifying factor (DMF) is 1.28 +/- 0.09. A biophysical model is used for a theoretical examination of the importance of the direct excitation process in the formation of photoreactivable damage and the experimental data are consistent with this model.     

The roles of weak light,oxygen and dithiothreitol in the photoreactivation of the oxygen evolving center of tris-washed and 2, 6-dichlorophenol indophenol-treated chloroplasts

The inactivated O₂-evolving center of Tris-washed chloroplasts was reactivated by DCPIP-treatment and photoreactivation in the presence of Mn²⁺, Ca²⁺, DTT and weak light. Many electron donors (Asc and reduced DCPIP, etc.) were found to be suitable substitutes for DTT. By studying the anaerobic inhibition of the reactivation, the electron acceptors O₂, NADP⁺, etc. were also found to be essential factors in photoreactivation. Weak light stimulated the chloroplast electron transport from the above-mentioned electron donors to the electron acceptor and effected the photoreactivation. More than 280 electrons were transported to NADP⁺ in the anaerobic photoreactivation of one unit of an O₂-evolving center with 400 Chl. Electron transport in the reactivation was inhibited by omitting DTT or Mn²⁺ ion, and by adding DCMU. The photoreactivated chloroplasts incorporated about 2 Mn by 400 Chl. Omission of DTT in the reactivation caused chloroplasts in the weak light to bind large amounts of excess Mn.Abbreviations Asc ascorbate - Chl chlorophyll - DCPIP 2, 6-dichlorophenol indophenol - DPC diphenyl carbazide - DTT dithiothreitol - Fd ferredoxin - STN a chloroplast preparation medium, containing 0.4 M sucrose, 0.05 M Tris-Cl and 0.01 M NaCl (pH 7.8 and 8.0) - TMPD tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine     

Ionising Radiation Immediately Impairs Synaptic Plasticity-Associated Cytoskeletal Signalling Pathways in HT22 Cells and in Mouse Brain: An In Vitro/In Vivo Comparison Study

Patients suffering from brain malignancies are treated with high-dose ionising radiation. However, this may lead to severe learning and memory impairment. Preventive treatments to minimise these side effects have not been possible due to the lack of knowledge of the involved signalling pathways and molecular targets. Mouse hippocampal neuronal HT22 cells were irradiated with acute gamma doses of 0.5 Gy, 1.0 Gy and 4.0 Gy. Changes in the cellular proteome were investigated by isotope-coded protein label technology and tandem mass spectrometry after 4 and 24 hours. To compare the findings with the in vivo response, male NMRI mice were irradiated on postnatal day 10 with a gamma dose of 1.0 Gy, followed by evaluation of the cellular proteome of hippocampus and cortex 24 hours post-irradiation. Analysis of the in vitro proteome showed that signalling pathways related to synaptic actin-remodelling were significantly affected at 1.0 Gy and 4.0 Gy but not at 0.5 Gy after 4 and 24 hours. We observed radiation-induced reduction of the miR-132 and Rac1 levels; miR-132 is known to regulate Rac1 activity by blocking the GTPase-activating protein p250GAP. In the irradiated hippocampus and cortex we observed alterations in the signalling pathways similar to those in vitro. The decreased expression of miR-132 and Rac1 was associated with an increase in hippocampal cofilin and phospho-cofilin. The Rac1-Cofilin pathway is involved in the modulation of synaptic actin filament formation that is necessary for correct spine and synapse morphology to enable processes of learning and memory. We suggest that acute radiation exposure leads to rapid dendritic spine and synapse morphology alterations via aberrant cytoskeletal signalling and processing and that this is associated with the immediate neurocognitive side effects observed in patients treated with ionising radiation.     

Caffeine and artificial insemination

We studied the reactivation of cells and the repair of photomutagenic damage induced by xanthotoxin and visnagin plus NUV in arg-1 cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardii. Maintenance of liquid cultures in the dark resulted only in a slight reactivation of cells, even after 24 h. Repair of photomutagenic damage was more efficient: within 24 h the number of Arg⁺ revertants was reduced by 50% in cells cultured in the dark at 20°C. The repair was more efficient at 30°C. At the beginning of dark cultivation an after-effect could be observed. Cultivation in standard white light instead of dark after treatment resulted in a very strong after-effect. Therefore it was not possible to detect any photoreactivation.After treatment with xanthotoxin plus standard white light (24 h) neither reactivation of cells nor repair of photomutagenic damage was found. The after-effect was higher than after xanthotoxin plus NUV. It is possible that a small amount of repair could be masked by the after-effect.Treatment with visnagin yielded similar results. The photomutagenic effect of visnagin is described for the first time in this paper. The drug is a much less effective photomutagen than xanthotoxin. The photomutagenesis of visnagin may be attributable to photoproducts similar to those formed after treatment with furocoumarins.No definite conclusion can be drawn from the present results regarding the basis for the observed lack of repair (or reduced repair) after standard white light treatment; a possible cause might be a preferential formation of bi-adducts under these conditions.     

Studies of Chloroplast Development in Euglena: XV. Factors Influencing the Decay of Photoreactivability of Green Colony Formation

When UV-treated cells of Euglena gracilis var. bacillaris are incubated in the dark in a nutrient medium which permits cell division, they lose the ability to be photoreactivated. The rate of this loss increases with the UV dose. For any given UV dose, the rate of decay increases with increasing growth rate. The same phenomena are observed in light-grown and in dark-grown cells, although the sensitivity to UV of the light-grown cells is smaller by a factor of 1.7. The kinetics of photoreactivation (PR) change during the decay of photoreactivability only if the cells are incubated in growth medium. A UV-inactivation curve for cells photoreactivated only after appreciable PR shows the same slope as that for untreated cells (number of UV-sensitive targets). These results are discussed from the point of view of possible models.     

Reduction of ultraviolet-induced mitotic delay by caffeine in G2-phase irradiated plasmodia of Physarum polycephalum

Synchronously mitotic surface Plasmodia ofPhysarum polycephalum were ultra-violet-irradiated at different times during G2-phase (—4 h to —20 min with respect to metaphase), and treated immediately thereafter with varying concentrations of caffeine. It was observed that ultraviolet-induced mitotic delay is reduced significantly by this methylxanthine. In plasmodia irradiated between —4 and —1 h with respect to metaphase, the effect was concentration-dependent and the need for a certain threshold dose for obtaining the reduction in delay was apparent. However, higher doses than this were fairly toxic when applied at this part of the cycle and led to more mitotic delay than that obtained with UV alone. The most striking observation made during this study was the phase-specific precipitous effect seen in those plasmodia irradiated at about 20 min before mitosis which almost eliminated the long delay due to ultraviolet-irradiation. These results are discussed in the context of some of the known effects of ultraviolet and caffeine on a mitosis-promoting factor. It is proposed that the significant reduction of ultraviolet-induced mitotic delay reported here is due to the reactivation of the ultraviolet-inactivated mitosis-promoting factor by caffeine. Alternatively, it is possible that caffeine may prevent the inactivation of this factor by ultraviolet.     

Novel Heparan Sulfate-Binding Peptides for Blocking Herpesvirus Entry

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection can lead to congenital hearing loss and mental retardation. Upon immune suppression, reactivation of latent HCMV or primary infection increases morbidity in cancer, transplantation, and late stage AIDS patients. Current treatments include nucleoside analogues, which have significant toxicities limiting their usefulness. In this study we screened a panel of synthetic heparin-binding peptides for their ability to prevent CMV infection in vitro. A peptide designated, p5+14 exhibited ~ 90% reduction in murine CMV (MCMV) infection. Because negatively charged, cell-surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs), serve as the attachment receptor during the adsorption phase of the CMV infection cycle, we hypothesized that p5+14 effectively competes for CMV adsorption to the cell surface resulting in the reduction in infection. Positively charged Lys residues were required for peptide binding to cell-surface HSPGs and reducing viral infection. We show that this inhibition was not due to a direct neutralizing effect on the virus itself and that the peptide blocked adsorption of the virus. The peptide also inhibited infection of other herpesviruses: HCMV and herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 in vitro, demonstrating it has broad-spectrum antiviral activity. Therefore, this peptide may offer an adjunct therapy for the treatment of herpes viral infections and other viruses that use HSPGs for entry.     

The effect of total body gamma-irradiation on mortality, egg production and egg weight of Japanese quails

Male and female Japanese quail 21 weeks old, that were given total body doses of 60Co gamma-rays ranging from 0 to 30 Gy, showed a peak in mortality at 6-8 days post-irradiation. The LD 50/30 was 22.5 Gy, and the LD 90/30 was 26.7 Gy. No differences were evident in mortality between males and females. The reduction in egg production by 30 days post-irradiation was related linearly to the dose, for doses above 6 Gy. The reduction in egg weight (30 days post-irradiation laying period) was also related linearly to the dose.     

The effects of UV radiation on photosynthesis in an Antarctic diatom (Thalassiosira sp.): Does vertical mixing matter?

The reduction of Antarctic stratospheric ozone results in significant increases in ultraviolet B radiation (UVB-R, 280-320 nm) reaching ocean's surface, potentially damaging phytoplankton. Several studies refer to the negative direct and indirect effects of UVB-R and ultraviolet A (UVA-R, 320-400 nm, which is not modified by ozone concentration) on different targets within algal cells. There are, however, internal and external processes, like vertical mixing, which can in part counteract such effects. The hypothesis that vertical mixing is a significant factor reducing the negative effects of ultraviolet radiation (UV-R, 280-400 nm) on planktonic algae photosynthesis was tested at Potter Cove (South Shetland Is., Antarctica). Three laboratory (solar simulator, SOLSI) and two field (natural Sun exposure) experiments were conducted. Vertical mixing was studied exposing cells of Thalassiosira sp., a typically bloom forming diatom in Antarctic waters, to variable light conditions simulating 6 h cycles (Mix treatment), whereas incubations at two fixed depths were used as controls (0.5 and 5 m, S_fix and D_fix treatments, respectively). Light effects were studied for each of the previous exposure conditions considering three treatments: PAR-T (exposure to PAR, photosynthetic active radiation, 400-700 nm), UVA-T (exposure to PAR and UVA-R) and UVB-T (exposure to PAR, UVA-R and UVB-R). During SOLSI experiments no significant differences were found between the different light treatments under simulated normal and medium ozone concentrations. Under low ozone conditions, 40% reduction in photosynthesis was observed in the UVB-T for surface incubations. In contrast, no significant differences were observed among the light treatments under mixing conditions. Field and laboratory experiments showed similar results. However, during one of the field experiments when ozone was low, not only S_fix but Mix incubations presented a significant reduction in photosynthesis, suggesting that vertical mixing under such conditions was not efficient enough to prevent harmful UVB-R effects. On the other hand, during a day with high insulation and normal ozone, but with elevated absorption of light in the water column, no significant effects of any of the studied factors were detected.In conclusion, vertical mixing was shown to play a significant role in protecting algae under low ozone concentrations, lessening photoinhibition by UVB radiation. The differences between laboratory and field experiments are discussed in terms of the relative significance of UVB-R dose and dose rate on both types of experiments.     

Quantum relations in photoreactivation of Colpidium

1. The amount of visible or long ultraviolet light (UV) required to photoreactivate Colpidium colpoda injured with known dosages of short UV (2654 A) was determined. 2. The effect of the short UV was tested by the delay in division of exposed animals compared to controls. Photoreactivation was tested by the effect of postillumination on the delay of division of treated colpidia compared to controls. 3. Colpidia were used in two physiological states: well fed and starved in balanced medium for 48 hours. The latter are much more sensitive to short UV although less susceptible of photoreactivation. 4. Photoreactivation occurred over the entire span from 3350 A to 4350 A for the well fed colpidia, from 3130 A to 5490 (green) for starved colpidia. 5. The photoreactivating effect of a single quantum of blue (4350 A) or long UV (3660 A) delivered per quantum of 2654 A used to injure colpidia was too slight to be considered significant. The effect of 10 quanta was usually more pronounced, but only after 100 quanta had been delivered was the photoreactivation nearly maximal for well fed colpidia. 6. The quantum requirement for maximal photoreactivation of the starved animals was greater at all wave lengths tried: 3660, 4050, 4350, and 5460 A being of the order of 800 incident quanta per incident quantum of 2654 A. 7. The transmission of UV(2654 A), blue, yellow, and red light by a suspension of colpidia was determined. 8. Large dosages of blue, violet, or long UV were slightly injurious to starved colpidia. In a few cases large dosages of 3660 A killed starved colpidia, especially after a non-lethal dose of short UV(2654 A). 9. Photoreactivation seems to be a balance between the slight injurious effect produced by the visible light or UV of long wave lengths and the injury produced by short wave length UV. 10. Possible reasons for the large number of quanta of photoreactivating light required per quantum of short UV are discussed.