Ataxia telangiectasia: the effects of chemical mutagens and x-rays on sister chromatid exchanges in blood lymphocytes

It is now possible to examine in detail exchanges between sister chromatids (SCEs) and to attempt to investigate the relationships of such exchanges to aberration formation and DNA-repair mechanisms. The frequency of SCEs is dramatically increased by chemical mutagens and may reflect the level of DNA damage. Lymphocytes from patients with ataxia telangiectasis (AT) show high levels of spontaneous chromosome damage and are hypersentive to ionising radiations and it was of interest to examine the levels of SCE induced in these cells by various mutagens. The frequencies of SCE after treatment with X=rays or three chemical mutagens were equivalent to those in normal cells. The effects of fluorodeoxyuridine and deoxycytidine on SCE frequencies were also tested.     

Kinetics of micronucleus formation in relation to chromosomal aberrations in mouse bone marrow

A simulation analysis of the kinetics of micronucleus formation in polychromatic erythrocytes in mouse bone marrow was performed after a single administration of 3 chemicals--mitomycin C (MMC), 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) and 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (Ara-C)--with different modes of action. The time-response patterns in the incidence of chromosomal aberrations and micronuclei after treatment with each chemical were compared and subjected to the simulation study with 3 parameters. Two of them, the time between the final mitotic metaphase of the erythroid series and nucleus expulsion (T1), and the duration of the polychromatic erythrocyte (PCE) stage in the bone marrow (T2), were almost identical for the 3 chemicals. However, the coefficients of formation rate of micronucleated cells resulting from cells with chromosomal aberration(s) (k) differed: Ara-C differed from the other two. These results indicate that chromosomal aberrations, especially chromatid breaks and probably gaps, induced by this chemical, effectively contribute to micronucleus formation. The DNA content of micronuclei was also compared to the length of acentric fragments induced by Ara-C and it was found that their distributions were comparable. These findings strongly suggest that chromosomal aberrations induced by chemicals are essential events for the induction of micronuclei in the PCE of bone marrow.     

Cross-resistance studies with V79 Chinese hamster cells adapted to the mutagenic or clastogenic effect of N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine

When V79 cells are exposed to a single low dose of MNNG or MNU they acquire resistance to the mutagenic or to the clastogenic effect of the agents. Here the effect of MNNG pretreatment on mutagenesis (6-thioguanine resistance) and aberration formation in cells challenged with various mutagens/clastogens is reported. MNNG-adapted cells were resistant to the mutagenic effects of MNU and, to a lower extent, of EMS. No mutagenic adaptation was observed when MNNG-pretreated cells were challenged with MMS, ENU, MMC or UV.

Cells pretreated with a dose of MNNG which makes them resistant to the clastogenic effect of this compound were also resistant to the clastogenic activity of other methylating agents (MNU, MMS), but not so with respect to ethylating agents (EMS, ENU). Cycloheximide abolished the aberration-reducing effect of pretreatment. However, when given before the challenge dose of MNNG, MNU or MMS, it drastically enhanced the aberration frequency in both pretreated and non-pretreated cells. No significant enhancement of aberration frequency by cycloheximide was found for ethylating agents.

The results indicate that clastogenic adaptation is due to inducible cellular functions. It is concluded that mutagenic and clastogenic adaptation are probably caused by different adaptive repair pathways.     

Deoxynucleoside triphosphate pool of mouse FM3A cell lines unaffected by mutagen treatment

The size of deoxynucleoside triphosphate pool in cultured mouse FM3A cells and mutator mutants isolated from this cell line was determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography after treatment of the cells with ultraviolet light, N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine or mitomycin C. The results showed that, in all the FM3A cell clones, no large increase in the dATP or TTP pool was induced after treatment, while in some cases 40–50% decrease in dCTP pool was observed. It is concluded that the induction of large increase in dNTP pool is not the general effect of the mutagens.     

Molecular defects identified by whole exome sequencing in a child with Fanconi anemia

Fanconi anemia is a rare genetic disease characterized by bone marrow failure, multiple congenital malformations, and an increased susceptibility to malignancy. At least 15 genes have been identified that are involved in the pathogenesis of Fanconi anemia. However, it is still a challenge to assign the complementation group and to characterize the molecular defects in patients with Fanconi anemia. In the current study, whole exome sequencing was used to identify the affected gene(s) in a boy with Fanconi anemia. A recurring, non-synonymous mutation was found (c.3971C>T, p.P1324L) as well as a novel frameshift mutation (c.989_995del, p.H330LfsX2) in FANCA gene. Our results indicate that whole exome sequencing may be useful in clinical settings for rapid identification of disease-causing mutations in rare genetic disorders such as Fanconi anemia.     

HUWE1 interacts with BRCA1 and promotes its degradation in the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway

The cellular BRCA1 protein level is essential for its tumor suppression activity and is tightly regulated through multiple mechanisms including ubiquitn–proteasome system. E3 ligases are involved to promote BRCA1 for ubiquitination and degradation. Here, we identified HUWE1/Mule/ARF-BP1 as a novel BRCA1-interacting protein involved in the control of BRCA1 protein level. HUWE1binds BRCA1 through its N-terminus degron domain. Depletion of HUWE1 by siRNA-mediated interference significantly increases BRCA1 protein levels and prolongs the half-life of BRCA1. Moreover, exogenous expression of HUWE1 promotes BRCA1 degradation through the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway, which could explain an inverse correlation between HUWE1 and BRCA1 levels in MCF10F, MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Consistent with a functional role for HUWE1 in regulating BRCA1-mediated cellular response to DNA damage, depletion of HUWE1 by siRNA confers increased resistance to ionizing radiation and mitomycin. These data indicate that HUWE1 is a critical negative regulator of BRCA1 and suggest a new molecular mechanism for breast cancer pathogenesis.     

Scintillometric determination of DNA repair in human cell lines: A critical appraisal

The ability of a variety of chemical and physical agents to stimulate DNA repair synthesis in human cell cultures was tested by a simplified scintillometric procedure, with the use of hydroxyurea (HU) to suppress DNA replicative synthesis. After incubation with [³H]thymidine, the radioactivity incorporated in to DNA was determined in controls (C) and treated (T) cultures and in the corresponding HU series (C_HU, T_HU). The ratios T_HU/C_HU and T_HU/T:C_HU/C, indicating absolute and relative increases of DNA radioactivity, were calculated. When both ratios were significantly higher than 1, they were taken as indices of DNA repair stimulation, whereas, no stimulation in inferred when both of them are ?1. The scintillometric estimate of DNA repair was always in agreement with the autoradiographic observations, so that the procedure adopted can be used as a rapid test for screening investigations.Agents giving a relative but no an absolute increase of DNA radioactivity are generally not inducers of repair synthesis as estimated by autoradiography. However, the same scintillometric results are also occasionally observed with DNA repair inducers, such as methyl methanesulphonate (MMS) and ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS), owing to alterations of thymidine pool radioactivity. These chemicals, besides affecting the levels of labelled precursors in the intracellular pool in the T series, differently modified the increase of pool radioactivity which is a regular effect of HU. With such chemicals, DNA repair synthesis can be detected only after normalization of th DNA radioactivity on the basis of pool alterations.The quantitative value of the autoradiographic estimate of DNA repair is also affected by the changes in the radioactivity of the thymidine pool although autoradiography retains its qualitative value.Dimethylnitrosamine, mitomycin C and potassium dichromate, described by other authors as inducers of DNA repair, also gave negative results by the scintillometric procedure after normalization of DNA radioactivities. However, in our hands, these agents were unable to stimulated repair synthesis, according to the results of autoradiography and isopynic centrifugation.The proposed scintillometric procedure is effective in indicating false negative inducers of DNA repair, not giving rise to false positives.     

小梁切除术中应用丝裂霉素C 对角膜内皮细胞的影响

目的:观察小梁切除术中应用丝裂霉素C(MMC)对角膜内皮细胞的影响。方法:收集2010年9月2011年5月在我院行小梁切除术的青光眼患者60例(78眼),随机分为术中应用丝裂霉素C的36例(46眼)患者为A组,术中不用丝裂霉素C的24例(32眼)为B组,分别观察术前、术后1个月和术后3个月两组眼压(IOP)、角膜内皮细胞的密度(CD)、平均细胞面积(AVG)及细胞面积变异系数(CV),分析其数量的改变及两组间的差异。结果:A组术前眼压为(35.4±13.7)mmHg,B组术前眼压为(32.5±13.5)mmHg差异无统计学意义(P>0.05),A组术后1个月及术后3个月眼压分别为(15.7±3.7)mmHg、(17.0±3.2)mmHg,均低于B组的(19.4±3.7)mmHg、(20.2±2.1)mmHg,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。A组术前、术后1个月及术后3个月角膜内皮细胞密度分别为(2475±484)个/mm2、(2199±373)个/mm2、(2164±332)个/mm2;平均细胞面积分别为(431.4±67.6)μm2、(480.6±66.8)μm2、(463.8±46.2)μm2;细胞面积变异系数分别为(31.1±7.4)%、(34.4±6.3)%、(31.2±7.5)%;术后1个月及术后3个月各参数与术前比较,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。B组术前、术后1个月及术后3个月角膜内皮细胞密度分别为(2342±94)个/mm2、(2185±215)个/mm2、(2074±218)个/mm2;平均细胞面积分别为(453.9±94.8)μm2、(516.3±100.8)μm2、(499.81±106.4)μm2;细胞面积变异系数分别为(30.2±3.0)%、(32.7±2.9)%、(31.4±4.3)%;除术后3个月角膜内皮细胞与术前比较有意义(P<0.05)外,余参数术后1个月及术后3个月与术前比较差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05)。术后1个月A组的角膜内皮细胞丢失率为10.4%高于B组的6.1%,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);术后3个月A组的角膜内皮细胞丢失率为11.1%高于B组的10.0%,差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论:小梁切除术中用丝裂霉素C的降压效果比不用丝裂霉素C的效果好,但短期内前者角膜内皮细胞的丢失率高于后者。