Cell-cycle-dependent repair of potentially lethal damage in the XR-1 gamma-ray-sensitive Chinese hamster ovary cell

Repair of potentially lethal damage (PLD) was investigated in a gamma-ray-sensitive Chinese hamster cell mutant, XR-1, and its parent by comparing survival of plateau-phase cells plated immediately after irradiation with cells plated after a delay. Previous work indicated that XR-1 cells are deficient in repair of double-strand DNA breaks and are gamma-ray sensitive in G1 but have near normal sensitivity and repair capacity in late S phase. At irradiation doses from 0 to 1.0 Gy (100 to 10% survival), the delayed- and immediate-plating survival curves of XR-1 cells were identical; however, at doses greater than 1.0 Gy a significant increase in survival was observed when plating was delayed (PLD repair), approaching a 20-fold increase at 8 Gy. Elimination of S-phase cells by [3H]thymidine suicide dramatically increased gamma-ray sensitivity of plateau-phase XR-1 mutant cells and reduced by 600-fold the number of cells capable of PLD repair after a 6-Gy dose. In contrast, elimination of S-phase cells in plateau-phase parental cells did not alter PLD repair. These results suggest that the majority of PLD repair observed in plateau-phase XR-1 cells occurs in S-phase cells while G1 cells perform little PLD repair. In contrast, G1 cells account for the majority of PLD repair in plateau-phase parental cells. Thus, in the XR-1 mutant, a cell's ability to repair PLD seems to depend upon the stage of the cell cycle at which the irradiation is delivered. A possible explanation for these findings is discussed.     

Quiescence in 9L cells and correlation with radiosensitivity and PLD repair

The onset of quiescence, changes in X-ray sensitivity, and changes in capacity for potentially lethal damage (PLD) repair of unfed plateau-phase 9L44 cell cultures have been systematically investigated. The quiescent plateau phase in 9L cells was the result of nutrient deprivation and was not a cell contact effect. Eighty-five to 90% of the plateau-phase cells had a G1 DNA content and a growth fraction less than or equal to 0.15. The cell kinetic shifts in the population were temporally correlated with a developing radioresistance, which was characterized by a larger shoulder in the survival curve of the quiescent cells (Dq = 5.71 Gy) versus exponentially growing cells (Dq = 4.48 Gy). When the quiescent plateau-phase cells were refed, an increase in radiosensitivity resulted which approached that of exponentially growing 9L cells. Delayed plating experiments after irradiation of exponentially growing cells, quiescent plateau-phase cells, and synchronized early to mid-G1-phase cells indicated that while significant PLD repair was evident in all three populations, the quiescent 9L cells had a higher PLD repair capacity. Although data for immediate plating indicated that 9L cells may enter quiescence in the relatively radioresistant mid-G1 phase, the enhanced PLD repair capacity of quiescent cells cannot be explained by redistribution into G1 phase. When the unfed quiescent plateau-phase 9L cells were stimulated to reenter the cell cycle by replating into fresh medium, the first G1 was extended by 6 h compared with the G1 of exponentially growing or refed plateau-phase 9L cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Evidence for differences among the sectors of potentially lethal damage expressed by hypertonic treatment in plateau-phase V79 cells after exposure to neutrons or gamma rays: the importance of distinction between alpha and beta-PLD forms

Expotentially growing and plateau-phase V79 cells were exposed to various doses of neutrons and plated either immediately or after treatment in hypertonic medium (250-500 mM NaCl) to express radiation-induced potentially lethal damage (PLD). Postirradiation treatment of exponentially growing cells in hypertonic medium (500 mM) resulted in a decrease in both Dq and D0, whereas postirradiation treatment of plateau-phase cells in hypertonic medium (in the range between 200 to 1,500 mM) resulted mainly in a reduction of Dq. This difference in response between exponentially growing and plateau-phase cells may reflect differences in the chromatin structure in cells at various stages of the cell cycle, affecting fixation of radiation-induced damage. Exposure of plateau-phase cells to gamma rays, on the other hand, resulted in a treatment time and salt concentration-dependent decrease in Dq along with a decrease in D0. Repair of neutron-induced, hypertonic treatment-sensitive PLD, measured by delaying treatment for various periods after irradiation, was found to proceed with a t1/2 of about 1 h. This is similar to the repair kinetics obtained by delaying treatment of plateau-phase cells with 150 microM beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine (araA) after exposure to gamma rays or neutrons and contrasts the repair kinetics observed after exposure of cells to gamma rays. In this case, hypertonic treatment was found to affect a form of PLD repaired with a t1/2 of 10-15 min (beta-PLD) and araA, a different form of PLD, repaired with a t1/2 of about 1 h (alpha-PLD). Based on these results it is hypothesized that the sector of lesions affected by hypertonic treatment and araA coincides after exposure to neutrons (effect on alpha-PLD) but only partly overlaps after exposure to gamma rays (due to the effect on beta-PLD of hypertonic treatment). The results presented, together with previously published observations, suggest a differential induction and/or fixation by hypertonic medium of the alpha- and beta-PLD forms as the LET of the radiation increases. Furthermore, they indicate that direct comparison of the effects of a postirradiation treatment, as well as of the repair kinetics obtained by its delayed application after exposure to radiations of various LET, should be made with caution.     

Ataxia-telangiectasia homo- and heterozygous cells show a normal repair and fixation response to anisotonic NaCl treatment after irradiation

The effect of anisotonic NaCl treatment on fixation and repair of radiation-induced potentially lethal damage (PLD) was tested in normal human cells and in three homozygous ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) and two heterozygous A-T cell strains. Fixation of radiation-induced PLD occurred in all cell strains exposed to 0.05, 0.5, or 1.5 mole/liter NaCl solutions immediately after irradiation. This effect was observed in both plateau-phase and exponentially growing normal and A-T cells. When an incubation period at 37 degrees C was introduced between irradiation and the subsequent anisotonic treatment, recovery was observed in both normal and A-T cells strains. These data show that A-T cells are as proficient as normal cells in repairing PLD that is sensitive to anisotonic NaCl treatment. It is proposed that two PLD repair systems may exist, one that is expressed after irradiation in proliferatively arrested cells and another that occurs in plateau-phase as well as exponentially growing cells, and is expressed by the postirradiation treatments described here and by Raaphorst and Azzam (Radiat. Res. 86, 52-66 (1981].     

Mechanism of radiosensitization by halogenated pyrimidines: effect of BrdU on repair of DNA breaks, interphase chromatin breaks, and potentially lethal damage in plateau-phase CHO cells.

There is evidence suggesting that radiosensitization induced in mammalian cells by substitution in the DNA of thymidine with BrdU has a component that relies on inhibition of repair and/or fixation of radiation damage. Here, experiments designed to study the mechanism of this phenomenon are described. The effect of BrdU incorporation into DNA was studied on cellular repair capability, rejoining of interphase chromosome breaks, as well as induction and rejoining of DNA double- and single-stranded breaks (DSBs and SSBs) in plateau-phase CHO cells exposed to X rays. Repair of potentially lethal damage (PLD), as measured by delayed plating of plateau-phase cells, was used to assay cellular repair capacity. Rejoining of interphase chromosome breaks was assayed by means of premature chromosome condensation (PCC); induction and rejoining of DNA DSBs were assayed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and induction and rejoining of DNA SSBs by DNA unwinding. A decrease was observed in the rate of repair of PLD in cells grown in the presence of BrdU, the magnitude of which depended upon the degree of thymidine replacement. The relative increase in survival caused by PLD repair was larger in cells substituted with BrdU and led to a partial loss of the radiosensitizing effect compared to cells tested immediately after irradiation. A decrease was also observed in the rate of rejoining of interphase chromosome breaks as well as in the rate of rejoining of the slow component of DNA DSBs in cells substituted with BrdU. The time constants measured for the rejoining of the slow component of DNA DSBs and of interphase chromosome breaks were similar both in the presence and in the absence of BrdU, suggesting a correlation between this subset of DNA lesions and interphase chromosome breaks. It is proposed that a larger proportion of radiation-induced potentially lethal lesions becomes lethal in cells grown in the presence of BrdU. Potentially lethal lesions are fixed via interaction with processes associated with cell cycle progression in cells plated immediately after irradiation, but can be partly repaired in cells kept in the plateau-phase. It is hypothesized that fixation of PLD is caused by alterations in chromatin conformation that occur during normal progression of cells throughout the cell cycle.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Recovery from potentially lethal damage and recruitment time of noncycling clonogenic cells in 9L confluent monolayers and spheroids

Cells that have been grown as multicell tumor spheroids exhibit radioresistance compared to the same cells grown in monolayers. Comparison of potentially lethal damage (PLD) repair and its kinetics was made between 9L cells grown as spheroids and confluent monolayers. Survival curves of cells plated immediately after irradiation showed the typical radioresistance associated with spheroid culture compared to plateau-phase monolayers. The dose-modification factor for spheroid cell survival is 1.44. Postirradiation incubations in normal phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), conditioned media, or 0.5 M NaCl in PBS reduced the differences in radiosensitivity between the two culture conditions. Postirradiation treatment in PBS or conditioned medium promoted repair of potentially lethal damage, and 0.5 M NaCl prevented the removal of PLD and allowed the fixation of damage resulting in lower survival. Survival of spheroid and monolayer cells after hypertonic NaCl treatment was identical. NaCl treatment reduced Do more than it did the shoulder (Dq) of the survival curve. PLD repair kinetics measured after postirradiation incubation in PBS followed by hypertonic NaCl treatment was the same for spheroids and for plateau-phase monolayers. The kinetics of PLD repair indicates a biphasic phenomenon. There is an initial fast component with a repair half-time of 7.9 min and a slow component with a repair half-time of 56.6 min. Most of the damage (59%) is repaired slowly. Since the repair capacity and kinetics are the same for spheroids and monolayers, the radioresistance of spheroids cannot be explained on this basis. Evidence indicates that the time to return from a Go (noncycling G1 cells) state to a proliferative state (recruitment) for cells from confluent monolayers and from spheroids after dissociation by protease treatment may be the most important determinant of the degree of PLD repair that occurs. Growth curves and flow cytometry cell cycle analysis indicate that spheroid cells have a lag period for reentry into a proliferative state. Since plating efficiency remains high and unchanging during this period, one cannot account for the delay on the basis of the existence of a large fraction of Go cells which are not potentially clonogenic. The cell cycle progression begins in 6-8 h for monolayer cells and in 14-15 h for spheroids. It is hypothesized that the slower reentry of spheroid cells into a cycling phase allows more time for repair than for the rapidly proliferating monolayer cells.     

Reduced repair of potentially lethal radiation damage in glutathione synthetase-deficient human fibroblasts after X-irradiation

Using a human fibroblast strain deficient in glutathione synthetase and a related proficient control strain, the role of glutathione (GSH) in repair of potentially lethal damage (PLD) has been investigated in determining survival by plating cells immediately or 24 h after irradiation. After oxic or hypoxic irradiation, both cell strains repair radiation-induced damage. However, under hypoxic conditions, the proficient cells repair PLD as well as under oxic conditions while the deficient cells repair less PLD after irradiation under hypoxic than under oxic conditions. Therefore, the oxygen enhancement ratio (o.e.r.) for proficient cells is similar whether the cells are plated immediately or 24 h later (2.0 and 2.13, respectively). In contrast, the o.e.r. for deficient cells is lower when the cells are plated 24 h after irradiation than when they are plated immediately thereafter (1.16 as compared to 1.55). The results indicate that GSH is involved in PLD repair and, in particular, in the repair of damage induced by radiation delivered under hypoxic conditions.     

Possible importance of PLD repair in the modulation of BrdUrd and IdUrd-mediated radiosensitization in plateau-phase C3H10T1/2 mouse embryo cells

C3H10T1/2 mouse embryo cells exhibiting strong contact inhibition of growth at confluency were grown in the presence of 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) or 5-iododeoxyuridine (IdUrd) (0-1.2 microM) with daily refeeding and exposed to gamma-rays (6 Gy) either in the logarithmic or the plateau phase of growth. Sensitization to radiation was observed in both growth states with increasing concentration of BrdUrd or IdUrd but the degree of sensitization achieved was lower for plateau-phase cells. Because the degree of [H3]BrdUrd incorporation was found to be similar in exponentially growing and plateau-phase cells, it is hypothesized that the radiosensitization caused by pyrimidine analogues may be affected by the physiological state of the cells at the time of irradiation. Delayed plating of plateau-phase cells (6 h) caused an increase in survival, indicating repair of potentially lethal damage (PLD). A greater increase in cell survival was observed in cells that had been grown in the presence of BrdUrd and IdUrd and it was found to increase with increasing concentrations. This analogue-concentration dependent PLD repair activity resulted in an almost complete loss of the radiosensitizing effect in delayed plated plateau-phase cells up to a concentration of about 0.6 microM of BrdUrd and IdUrd. Both compounds, but especially BrdUrd, caused a relaxation in the mechanism of contact inhibition and led to higher cell densities in the plateau phase. The results suggest that repair and/or expression of PLD might be involved in the mechanism underlying BrdUrd and IdUrd-mediated radiosensitization and point out the potential importance of PLD repair in the modulation of the radiosensitizing effect of these compounds in their clinical application.     

Correlation between PLD repair capacity and the survival curve of human fibroblasts in exponential growth phase: analysis in terms of several parameters

Published data on the in vitro radiosensitivity of 46 nontransformed fibroblasts of different genetic origins studied in plateau phase with immediate or delayed plating were used to investigate to what extent potentially lethal damage repair capacity is related to intrinsic radiosensitivity (i.e., irradiated in exponential growth phase). While most of the survival curve analysis is conducted in terms of D0, Dq, and the mean inactivation dose D, some of the data are also discussed in terms of the linear-quadratic model parameter alpha. Using D it is shown that: (i) the radiosensitivity of human fibroblasts in exponential growth phase does not significantly differ from that of plateau-phase fibroblasts with immediate plating; (ii) the radiosensitivity of plateau-phase cells with delayed plating is correlated to the radiosensitivity of cells with immediate plating: the more radioresistant the cell strain in exponential growth phase, the higher its repair capacity; (iii) the repair capacity of the cell strains is related to their genetic origin. In conclusion, we suggest that the survival curve of growing cells depends on the repair capacity of the cells.     

Effect of arabinofuranosyladenine on radiation-induced chromosome damage in plateau-phase CHO cells measured by premature chromosome condensation: implications for repair and fixation of alpha-PLD

The effect of the DNA polymerase inhibitor beta-arabinofuranosyladenine (araA) on radiation-induced damage was studied at the cell survival and chromosome level in unfed plateau-phase cultures of Chinese hamster ovary cells. At the cell survival level postirradiation treatment with araA fixed a form of radiation-induced potentially lethal damage, termed alpha-PLD. In the absence of araA treatment, repair of PLD resulted in the formation of the survival curve shoulder in immediately plated cells and in the increase in survival observed after delayed plating. The repair kinetics observed after delayed plating of plateau-phase cells or after delayed administration of 500 microM araA were similar, suggesting that both protocols assay similar lesions. AraA-mediated fixation reached a plateau at concentrations higher than 500 microM, indicating complete fixation of alpha-PLD. At the cytogenetic level, postirradiation treatment with araA at concentrations higher than 500 microM caused a complete inhibition of chromosome repair, as scored by premature chromosome condensation. In the absence of araA, the linearity of the dose-effect relationship for chromosome fragmentation obtained immediately after irradiation was preserved even after long repair times. The repair kinetics of chromosome damage measured in cells held postirradiation in the plateau phase were the mirror image of the repair kinetics for alpha-PLD. The half-time was 1 h in both cases and repair reached a plateau after about 4-6 h. AraA-mediated repair inhibition of chromosome damage was reversible, and a decrease in residual chromosome damage was observed after post-treatment incubation in araA-free conditioned medium. This persistent chromosome damage increased with increasing araA concentration and, as with PLD fixation, reached a plateau at about 500 microM. These results suggest that repair and araA-mediated fixation of alpha-PLD have their counterparts at the chromosome level as indicated by the similar repair kinetics and inhibition/fixation characteristics obtained for alpha-PLD and chromosome damage. This relationship implies a correlation between repair at the DNA and the chromosome level and suggests that DNA polymerization is required for the repair of chromosome damage.     

Importance of TP53 and RB in the repair of potentially lethal damage and induction of color junctions after exposure to ionizing radiation

Repair of potentially lethal damage (PLD) was investigated in cells with functional G1-phase arrest with wild-type TP53 and wild-type RB and in cells in which G1-phase arrest was abrogated by inactivation of TP53 or RB. Confluent cultures of cells were plated for clonogenic survival assay either immediately or 24 h after irradiation. Induction of color junctions, an exchange between a painted and unpainted chromosome, was studied in chromosomes 18 and 19 after irradiation with 4 Gy gamma rays. Significant repair of PLD was found in cells carrying both wild-type TP53 and wild-type RB. In cells in which TP53 or RB was inactivated, the survival curves from immediately plated and delayed-plated cells were not significantly different. The numbers of radiation-induced color junctions in chromosomes 18 and 19 were similar in all cell lines. From this study we conclude that a functional G1-phase arrest is important for repair of PLD and that TP53 and RB do not affect the frequencies of induction of color junctions in chromosome 18 or 19.     

Differential sensitization of human tumor cells by ara-A to X irradiation and its relationship to inherent radioresponse.

We have previously shown that pretreatment of plateau-phase cultures of human tumor cells with ara-A can markedly sensitize them to the cytotoxic effects of X irradiation; the degree of sensitization varied in two different cell lines. The present study was undertaken to determine whether variability in radiosensitization by ara-A occurs at random in human tumor cell lines or if it is related to their intrinsic radiosensitivity (human tumor radioresponse). The interaction between ara-A and X irradiation was examined in plateau-phase cultures of early-passage tumor cell lines of varying radioresponse (D0 range 0.85-3.15 Gy) subcultured immediately after irradiation to measure survival. In six of the eight cell lines studied, pretreatment with ara-A greatly enhanced the lethal effects of X irradiation in a concentration-dependent fashion. Little or no effect was observed in the two radiosensitive cell lines. When ara-A sensitization was plotted as a function of D10 or D, a linear relationship was observed. These data suggest that pretreatment with ara-A is effective in sensitizing radiation-resistant human tumor cells to the lethal effects of X rays, and that this phenomenon may be dependent upon inherent tumor cell radiosensitivity.     

Mechanism of radiosensitization by halogenated pyrimidines: effect of BrdU on cell killing and interphase chromosome breakage in radiation-sensitive cells

The effect of BrdU incorporation on cell radiosensitivity as well as on the induction of chromosome damage by radiation was studied in plateau-phase xrs-5 cells using the premature chromosome condensation (PCC) method. It is well known that xrs-5 cells are sensitive to ionizing radiation and defective in the repair of radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks, chromosome damage, and potentially lethal damage (PLD). Compared to repair-proficient CHO 10B cells, a reduction was observed in the overall BrdU-mediated radiosensitization in plateau-phase xrs-5 cells for the same degree of thymidine replacement. This finding is interpreted with a model for BrdU-induced radiosensitization advanced previously, in which two distinct components act to produce the overall radiosensitization observed. One component involves processes associated with the increase in initial damage (DNA and chromosome) production per unit absorbed dose and causes an increase in the slope of the survival curve, while the second component involves enhanced fixation of radiation-induced damage (PLD) and causes a reduction in the width of the shoulder of the survival curve. It is suggested that in plateau-phase xrs-5 cells, the deficiency in the repair of radiation-induced damage compromises BrdU-mediated radiosensitization by leaving active only the radiosensitization component that is associated with an increase in damage induction. Enhancement of cell killing by BrdU in plateau-phase xrs-5 cells resulted in a decrease in D0, the relative value of which was similar to the relative increase in the production of chromosome damage as measured by the PCC method. The relative values for the change in D0 and the production of chromosome aberrations were similar in plateau-phase CHO 10B and xrs-5 cells, suggesting that the physicochemical and/or biochemical processes associated with this phenomenon are the same in the two cell lines. Radiosensitization of a magnitude similar to that observed in exponentially growing CHO 10B cells was induced by BrdU in exponentially growing xrs-5 cells. This effect is attributed to a partial expression of the repair gene (transiently during S phase in all cells, or throughout the cycle in a fraction of cells) that permits some repair of radiation-induced damage and which is compromised by BrdU.     

Potentially lethal radiation damage repair and its inhibition by hyperthermia in normal hamster cells, mouse cells, and transformed mouse cells

The capacity of plateau-phase Chinese hamster V79 and normal and transformed C3H-10T1/2 cells for repair of potentially lethal radiation damage (PLD) was evaluated for cells irradiated alone or given combined treatments of heat and radiation. The data show that all cell lines tested could repair PLD and that transformation to the tumorigenic state may reduce the capacity to repair PLD, especially if cells are evaluated at equal survival levels. Hyperthermia treatments before irradiation produced less sensitization than treatments after irradiation. In addition, hyperthermia treatment led to the inhibition of cellular capacity to repair PLD. This effect was the greatest for cells heated after irradiation, and repair of PLD could be completely eliminated. Several temperature isodose heat treatments were evaluated, and the lower temperature heat treatments were more effective in the inhibition of PLD than the higher temperature heat treatments; this is consistent with earlier results indicating temperature dependence in thermal radiosensitization (S. A. Sapareto et al., Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 5, 343-347 (1979)).     

Absence of contact effects in irradiated EMT6-Rw tumors

Some cells have been reported to show greater resistance to drugs or radiation when growing with close intercellular contacts in spheroids or in solid tumors than when growing with few intercellular contacts in sparse cultures. In some cases this increased resistance reflects an increased capacity of cells in close contact to repair cytotoxic damage. However, not all tumors show contact effects, and in some tumors and spheroids the increased resistance appears to be produced by environmental factors, such as hypoxia, rather than by changes in the repair capacity of the cells. To assess whether EMT6-Rw cells showed increased intrinsic radioresistance when grown as solid tumors, we compared survival curves for cells in exponentially growing monolayers and in solid tumors in BALB/c mice. To avoid complications arising from regional heterogeneity in oxygenation within solid tumors, these irradiations were performed under conditions of uniform, maximal hypoxia. The two survival curves were indistinguishable. Moreover, survival curves for cells suspended from solid tumors, plated at low densities and irradiated immediately, after 5 h of incubation or after 24 h of incubation, were indistinguishable from one another and were indistinguishable from survival curves for cells suspended from exponentially growing monolayers and irradiated immediately using an identical protocol. It therefore appears that contact effects are insignificant for irradiated EMT6-Rw tumors and that the intrinsic radiosensitivity of these cells is similar in culture and in solid tumors.     

Changes in repair of potentially lethal damage with culture age in EMT6 cells.

We have investigated the changes in the amplitude of repair of potentially lethal damage (PLD) in EMT6 cells with increasing culture age and determined the delay necessary to achieve this repair. This experimental system presents all intermediaries between the exponential growth type and a plateau with a cell turnover nearly nil. The radiosensitivity was studied by the colony method. When the percentage of surviving cells was tested immediately after irradiation it was observed that their radiosensitivity increased with culture age. This percentage fell only slightly when the cells were tested for viability 6 hours after irradiation. Therefore, the amplitude of repair increases with culture age. Repair was found to terminate 1, 1.75, 3 and 6 hours after irradiation of cultures aged respectively 2, 4, 6 and 9 days. The delay and the amplitude of repair did not vary significantly for cultures of 9, 11 and 13 days.     

Radiation response characteristics of human cells in vitro

Improvements in tissue culture techniques and growth media have made it possible to culture a range of cells of human origin, both normal and malignant. The most recent addition to the list are endothelial cells from umbilical cord veins. Interesting results in radiosensitivity studies of these human cells have been obtained, some of which may have implications in radiation therapy. (i) Repair of potentially lethal damage (PLDR) has been observed in all cell lines investigated; cells of normal origin repair PLD at least as well as malignant cells, which makes clinical trials of PLDR inhibitors of doubtful usefulness. (ii) No apparent correlation can be made between the extent of PLDR and the traditional radioresponsiveness of a particular tumor type. Indeed, if anything, it could appear to have an inverse correlation since the most resistant tumor cells show the smallest amount of PLD repair. (iii) Dose-rate effects appear to be better predictors of radiosensitivity than PLDR capacity. (iv) Sublethal damage repair, manifest by a dose-rate effect, has also been observed in all human cell lines tested. Cells of normal tissue origin, including fibroblasts and endothelial cells, exhibit a dose-rate effect that is intermediate between that for cells from traditionally resistant tumors (melanoma and osteosarcoma) and cells from more sensitive tumors (neuroblastoma and breast).     

Repair and fixation of potentially lethal damage (PLD) as demonstrated by delayed plating or incubation with araA in contact inhibited refed plateau-phase C3H mouse embryo 10 T1/2 cells grown in the presence of BrdUrd

Summary OH mouse 10 T_1/2 cells showing strong inhibition of growth at confluency were grown under daily refeeding in the presence of BrdUrd (from 0 to 1 µM) and exposed to-rays either while exponentially growing or in the plateau phase. An increase in radiosensitivity was observed in both growth conditions mainly reflected by a reduction in Dq. Greater radiosensitization was observed in exponentially growing than in plateau-phase cells, and 3–4 times higher BrdUrd concentrations were required in plateau-phase cells for similar potentiation in killing. This effect could not be entirely attributed to a reduction in BrdUrd incorporation since measurements with³H-BrdUrd showed reductions in incorporation between only 17–47% in plateau-phase cells. The rate of repair of potentially lethal damage (PLD) as demonstrated by delayed plating was not affected by the incorporation of BrdUrd, but the amount of repair (measured as the relative increase in cell survival) was higher for BrdUrd-containing cells. Post-irradiation treatment of cells in the plateau-phase (no BrdUrd) with 9--d-arabinofuranosyladenine (araA) caused fixation of radiation-induced PLD. AraA treatment of cells grown in the presence of various amounts of BrdUrd also caused fixation of PLD, but resulted in survival levels similar to those observed with cells growing in BrdUrd-free medium. This result indicates that BrdUrd mediated radiosensitization cannot be observed when cells are prevented from repairing PLD by postirradiation incubation with araA. Based on these findings we propose that the mechanism of radiosensitization by BrdUrd incorporation might be, by increasing probability of fixation, mediated by the postirradiation progression of cells through the cycle, of a sector of PLD also sensitive to post-irradiation treatment with araA. For this sector of PLD the term -PLD has been proposed.This investigation was partly supported by PHS grants CA33951, CA39938 and CA42026 awarded by NCI, DHHS     

Resistance of plateau-phase human normal and xeroderma pigmentosum fibroblasts to the cytotoxic effect of ultraviolet light

Clonogenic survival response to 254-nm ultraviolet light was measured in 2 strains of repair-proficient normal human fibroblasts and 4 strains of xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) fibroblasts belonging to complementation groups A, C, D and variant. In all strains except XPA, cells irradiated in plateau phase and subcultured immediately were much more resistant to the lethal effect of UV than cells irradiated in the exponential phase of growth. Typically, 10-20% of plateau-phase cells were extremely resistant. When the cultures were held in plateau phase for 24 h after irradiation and before subculture, there was a further enhance of survival. By use of a UV-specific endonuclease assay, no difference was found in the number of DNA lesions induced in exponentially growing and plateau cultures by the same dose of UV light. Thus plateau-phase cells appear to be more efficient in their DNA-repair capability than cells in exponential growth. XP group A cells were uniquely found to be deficient in the processes which lead to plateau-phase resistance. Since plateau-phase repair was not lacking in XP groups C, D and variant, it may be related to a DNA-repair process different from that which is responsible for the overall UV sensitivity of these cells.