Deoxyribonucleic Acid Synthesis in Ultraviolet-Light-Irradiated Chinese Hamster Cells

Two mammalian cell lines, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) which can recover colony-forming ability between fractionated doses of ultraviolet light (UV), and Chinese hamster B-14FAF28 which cannot recover, were tested for the ability to bypass UV-induced photoproducts in DNA during postirradiation DNA synthesis. The molecular weight distributions of newly synthesized DNA in UV-irradiated populations of both cell lines showed evidence for photoproduct bypass. Hence, the bypass mechanism does not correlate with recovery after UV.     

A gene that regulates DNA replication in response to DNA damage is located on human chromosome 4q.

Inhibition of replicative DNA synthesis following gamma-irradiation is observed in eukaryotic cells but is defective in cells derived from patients with the cancer-prone inherited disorder ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) and in A-T-like Chinese hamster cell mutants. Chinese hamster cells show a less pronounced inhibition of DNA synthesis after gamma-irradiation when compared to irradiated human HeLa or mouse A9 cells. Therefore, to identify new human genes involved in the regulation of DNA replication in response to ionizing radiation in mammalian cells, single human chromosomes were introduced into Chinese hamster cells by microcell-mediated chromosome transfer. It is found that a new gene on human chromosome 4q inhibits DNA synthesis following gamma- and UV irradiation in hamster cells. However, this delay of DNA replication did not improve cell survival or the level of chromosomal aberrations induced by X-rays, indicating that the lack of the inhibition of DNA synthesis after X-irradiation is not a prerequisite for the X-ray sensitivity and chromosomal instability, which is observed in A-T and A-T-like hamster cells.     

Replicative bypass repair of ultraviolet damage to DNA of mammalian cells: Caffeine sensitive and caffeine resistant mechanisms

Replicative bypass repair of UV damage to DNA was studied in wide variety of human, mouse and hamster cells in culture. Survival curve analysis revealed that in established cell lines (mouse L, Chinese hamster V79, HeLa S3 and SV40-transformed xeroderma pigmentosum (XP)), post-UV caffeine treatment potentiated cell killing by reducing the extrapolation number and mean lethal UV fluence (Do). In the Do reduction as the result of random inactivation by caffeine of sensitive repair there were marked clonal differences among such cell lines, V79 being most sensitive to caffeine potentiation. However, other diploid cell lines (normal human, excision-defective XP and Syrian hamster) exhibited no obvious reduction in Do by caffeine. In parallel, alkaline sucrose sedimentation results showed that the conversion of initially smaller segments of DNA synthetized after irradiation with 10 J/m² to high-molecular-weight DNA was inhibited by caffeine in transformed XP cells, but not in the diploid human cell lines. Exceptionall, diploid XP variants had a retarded ability of bypass repair which was drastically prevented by caffeine, so that caffeine enhanced the lethal effect of UV. Neutral CsCl study on the bypass repair mechanism by use of bromodeoxyuridine for DNA synthesis on damaged template suggests that the pyrimidine dimer acts as a block to replication and subsequently it is circumvented presumably by a new process involving replicative bypassing following strand displacement, rather than by gap-filling de novo. This mechanism worked similarly in normal and XP cells, whether or not caffeine was present, indicating that excision of dimer is not always necessary. However, replicative became defective in XP variant and transformed XP cells when caffeine was present. It appears, therefore, that the replicative bypass repair process is either caffeine resistant or sensitive, depending on the cell type used, but not necessarily on the excision repair capability.     

Replicon sizes in mammalian cells as estimated by an x-ray plus bromodeoxyuridine photolysis method.

A new method is described for estimating replicon sizes in mammalian cells. Cultures were pulse labeled with [3H]thymidine ([3H]TdR) and bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) for up to 1 h. The lengths of the resulting labeled regions of DNA, Lobs, were estimated by a technique wherein the change in molecular weight of nascent DNA strands, induced by 313 nm light, is measured by velocity sedimentation in alkaline sucrose gradients. If cells are exposed to 1,000 rads of X-rays immediately before pulse labeling, initiation of replicon operation is blocked, although chain elongation proceeds almost normally. Under these conditions Lobs continues to increase only until operating replicons have completed their replication. This value for Lobs then remains constant as long as the block to initiation remains and represents an estimate for the average size of replicons operating in the cells before X-irradiation. For human diploid fibroblasts and human HeLa cells this estimated average size is approximately 17 micron, whereas for Chinese hamster ovary cells, the average replicon size is about 42 micron.     

Genetic instability at the adenine phosphoribosyltransferase locus in mouse L cells.

Resistance to adenine analogs such as 2,6-diaminopurine occurs at a rate of approximately 10(-3) per cell per generation in mouse L cells. This resistance is associated with a loss of detectable adenine phosphoribosyltransferase activity. Other genetic loci in L cells have the expected mutation frequency (approximately 10(-6)). Transformation of L cell mutants with Chinese hamster ovary cell DNA results in transformants with adenine phosphoribosyltransferase activity characteristic of Chinese hamster ovary cells. No activation of the mouse gene occurs on hybridization with human fibroblasts. That this high frequency event is the result of mutation rather than an epigenetic event is supported by antigenic and reversion studies of the 2,6-diaminopurine-resistant clones. These results are consistent with either a mutational hot-spot, a locus specific mutator gene, or a site of integration of an insertion sequence.     

In vivo photoreaction of a chiral cobalt complex: DNA cleavage by Co(DIP)3(3+) in mammalian cells

The chiral complex tris (diphenylphenanthroline) cobalt (III) (Co(DIP)3(3+) provides a photoreactive probe for chromatin structure in mammalian cells. The complex, which upon photoactivation cleaves DNA in a conformation-specific fashion in vitro, is shown also to cleave DNA in vivo upon irradiation with ultraviolet light (greater than 300 nm). delta- and lambda-Co (DIP)3(3+) isomers are taken up efficiently into cultured Chinese hamster ovary cells and concentrate within cell nuclei. In the absence of light the complexes are toxic to the cells (10% survival at approximately 300 nM), but after ultraviolet irradiation, the toxicity is markedly (greater than 10-fold) increased. The synergism between irradiation and Co(DIP)3(3+) administration may lie in photoreactions with DNA elicited by the cobalt complex. Alkaline sucrose gradient analysis of DNA from cells exposed to lambda-Co(DIP)3(3+) and irradiation show single-stranded DNA fragmentation under conditions where little cleavage is seen in cells either incubated with lambda-Co(DIP)3(3+) or irradiated with greater than 300 nm A ultraviolet light. Cellular DNA is cleaved with lower efficiency than naked DNA, likely due to decreased accessibility of sites in vivo. Hybridization of fragments obtained from the alkaline sucrose gradients to a probe specific for the amplified dihydrofolate reductase gene reveals a similar distribution of dhfr sequences and total DNA, indicating that the family of conformations recognized by lambda-Co(DIP)3(3+) are dispersed throughout the genome.     

Expression and amplification of cloned rat liver tyrosine aminotransferase in nonhepatic cells

A full-length cDNA for the rat liver enzyme tyrosine aminotransferase has been used to construct mammalian expression vectors by recombinant DNA techniques. These vectors, which have employed either a simian virus 40 or a Rous sarcoma virus promoter, were transfected into a variety of nonhepatic mammalian cell lines in culture. Transient expression of tyrosine aminotransferase was readily observed after transfection into monkey COS cells and mouse L cells. Stable clones that express cloned tyrosine aminotransferase have been isolated from mouse L cells, hamster Wg1a fibroblasts, and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. A vector capable of expressing both tyrosine aminotransferase and dihydrofolate reductase was stimulated to undergo amplification by treatment with methotrexate in a CHO cell line deficient in the latter enzyme. Levels of tyrosine aminotransferase as much as 50-fold higher than typically seen in glucocorticoid-induced hepatoma cells were achieved in some CHO clones by this technique. The tyrosine aminotransferase produced at these highly amplified levels appeared structurally normal and had no major harmful effects on the cells.     

Proliferation dependence of topoisomerase II mediated drug action

Topoisomerase II mediated DNA scission induced by both a nonintercalating agent [4'-demethylepipodophyllotoxin 4-(4,6-O-ethylidene-beta-D-glucopyranoside) (VP-16)] and an intercalator [4'-(9-acridinylamino) methanesulfon-m-anisidide (m-AMSA)] was studied as a function of proliferation in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO), HeLa, and mouse leukemia L1210 cell lines. Log-phase CHO cells exhibited dose-dependent drug-induced DNA breaks, while plateau cells were found to be resistant to the effects of VP-16 and m-AMSA. Neither decreased viability nor altered drug uptake accounted for the drug resistance of these confluent cells. In contrast to CHO cells, plateau-phase HeLa and L1210 cells remained sensitive to VP-16 and m-AMSA. Recovery of drug sensitivity by plateau-phase CHO cells was found to reach a maximum approximately 18 h after these cells regained exponential growth and was independent of DNA synthesis. DNA strand break frequency correlated with cytotoxicity in CHO cells; log cells demonstrated an inverse log linear relationship between drug dose (or DNA damage) and colony survival, whereas plateau-derived colony survival was virtually unaffected by increasing drug dose. Topoisomerase II activity, whether determined by decatenation of kinetoplast DNA, by cleavage of pBR322 DNA, or by precipitation of the DNA-topoisomerase II complex, was uniformly severalfold greater in log-phase CHO cells compared to plateau-phase cells.     

Specific detection of residual CHO host cell DNA by real-time PCR.

Chinese hamster ovary cells have been widely used to manufacture recombinant proteins for human therapeutic use. A sensitive quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of residual Chinese hamster (Cricetulus griseus) DNA is presented in this paper. The assay is reasonably affordable and can be adapted for high-throughput screening using 96-well format. Real-time PCR primers were designed to amplify a 150bp region of a genomic fragment from hamster DNA. The specificity of the probe was evaluated in real-time PCR reactions using genomic DNA from mouse fibroblast, human kidney and hamster ovary cell lines as template. Sensitivity of real-time PCR was compared on genomic DNA from hamster cell line CHO DG44. These primers can be used in real-time PCR reactions to detect presence of contaminating hamster DNA in purified protein samples down to sensitivity of 300fg genomic DNA.     

Radiation equivalent of genotoxic chemicals: Validation in cultured mammalian cell lines

Published data on mutations induced by ionizing radiation and 6 monofunctional alkylating agents, namely EMS, MMS, ENNG, MNNG, ENU and MNU, in different cell lines (Chinese hamster ovary, Chinese hamster lung V79, mouse lymphoma L5178 and human cells) were analysed so that radiation-equivalent chemical (REC) values could be calculated.REC values thus obtained for a given alkylating agent with different cell lines fall within a narrow range suggesting its validation in cultured mammalian cell systems including human.     

Effects of inhibition of protein synthesis on DNA replication in cultured mammalian cells

We have investigated the effects of inhibiting protein synthesis on the overall rate of DNA synthesis and on the rate of replication fork movement in mammalian cells. In order to test the validity of using [³H]thymidine incorporation as a measure of the overall rate of DNA synthesis during inhibition of protein synthesis, we have directly measured the size and specific radioactivity of the cells' [³H]dTTP pool. In three different mammalian cell lines (mouse L, Chinese hamster ovary, and HeLa) nearly complete inhibition of protein synthesis has little effect on pool size (±26%) and even less effect on its specific radioactivity (±11%). Thus [³H]thymidine incorporation can be used to measure accurately changes in rate of DNA synthesis resulting from inhibition of protein synthesis.Using the assay of [³H]thymidine incorporation to measure rate of DNA synthesis, and the assay of [¹⁴C]leucine or [¹⁴C]valine incorporation to measure rate of protein synthesis, we have found that eight different methods of inhibiting protein synthesis (cycloheximide, puromycin, emetine, pactamycin, 2,4-dinitrophenol, the amino acid analogs canavanine and 5-methyl tryptophan, and a temperature-sensitive leucyl-transfer tRNA synthetase) all cause reduction in rate of DNA synthesis in mouse L, Chinese hamster ovary, or HeLa cells within two hours to a fairly constant plateau level which is approximately the same as the inhibited rate of protein synthesis.We have used DNA fiber autoradiography to measure accurately the rate of replication fork movement. The rate of movement is reduced at every replication fork within 15 minutes after inhibiting protein synthesis. For the first 30 to 60 minutes after inhibiting protein synthesis, the decline in rate of fork movement (measured by fiber autoradiography) satisfactorily accounts for the decline in rate of DNA synthesis (measured by [³H]thymidine incorporation). At longer times after inhibiting protein synthesis, inhibition of fork movement rate does not entirely account for inhibition of overall DNA synthesis. Indirect measurements by us and direct measurements suggest that the additional inhibition is the result of decline in the frequency of initiation of new replicons.     

Vitamin C is positive in the DNA synthesis inhibition and sister-chromatid exchange tests

Ascorbate caused a dose-dependent increase in sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and in human lymphocytes. Moreover, in the DNA synthesis inhibition test with HeLa cells, ascorbate gave results typical of DNA-damaging chemicals. Catalase reduced SCE induction by ascorbate, prevented its cytotoxicity in CHO cells, and prevented its effect on HeLa DNA synthesis. Ascorbate reduced induction of SCE in CHO cells by N-methylN′-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) by direct inactivation of MNNG.     

Radiation enhancement of the efficiency of DNA-mediated gene transfer in CHO UV-sensitive mutants

We have employed the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) UV-sensitive mutant cell lines, UV5 and UV20, to determine whether ionizing and ultraviolet irradiation enhance the efficiency of DNA-mediated gene transfer in cells deficient in excision repair. Confluent AA8 (wild type), UV5, and UV20 cells were transfected (via polybrene and dimethyl sulfoxide treatments) with the recombinant DNA plasmid, pSV2-gpt, trypsinized, irradiated with either X rays or ultraviolet in suspension, and then plated into flasks. After a 48-h expression time, cells were trypsinized, counted, and plated in XMAT media to select for pSV2-gpt transformation. We report that X-ray irradiation enhances gene transfer in wild-type AA8 and in both UV-sensitive cell lines. Ultraviolet irradiation enhances gene transfer in AA8 and UV20, but not in UV5. Since both UV20 and UV5 are deficient in excision repair, we suggest that ultraviolet-enhanced gene transfer may involve a postreplication repair mechanism deficient in UV5.     

Phosphorylation of Okazaki-like DNA fragments in mammalian cells and role of polyamines in the processing of this DNA.

In mammalian cells DNA synthesis is more complicated than in prokaryotes and less well understood. Here we incubated intact mammalian cells (polyamine auxotrophic Chinese hamster ovary cells and primary human fibroblasts) with [32P]orthophosphate and found that, besides high molecular weight DNA, a species of low molecular weight DNA, approximately 450 bp in size, became efficiently labeled. The short DNA was labeled first, and in pulse-chase experiments the labeling was transient. The isolated small DNA fragments (RNase A-treated) were phosphorylated by T4 polynucleotide kinase specific for polynucleotides with 5'-OH ends. A polynucleotide kinase phosphorylating these DNA pieces was also detected in nuclear extracts of the cells. Treatment with alkaline phosphatase removed most of the 32P label incorporated into the small DNA in vivo. Labeling with deoxyribonucleosides did not reveal these fragments. We hypothesize that the low molecular weight DNA represents Okazaki fragments and that the mammalian DNA replication machinery includes a polynucleotide kinase phosphorylating the 5'-termini of Okazaki fragments. This would imply a novel step in DNA synthesis. We also show that depriving cells of polyamines reversibly blocks synthesis of high molecular weight DNA and leads to accumulation of the short DNA pieces, suggesting a role for polyamines in joining the Okazaki fragments.     

DNA replication in mammalian cells after exposure to factors of a physical, chemical or biological nature. III. 5-Fluorodeoxyuridine induces DNA synthesis in cells not suppressed by gamma irradiation

The influence of preincubation of HeLa and Chinese hamster V79 cells with fluorodeoxyuridine (FUdR, 10(-6) M) on DNA replication and molecular weight of nascent DNA was studied after gamma-irradiation with a dose as much as 10 Gy. The 60Co-radiation inhibits DNA synthesis in both HeLa and V79 cells by 30-40 per cent. The incubation with FUdR before irradiation suppresses the inhibitory effect of irradiation on DNA synthesis. It is suggested that differences in gamma-radiation inhibition of DNA synthesis may result from the FUdR-induced changes in chromatin structure, rather than from synchronization of cell growth. This suggestion is based on the observation that the radioresistant mode of DNA synthesis occurred 18 hours following the short-term (6 hours) incubation with FUdR in cell cultures differing from each other in almost 2-fold their cell longevity.     

DNA-mediated cotransfer of unlinked mammalian cell markers into mouse L cells

Purified DNA from three different types of mammalian cells was precipitated with calcium phosphate and added to mouse L cells deficient in thymidine kinase (TK). Donor DNA was prepared from three cell lines: (a) mouse cells transfected with UV-inactivated herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1, or a purified fragment of HSV carrying the TK gene (b) human HeLa cells, and (c( CHO, a cell line derived from Chinese hamster ovaries. Several hypoxanthine-aminopterin-thymidine resistant colonies were isolated from each experiment. The origin of the TK that is expressed in these cells was studied by polyacrylamide gel electrohporesis, isoelectric focusing, or heat stability. The TK in all instances was of the donor origin. To determine the extent of gene transfer we have assayed the CHO and HeLa DNA transfectants for galactokinase (GALK), a marker closely linked to TK, and 25 other isozymes representing a large number of different chromosomes. No cotransfer of GALK was observed, indicating that the size of the transferred DNA segment is limited. We observed that, in one instance, esterase-D, an unlinked marker of Chinese hamster origin, was transferred along with TK. These experiments indicate that nonselected markers can be transferred by this method, although at a low efficiency.     

Differential effects of brefeldin A on sialylation of N- and O-linked oligosaccharides in low density lipoprotein receptor and epidermal growth factor receptor

Low density lipoprotein receptor (LDL-R) is a membrane glycoprotein carrying both N- and O-linked oligosaccharides, processing of which is reflected in conversion from a precursor to mature form during its synthesis and intracellular transport. Treatment with brefeldin A (BFA) of mouse macrophage-like J774 cells, Chinese hamster ovary cells, and two human cancer cell lines (A431 and IMC-2) resulted in production of LDL-R with a molecular size 5-10 kDa smaller than that of the mature form in the control cells. Treatment with sialidase caused apparent reduction in the molecular size of LDL-R synthesized in all BFA-treated J774, Chinese hamster ovary, A431, and IMC-2 cell lines as observed for the mature form of the control cells. Thus, O-linked sugar chains of LDL-R were apparently sialylated in the BFA-treated cells. We also examined the effect of BFA on the processing of another membranous glycoprotein, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) carrying only N-linked oligosaccharides. EGF-R synthesized in the presence of BFA was found to have no response to sialidase treatment, suggesting that the drug blocks the sialylation of EGF-R. The results indicate that BFA causes different effects on the sialylation of LDL-R and EGF-R depending upon linkage types of their oligosaccharides.     

The phosphorylation of high mobility group proteins 14 and 17 and their distribution in chromatin

The phosphorylation of the high mobility group (HMG) proteins has been investigated in mouse Ehrlich ascites, L1210 and P388 leukemia cells, human colon carcinoma cells (HT-29), and Chinese hamster ovary cells. HMG 14 and 17, but not HMB 1 and 2, were phosphorylated in the nuclei of all cell lines with a serine being the site of modification for both proteins in Ehrlich ascites cells. Phosphorylation of HMG 14 and 17 was greatly reduced in cultured cells at plateau phase in comparison to log phase cells, suggesting that modification of HMG 14 and 17 is growth-associated. However, phosphorylation was not linked to DNA synthesis, since incorporation of 32P did not vary through G1 and S phase in synchronized Chinese hamster ovary cells. Treatment of HT-29 or Ehrlich ascites cells with sodium butyrate reduced HMG phosphorylation by 30 and 70%, respectively. The distribution of the phosphorylated HMG proteins in chromatin was examined using micrococcal nuclease and DNase I. 32P-HMG 14 and 17 were preferentially associated with micrococcal nuclease-sensitive regions as demonstrated by the release of a substantial fraction of the phosphorylated forms of these proteins under conditions which solubilized less than 3% of the DNA. Short digestions with DNase I did not show a marked release of 32P-HMG 14 or 17.     

The effect of stannous and stannic (tin) chloride on DNA in Chinese hamster ovary cells

Tin(II) at concentrations up to 500 μM stannous chloride (SnCl₂), produced extensive DNA damage, as detected by alkaline sucrose gradient (ASG) analysis in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells treated for 1 h at 37°C in serum-free minimal essential medium (MEM). However treatment of cells with tin(IV), as stannic chloride (SnCl₄), produced no such DNA damage. There was no loss in colony formation 6 days after either treatment suggesting that the DNA damage induced by the tin(II) was rapidly repaired and/or that DNA synthesis proceeded on the damaged templates permitting cell division to occur. Alternatively, the type of DNA damage caused by tin(II) may not lead to a reduction in colony-forming ability. Tin(II) produced about 200 times more ASG detectable DNA damage on an equi-molar basis than did Cr(VI), a known human carcinogen. This study indicates that tin(II) may be potentially genotoxic.