Changing capacity for DNA excision repair in mouse embryonic cells in vitro

Capacity for excision repair of ultraviolet radiation damage to DNA in primary cultures of mouse embryonic cells is dependent on the gestational stage and the duration of in vitro growth. Fibroblasts of mouse embryos at 13–15 days gestation excise thymine dimers and perform unscheduled DNA synthesis after ultraviolet radiation. After several successive transfers in vitro, concomitantly with a pronounced reduction in growth rate, ability for excision repair decreases. DNA repair capacity is impaired in cells obtained from embryos at late stages of development (17–19 days gestation). Experiments with epithelial kidney cells from 5-day-old mice indicate that capacity for excision repair may depend on cell type and its origin.     

Kinetics of DNA Repair in Ultraviolet-Irradiated and N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminofluorene-Treated Mammalian Cells

Repair kinetics after saturating doses of ultraviolet radiation (UV), N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminofluorene (AAAF), and combinations of both agents were studied in human fibroblasts proficient and deficient in excision repair, and in Chinese hamster cells (V-79) deficient in excision repair. Three techniques were used: unscheduled DNA synthesis, photolysis of DNA repaired in the presence of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd), and measurements of sites sensitive to a UV-endonuclease. The repair rate appears to be approximately constant during the first few hours after treatment. Later there is a decrease with time; the magnitude of the decrease depends on the cell line. Our data show that the decrease in repair observed in repair-deficient cells treated with combinations of both agents as compared to separate treatments is due neither to the cytotoxic effects of the agents used, nor to a shutoff of the repair system by the high concentrations of AAAF employed.     

Patterns of unscheduled DNA synthesis in mouse embryo cells associated with in vitro aging and with spontaneous transformation to a continuous cell line

Monolayer cell cultures derived from B/C mouse embryos were examined for the ability to repair ultraviolet light-induced DNA damage (50–250 erg/mm²) during in vitro aging and subsequent alteration to a continuous cell line. Excision repair was measured by incubating the cultures with [³H]TdR and measuring DNA specific activity, and by performing quantitative autoradiography. DNA repair capacity declined during in vitro aging, and the level of repair correlated with the fraction of cells which retained the capacity to undergo scheduled DNA synthesis. This result indicates that mouse cells aged in vitro undergo a decline in their ability to repair UV-induced DNA damage comparable to that seen in cultured human fibroblasts. In cultures which spontaneously altered into continuously proliferating cell lines, DNA repair capacity increased to high levels, as did the fraction of cells capable of initiating scheduled DNA synthesis.     

Requirement for the Xrcc1 DNA base excision repair gene during early mouse development

Surveillance and repair of DNA damage are essential for maintaining the integrity of the genetic information that is needed for normal development. Several multienzyme pathways, including the excision repair of damaged or missing bases, carry out DNA repair in mammals. We determined the developmental role of the X-ray cross-complementing (Xrcc)-1 gene, which is central to base excision repair, by generating a targeted mutation in mice. Heterozygous matings produced Xrcc1-/- embryos at early developmental stages, but not Xrcc1-/- late-stage fetuses or pups. Histology showed that mutant (Xrcc1-/-) embryos arrested at embryonic day (E) 6.5 and by E7.5 were morphologically abnormal. The most severe abnormalities observed in mutant embryos were in embryonic tissues, which showed increased cell death in the epiblast and an altered morphology in the visceral embryonic endoderm. Extraembryonic tissues appeared relatively normal at E6.5-7.5. Even without exposure to DNA-damaging agents, mutant embryos showed increased levels of unrepaired DNA strand breaks in the egg cylinder compared with normal embryos. Xrcc1-/- cell lines derived from mutant embryos were hypersensitive to mutagen-induced DNA damage. Xrcc1 mutant embryos that were also made homozygous for a null mutation in Trp53 underwent developmental arrest after only slightly further development, thus revealing a Trp53-independent mechanism of embryo lethality. These results show that an intact base excision repair pathway is essential for normal early postimplantation mouse development and implicate an endogenous source of DNA damage in the lethal phenotype of embryos lacking this repair capacity.     

UV-induced DNA excision repair in rat fibroblasts during immortalization and terminal differentiation in vitro

UV-induced DNA excision repair was studied as DNA repair synthesis and dimer removal in rat fibroblast cultures, initiated from either dense or sparse inocula of primary cells grown from skin biopsies. During passaging in vitro an initial increase in DNA repair synthesis, determined both autoradiographically as unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) and by means of the BrdU photolysis assay as the number and average size of repair patches, was found to be associated with a morphological shift from small spindle-shaped to large pleiomorphic cells observed over the first twenty generations. In cell populations in growth crisis, a situation exclusively associated with thin-inoculum cultures in which the population predominantly consisted of large pleiomorphic cells, UDS was found to occur at a low level. After development of secondary cultures into immortal cell lines, both repair synthesis and morphology appeared to be the same as in the original primary spindle-shaped cells. At all passages the capacity to remove UV-induced pyrimidine dimers was found to be low, as indicated by the persistence of Micrococcus luteus UV endonuclease-sensitive sites. These results are discussed in the context of terminal differentiation and immortalization of rat fibroblasts upon establishment in vitro.     

DNA repair in human fibroblasts treated with a combination of chemicals.

Excision repair of DNA damage was measured by the photolysis of bromodeoxy-uridine incorporated during repair in normal human and xeroderma pigmentosum group C fibroblasts (XP C) treated with a combination of the carcinogens N-acetoxy-2-acetylamino-fluorene (AAAF), and 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO). Repair was additive in normal and XP C cells treated with AAAF plus 4NQO, indicating that there are different rate limiting steps for removal of 4NQO and AAAF lesions.     

Cell cycle regulation of DNA repair in normal and repair deficient human cells

The regulation of nucleotide excision repair and base excision repair by normal and repair deficient human cells was determined. Synchronous cultures of WI-38 normal diploid fibroblasts and Xeroderma pigmentosum fibroblasts (complementation group D) (XP-D) were used to investigate whether DNA repair pathways were modulated during the cell cycle. Two criteria were used: (1) unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) in the presence of hydroxyurea (HU) after exposure to UV light or after exposure to N-acetoxy-acetylaminofluorene (N-AcO-AAF) to quantitate nucleotide excision repair or UDS after exposure to methylmethane sulfonate (MMS) to measure base excision repair; (2) repair replication into parental DNA in the absence of HU after exposure to UV light. Nucleotide excision repair after UV irradiation was induced in WI-38 fibroblasts during the cell cycle reaching a maximum in cultures exposed 14–15 h after cell stimulation. Similar results were observed after exposure to N-AcO-AAF. DNA repair was increased 2–4-fold after UV exposure and was increased 3-fold after N-AcO-AAF exposure. In either instance nucleotide excision repair was sequentially stimulated prior to the enhancement of base excision repair which was stimulated prior to the induction of DNA replication. In contrast XP-D failed to induce nucleotide excision repair after UV irradiation at any interval in the cell cycle. However, base excision repair and DNA replication were stimulated comparable to that enhancement observed in WI-38 cells. The distinctive induction of nucleotide excision repair and base excision repair prior to the onset of DNA replication suggests that separate DNA repair complexes may be formed during the eucaryotic cell cycle.     

Hyperactivation of PARP Triggers Nonhomologous End-Joining in Repair-Deficient Mouse Fibroblasts

Regulation of poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) synthesis and turnover is critical to determining cell fate after genotoxic stress. Hyperactivation of PAR synthesis by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) occurs when cells deficient in DNA repair are exposed to genotoxic agents; however, the function of this hyperactivation has not been adequately explained. Here, we examine PAR synthesis in mouse fibroblasts deficient in the base excision repair enzyme DNA polymerase β (pol β). The extent and duration of PARP-1 activation was measured after exposure to either the DNA alkylating agent, methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), or to low energy laser-induced DNA damage. There was strong DNA damage-induced hyperactivation of PARP-1 in pol β nullcells, but not in wild-type cells. In the case of MMS treatment, PAR synthesis did not lead to cell death in the pol β null cells, but instead resulted in increased PARylation of the nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) protein Ku70 and increased association of Ku70 with PARP-1. Inhibition of the NHEJ factor DNA-PK, under conditions of MMS-induced PARP-1 hyperactivation, enhanced necrotic cell death. These data suggest that PARP-1 hyperactivation is a protective mechanism triggering the classical-NHEJ DNA repair pathway when the primary alkylated base damage repair pathway is compromised.     

Quantitation of DNA repair in brain cell cultures: implications for autoradiographic analysis of mixed cell populations.

Quantitation of DNA repair in the mixed cell population of mouse embryo brain cultures has been assessed by autoradiographic analysis of unscheduled DNA synthesis following UV-irradiation. The proportion of labelled neurons and the grain density over neuronal nuclei are both less than the corresponding values for glial cells. The nuclear geometries of these two classes of cell are very different. Partial correction for the different geometries by relating grain density to nuclear area brings estimates of neuronal and glial DNA repair synthesis more closely in line. These findings have general implications for autoradiographic measurement of DNA repair in mixed cell populations and in differentiated versus dividing cells.     

REV1 mediated mutagenesis in base excision repair deficient mouse fibroblast

The DNA polymerase beta (Pol beta) null background renders mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells base excision repair deficient and hyper-mutagenic upon treatment with the monofunctional alkylating agent, methyl methanesulfonate (MMS). This effect involves an increase in all types of base substitutions, with a modest predominance of G to A transitions. In the present study, we examined the hypothesis that the MMS-induced mutagenesis in the Pol beta null MEF system is due to a lesion bypass mechanism. We studied the effect of RNAi mediated down-regulation of the lesion bypass factor REV1. The steady-state level of REV1 protein was reduced by more than 95% using stable expression of a siRNA construct in a Pol beta null cell line. We found that REV1 expression is required for the MMS-induced mutagenesis phenotype of Pol beta null MEF cells. In contrast, cell survival after MMS treatment is not reduced in the absence of REV1.     

Aberrant DNA repair and enhanced mutagenesis following mutagen treatment of Chinese hamster Ade-C cells in a state of purine deprivation

Ade-C is a Chinese hamster ovary cell line auxotrophic for purines because of a mutation in the de novo synthetic pathway. We now show that, in the absence of exogenous hypoxanthine, replicative DNA synthesis is rapidly shut down. Various aspects of DNA repair have been studied in purine-starved cells. Incision, the first step of excision repair of UV damage, appears normal, as do the later steps, repair synthesis (demonstrated following chemical damage as well as UV-irradiation) and ligation. However, removal of UV-induced pyrimidine dimers is not detected, and it seems that the repair that occurs is aberrant. This behaviour is associated with an increase in cell killing by UV light, and a several-fold increase in the frequency of mutations induced by UV.     

XRCC1 and DNA polymerase β in cellular protection against cytotoxic DNA single-strand breaks

Single-strand breaks （SSBs） can occur in cells either directly, or indirectly following initiation of base excision repair （BER）. SSBs generally have blocked termini lacking the conventional 5＇-phosphate and 3＇-hydroxyl groups and require further processing prior to DNA synthesis and ligation. XRCC1 is devoid of any known enzymatic activity, but it can physically interact with other proteins involved in all stages of the overlapping SSB repair and BER pathways, including those that conduct the rate-limiting end-tailoring, and in many cases can stimulate their enzymatic activities. XRCC1^-/- mouse fibroblasts are most hypersensitive to agents that produce DNA lesions repaired by monofunctional glycosylase-initiated BER and that result in formation of indirect SSBs. A requirement for the deoxyribose phosphate lyase activity of DNA polymerase β （pol β） is specific to this pathway, whereas pol β is implicated in gap-filling during repair of many types of SSBs. Elevated levels of strand breaks, and diminished repair, have been demonstrated in MMS- treated XRCC1^-/-, and to a lesser extent in pol β^-/- cell lines, compared with wild-type cells. Thus a strong correlation is observed between cellular sensitivity to MMS and the ability of cells to repair MMS-induced damage. Exposure of wild-type and polβ^-/- cells to an inhibitor of PARP activity dramatically potentiates MMS-induced cytotoxicity. XRCC1^-/- cells are also sensitized by PARP inhibition demonstrating that PARP-mediated poly（ADP-ribosyl）ation plays a role in modulation of cytotoxicity beyond recruitment of XRCC 1 to sites of DNA damage.     

Changes of 8-OH-dG levels in DNA and its base excision repair activity in rat lungs after inhalation exposure to hexavalent chromium

The co-genotoxic effects of cadmium are well recognized and it is assumed that most of these effects are due to the inhibition of DNA repair. We used the comet assay to analyze the effect of low, non-toxic concentrations of CdCl2 on DNA damage and repair-induced in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells by UV-radiation, by methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) and by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU). The UV-induced DNA lesions revealed by the comet assay are single-strand breaks which are the intermediates formed during nucleotide excision repair (NER). In cells exposed to UV-irradiation alone the formation of DNA strand breaks was rapid, followed by a fast rejoining phase during the first 60 min after irradiation. In UV-irradiated cells pre-exposed to CdCl2, the formation of DNA strand breaks was significantly slower, indicating that cadmium inhibited DNA damage recognition and/or excision. Methyl methanesulfonate and N-methyl-N-nitrosourea directly alkylate nitrogen and oxygen atoms of DNA bases. The lesions revealed by the comet assay are mainly breaks at apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites and breaks formed as intermediates during base excision repair (BER). In MMS treated cells the initial level of DNA strand breaks did not change during the first hour of recovery; thereafter repair was detected. In cells pre-exposed to CdCl2 the MMS-induced DNA strand breaks accumulated during the first 2h of recovery, indicating that AP sites and/or DNA strand breaks were formed but that further steps of BER were blocked. In MNU treated cells the maximal level of DNA strand breaks was detected immediately after the treatment and the breaks were repaired rapidly. In CdCl2 pre-treated cells the formation of MNU-induced DNA single-strand breaks was not affected, while the repair was slower, indicating inhibition of polymerization and/or the ligation step of BER. Cadmium thus affects the repair of UV-, MMS- and MNU-induced DNA damage, providing further evidence, that inhibition of DNA repair is an important mechanism of cadmium induced mutagenicity and carcinogenicity.     

DNA repair in lymphoblastoid cell lines established from human genetic disorders

Lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) established from chromosomal breakage syndromes or related genetic disorders have been used to study the effects of mutagens on human lymphoid cells. The disorders studied include xeroderma pigmentosum, ataxia telangiectasia, Fanconi's anemia, Bloom's syndrome and Cockayne's syndrome. Three approaches were used to assess the cells' ability to cope with a particular mutagen: (1) assaying recovery of DNA snythetic capabilities as measured by [³H]thymidine (dT) incorporation; (2) measurements of classical excision DNA repair by isopyknic sedimentation of DNA density labeled with 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU); (3) determining cell survival by colony formation in microtiter plates. LCLs established from xeroderma pigmentosum showed increased sensitivities to ultraviolet (354 nm) light and N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminofluorene (AAAF) as determined by DNA synthesis or colony formation and had diminished levels of excision-repair. Cockayne's syndrome LCLs, on the other hand, had increased sensitivities to ultraviolet (UV) light, AAAF and N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) while showing near normal levels of DNA-repair after treatment with each agent. An LCL established from ataxia telangiectasia had decreased DNA repair synthesis and defective colony-forming ability following treatment with MNNG. LCLs, in addition to ease of establishment, appear likely to provide useful material for the study of DNA repair replication and its relationship to carcinogenesis.     

Nucleotide excision repair or polymerase V-mediated lesion bypass can act to restore UV-arrested replication forks in Escherichia coli

Nucleotide excision repair and translesion DNA synthesis are two processes that operate at arrested replication forks to reduce the frequency of recombination and promote cell survival following UV-induced DNA damage. While nucleotide excision repair is generally considered to be error free, translesion synthesis can result in mutations, making it important to identify the order and conditions that determine when each process is recruited to the arrested fork. We show here that at early times following UV irradiation, the recovery of DNA synthesis occurs through nucleotide excision repair of the lesion. In the absence of repair or when the repair capacity of the cell has been exceeded, translesion synthesis by polymerase V (Pol V) allows DNA synthesis to resume and is required to protect the arrested replication fork from degradation. Pol II and Pol IV do not contribute detectably to survival, mutagenesis, or restoration of DNA synthesis, suggesting that, in vivo, these polymerases are not functionally redundant with Pol V at UV-induced lesions. We discuss a model in which cells first use DNA repair to process replication-arresting UV lesions before resorting to mutagenic pathways such as translesion DNA synthesis to bypass these impediments to replication progression.     

Identification of a Second Locus in DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER Required for Excision Repair

The mus(2)201 locus in Drosophila is defined by two mutant alleles that render homozygous larvae hypersensitive to mutagens. Both alleles confer strong in vivo somatic sensitivity to treatment by methyl methanesulfonate, nitrogen mustard and ultraviolet radiation but only weak hypersensitivity to X-irradiation. Unlike the excision-defective mei-9 mutants identified in previous studies, the mus(2)201 mutants do not affect female fertility and do not appear to influence recombination proficiency or chromosome segregation in female meiocytes.—Three independent biochemical assays reveal that cell cultures derived from embryos homozygous for the mus(2)^D1 allele are devoid of detectable excision repair. 1. Such cells quantitatively retain pyrimidine dimers in their DNA for 24 hr following UV exposure. 2. No measurable unscheduled DNA synthesis is induced in mutant cultures by UV treatment. 3. Single-strand DNA breaks, which are associated with normal excision repair after treatment with either UV or N-acetoxy-N-acetyl-2-aminofluorene,* are much reduced in these cultures. Mutant cells possess a normal capacity for postreplication repair and the repair of single-strand breaks induced by X-rays.     

Defective nucleotide excision repair with normal centrosome structures and functions in the absence of all vertebrate centrins

The principal microtubule-organizing center in animal cells, the centrosome, contains centrin, a small, conserved calcium-binding protein unique to eukaryotes. Several centrin isoforms exist and have been implicated in various cellular processes including nuclear export and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) repair. Although centrins are required for centriole/basal body duplication in lower eukaryotes, centrin functions in vertebrate centrosome duplication are less clear. To define these roles, we used gene targeting in the hyperrecombinogenic chicken DT40 cell line to delete all three centrin genes in individual clones. Unexpectedly, centrin-deficient cells underwent normal cellular division with no detectable cell cycle defects. Light and electron microscopy analyses revealed no significant difference in centrosome composition or ultrastructure. However, centrin deficiency made DT40 cells highly sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, with Cetn3 deficiency exacerbating the sensitivity of Cetn4/Cetn2 double mutants. DNA damage checkpoints were intact, but repair of UV-induced DNA damage was delayed in centrin nulls. These data demonstrate a role for vertebrate centrin in nucleotide excision repair.     

DNA excision repair in mammalian cell extracts.

The many genetic complementation groups of DNA excision-repair defective mammalian cells indicate the considerable complexity of the excision repair process. The cloning of several repair genes is taking the field a step closer to mechanistic studies of the actions and interactions of repair proteins. Early biochemical studies of mammalian DNA repair in vitro are now at hand. Repair synthesis in damaged DNA can be monitored by following the incorporation of radiolabelled nucleotides. Synthesis is carried out by mammalian cell extracts and is defective in extracts from cell lines derived from individuals with the excision-repair disorder xeroderma pigmentosum. Biochemical complementation of the defective extracts can be used to purify repair proteins. Repair of damage caused by agents including ultraviolet irradiation, psoralens, and platinating compounds has been observed. Neutralising antibodies against the human single-stranded DNA binding protein (HSSB) have demonstrated a requirement for this protein in DNA excision repair as well as in DNA replication.