Modes of genotoxicity of a macromolecular antibiotic, SN-07, a novel type of interstrand DNA cross-linker

The modes of genotoxicity of a novel macromolecular antitumor antibiotic (SN-07) were examined using both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells in vitro. The antibiotic induced a frameshift-type reverse mutation in Ames Salmonella typhimurium TA98 at 1.6-400 ng/plate with and without S9 mix. SN-07 also induced chromosomal aberrations and a forward mutation (6-TGr) in Chinese hamster V79 cells after 1 h treatment at 12.5-100 ng/ml without metabolic activation. The alkaline elution technique revealed that SN-07 induced interstrand DNA cross-linking dose-dependently after treatment with 2.5-10 micrograms/ml for 1 h followed by elution at pH 12.1, but it did not induce the dose-dependent cross-linking after the same treatment followed by elution at pH 12.6. It was also found that SN-07 induced single-strand DNA breaks (pH 12.1) and alkali-labile (pH 12.6) sites after treatment with 0.1-10 micrograms/ml for 1 h followed by 24-h post-incubation.     

DNA and chromatin defects induced by thiophosphamide

Treatment of mouse embryo fibroblasts with thio-TEPA (100 micrograms/ml) induced the formation of DNA interstrand cross-links after 10 hours and of DNA one-strand breaks after 20 hours. A short-term incubation of the cells with high concentrations of thio-TEPA (1 mg/ml, 30 min) resulted in a gradual increase of DNA cross-linking, which reached its maximal value after 4 hours of post-incubation. The cross-linking of DNA as well as the formation of DNA one-strand breaks was accompanied by a weakening of DNA-protein interactions in the chromatin. The prolonged existence of DNA and chromatin lesions is supposed to be an important step in the molecular mechanism of action of thio-TEPA.     

Toxicity and DNA damage induced by 1-nitropyrene and its derivatives in Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts

1-Nitropyrene and its chemically synthesised derivatives were investigated for their cytotoxicity and ability to induce DNA-strand breaks in Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts. Both 1-nitrosopyrene (0.25-60 micrograms/ml) and 1-aminopyrene (0.25-25 micrograms/ml) were cytotoxic, and induced the formation of DNA lesions, which were measured as DNA single-strand breaks after sedimentation in alkaline sucrose-density gradients. Higher doses of 1-aminopyrene (25-60 micrograms/ml) inhibited the formation of DNA single-strand breaks. 1-Nitropyrene was not toxic (0.25-60 micrograms/ml) and induced low levels of detectable DNA strand breaks, whilst N-acetyl-1-aminopyrene was inactive. The post-mitochondrial supernatant fraction of Aroclor-induced rat-liver containing 4 mM NADPH (S9 mix) did not promote the activation of 1-nitropyrene. In fact DNA strand breaks induced by either 1-nitropyrene or 1-nitrosopyrene was abolished in the presence of S9 mix. The 1-nitropyrene reduced intermediate, N-hydroxy-1-aminopyrene was synthesised by the reduction of 1-nitrosopyrene with ascorbic acid. In the presence of ascorbic acid, 1-nitrosopyrene caused a 5-fold increase in the number of DNA single-strand breaks when compared to cells treated with 1-nitrosopyrene alone. The results are discussed in terms of the metabolic activation of 1-nitropyrene and 1-aminopyrene in Chinese hamster lung cells.     

Acrylonitrile-induced sister-chromatid exchanges and DNA single-strand breaks in adult human bronchial epithelial cells

The ability of acrylonitrile to induce cytotoxicity, sister-chromatid exchanges and DNA single-strand breaks was studied in cultured human bronchial epithelial cells. The toxic effect as determined by cloning efficiency was observed at a dose of 600 micrograms/ml but not at doses of both 150 and 300 micrograms/ml. The frequency of sister-chromatid exchange in untreated cells was 3.7 +/- 1.3 per cell. In contrast, cells treated with acrylonitrile at 150 and 300 micrograms/ml exhibited 6.6 +/- 1.3 and 10.7 +/- 1.7 sister-chromatid exchanges per metaphase, respectively. DNA single-strand breaks were induced by acrylonitrile at dose levels of 200 and 500 micrograms/ml. The genotoxic effects on human bronchial epithelial cells that were directly exposed to acrylonitrile are of interest in relation to evidence for the higher lung cancer incidence of acrylonitrile workers in epidemiological studies.     

DNA-damaging activity of patulin in Escherichia coli

At a concentration of 10 micrograms/ml, patulin caused single-strand DNA breaks in living cells of Escherichia coli. At 50 micrograms/ml, double-strand breaks were observed also. Single-strand breaks were repaired in the presence of 10 micrograms of patulin per ml within 90 min when the cells were incubated at 37 degrees C in M9-salts solution without a carbon source. The same concentration also induced temperature-sensitive lambda prophage and a prophage of Bacillus megaterium. When an in vitro system with permeabilized Escherichia coli cells was used, patulin at 10 micrograms/ml induced DNA repair synthesis and inhibited DNA replication. The in vivo occurrence of DNA strand breaks and DNA repair correlated with the in vitro induction of repair synthesis. In vitro the RNA synthesis was less affected, and overall protein synthesis was not inhibited at 10 micrograms/ml. Only at higher concentrations (250 to 500 micrograms/ml) was inhibition of in vitro protein synthesis observed. Thus, patulin must be regarded as a mycotoxin with selective DNA-damaging activity.     

Mode of inhibition of DNA replication in neocarzinostatin-treated HeLa cells

The effect of antitumor antibiotic neocarzinostatin on DNA replication in HeLa cells was studied by pulse-labeling of DNA with [3H]thymidine and sedimentation analysis of the DNA with alkaline sucrose gradients. The drug, which produced DNA damage, primarily inhibited the replicon initiation in the cells at low doses (less than or equal to 0.1 microgram/ml), and at high doses (greater than or equal to 0.5 microgram/ml) inhibited the DNA chain elongation. An analysis of the number of single-strand breaks of parental DNA, induced by neocarzinostatin, indicated that inhibition of the initiation occurred with introduction of single-strand breaks of less than 1.5 . 10(4)/cell, while inhibition of the elongation occurred with introduction of single-strand breaks of more than 7.5 . 10(4)/cell. Assuming that the relative molecular mass of DNA/HeLa cell was about 10(13) Da, the target size of DNA for inhibition of replicon initiation was calculated to be about 10(9) Da, such being close to an average size of loop DNA in the cell and for inhibition of chain elongation, 1-2 . 10(8) Da which was of the same order of magnitude as the size of replicons. Recovery of inhibited DNA replication by neocarzinostatin occurred during post-incubation of the cells and seemed to correlate with the degree of rejoining of the single-strand breaks of parental DNA. Caffeine and theophylline enhanced the recovery of the inhibited replicon initiation, but did not aid in the repair of the breaks in parental DNA.     

DNA-damaging activity of patulin in Escherichia coli.

At a concentration of 10 micrograms/ml, patulin caused single-strand DNA breaks in living cells of Escherichia coli. At 50 micrograms/ml, double-strand breaks were observed also. Single-strand breaks were repaired in the presence of 10 micrograms of patulin per ml within 90 min when the cells were incubated at 37 degrees C in M9-salts solution without a carbon source. The same concentration also induced temperature-sensitive lambda prophage and a prophage of Bacillus megaterium. When an in vitro system with permeabilized Escherichia coli cells was used, patulin at 10 micrograms/ml induced DNA repair synthesis and inhibited DNA replication. The in vivo occurrence of DNA strand breaks and DNA repair correlated with the in vitro induction of repair synthesis. In vitro the RNA synthesis was less affected, and overall protein synthesis was not inhibited at 10 micrograms/ml. Only at higher concentrations (250 to 500 micrograms/ml) was inhibition of in vitro protein synthesis observed. Thus, patulin must be regarded as a mycotoxin with selective DNA-damaging activity.     

Butachlor is cytotoxic and clastogenic and induces apoptosis in mammalian cells

The ability of butachlor to induce cytotoxicity, clastogenicity and DNA damage was assessed using Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO), Swiss mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEF) and human peripheral blood lymphocytes. A dose and time dependent loss of viability was evident upon treatment of CHO cells with butachlor. Cell killing to an extent of 50% was observed when cells were treated with 16.2 micrograms/ml of butachlor for 24 hr or with 11.5 micrograms/ml for 48 hr. The herbicide induced micronuclei significantly in cultured lymphocytes at 24 and 48 hr of treatment suggesting that it is clastogenic. To understand the mechanism of cell death caused by butachlor, its effect on DNA strand breaks was studied in MEF. A concomitant decrease in cell viability was observed with increase in DNA strand breaks. Agarose gel electrophoresis of DNA from herbicide treated CHO cells and cytochemical staining indicate the induction of apoptosis by butachlor.     

Action of citrinin on bacterial chromosomal and plasmid DNA in vivo and in vitro

Citrinin, a mycotoxin of Penicillium citrinum and other species of the genera Penicillium and Aspergillus, caused the following effects at different concentrations in Escherichia coli. In vivo at 100 micrograms/ml single-strand breaks were caused in the chromosomal DNA. In the presence of 100 micrograms/ml, UV (254 nm)-induced DNA damage was repaired in the bacterial cells without need for a complete growth medium. At 300 micrograms/ml lambda ts prophage was induced in a lysogenic E. coli strain. In an E. coli strain carrying a F' lac plasmid, 4.7% of the cells displayed the Lac- phenotype after treatment with 200 micrograms of citrinin per ml, suggesting elimination of the F' factor. In vitro, DNA repair synthesis was observed at 5 micrograms of citrinin per ml in permeabilized cells, and replicative DNA synthesis was inhibited at 200 micrograms/ml. In these systems synthesis of stable RNAs was slightly diminished at 300 micrograms/ml, and protein synthesis was not affected at concentrations up to 450 micrograms/ml. Lambda and ColE1 plasmid DNA were cleaved in vitro when small amounts of copper ions were present. This DNA-attacking activity was prevented by NADPH, catalase, and superoxide dismutase and by higher concentrations of hydroxyl radical scavengers, suggesting the involvement of free radicals in the mechanism of action of citrinin on DNA.     

Action of citrinin on bacterial chromosomal and plasmid DNA in vivo and in vitro.

Citrinin, a mycotoxin of Penicillium citrinum and other species of the genera Penicillium and Aspergillus, caused the following effects at different concentrations in Escherichia coli. In vivo at 100 micrograms/ml single-strand breaks were caused in the chromosomal DNA. In the presence of 100 micrograms/ml, UV (254 nm)-induced DNA damage was repaired in the bacterial cells without need for a complete growth medium. At 300 micrograms/ml lambda ts prophage was induced in a lysogenic E. coli strain. In an E. coli strain carrying a F' lac plasmid, 4.7% of the cells displayed the Lac- phenotype after treatment with 200 micrograms of citrinin per ml, suggesting elimination of the F' factor. In vitro, DNA repair synthesis was observed at 5 micrograms of citrinin per ml in permeabilized cells, and replicative DNA synthesis was inhibited at 200 micrograms/ml. In these systems synthesis of stable RNAs was slightly diminished at 300 micrograms/ml, and protein synthesis was not affected at concentrations up to 450 micrograms/ml. Lambda and ColE1 plasmid DNA were cleaved in vitro when small amounts of copper ions were present. This DNA-attacking activity was prevented by NADPH, catalase, and superoxide dismutase and by higher concentrations of hydroxyl radical scavengers, suggesting the involvement of free radicals in the mechanism of action of citrinin on DNA.     

The induction and repair of DNA damage detected by the DNA precipitation assay in Chinese hamster ovary cells treated with acridine orange + visible light

The photodynamic effect of the dye acridine orange (AO) in combination with visible light (400-700 nm) was studied in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, the endpoints investigated being induction, as well as repair, of DNA strand breaks. Cells were treated for 20 min with AO (0.1-3.0 micrograms/ml), washed free of excess dye and subsequently exposed to low doses of visible light (2 x 40 W/8 W/m2) for 5-15 min. AO proved to be an efficient sensitizer for light-induced DNA strand breaks, detected with the DNA precipitation assay, and expressed as percentage of DNA precipitated. The induction of breaks was linear up to 0.5 micrograms/ml AO + 10 min of light, which corresponds to 55% precipitated DNA, and was dependent on the concentration of AO as well as on the dose of light delivered. As a comparison, 18 Gy of X-rays was required to yield an equivalent amount of induced DNA strand breaks. The rejoining of the light-induced DNA strand breaks was studied by incubating the AO-sensitized cells for 30-120 min at 37 degrees C directly after light exposure. A fast recover of 67-91% of the damage (compared to initial damage, recovery time = 0, and dependent on the concentration of AO) was observed during the first 30 min of incubation. However, a significant amount of DNA damage remained after 2 h of recovery. These remaining, long-lived lesions might be involved in the photoinduced and acridine-sensitized chromosomal aberrations and sister-chromatid exchanges (SCE). The significance of these observations is discussed in relation to AO-sensitized and photoinduced DNA damage and chromosomal alterations.     

DNA damage induced by carcinogenic lead chromate particles in cultured mammalian cells.

Particulate lead chromate is a highly water-insoluble cytotoxic and carcinogenic agent, but its mechanism of action remains obscure. We investigated its effects on DNA damage in CHO cells after a 24-h exposure using alkaline or neutral filter elution and cytogenetic studies. Concentrations (0.08, 0.4 and 0.8 micrograms/cm2), which reduced the colony-forming efficiency of CHO cells to 94, 50 and 10%, respectively, produced dose-dependent DNA single-strand breaks and DNA-protein crosslinks, but no DNA double-strand breaks or DNA-DNA crosslinks were observed. The single-strand breaks were absent from cells given a 24-h recovery period after removal of the treatment medium, even though most of the particles remained adhered to cells and to the culture dish. In contrast, both the DNA-protein crosslinks and chromosomal aberrations persisted even after the 24-h recovery period. These results suggest that the mechanism of the particle-induced early DNA single-strand breaks may be different from DNA-protein crosslinks and the lesions leading to chromosomal aberrations, or alternatively, that the repair of single-strand breaks is more efficient than the repair of DNA-protein crosslinks in the unavoidable continuing presence of carcinogen. These results also suggest that the chromosome damage may be related to the persistent DNA-protein crosslinks, and further confirm the genotoxic activity of carcinogenic lead chromate particles.     

Instability of Mex- phenotype in human lymphoblastoid cell lines

Three lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) had extremely low activities of O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (O6-AGT), and were classified as Mex-. They were highly sensitive to cell killing by 1-(4-amino-2-methyl-5-pyrimidinyl)-methyl-3-(2-chloroethyl)-3-nitrosoure a hydrochloride (ACNU), whereas NMO2, a Mex+ LCL with a high O6-AGT activity, was resistant to the agent. Small fractions of these Mex- LCLs survived the treatment with 10 micrograms/ml of ACNU for 24 h, and the surviving cells were found to be resistant to subsequent treatments with the agent. In addition, they contained O6-AGT activities comparable to that of NMO2 and were therefore regarded as Mex+. These results suggest that the Mex- phenotype in LCLs is unstable.     

Effects of mitomycin C on the rate of DNA synthesis in normal and Fanconi anaemia cells

The effect of low doses mitomycin C (MMC) on DNA synthesis of fibroblast cell lines derived from normal individuals or patients with Fanconi anaemia (FA) was studied. Using low doses of MMC (12 ng/ml), little or no effect was observed on DNA synthesis of normal cells, whereas DNA synthesis of FA cells was greatly inhibited 24 and 48 h after treatment. This effect was due to a decrease in the number of DNA-synthesizing cells, while the amount of radioactivity incorporated per cell (as measured with grain counting in autoradiograms) remained the same. These findings indicate that the inhibition of semiconservative DNA synthesis induced by MMC in FA cells is not due to an inhibitory effect of unrepaired lesions on the rate of DNA synthesis but rather to a block in cell cycle progression.     

Effects of mitomycin C on the rate of DNA synthesis in normal and Faconi anaemia cells

THe effect of low doses mitomycin C (MMC) on DNA synthesis of fibroblast cell lines derived from normal individuals or patient with Fanconi anaemia (FA) was studied. Using low doses of MMC (12 ng/ml), little or no effect was observed on DNA synthesis of normal cells, whereas DNA synthesis of FA cells was greatly inhibited 24 and 48 h after treatment. This was due to a decrease in the number of DNA-synthesizing cells, while the amount of radioactivity incorporated per cell (as measured with grain counting in autoradiograms) remained the same. These findings indicate that the inhibition of semiconservative DNA synthesis induced by MMC in FA cells is not due to an inhibitory effect of unrepaired lesions on the rate of DNA synthesis but rather to a block in cell cycle progression.     

DNA damage, cytotoxic effect and cell-cycle perturbation of Hoechst 33342 on L1210 cells in vitro

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of vital dye Hoechst 33342 (HO 33342), at concentrations used to obtain a good DNA histogram resolution, on DNA integrity, cell growth, and cell-cycle phase distribution of L1210 cells. HO 33342 exposure for 2 h, at 37 degrees C produced DNA single-strand breaks as assessed by the method of alkaline elution. DNA single-strand breaks were concentration dependent (in the range .5-5 micrograms/ml) and increased significantly when HO 33342 (0.5-1.5 micrograms/ml) was associated with exposure in a flow cytometer to U.V. laser beam illumination. HO 33342 produced a cytotoxic effect on cell growth even at the concentration of 0.5 microgram/ml--a concentration ten-fold smaller than those required to obtain a good DNA histogram resolution. HO 33342 produced a severe block of the cells in the G2-M phase of the cell cycle already evident 24 h after stain exposure and continuing up to 144 h after start of recovery. A new polyploid cell population (with a 4 c DNA content) not present in the unstained cells was already evident 24 h after dye exposure. The data shown in the present paper would imply caution in using sorted cells stained with HO 33342 dye for biological, biomedical, and pharmacological studies.     

Modification of the alkaline Comet assay to allow simultaneous evaluation of mitomycin C-induced DNA cross-link damage and repair of specific DNA sequences in RT4 cells

The alkaline Comet assay is a simple, sensitive method for measuring the extent of DNA strand breaks in individual cells. Several modifications to the original assay have been developed to increase its applications. One such modification allows the measurement of DNA cross-links by assessing the relative reduction in DNA migration induced by a strand-breaking agent. Another modification includes the application of fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) to investigate the localisation of specific gene domains within a cell. Although several studies have used these approaches separately, no report to date has combined these two versions of the Comet assay. The current study describes the modification of the Comet assay, to allow both measurement of mitomycin C (MMC)-induced cross-links and the subsequent application of FISH to study repair in the TP53 gene region. RT4 human bladder cancer cells were treated with 0, 5, 50 and 200 microg/ml MMC to study dose response, whilst for cross-link repair studies, they were treated with 50 microg/ml MMC and allowed to repair for up to 24 h. A clear dose response to MMC was displayed, demonstrable by a marked reduction in DNA migration, whilst repair studies showed that MMC-induced cross-links take at least 24 h to repair fully in RT4 cells. For Comet-FISH experiments, the number and location of TP53 hybridisation spots was also recorded for each cell. In dose response experiments, the number of spots per cell, and per Comet tail, decreased as MMC dose increased. In repair experiments, the number of spots, particularly in the Comet tail, increased as repair time increased. Furthermore, our results suggest that repair of the TP53 gene region is most rapid within the first 4 h following MMC treatment. We conclude that the novel experimental protocol presented here has considerable potential in evaluating DNA damage and sequence-related repair responses to cross-linking agents.     

Repair of bleomycin-induced DNA double-strand breaks in Vicia faba

As detected by neutral DNA elution, bleomycin induced at the concentrations tested (5, 10 and 50 micrograms/ml) DNA double-strand breaks (dsbs) in in vitro cultured embryos of V. faba. Most of these breaks were repaired during a 4-h incubation period after treatment. Dsbs also occurred after treatment with 2.5 and 5 mM of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) but in contrast to those induced by bleomycin, these dsbs remained unrepaired during the 4-h incubation period following the treatment.     

Comparison of sister-chromatid exchange induction caused by nitrosoureas that alkylate or alkylate and crosslink DNA

We have investigated the induction of sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in 9L rat brain tumor cells treated with the alkylating agent 1-ethyl-1-nitrosourea (ENU) and 3-(4-amino-2-methyl-5-pyrimidinyl)methyl-1-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (ACNU), an agent that both alkylates and crosslinks DNA. Induction of SCEs by ACNU was found to be 143-fold greater than for ENU. However, on an equimolar basis, the alkylation of DNA by 14C-ACNU was approximately 3.2-fold higher than for 14C-ENU. After correction for this difference was made, the induction of SCEs by ACNU was calculated to be 45-fold greater than for ENU. While DNA alkylation products formed by ACNU and ENU are similar, the chloroethyl alkylation product(s) of ACNU can form DNA-interstrand crosslinks; the ethyl alkylation product(s) of ENU cannot. Based on these findings, we propose that the increased induction of SCEs caused by ACNU is a result of the formation of DNA interstrand crosslinks.     

DNA supercoiling changes in nucleoids from irradiated L5178Y-S and -R cells

DNA supercoiling ability was assayed following irradiation in two cell lines of differing radiosensitivity, L5178Y-S (LY-S) and L5178Y-R (LY-R). Cells treated with NaCl and Triton X-100 were exposed to increasing concentrations of the fluorescent, DNA-intercalating dye, propidium iodide (PI), and the diameter of the resulting fluorescent halo of DNA was measured. As the PI concentration was increased from 0.5 to 5 micrograms/ml, halo diameter increased from 20-25 to 45-55 microns due to the unwinding of the DNA supercoils. This process was similar for both cell lines under all conditions studied. As the PI concentration was increased to 50 micrograms/ml, the halo rewound to a diameter of 25-30 microns in unirradiated cells from both lines. However, following exposure to 3-12 Gy of 137Cs gamma rays, the ability of the DNA to be rewound was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner. Rewinding inhibition was greater in LY-S cells than in LY-R cells. Since the induction of DNA damage (e.g., single-strand DNA breaks) appears to be the same for both cell lines, this result implies that a similar extent of damage results in a greater loss of topological constraints on the DNA loops in LY-S. Such a change might be related to the protein composition of the nucleoid cores. One-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis demonstrated that nucleoids from LY-S cells were missing a 55-kDa protein present in LY-R.