Cell cycle-dependent strand bias for UV-induced mutations in the transcribed strand of excision repair-proficient human fibroblasts but not in repair-deficient cells.

To study the effect of nucleotide excision repair on the spectrum of mutations induced in diploid human fibroblasts by UV light (wavelength, 254 nm), we synchronized repair-proficient cells and irradiated them when the HPRT gene was about to be replicated (early S phase) so that there would be no time for repair in that gene before replication, or in G1 phase 6 h prior to S, and determined the kinds and location of mutations in that gene. As a control, we also compared the spectra of mutations induced in synchronized populations of xeroderma pigmentosum cells (XP12BE cells, which are unable to excise UV-induced DNA damage). Among the 84 mutants sequenced, base substitutions predominated. Of the XP mutants from S or G1 and the repair-proficient mutants from S, approximately 62% were G.C----A.T. In the repair-proficient mutants from G1, 47% were. In mutants from the repair-proficient cells irradiated in S, 71% (10 of 14) of the premutagenic lesions were located in the transcribed strand; with mutants from such cells irradiated in G1, only 20% (3 of 15) were. In contrast, there was no statistically significant difference in the fraction of premutagenic lesions located in the transcribed strand of the XP12BE cells; approximately 75% (24 of 32) of the premutagenic lesions were located in that strand, i.e., 15 of 19 (79%) in the S-phase cells and 9 of 13 (69%) in the G1-phase cells. The switch in strand bias supports preferential nucleotide excision repair of UV-induced damage in the transcribed strand of the HPRT gene.     

Evidence from mutation spectra that the UV hypermutability of xeroderma pigmentosum variant cells reflects abnormal, error-prone replication on a template containing photoproducts.

Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) variant patients are genetically predisposed to sunlight-induced skin cancer. Fibroblasts derived from these patients are extremely sensitive to the mutagenic effect of UV radiation and are abnormally slow in replicating DNA containing UV-induced photoproducts. However, unlike cells from the majority of XP patients, XP variant cells have a normal or nearly normal rate of nucleotide excision repair of such damage. To determine whether their UV hypermutability reflected a slower rate of excision of photoproducts specifically during early S phase when the target gene for mutations, i.e., the hypoxanthine (guanine) phosphoribosyltransferase gene (HPRT), is replicated, we synchronized diploid populations of normal and XP variant fibroblasts, irradiated them in early S phase, and compared the rate of loss of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and 6-4 pyrimidine-pyrimidones from DNA during S phase. There was no difference. Both removed 94% of the 6-4 pyrimidine-pyrimidones within 8 h and 40% of the dimers within 11 h. There was also no difference between the two cell lines in the rate of repair during G1 phase. To determine whether the hypermutability resulted from abnormal error-prone replication of DNA containing photoproducts, we determined the spectra of mutations induced in the coding region of the HPRT gene of XP variant cells irradiated in early S and G1 phases and compared with those found in normal cells. The majority of the mutations in both types of cells were base substitutions, but the two types of cells differed significantly from each other in the kinds of substitutions, but the two types differed significantly from each other in the kinds of substitutions observed either in mutants from S phase (P < 0.01) or from G1 phase (P = 0.03). In the variant cells, the substitutions were mainly transversions (58% in S, 73% in G1). In the normal cells irradiated in S, the majority of the substitutions were G.C --> A.T, and most involved CC photoproducts in the transcribed strand. In the variant cells irradiated in S, substitutions involving cytosine in the transcribed strand were G.C --> T.A transversions exclusively. G.C --> A.T transitions made up a much smaller fraction of the substitutions than in normal cells (P < 0.02), and all of them involved photoproducts located in the nontranscribed strand. The data strongly suggest that XP variant cells are much less likely than normal cells to incorporate either dAMP or dGMP opposite the pyrimidines involved in photoproducts. This would account for their significantly higher frequency of mutants and might explain their abnormal delay in replicating a UV-damaged template.     

DNA excision-repair processes in human cells can eliminate the cytotoxic and mutagenic consequences of ultraviolet irradiation

The ability of DNA excision-repair processes in diploid human fibroblasts to eliminate potentially cytotoxic and mutagenic lesions induced by UV radiation (254 nm) was demonstrated in two ways: (1) Cells with normal rates of excision were compared with cells with an intermediate rate of excision (XP2BE) and cells with an excision rate less than or equal to 1% that of normal (XP12BE) for sensitivity to the killing and mutagenic action of UV radiation. The normal cells proved resistant to doses of UV which reduced the survival of the XP cells to 14% and 0.7%, respectively, and increased the frequency of mutations to 8-azaguanine resistance in the XP cells 5- to 10-fold over background. (2) Cells in confluence were irradiated with cytotoxic and mutagenic doses of UV and allowed to carry out excision repair. After various lengths of time they were replated at lower densities to allow for expression of mutations to 6-thioguanine resistance and/or at cloning densities to assay survival. Normal cells and XP cells with reduced rates of excision repair (from complementation groups C and D) exhibited a gradual increase in survival from an initial level of 15--20% to 100% if held approximately 20 h in confluence. In contrast, XP12BE cells showed no increase from an initial survival of 20% even when held for 7 days. Normal cells irradiated in confluence but prevented from replicating for 7 days exhibited background mutation frequencies, whereas the mutation frequency in XP12BE cells did not change with the time in confluence.     

Excision repair of UV- or benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide-induced lesions in xeroderma pigmentosum variant cells is 'error free'

It is known that cells from one class of xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) patients, called XP variants, carry out excision repair of UV-induced DNA damage at a normal rate and are only slightly more sensitive than normal cells to the cytotoxic effect of UV radiation, but are much more sensitive to the mutagenic effect of UV. To see if this hypermutability were the result of an 'error-prone', excision repair process, we irradiated fibroblasts derived from an XP variant patient, XP4BE, under conditions that allowed the cells various lengths of time for excision repair before the onset of DNA synthesis (S phase) and assayed the frequency of 6-thioguanine (TG)-resistant mutants. Cells synchronized by release from confluence (G0 state) and irradiated just prior to S phase showed a dose-dependent increase in mutants at very high frequencies; cells irradiated in early G1, approximately 12 h before the onset of S phase, showed frequencies 4 times lower. Cells irradiated in the G0 state and allowed 24 h or 48 h for excision repair before the onset of S phase showed still lower frequencies. A comparison of the relative rates of decrease in mutant frequency with time for excision repair before the onset of S phase in XP variant cells and normal human fibroblasts after a dose of 4 or 6 J/m2 showed that these were equal. However, for every time point, the frequency of mutants induced per dose of UV was significantly higher in the XP variant population than in the normal, suggesting that the XP variant cells have an abnormally error-prone process of replicating DNA on a template containing unexcised lesions or normal cells are by-passing many of such lesions using an error-free process. A similar comparative study in synchronized populations of XP4BE cells and normal cells, using the anti 7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide of benzo[a]pyrene, showed that excision repair prior to the onset of S phase also decreased the frequency of mutants induced in XP variant cells by this agent. But for every dose and time point, the frequencies induced in XP4BE cells and normal cells were identical. Thus, the hypermutability of the XP4BE cells was specific to UV radiation-induced DNA lesions.     

Extent of excision repair before DNA synthesis determines the mutagenic but not the lethal effect of UV radiation

Excision repair-proficient diploid fibroblasts from normal persons (NF) and repair-deficient cells from a xeroderma pigmentosum patient (XP12BE, group A) were grown to confluence and allowed to enter the G₀ state. Autoradiography studies of cells released from G₀ after 72 h and replated at lower densities (3?9 × 10³ cells/cm²) in fresh medium containing 15% fetal bovine serum showed that semiconservative DNA synthesis (S phase) began ～24 h after the replating. To determine whether the time available for DNA excision repair between ultraviolet irradiation (254 nm) and the onset of DNA synthesis was critical in determining the cytotoxic and/or mutagenic effect of UV in human fibroblasts, we released cultures of NF or XP12BE cells from G₀, allowed them to reattach at lower densities, irradiated them in early G₁ (～18 h prior to the onset of S) or just prior to S phase, and assayed the frequency of mutations to 6-thioguanine resistance and the survival of colony-forming ability. The XP12BE cells, which are virtually incapable of excising UV-induced DNA lesions, showed approximately the same frequency of mutations and survival regardless of the time of UV irradiation. In NF cells, the slope of the dose response for mutations induced in cells irradiated just prior to S was about 7-fold steeper than that of cells irradiated 18 h earlier. However, the two sets of NF cells showed no significant difference in survival. Neither were there significant differences in the survival of NF cells released from G₀, plated at cloning densities and irradiated as soon as they had attached and flattened out (～20 h prior to S) or 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 or 24 h later. We conclude that the frequency of mutations induced by UV is dependent upon the number of unexcised lesions remaining at the time of semi-conservative DNA replication. However, the amount of time available for excision of potentially cytotoxic lesions is not determined primarily by the period between irradiation and the onset of S phase.     

Relationship between excision repair and the cytotoxic and mutagenic effect of the ‘anti’ 7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide of benzo[a]pyrene in human cells

The cytotoxic and mutagenic effect of (±)-7β,8α-dihydroxy-9α,10α-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (anti BPDE) in normally excision diploid human cells treated just prior to onset of S was compared with that of cells allowed ～ 16 h for excision repair before onset of S and with that observed in excision-deficient serodema pigmentosum (SP12BE) cells. The cells were synchronized by release from density inhibition of cell replication. DNA synthesis began ～ 22 h after the cells were plated at lower density (i.e., 1.4 × 10⁴ cells/cm²). The frequency of thioguanine-resistant mutants induced in normal cells treated just prior to onset of S was ～ 12- to 16-fold higher than that observed in cells treated in early G₁ or treated in G₀ (confluence) and then plated at lower density. The frequency approximated that expected for XP12BE cells from extrapolation of data obtained at lower doses. The frequency of mutants measured in normal cells treated in exponential growth was also much higher than that in the cells treated in early G₁ or in G₀, No such difference could be seen in XP12BE cells treated in exponential growth or in G₀. In contrast to the mutagenicity data in the normal cells, there was no significant difference in the slope of the survival curve of normal cells treated at various times prior to S phase at low densities. However, normal cells treated even at the onset of S exhibited survival equal to XP12BE cells give a 4- to 5-fold lower dose. The data support the hypothesis that DNA synthesis is the cellular event which converts unexcised DNA lesions into mutations. However, they indicate that S is not the event primarily responsible for translating DNA damage into cell death. Accompanying studies on the rate of excision of anti BPDE adducts from the normal cells during the period priot to S support the conclusions.     

Comparison of the frequency of diphtheria toxin and thioguanine resistance induced by a series of carcinogens to analyze their mutational specificities in diploid human fibroblasts

The mutagenic specificities of ethylnitrosourea (ENU), X-rays (+/-)7 beta,8 alpha-dihydroxy-9 alpha,10 alpha-epoxy-7, 8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (BPDE), ICR-191, and N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminofluorene (N-AcO-AAF) were analyzed and compared in diploid human fibroblasts and Salmonella typhimurium. In the human fibroblasts, we compared the frequency of diphtheria toxin (DT)-resistant mutants, presumably induced in the gene coding for elongation factor-2, with the frequency of 6-thioguanine (TG) resistance induced by mutations in the gene coding for hypoxanthine(guanine)phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT). Recovery of DT-resistant (DTr) cells requires that the mutant EF-2 retain the ability to carry on protein synthesis since the normal EF-2 will be inactivated by DT selection. Therefore, the DTr mutation cannot involve major changes in the gene. In contrast, cells can acquire TG resistance by any mechanism which eliminates HPRT activity, e.g., base substitution, frameshift, deletion, loss of chromosomes. Each agent was assessed by calculating the ratio of the slopes of the dose-response plots (induced variant frequency as a function of dose of the agent used) for the two markers (DTr/TGr variants.). In S. typhimurium we examined the reversion frequency in four histidine-requiring strains bearing forward mutations of the frameshift (TA1538, TA98) or missense (TA1535, TA100) type. ENU, which was predominantly a base substitution mutagen in the bacteria, gave a ratio of DTr to TGr variants of 1.5. As expected of an agent inducing gross chromosomal changes, X-rays induced no revertants in bacteria and in human cells gave a ratio of 0.1. ICR-191 which was predominantly a frameshift mutagen in bacteria gave a ratio of 0.15. In the set of bacterial strains containing the plasmid pKM101, BPDE reverted both frameshift and base substitution mutations. It did not cause reversions in the other set of strains. In human cells BPDE gave a response similar to ENU, i.e., a ratio of DTr/TGr variants of 1.5. As reported by others, N-AcO-AAF was predominantly a frameshift mutagen in bacteria. However, in the human cells it gave a ratio of DTr/TGr variants of 1.5, similar to ENU and BPDE. These results suggest that in human cells, BPDE and N-AcO-AAF, like ENU, yield predominantly base substitutions, while ICR-191 and X-rays largely produce mutations by mechanisms which result in more extensive alterations in the gene.     

Mutation induction by okadaic acid, a protein phosphatase inhibitor, in CHL cells, but not in S. typhimurium.

Okadaic acid (OA) is a specific and strong inhibitor of protein phosphatase 1 and 2A present in eukaryotes, and a potent promoter of carcinogenesis in mouse skin. In this study, we examined the mutagenicity of OA. OA did not induce mutations in S. typhimurium TA100 and TA98, with or without a microsomal metabolic activation system. However, it was strongly mutagenic to Chinese hamster lung (CHL) cells without a microsomal activation system, as shown using diphtheria toxin (DT) resistance (DT^r) as a selective marker. Treatment of CHL cells with OA at 17.5 ng/ml induced 164 DT^r mutants per 10⁶ survivors. A plot of the mutation frequency against the OA concentration gave a concave curve, and the mutant frequency was calculated to be 5500/10⁶ survivors/μg, with OA in the dose range of 10–15 ng/ml. This value was about 680 times that of ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS), and comparable to that of 2-amino-N⁶-hydroxyadenine, one of the strongest knowon mutgens. Elongation factor 2 (EF-2) obtained from 4 DT^r clones was not ADP-ribosylated by DT fragment A. PCR-direct sequencing revealed that the hot spot of EF-2 for EMS mutagenesis in CHO-K1 cells, the first letter of codon 717, was not a t spot for OA mutagenesis in CHL cells.     

The Arabidopsis ATRIP ortholog is required for a programmed response to replication inhibitors

The programmed response to replication inhibitors in eukaryotic cells requires the protein kinase ATR (ataxia telangiectasia mutated and rad3-related), which is activated primarily through the persistence of replication protein A (RPA)-bound single-stranded DNA at stalled replication forks and sites of DNA damage undergoing excision repair. Once activated, ATR initiates a cascade of events, including cell-cycle arrest and induction of DNA repair, to mitigate the mutagenic effects of DNA replication in the presence of damage and/or blockage. While many of the molecular regulators of ATR have been determined in yeast and animal cells, little is known about ATR regulation in plants. To genetically define ATR regulatory pathways in Arabidopsis, we describe here a genetic screen for identifying mutants that display a characteristic phenotype of Arabidopsis atr null mutants – hypersensitivity to the replication blocking agent hydroxyurea (HU). Employing this screen, we isolated a novel mutant, termed hus2 (hydroxyurea-sensitive), that displays hypersensitivity to HU, aphidicolin and ionizing radiation, similar to atr mutants. In addition, cell-cycle progression in response to replication blocks and ionizing radiation is defective in hus2 , displaying a nearly identical phenotype to atr mutants. Positional cloning of hus2 reveals a gene sequence similar to yeast Rad26/Ddc2 and ATRIP (ATR interacting protein), suggesting that hus2 encodes an Arabidopsis ATRIP ortholog.     

Molecular characterization of X-ray-induced mutations at the HPRT locus in plateau-phase Chinese hamster ovary cells

CHO-K1 cells were irradiated in plateau phase to determine the effect of dose, dose fractionation, and delayed replating on the type, location and frequency of mutations induced by 250 kVp X-rays at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) locus. Independent HPRT-deficient cell lines were isolated from each group for Southern blot analysis using a hamster HPRT cDNA probe. When compared with irradiation with 4 Gy and immediate replating, dose fractionation (2 Gy + 24 h + 2 Gy) the entire gene. Since an increase in survival was noted under these conditions, these data suggest that repair of sublethal and potentially lethal damage acts equally on all premutagenic lesions, regardless of type or location. Differences in the mutation spectrum were noted when cells were irradiated at 2 Gy and replated immediately. The location of the deletion breakpoints was determined in 15 mutants showing partial loss of the HPRT locus. In 12 of these cell lines one or both of the breakpoints appeared to be located near the center of the gene, indicating a nonrandom distribution of mutations. These results indicate that damage induced by ionizing radiation results in a nonrandom distribution of genetic damage, suggesting that certain regions of the genome may be acutely sensitive to the mutagenic effects of ionizing radiation.     

Mutagenic DNA repair in escherichia coli. V. Mutation frequency decline and error-free post-replication repair in an excision-proficient strain.

Mutation frequency decline (MFD) is an irreversible loss of newly-induced suppressor mutations occurring in excision-proficient Escherichia coli during a short period of incubation in minimal medium before plating on broth- or Casamino acids-enriched selective agar. It is known that MFD of UV-induced mutations may occur before DNA containing pre-mutagenic lesions is replicated, but we conclude that MFD can also occur after the damaged DNA has been replicated on the basis of the following evidence. (1) Mutation fixation in rich medium (i.e., loss of susceptibility to mutation frequency decline) with ethyl methanesulphonate mutagenesis begins immediately, whereas with UV it is delayed for 20--30 min. (2) The delay in mutation fixation after UV can be explained neither by inhibition of DNA replication nor by a delay in the appearance of error-prone repair activity in the irradiated population. (3) MFD at later times after UV irradiation is more rapid and is less strongly inhibited by caffeine than is MFD immediately after irradiation. (4) Excision is virtually complete 20 min after 3 J m-2 UV but at that time virtually all mutations are still susceptible to MFD. We have presented evidence elsewhere that in bacteria there is an alternative error-free excision-dependent type of post-replication repair of potentially mutagenic daughter strand gaps. We suggest that this process is inhibited at tRNA loci in the presence of nutrient broth or Casamino acids, possibly because of a broth-dependent change in the structure of the single-stranded region including the tRNA locus.     

Aphidicolin induces 6-thioguanine resistant mutants in human diploid fibroblasts

Cytotoxic and mutagenic effects of aphidicolin (APC), an inhibitor of DNA polymerases alpha and delta, were studied in human diploid VH-10 fibroblasts. The cells were treated (2 or 4h) with APC at concentration ranges of 10-40 microM. The effect of APC on cell survival after 4 h treatment was significantly higher than after 2 h treatment. The mutagenicity of APC was investigated at the HPRT locus, and the frequency of HPRT mutants was estimated by selection in medium containing 6-thioguanine (6-TG). Treatment of fibroblast cells with 20 microM of APC for 2 or 4 h resulted approximately in 5 or 10 times increase of 6-TG resistant mutant frequencies, respectively, compared to untreated control cells.The cell cycle analyses performed during the expression time (9-12 days) have shown that after 2 and 4h treatment with APC the cells were blocked in G2 phase during the majority of the expression period, compared to control cells. Four days after the treatment, the amount of cells in G2 phase increased about two-fold (28.6-31.8% compared to 13.5% in the untreated cells). The mode of cell death during the expression time was via necrosis, rather than apoptosis, which was demonstrated by fluorescein-diacetate (FDA)-staining and terminal dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL)-method.     

Ultraviolet mutational spectrum in a shuttle vector propagated in xeroderma pigmentosum lymphoblastoid cells and fibroblasts

In order to examine possible cell-type specificity in mutagenic events, a shuttle-vector plasmid, pZ189, carrying a bacterial suppressor tRNA marker gene, was treated with ultraviolet radiation and propagated in Epstein-Barr virus transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines from a patient, XP12BE, with xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), group A, and a normal control. XP is a skin-cancer-prone disorder with UV hypersensitivity and defective DNA repair. Plasmid survival and mutations inactivating the marker gene were scored by transforming an indicator strain of E. coli. An earlier report on this data [Seetharam et al., (1990) J. Mol. Biol., 212, 433] indicated lower survival and higher mutation frequency with the UV-treated plasmid passed through the XP12Be(EBV) line. In the present report, sequence analysis of 198 mutant plasmids revealed a predominance of G:C----A:T transitions with both lymphoblastoid cell lines. This finding is consistent with the bias of polymerases toward insertion of an adenine opposite non-coding photoproducts (dinucleotides or other lesions). Transversion mutagenesis, non-adjacent double mutations, and triple-base mutations may involve other mechanisms. These results were compared to similar data from a fibroblast line from the same patient [Bredberg et al., (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.), 83, 8273]. The frequency of G:C----A:T transitions was higher, and there were fewer plasmids with multiple-base substitutions and with transversion mutations with both XP lymphoblasts and fibroblasts than with the normal lymphoblasts and fibroblasts. There were no significant differences in classes or types of mutations in the UV-treated plasmid replicated in the XP lymphoblasts and the XP fibroblasts. This suggests that the major features of UV mutagenesis in different cell types from the same individual are similar.     

Specific tandem GG to TT base substitutions induced by acetaldehyde are due to intra-strand crosslinks between adjacent guanine bases.

Acetaldehyde is present in tobacco smoke and automotive exhaust gases, is produced by the oxidation of ethanol, and causes respiratory organ cancers in animals. We show both the types and spectra of acetaldehyde-induced mutations in supF genes in double- and single-stranded shuttle vector plasmids replicated in human cells. Of the 101 mutants obtained from the double-stranded plasmids, 63% had tandem base substitutions, of which the predominant type is GG to TT transversions. Of the 44 mutants obtained from the single-stranded plasmids, 39% had tandem mutations that are of a different type than the double-stranded ones. The GG to TT tandem substitutions could arise from intra-strand crosslinks. Our data indicate that acetaldehyde forms intra- as well as inter-strand crosslinks between adjacent two-guanine bases. Based upon the following observations: XP-A protein binds to acetaldehyde-treated DNA, DNA excision repair-deficient xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) cells were more sensitive to acetaldehyde than the repair-proficient normal cells, and a higher frequency of acetaldehyde-induced mutations of the shuttle vectors was found in XP cells than in normal cells, we propose that the DNA damage caused by acetaldehyde is removed by the nucleotide excision repair pathway. Since treatment with acetaldehyde yields very specific GG to TT tandem base substitutions in DNA, such changes can be used as a probe to identify acetaldehyde as the causal agent in human tumors.     

Analysis of repair processes by the determination of the induction of cell killing and mutations in two repair-deficient Chinese hamster ovary cell lines

Two UV sensitive DNA-repair-deficient mutants of Chinese hamster ovary cells (43-3B and 27-1) have been characterized. The sensitivity of these mutants to a broad spectrum of DNA-damaging agents: UV254nm, 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO), X-rays, bleomycin, ethylnitrosourea (ENU), ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS), methyl methanesulphonate (MMS) and mitomycin C (MMC) has been determined. Both mutants were not sensitive to X-rays and bleomycin. 43-3B was found to be sensitive to 4NQO, MMC and slightly sensitive to alkylating agents. 27-1 was sensitive only to alkylating agents. The results suggest the existence of two repair pathways for UV-induced cytotoxicity: one pathway which is also used for the removal of 4NQO and MMC adducts and a second pathway which is also used for the removal of alkyl adducts. Parallel to the toxicity, the induction of mutations at the HPRT and Na+/K+-ATPase loci was determined. The increased cytotoxicity to UV, MMC and 4NQO in 43-3B cells and the increased cytotoxicity to UV in 27-1 cells correlated with increased mutability. It was observed that the increase in mutation induction at the HPRT locus was higher than that at the Na+/K+-ATPase locus. As only point mutations give rise to viable mutants at the Na+/K+-ATPase locus the lower mutability at this locus suggests that defective excision repair increases the chance for deletions. Despite an increased cytotoxicity to ENU in 27-1 cells the mutation induction by ENU was the same in 27-1 and wild-type cells at both loci, which suggests that the mutations are mainly induced by directly miscoding adducts (e.g. O-6 alkylguanine), which cannot be removed by CHO cells. As EMS and MMS treatment of 27-1 cells caused an increase in mutation induction at the HPRT locus and a decrease at the Na+/K+-ATPase locus it indicates that these agents induce a substantial fraction of other mutagenic lesions, which can be repaired by wild-type cells. This suggests that O-6 alkylation is not the only mutagenic lesion after treatment with alkylating agents.     

Effect of sodium fluoride on radiation sensitivity of barley seeds

Barley seeds soaked in 0.01 M sodium fluoride (NaF) in phosphate buffer (pH7) or in buffer alone for 18 h were dried and equilibrated to 10% moisture, either in air or in nitrogen. Pre-treated and re-dried seeds were irradiated in air or in nitrogen with 0, 13, 20, 26 and 32 kR of γ rays, and were immediately hydrated in oxygen- or nitrogen-bubbled water. Parameters of radiation effect considered were seedling injury, mitotic and meiotic cells with bridge aberrations at anaphase and pollen fertility in M₁, and the frequency of chlorophyll mutations in M₂. NaF at 0.01 M was not mutagenic by itself. Pre-treatment with NaF significantly enhanced the radiation effect, when the irradiation was done in air, in comparison with the buffer soaked seeds. The increased effect due to NaF was additional to the oxygen effect. In nitrogen, NaF pre-treatment increased the mutagenic effect but it was not always significant. Post-soaking of irradiated seeds in 0.01 M NaF for 5 h increased seedling injury in comparison with the irradiated seeds soaked in buffer alone or in 0.01 M NaCl. At least a part of the sensitizing effect of NaF may be due to the inhibition of repair.     

Cytological characterization of Chinese hamster ovary X-ray-sensitive mutant cells, xrs 5 and xrs 6. II. Induction of sister-chromatid exchanges and chromosomal aberrations by X-rays and UV-irradiation and their modulation by inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase and alpha-polymerase

The cell killing and induction of sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) by X-rays and short-wave ultraviolet (UV) irradiation in combination with inhibitors of DNA repair, 3-aminobenzamide (3AB), cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) or aphidicolin (APC) were studied in wild-type CHO-K1 and two X-ray-sensitive mutants, xrs 5 and xrs 6 cells. The spontaneous frequency of SCEs was similar in the mutants and the wild-type CHO-K1 cells (8.4-10.3 SCEs/cell). Though X-rays are known to be poor inducers of SCEs, a dose-dependent increase in the frequency of SCEs in xrs 6 cells (doubling at 150 rad) was found in comparison to a small increase in xrs 5 and no increase in wild-type CHO-K1 cells. 3AB, an inhibitor of poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase increased the spontaneous frequency of SCEs in all the cell types. 3AB did not potentiate the X-ray-induced frequency of SCEs in any of the cell lines. Ara-C, an inhibitor of DNA polymerase alpha, increased the frequency of SCEs in all the cell lines. In combined treatment with X-rays, ara-C had no synergistic effect in xrs 5 and xrs 6 cells, but the frequency of SCEs increased in X-irradiated wild-type CHO-K1 cells post-treated with ara-C. For the induced frequency of SCEs, CHO-K1 cells treated with X-rays plus ara-C behaved like xrs 6 cells treated with X-rays alone, suggesting a possible defect in DNA base damage repair in xrs 6 cells, in addition to the known defective repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Survival experiments revealed higher sensitivity of xrs 5 and xrs 6 mutant cells to the cell killing effect of X-rays in S-phase when compared to wild-type CHO-K1 cells. The mutants responded with lesser sensitivity to cell killing effect of ara-C and APC than CHO-K1 cells, the relative sensitivity to ara-C or APC being CHO-K1 greater than xrs 5 greater than xrs 6 cells. When X-irradiation was coupled with ara-C, the results obtained for survival were similar to those of the SCE test, i.e., unlike wild-type CHO-K1, no synergistic effect was observed in xrs 5 or xrs 6 cells. After UV-irradiation, the frequency of SCEs increased similarly in wild-type CHO-K1 and xrs 6 cells, but xrs 5 cells responded with lower frequency of SCEs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

A comparison of the DNA binding,cytotoxicity and repair synthesis induced in human fibroblasts by reactive derivatives of aromatic amide carcinogens

The cytotoxicity of three structurally-related direct-acting carcinogens, N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminofluorene, N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminophenanthrene and N-acetoxy-4-acetylaminobiphenyl, was compared in normal cells and in excision repair deficient xeroderma pigmentosum cells (XP12BE). All three proved significantly more cytotoxic to the XP cells than to the normal cells. At equicytoxic levels, substantially more residues were initially bound to the DNA of the normal cells than to the XP cells, suggesting that the former are able to remove a large percentage of the DNA bound residues before these can result in cell death. The ability of these cell strains to remove bound residues from DNA, to incorporate thymidine into parental strands of DNA during repair replication, and to recover from potentially lethal damage if held in the non-replicating, density-inhibited G_o state was compared as a function of dose and time. The XP12BE cells proved virtually incapable of excision repair of DNA damage induced by these carcinogens and of recovery. In contrast, normal cells recovered from the potentially lethal effects of these three compounds and did so at a rate comparable to their rate of removal of bound residues and of repair synthesis. In the excision-deficient XP12BE cells, DNA adducts induced by N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminophenanthrene proved 3- to 6-fold more cytotoxic than adducts induced by the other two carcinogens.