The role of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation in the adaptive response

An involvement of the poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation system in the expression of the adaptive response has been demonstrated with inhibitors of the nuclear enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. This enzyme is a key component of a reaction cycle in chromatin, involving dynamic synthesis and degradation of variably sized ADP-ribose polymers in response to DNA strand breaks. The present report reviews recent work focussing on the response of the poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation system in low dose adaptation. The results suggest that adaptation of human cells to minute concentrations of an alkylating agent involves a different activation mechanism for poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase than DNA break-mediated stimulation after high dose treatment. Moreover, adaptation induces the formation of branched polymers with a very high binding affinity for histone tails and selected other proteins. High dose challenge treatment of adapted cells further enhances formation of branched polymers. We propose that apart from sensing DNA nicks, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase may be part of pathway protecting cells from downstream events of DNA damage.     

Inhibition of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation by overexpressing the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase DNA-binding domain in mammalian cells

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase specifically recognizes DNA strand breaks by its DNA-binding domain. DNA binding activates the enzyme to catalyze the formation of poly(ADP-ribose) utilizing NAD as substrate. By a molecular genetic approach we set out to inhibit this enzyme activity in a highly specific manner, thus avoiding the inherent side effects of NAD analogs which have been used extensively as enzyme inhibitors. cDNA sequences coding for the human poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase DNA-binding domain were subcloned into eucaryotic expression plasmids and transiently transfected into monkey cells. Cells were fixed with ethanol followed by incubation with NAD. Indirect double immunofluorescence to detect both overexpressed protein and poly(ADP-ribose) in situ revealed that overexpression of the DNA-binding domain greatly inhibited poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation catalyzed by the resident enzyme during NAD postincubation. The same inhibition was observed when transfected cells were treated with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine to induce DNA strand breaks in vivo and subjected to trichloroacetic acid/ethanol fixation and subsequent immunofluorescence analysis, a novel method we developed for the in situ detection of polymer synthesis in intact cells. This molecular genetic approach may prove to be a selective and efficient tool to investigate possible functions of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation in living cells.     

Analysis of larger than tetrameric poly(adenosine diphosphoribose) by a radioimmunoassay in nuclei separated in organic solvents.

Anitibodies were prepared against poly(adenosine diphosphoribose) of an average chain length of 40 adenosine diphosphoribose units by repeated injection of the polymer mixed with methylated albumin and adjuvants into rabbits. The antibody was present mainly in the 7 S fraction of the immunoglobulins. A membrane binding assay was developed, and its specificity determined for the detection of (adenosine diphosphoribose)ngreater than4 in organs. The method is suitable for the study of the variation of the polymer content of nuclei. The size recognition of the anti-poly(adenosine diphosphoribose) globulin fraction was the same for polymers composed of 4--40 adenosine diphosphoribose units, but smaller oligomers were not detectible. A quantitative extraction technique was developed and applied for radioimmunoassay of nuclear (adenosine diphosphoribose)n greater than 4. Organs were freeze-clamped, freeze dried, broken into subcellular fragments in a colloid mill, and the nuclear fraction was subsequently separated in organic solvents in order to preserve the polymer. Nicotinamide and nicotinic acid, when administered in vivo, augmented the (adenosine diphosphoribose)n greater than 4 content of rat liver and heart. Tissues of infant pigeons contained larger quantites of (adenosine diphosphoribose)ngreater than4 than tissues of adult rats.     

Characterization of polymers of adenosine diphosphate ribose generated in vitro and in vivo

Methods have been developed and applied to determine the size and branching frequency of polymers of ADP-ribose synthesized in nucleotide-permeable cultured mouse cells and in intact cultured cells. Polymers were purified by affinity chromatography with a boronate resin and were fractionated according to size molecular sieve high-performance liquid chromatography. Fractions were enzymatically digested to nucleotides, which were separated by strong anion exchange high-performance liquid chromatography. From these data, average polymer size and branching frequency were calculated. A wide range of polymer sizes was observed. Polymers as large as 190 residues with at least five points of branching per molecule were generated in vitro. Polymers of up to 67 residues containing up to two points of branching per molecule were isolated from intact cells following treatment with the DNA alkylating agent N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. Cells treated with hyperthermia prior to DNA damage contained polymers of an average maximum size of 244 residues containing up to six points of branching per molecule. The detection of large polymers of ADP-ribose in intact cells suggests that alterations in chromatin organization effected by poly(ADP-ribosylation) may extend beyond the covalently modified proteins and very likely involve noncovalent interactions of poly(ADP-ribose) with other components of chromatin.     

Biochemical aspects of cardiac muscle differentiation. Determination of deoxyribonucleic acid template availability and 3′-hydroxyl termini in nuclei and chromatin by using exogenous deoxyribonucleic acid polymerases

Experiments were designed to determine whether DNA synthesis ceases in terminally differentiating cardiac muscle of the rat because the activity of the putative replicative DNA polymerase (DNA polymerase alpha) is lost or whether the activity of this enzyme is lost because DNA synthesis ceases. DNA-template availability and 3'-hydroxyl termini in nuclei and chromatin, isolated from cardiac muscle at various times during the developmental period in which DNA synthesis and the activity of DNA polymerase alpha are decreasing, were measured by using Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I, Micrococcus luteus DNA polymerase and DNA polymerase alpha under optimal conditions. Density-shift experiments with bromodeoxyuridine triphosphate and isopycnic analysis indicate that DNA chains being replicated semi-conservatively in vivo continue to be elongated in isolated nuclei by exogenous DNA polymerases. DNA template and 3'-hydroxyl termini available to exogenously added DNA polymerases do not change as cardiac muscle differentiates and the rate of DNA synthesis decreases and ceases in vivo. Template availability and 3'-hydroxyl termini are also not changed in nuclei isolated from cardiac muscle in which DNA synthesis had been inhibited by administration of isoproterenol and theophylline to newborn rats. DNA-template availability and 3'-hydroxyl termini, however, were substantially increased in nuclei and chromatin from cardiac muscle of adult rats. This increase is not due to elevated deoxyribonuclease activity in nuclei and chromatin of the adult. Electron microscopy indicates that this increase is also not due to dispersal of the chromatin or disruption of nuclear morphology. Density-shift experiments and isopycnic analysis of DNA from cardiac muscle of the adult show that it is more fragmented than DNA from cardiac-muscle cells that are, or have recently ceased, dividing. These studies indicate that DNA synthesis ceases in terminally differentiating cardiac muscle because the activity of a replicative DNA polymerase is lost, rather than the activity of this enzyme being lost because DNA synthesis ceases.     

A possible role for altered poly(adenosine diphosphoribose)-synthesis in the sensitivity of human head and neck squamous carcinoma cells to ionizing radiation

Cytotoxicity, extent of DNA double-strand breaks, and stimulation of poly(adenosine diphosphoribose)-synthesis were measured in two established human head and neck squamous carcinoma cell lines (183A and 1483) following x-irradiation. The 1483 cell line was 15-fold more resistant to x-ray-mediated cytotoxicity than was the 183A cell line. X-ray-mediated DNA strand cleavage also differed in these two cell lines with the absolute frequency of DNA double-strand breaks in the sensitive cells 183A cells being twice that in the resistant 1483 cell line. No detectable stimulation of poly(adenosine diphosphoribose)-synthesis was measured in the sensitive 183A cells whereas a marked increase in incorporation of [3H]-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide was readily detected following x-irradiation of the resistant 1483 cells. These findings suggest a possible role of altered poly(adenosine diphosphoribose)-synthesis in the sensitivity of human head and neck squamous carcinoma cells to ionizing radiation.     

Enhanced myocardial RNA synthesis in spontaneously hypertensive rats possible role of high-mobility group non-histone proteins

Cardiac hypertrophy in spontaneously hypertensive rats is associated with increased nuclear RNA polymerase activity. In order to explore mechanisms facilitating the interaction of the enzyme with its endogenous template, we compared the structure of nuclear chromatin from myocytes of 20-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto controls. Enhanced RNA synthesis in hypertensive rats was accompanied by increased susceptibility to digestion by deoxyribonuclease I. Nick translation of nuclei also resulted in higher nucleotide incorporation in hypertensive rats. Salt-extraction abolished the differences in deoxyribonuclease I sensitivity between the two animal groups. Reconstitution with either 0.35 M NaCl-extract or high mobility group (HMG) non-histone proteins restored digestion susceptibility but did not equalize SHR and WKY cells. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of 0.35 M NaCl-extracts and supernatants from deoxyribonuclease I digestion revealed the presence of HMG proteins which were preferentially released in hypertensive rats. There was a small but statistically significant increase in nuclear HMG protein content in hypertensive rats (0.12 +/- 0.02 mg/mg DNA vs. 0.09 +/- 0.02 mg/mg DNA in Wistar-Kyotos, P less than 0.05) but no difference in their electrophoretic appearance. These results indicate that chromatin structure is altered in the hypertrophied myocardium with resultant increase in deoxyribonuclease I susceptibility. This increase appears to be partly dependent on the high-mobility group non-histone proteins.     

Covalent binding of 4-carbamoylbenzenediazonium chloride to deoxyguanine bases of DNA resulting in apparent irreversible inhibition of poly(adenosine diphosphoribose) polymerase at the nicotinamide binding site

The poly(adenosine diphosphoribose) polymerase activity of isolated liver nuclei was inhibited by 4-carbamoylbenzenediazonium chloride, referred to as 4-diazoniobenzamide, an effect that was dependent on the time of incubation and the concentration of the diazonium compound, with inhibition following first-order kinetics. The inhibition was not reversed by reisolation of nuclei and centrifugal washing, whereas the inhibition by benzamide or 4-aminobenzamide was completely reversible under these conditions. Simultaneous incubation of 4-diazoniobenzamide with benzamide prevented enzyme inhibition. The 4-diazoniobenzoic acid analogue was not inhibitory. The mechanism of action of 4-diazoniobenzamide was traced to a specific covalent binding to dGMP of DNA to form N2-[(4-carbamoylphenyl)azo]-2'-deoxyguanosine 5'-monophosphate. Coenzymic DNA, by tight association with the polymerase protein, fixes the -C(O)NH2 moiety of the adduct at the nicotinamide-binding site of the enzyme.     

Serological Relatedness of Bacterial Deoxyribonucleic Acid Polymerases

A number of bacterial species have been surveyed for serological activities with antiserum to Escherichia coli B deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) polymerase I (EC 2.7.7.7.). The degree of serological cross-reaction is taken as a measure of relatedness of both the enzyme molecules from various species and the bacterial species themselves. Extracts were assayed by complement fixation only after treatment with deoxyribonuclease, since DNA bound to DNA polymerase alters the serological activity of the enzyme. Antiserum to E. coli DNA polymerase I did not react with either purified E. coli DNA polymerase II or the phage T4-induced DNA polymerase.     

Stimulation of nuclear poly (adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase activity from HeLa cells by endonucleases.

Isolated nuclei from HeLa cells can incorporate labeled ADP-ribose from NAD into an acid-precipitable product, poly(ADP-ribose). This reaction is stimulated by 4-6-fold by the addition of deoxyribonuclease I to the complete reaction mixture. If the nuclei are treated first with deoxyribonuclease I, no effect is seen; the stimulation is only apparent when the two enzymes deoxyribonuclease I and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, are operating at the same time. After making several minor modifications in the assay mixture, it was found that another endonuclease, micrococcal nuclease, can also stimulate the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity of HeLa nuclei. A comparison of the two stimulatory effects indicated that the two endonucleases activated to the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity of HeLa nuclei in the same way. Overall this evidence suggests that poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase may have a functional role in the process of DNA repair.     

Poly(ADP-ribose) in the cellular response to DNA damage

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase is a chromatin-bound enzyme which, on activation by DNA strand breaks, catalyzes the successive transfer of ADP-ribose units from NAD to nuclear proteins. Poly(ADP-ribose) synthesis is stimulated by DNA strand breaks, and the polymer may alter the structure and/or function of chromosomal proteins to facilitate the DNA repair process. Electronmicroscopic studies show that poly(ADP-ribose) unwinds the tightly packed nucleosomal structure of isolated chromatin. Recent studies also show that the presence of poly(ADP-ribose) enhances the activity of DNA ligase. This may increase the capacity of the cell to complete DNA repair. Inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase or deficiencies of the substrate, NAD, lead to retardation of the DNA repair process. When DNA strand breaks are extensive or when breaks fail to be repaired, the stimulus for activation of poly(ADP-ribose) persists and the activated enzyme is capable of totally consuming cellular pools of NAD. Depletion of NAD and consequent lowering of cellular ATP pools, due to activation of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, may account for rapid cell death before DNA repair takes place and before the genetic effects of DNA damage become manifest.     

Sites in simian virus 40 chromatin which are preferentially cleaved by endonucleases.

Simian virus 40 (SV40) chromatin isolated from infected BSC-1 cell nuclei was incubated with deoxyribonuclease I, staphylococcal nuclease or an endonuclease endogenous to BSC-1 cells under conditions selected to introduce one doublestrand break into the viral DNA. Full-length linear DNA was isolated, and the distribution of sites of initial cleavage by each endonuclease was determined by restriction enzyme mapping. Initial cleavage of SV40 chromatin by deoxyribonuclease I or by endogenous nuclease reduced the recovery of Hind III fragment C by comparison with the other Hind III fragments. Similarly, Hpa I fragment B recovery was reduced by comparison with the other Hpa I fragments. When isolated SV40 DNA rather than SV40 chromatin was the substrate for an initial cut by deoxyribonuclease I or endogenous nuclease, the recovery of all Hind III or Hpa I fragments was approximately that expected for random cleavage. Initial cleavage by staphylococcal nuclease of either SV40 DNA or SV40 chromatin occurred randomly as judged by recovery of Hind III or Hpa I fragments. These results suggest that, in at least a portion of the SV40 chromatin population, a region located in Hind III fragment C and Hpa I fragment B is preferentially cleaved by deoxyribonuclease I or by endogenous nuclease but not by staphylococcal nuclease.Complementary information about this nuclease-sensitive region was provided by the appearance of clusters of new DNA fragments after restriction enzyme digestion of DNA from viral chromatin initially cleaved by endogenous nuclease. From the sizes of new fragments produced by different restriction enzymes, preferential endonucleolytic cleavage of SV40 chromatin has been located between map positions 0.67 and 0.73 on the viral genome.     

Changes in poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) and poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase in synchronous HeLa cells.

An antibody has been prepared which is highly specific for poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose). Neither poly(A), DNA, nor a variety of adenine-containing nucleosides or nucleotides were effective in competing with poly(ADP-ribose) for binding to the antibody. Of all compounds tested, only adenosine diphosphate-ribose competed for binding to the antibody. Unlabeled poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) was about 10 000 times more effective in competing with labeled polymer for antibody binding than was adenosine diphosphate-ribose. Using the antibody, the amount of poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) was found to increase from early S phase to a peak at mid S with a second, even larger increase seen at the S-G2 transition point in synchronously dividing HeLa cells. Pulse labeling of the polymer with [2-3H]adenosine was also maximal at the same time points. Changes in the levels of poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase activity measured in isolated nuclei coincided with the changes in amounts of polymer present in intact cells during progression from S phase into G2.     

The arrangement of proteins on the deoxyribonucleic acid in chromatin

The arrangement of the protein component on the DNA of the chromatin complex was studied by comparing the rate of release of oligonucleotides and of protein after addition of deoxyribonuclease I and deoxyribonuclease II to rat thymus chromatin. Also the action of deoxyribonuclease I on normal chromatin and on chromatin depleted of non-histone protein was compared, to elucidate the role of the latter protein in chromatin structure. As a preliminary to the above, the rate of action of deoxyribonuclease I on DNA and on chromatin at the same DNA concentration, and the dependence of the action of this enzyme on the Mg(2+) concentration, were studied. It was found that: (1) little if any DNA in chromatin is present in extensive, truly ;free' zones, i.e. completely uncovered by protein; (2) at relatively low concentrations of added Mg(2+), deoxyribonuclease I degrades chromatin more rapidly than DNA; (3) the non-histone protein is not attached directly to the DNA in chromatin.     

Condensin I interacts with the PARP-1-XRCC1 complex and functions in DNA single-strand break repair

Condensins are essential protein complexes critical for mitotic chromosome organization. Little is known about the function of condensins during interphase, particularly in mammalian cells. Here we report the interphase-specific interaction between condensin I and the DNA nick-sensor poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1). We show that the association between condensin I, PARP-1, and the base excision repair (BER) factor XRCC1 increases dramatically upon single-strand break damage (SSB) induction. Damage-specific association of condensin I with the BER factors flap endonuclease 1 (FEN-1) and DNA polymerase delta/epsilon was also observed, suggesting that condensin I is recruited to interact with BER factors at damage sites. Consistent with this, DNA damage rapidly stimulates the chromatin association of PARP-1, condensin I, and XRCC1. Furthermore, depletion of condensin in vivo compromises SSB but not double-strand break (DSB) repair. Our results identify a SSB-specific response of condensin I through PARP-1 and demonstrate a role for condensin in SSB repair.     

Kinetics of the decamer - dimer dissociation of arginine decarboxylase.

Aurintricarboxylic acid inhibited replicative DNA synthesis in nucleotide-permeable mouse ascites sarcoma cells. DNA polymerase activity assayed with activated DNA template and DNA polymerase purified partially from sarcoma cells was also inhibited by aurintricarboxylic acid. The inhibition of DNA polymerase activity was probably due to the inhibitory interaction of aurintricarboxylic acid with DNA polymerase. The replicative DNA synthesis might be inhibited by aurintricarboxylic acid interacting with some essential protein component(s), such as DNA polymerase of the replication machinery.