Repair of ionizing radiation induced DNA damage in human lymphocytes.

Phytohemagglutinin stimulated human lymphocytes exhibit a 20 fold increase in DNA repair synthesis following ionizing radiation damage compared to the level of repair in unstimulated cells. The peak of repair synthesis coincides with that for DNA replication. Stimulated lymphocytes provide a relatively simple assay for ionizing radiation repair defects.     

Repair of damage induced by ultraviolet light in DNA polymerase-defective Escherichia coli cells

Cells of the Escherichia coli mutant polA1, which lack DNA polymerase activity in vitro, are four times as sensitive as wild-type to ultraviolet irradiation. Cells of the mutant uvrA6, which are unable to excise dimers, are 12 times as sensitive as wild-type. We have shown that the double mutant polA1 uvrA6 is only slightly more sensitive to u.v. than the uvrA6 single mutant and conclude, therefore, that the u.v. sensitivity associated with the defect in DNA polymerase is primarily the result of a reduction in the efficiency of the excision-repair pathway. Observations on the effect of u.v. irradiation on the ability of polA1 cells to support the growth of phage λ suggest that the post-u.v. repair function of polymerase is subsequent to the action of the uvr⁺ gene products. Evidence is presented that the recA repair system is involved in excision-repair in polA1 cells, and we propose that it can substitute for DNA polymerase in repairing the gaps produced by dimer excision. This would account for the relatively slight effect of the polA1 mutation on u.v. sensitivity.     

Immunoanalysis of ultraviolet radiation induced DNA damage and repair within specific gene segments of plasmid DNA.

The region-specific heterogeneity of repairing DNA damage has been established in several biological systems. A flexible and sensitive approach, based upon DNA damage specific antibodies, is described to monitor the repair of specific lesions within discrete genomic segments. Membrane transblotted DNA restriction fragments are immunoanalyzed for the initial formation and repair of 254 nm radiation induced pyrimidine dimers. Sensitivity of dimer immunodetection increases proportional to fragment concentration and size. Antibody binding was detectable in a 0.5 kb fragment obtained from approx. 100 ng of restriction digested phage lambda DNA irradiated with 50 J m-2. Dimers within larger fragments (greater than 5 kb) could be detected at ultraviolet doses as low as 1 to 2 J m-2. To determine the occurrence of preferential repair in prokaryotic cells, damage was assessed in DNA sequences established in various Escherichia coli strains. In vivo repair of 8.9 kb vector and 6.4 and 3.2 kb gene inserts occurred with an approximate t1/2 of 45 min in UvrABC excision repair-proficient strains. Antibody binding sites were retained by DNA within repair-deficient strains. Compared to UvrABC, the repair of DNA fragments mediated by T4 endonuclease V was rapid and complete within 30 min of cellular irradiation. The efficient repair in DenV+ strain is attributable to a highly processive repair enzyme rather than to selective repair of actively replicating target genes. The results demonstrate the exceptional ability of antibodies specific for altered biomolecular lesions to map damage and repair in gene segments episomally established within cells.     

DNA repair efficiency for ultraviolet induced damage

Ultraviolet radiation causes lesions in bacterial DNA which are repaired by several enzyme systems. Wide variations in the efficiency of repair for differentE. Coli strains are inadequately explained by a simple presence or absence of one or more repair systems. It is proposed that a major factor in the variations is the sensitivity of the repair systems themselves to ultraviolet induced interactions between proteins and the repair enzyme cistrons. An analytic approach is applied to pre-existing data to establish the numbers of thymine and cytosine bases in the repair cistrons, lending support to the model. The findings imply that bacteria will become sensitive to UV upon inhibition of one of four amino acids.     

Repair of X-ray induced DNA strand damage by isolated rat splenic lymphocytes.

Although a number of chemicals can alter DNA repair function, little is known about the effect of chronic, low dose exposure to environmental agents on DNA repair capacity. Lymphocytes provide a potential target population to study the effects of chronic exposures to low doses of toxic chemicals since they are an easily obtainable cell population. Prior to investigating the repair capacity of chemically exposed lymphocytes, the repair by chemically naive lymphocytes has been characterized. In the present study, the DNA repair capacity of isolated rat lymphocytes was characterized. The capacity of these cells to repair single-strand DNA breaks (SSB) was determined after in vitro treatments with X-rays. The effect of in vitro exposure to 3-aminobenzamide (3-AB) on DNA repair capacity was also assessed. The levels of induced SSB and their repair were determined using the alkaline elution technique. Splenic lymphocytes were isolated and placed in culture medium 18 h prior to assessment of repair capacity, but were not stimulated with mitogens. A dose-dependent increase in SSB was observed following exposure of lymphocytes to 300 or 600 rad. The rate of SSB repair was analyzed after a dose of 400 rad. Approximately 80% of the DNA strand break repair was completed within 60 min. The half-time for repair of these lesions by lymphocytes was determined to be 21.3 min. Exposure to 3-AB resulted in a decrease in the rate of repair of the X-ray-induced strand breakage. Although no SSB were detected at the end of a 1-h 3-AB treatment of non-irradiated cells, significant accumulation of SSB was observed after a 2-h treatment. The characterization of DNA repair in rat lymphocytes following in vitro exposure to X-rays will allow us to investigate the effects of chronic, in vivo toxicant exposure on the capacity of isolated lymphocytes to repair DNA damage produced by X-rays.     

Repair of DNA damage induced by gamma radiation and UV and gamma mimetics in virus-infected human cells

The method of chromatography of cell lysates on the columns with hydroxyapatite (HAP) and the method of ultracentrifugation of cell lysates in neutral sucrose gradient were used to study the mutagen-induced repair activity of human cells HEp-2 noninfected and chronically infected with measles and rubella viruses in order to determine the sedimentation properties of complexes containing DNA. Gamma-radiation, bleomycin, 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide, and mitomycin C were used as DNA damaging agents. It was shown that the chronic infectious process inhibited repair of DNA damages induced by 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide and mitomycin C and did not influence repair of DNA lesions caused by gamma-radiation and bleomycin.     

Repair of DNA damage induced by bile salts in Salmonella enterica

Exposure of Salmonella enterica to sodium cholate, sodium deoxycholate, sodium chenodeoxycholate, sodium glycocholate, sodium taurocholate, or sodium glycochenodeoxycholate induces the SOS response, indicating that the DNA-damaging activity of bile resides in bile salts. Bile increases the frequency of GC --> AT transitions and induces the expression of genes belonging to the OxyR and SoxRS regulons, suggesting that bile salts may cause oxidative DNA damage. S. enterica mutants lacking both exonuclease III (XthA) and endonuclease IV (Nfo) are bile sensitive, indicating that S. enterica requires base excision repair (BER) to overcome DNA damage caused by bile salts. Bile resistance also requires DinB polymerase, suggesting the need of SOS-associated translesion DNA synthesis. Certain recombination functions are also required for bile resistance, and a key factor is the RecBCD enzyme. The extreme bile sensitivity of RecB-, RecC-, and RecA- RecD- mutants provides evidence that bile-induced damage may impair DNA replication.     

Flavonoids can protect maize DNA from the induction of ultraviolet radiation damage.

Diverse flavonoid compounds are widely distributed in angiosperm families. Flavonoids absorb radiation in the ultraviolet (UV) region of the spectrum, and it has been proposed that these compounds function as UV filters. We demonstrate that the DNA in Zea mays plants that contain flavonoids (primarily anthocyanins) is protected from the induction of damage caused by UV radiation relative to the DNA in plants that are genetically deficient in these compounds. DNA damage was measured with a sensitive and simple assay using individual monoclonal antibodies, one specific for cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer damage and the other specific for pyrimidine(6,4)pyrimidone damage.     

DNA damage caused by ionizing radiation.

A survey is given of continuous-time Markov chain models for ionizing radiation damage to the genome of mammalian cells. In such models, immediate damage induced by the radiation is regarded as a batch-Poisson arrival process of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Enzymatic modification of the immediate damage is modeled as a Markov process similar to those described by the master equation of stochastic chemical kinetics. An illustrative example is the restitution/complete-exchange model. The model postulates that, after being induced by radiation, DSBs subsequently either undergo enzymatically mediated restitution (repair) or participate pairwise in chromosome exchanges. Some of the exchanges make irremediable lesions such as dicentric chromosome aberrations. One may have rapid irradiation followed by enzymatic DSB processing or have prolonged irradiation with both DSB arrival and enzymatic DSB processing continuing throughout the irradiation period. Methods for analyzing the Markov chains include using an approximate model for expected values, the discrete-time Markov chain embedded at transitions, partial differential equations for generating functions, normal perturbation theory, singular perturbation theory with scaling, numerical computations, and certain matrix methods that combine Perron-Frobenius theory with variational estimates. Applications to experimental results on expected values, variances, and statistical distributions of DNA lesions are briefly outlined. Continuous-time Markov chains are the most systematic of those radiation damage models that treat DSB-DSB interactions within the cell nucleus as homogeneous (e.g., ignore diffusion limitations). They contain virtually all other relevant homogeneous models and semiempirical summaries as special cases, limiting cases, or approximations. However, the Markov models do not seem to be well suited for studying spatial dependence of DSB interactions, which is known to be important in some situations.     

The suppression of immunity by ultraviolet radiation: UVA, nitric oxide and DNA damage.

We have examined the mechanism by which solar-simulated ultraviolet radiation (ssUV) suppresses memory immunity to nickel in allergic humans. In initial studies, we used inbred mice to determine the contribution of different wavebands to sunlight-induced immunosuppression. We found that low dose UVA can enhance memory, medium dose UVA (half the amount in one minimum erythemal dose of ssUV) is immunosuppressive, but higher doses protect from UVB. This is genetically dependent, as it is not observed in all mouse strains. UVA caused a similar dose-related change in recall immunity in humans. ssUV dose responses determined the limits of protection provided by sunscreens from immunosuppression in humans. Immune protection factors calculated from these data correlated with UVA protection, but not with sun protection factor, showing that in commercial sunscreens that provide good UVB protection, UVA protection limits prevention of immunosuppression. N(G)-monomethyl-l-arginine acetate (l-NMMA) was used to inhibit nitric oxide (NO) production and T4N5 liposomes containing T4 endonuclease V to enhance DNA repair. Sub-erythemal ssUV caused a dose-related local suppression of recall immunity to nickel in humans. l-NMMA and the liposomes protected the nickel reaction, suggesting that NO and DNA damage are mediators of UV-induced immunosuppression in humans.     

Lethal cellular changes induced by near ultraviolet radiation.

There is clear evidence that significant quantities of lesions are induced in DNA by near-UV radiation and that these lesions, although susceptible to repair, may lead to cell death because of the simultaneous disruption of DNA repair systems by the same wavelengths. No particular DNA lesion can be linked to cell death in wild type strains. However, there are good grounds for speculating that a type of near-UV lesion exists which is rapidly "fixed" as a lethal event in cells as a result of the oxygen-dependent disruption of repair. There is a strong indication that the relative ability of various near-UV wavelengths to sensitize cells to heat, chemicals or other radiations is directly related to their efficiency in disrupting DNA repair systems in general. Some important specific questions remain. For example, it is important to ask why breaks formed at 365 nm and 405 nm, although apparently requiring a pol dependent pathway for their repair, do not produce the predicted lethal biological action in the strains tested. In general terms it is hoped to provide more comprehensive physico-chemical data in support of, or contradicting, the proposed model.     

Repair of N-methyl-N''-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine-induced DNA damage by ABC excinuclease.

Escherichia coli has several overlapping DNA repair pathways which act in concert to eliminate the DNA damage caused by a diverse array of physical and chemical agents. The ABC excinuclease which is encoded by the uvrA, uvrB, and uvrC genes mediates both the incision and excision steps of nucleotide excision repair. Traditionally, this repair pathway has been assumed to be active against DNA adducts that cause major helical distortions. To determine the level of helical deformity required for recognition and repair by ABC excinuclease, we have evaluated the substrate specificity of this enzyme by using DNA damaged by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. ABC excinuclease incised methylated DNA in vitro in a dose-dependent manner in a reaction that was ATP dependent and specific for the fully reconstituted enzyme. In vivo studies with various alkylation repair-deficient mutants indicated that the excinuclease participated in the repair of DNA damage induced by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine.     

Repair of DNA damage induced by oxygen radicals in human non-proliferating and proliferating lymphocytes.

Repair of DNA lesions induced by oxygen radicals, generated by xanthine/xanthine oxidase (X/XO), was studied in human peripheral blood lymphocytes and in PHA-stimulated proliferating lymphocytes from 4 healthy subjects. The lesions included DNA-strand breaks (SSB) and other lesions that are converted to SSB under alkaline conditions. The frequencies of SSB were estimated by fluorometric analysis of DNA unwinding. Maximum production of SSB occurred within 10 min of incubation with X/XO at 22 degrees C; with 0.5 mM or higher concentrations of xanthine; and with 0.1-0.5 units/ml of xanthine oxidase. Proliferating lymphocytes repaired X/XO-induced SSB about 4 times more rapidly than lymphocytes. Lymphocytes repaired X/XO-induced SSB more slowly than SSB caused by gamma-radiation. These findings are consistent with the evidence that a number of DNA-repair enzymes have greater activity in proliferating cells than in resting cells. These findings also support the view that there are differences between the DNA damage due to oxygen radicals and that due to ionizing radiation.     

Analysis of the excision repair of nondimer DNA damage induced by solar ultraviolet radiation in ICR 2A frog cells

The excision repair of solar uv-induced nondimer DNA damage was examined in ICR 2A frog cells through the use of the bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) photolysis assay. A relatively pure population of nondimer DNA photoproducts was induced by irradiation of ICR 2A cells with the Mylar-filtered solar ultraviolet (uv) wavelengths produced by a fluorescent sunlamp followed by exposure to photoreactivating light (PRL) which removes most of the small yield of pyrimidine dimers induced by this treatment. Cultures of cells were also exposed to 254 nm uv, which induces primarily dimers, and 60Co gamma rays. Through use of a modification of the BrdUrd photolysis assay possessing enhanced sensitivity, it was found that the solar uv-induced nondimer DNA damage was repaired by a short patch repair mechanism in which less than approximately 20 nucleotides are inserted into a repaired region. Similar results were also obtained for gamma-irradiated cells. In contrast, excision repair of 254-nm-induced dimers was accomplished by a long-patch process in which an average of about 180 nucleotides are inserted into the repaired sites.     

Repair of damage by ultraviolet radiation in xeroderma pigmentosum cell strains of complementation groups E and F

The xeroderma pigmentosum fibroblast strains XP2RO, complementation group E, and XP23OS, group F, were compared with normal human primary fibroblasts with regard to repair of damage induced by 254-nm UV. In XP2RO cells, repair DNA synthesis, measured by autoradiography (unscheduled DNA synthesis = UDS), was about 50% of the value found in normal human cells. In these cells also the removal of UV-induced sites recognized by a specific UV-endonuclease proceeds at a reduced rate. By having BUdR incorporated into the repaired regions, followed by the induction of breaks in these patches by 313-nm UV, it was shown that the reduced repair synthesis is not caused by a shorter length of the repair regions in XP2RO, but is solely due to a reduction in the number of sites removed by excision repair. In XP23OS a discrepancy was observed between the level of UDS, which was about 10% of the normal value, and other repair-dependent properties such as UV survival, host-cell reactivation and removal of UV-endonuclease-susceptible sites, which were less reduced than could be expected from the UDS level. However, when UDS was followed over a longer period than the 2 or 3 h normally used in UDS analysis, it appeared that in XP23OS cells, the rate of UDS remained constant whereas the rate decreased in normal control cells. Consequently, the residual level of UDS varies with the period over which it is studied.