DNA damage-inducible transcripts in mammalian cells

Induction by ionizing radiation of the gadd45 gene in cultured human cells: lack of mediation by protein kinase C

The effect of ionizing radiation on the expression of two DNA-damage-inducible genes, designated gadd45 and gadd153, was examined in cultured human cells. These genes have previously been shown to be strongly and coordinately induced by UV radiation and alkylating agents in human and hamster cells. We found that the gadd45 but not the gadd153 gene is strongly induced by X rays in human cells. The level of gadd45 mRNA increased rapidly after X rays at doses as low as 2 Gy. After 20 Gy of X rays, gadd45 induction, as measured by increased amounts of mRNA, was similar to that produced by the most effective dose of the alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate. No induction was seen after treatment of either human or hamster cells with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, a known activator of protein kinase C (PKC). Therefore, gadd45 represents the only known mammalian X-ray-responsive gene whose induction is not mediated by PKC. However, induction was blocked by the protein kinase inhibitor H7, indicating that induction is mediated by some other kinase(s). Sequence analysis of human and hamster cDNA clones demonstrated that this gene has been highly conserved and encodes a novel 165-amino-acid polypeptide which is 96% identical in the two species. This gene was localized to the short arm of human chromosome 1 between p12 and p34. When induction in lymphoblast lines from four normal individuals was compared with that in lines from four patients with ataxia telangiectasia, induction by X rays of gadd45 mRNA was less in the cell lines from this cancer-prone radiosensitive disorder. Our results provide evidence for the existence of an X-ray stress response in human cells which is independent of PKC and which is abnormal in taxia telangiectasia.

Enhanced expression of protein kinase C gene caused by solar radiation

Natural solar radiation (5 min of midday exposure in mid July, latitude 42 degrees N) induces protein kinase C mRNA almost two-fold in human epithelioid P3 cells in culture. This response is the same as that following tumor promotion by chemicals. The result indicates a possible role of promotion by solar UV radiation.

Induction by ionizing radiation of the gadd45 gene in cultured human cells: lack of mediation by protein kinase C

The effect of ionizing radiation on the expression of two DNA-damage-inducible genes, designated gadd45 and gadd153, was examined in cultured human cells. These genes have previously been shown to be strongly and coordinately induced by UV radiation and alkylating agents in human and hamster cells. We found that the gadd45 but not the gadd153 gene is strongly induced by X rays in human cells. The level of gadd45 mRNA increased rapidly after X rays at doses as low as 2 Gy. After 20 Gy of X rays, gadd45 induction, as measured by increased amounts of mRNA, was similar to that produced by the most effective dose of the alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate. No induction was seen after treatment of either human or hamster cells with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, a known activator of protein kinase C (PKC). Therefore, gadd45 represents the only known mammalian X-ray-responsive gene whose induction is not mediated by PKC. However, induction was blocked by the protein kinase inhibitor H7, indicating that induction is mediated by some other kinase(s). Sequence analysis of human and hamster cDNA clones demonstrated that this gene has been highly conserved and encodes a novel 165-amino-acid polypeptide which is 96% identical in the two species. This gene was localized to the short arm of human chromosome 1 between p12 and p34. When induction in lymphoblast lines from four normal individuals was compared with that in lines from four patients with ataxia telangiectasia, induction by X rays of gadd45 mRNA was less in the cell lines from this cancer-prone radiosensitive disorder. Our results provide evidence for the existence of an X-ray stress response in human cells which is independent of PKC and which is abnormal in taxia telangiectasia.

Expression of the yeast PHR1 gene is induced by DNA-damaging agents

The PHR1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a photolyase which repairs specifically and exclusively pyrimidine dimers, the most frequent lesions induced in DNA by far-UV radiation. We have asked whether expression of PHR1 is modulated in response to UV-induced DNA damage and to DNA-damaging agents that induce lesions structurally dissimilar to pyrimidine dimers. Using a PHR1-lacZ fusion gene in which expression of beta-galactosidase is regulated by PHR1 5' regulatory elements, we found that exposure of cells to 254-nm light, 4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide, methyl methanesulfonate, and N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine induced synthesis of increased amounts of fusion protein. In contrast to these DNA-damaging agents, neither heat shock nor exposure to photoreactivating light elicited a response. Induction by far-UV radiation was evident both when the fusion gene was carried on a multicopy plasmid and when it replaced the endogenous chromosomal copy of PHR1, and it was accompanied by an increase in the steady-state concentration of PHR1-lacZ mRNA. Northern (RNA) blot analysis of PHR1 mRNA encoded by the chromosomal locus was consistent with either enhanced transcription of PHR1 after DNA damage or stabilization of the transcripts. Neither the intact PHR1 or RAD2 gene was required for induction. Comparison of the region of PHR1 implicated in regulation of its expression with other damage-inducible genes from yeast cells revealed a common conserved sequence that is present in the PHR1, RAD2, and RNR2 genes and is required for damage inducibility of the latter two genes. These sequences may constitute elements of a damage-responsive regulon in S. cerevisiae.

Expression of the yeast PHR1 gene is induced by DNA-damaging agents

The PHR1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a photolyase which repairs specifically and exclusively pyrimidine dimers, the most frequent lesions induced in DNA by far-UV radiation. We have asked whether expression of PHR1 is modulated in response to UV-induced DNA damage and to DNA-damaging agents that induce lesions structurally dissimilar to pyrimidine dimers. Using a PHR1-lacZ fusion gene in which expression of beta-galactosidase is regulated by PHR1 5' regulatory elements, we found that exposure of cells to 254-nm light, 4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide, methyl methanesulfonate, and N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine induced synthesis of increased amounts of fusion protein. In contrast to these DNA-damaging agents, neither heat shock nor exposure to photoreactivating light elicited a response. Induction by far-UV radiation was evident both when the fusion gene was carried on a multicopy plasmid and when it replaced the endogenous chromosomal copy of PHR1, and it was accompanied by an increase in the steady-state concentration of PHR1-lacZ mRNA. Northern (RNA) blot analysis of PHR1 mRNA encoded by the chromosomal locus was consistent with either enhanced transcription of PHR1 after DNA damage or stabilization of the transcripts. Neither the intact PHR1 or RAD2 gene was required for induction. Comparison of the region of PHR1 implicated in regulation of its expression with other damage-inducible genes from yeast cells revealed a common conserved sequence that is present in the PHR1, RAD2, and RNR2 genes and is required for damage inducibility of the latter two genes. These sequences may constitute elements of a damage-responsive regulon in S. cerevisiae.

Cellular responses to oxidative stress: the [Ah] gene battery as a paradigm

A major source of oxidative stress in animals is plant stress metabolites, also termed phytoalexins. The aromatic hydrocarbon-responsive [Ah] gene battery is considered here as a model system in which we can study metabolically coordinated enzymes that respond to phytoalexin-induced oxidative stress. In the mouse, the [Ah] battery comprises at least six genes: two Phase I genes, CYP1A1 and CYP1A2; and four Phase II genes, Nmo-1, Aldh-1, Ugt-1, and Gt-1. All six genes appear to be regulated positively by inducers such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and other ligands of the Ah receptor. In the absence of foreign inducer, the control of Nmo-1 gene expression is independent of the control of CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 gene expression. The radiation deletion homozygote c14CoS/c14CoS mouse is lacking about 1.1 centiMorgans of chromosome 7. Although having no detectable CYP1A1 or CYP1A2 activation, the untreated c14CoS/c14CoS mouse exhibits markedly elevated transcripts of the Nmo-1 gene and three growth arrest- and DNA damage-inducible (gadd) genes. These data suggest that the missing region on chromosome 7 in the c14CoS/c14CoS mouse contains a gene(s), which we propose to call Nmo-1n, encoding a trans-acting factor(s) that is a negative effector of the Nmo-1 and gadd genes. The three other [Ah] battery Phase II genes behave similarly to Nmo-1 in the c14CoS/c14CoS mouse. This coordinated response to oxidative stress and DNA damage, by way of the release of a mammalian battery of genes from negative control, bears an interesting resemblance to the SOS response in bacteria.

Ionizing radiation regulates expression of the c-jun protooncogene

There is little known about the regulation of gene expression by ionizing radiation exposure. The present studies demonstrate transcriptional activation of a mammalian gene, the c-jun protooncogene, by x-rays. The c-jun gene encodes a component of the AP-1 protein complex and is important in early signaling events involved in various cellular functions. The increase in c-jun transcripts by ionizing radiation was time- and dose-dependent as determined by Northern blot analysis. Transcriptional run-on analysis demonstrated that ionizing radiation stimulates the rate of c-jun gene transcription. Furthermore, the half-life of c-jun RNA was prolonged in the absence of protein synthesis. These findings indicate that the increase in c-jun RNA observed after irradiation is regulated by transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms. Moreover, the induction of c-jun by ionizing radiation was associated with an inverse dose rate effect in that decreasing the dose rate resulted in increased c-jun expression. The present results similarly demonstrate that ionizing radiation increases levels of c-fos transcripts as well as that of jun-B, another member of the jun family. Taken together, these results suggest a role for induction of early response genes in the pathophysiologic effects of ionizing radiation.

A human cellular sequence implicated in trk oncogene activation is DNA damage inducible

Xeroderma pigmentosum cells, which are deficient in the repair of UV light-induced DNA damage, have been used to clone DNA-damage-inducible transcripts in human cells. The cDNA clone designated pC-5 hybridizes on RNA gel blots to a 1-kilobase transcript, which is moderately abundant in nontreated cells and whose synthesis is enhanced in human cells following UV irradiation or treatment with several other DNA-damaging agents. UV-enhanced transcription of C-5 RNA is transient and occurs at lower fluences and to a greater extent in DNA-repair-deficient than in DNA-repair-proficient cells. Southern blot analysis indicates that the C-5 gene belongs to a multigene family. A cDNA clone containing the complete coding sequence of C-5 was isolated. Sequence analysis revealed that it is homologous to a human cellular sequence encoding the amino-terminal activating sequence of the trk-2h chimeric oncogene [Kozma, S. C., Redmond, S. M. S., Xiao-Chang, F., Saurer, S. M., Groner, B. & Hynes, N. E. (1988) EMBO J. 7, 147-154]. The presence of DNA-damage-responsive sequences at the 5' end of a chimeric oncogene could result in enhanced expression of the oncogene in response to carcinogens.

Repair of pyrimidine(6-4)pyrimidone photoproducts in mouse skin

The induction and repair of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and pyrimidine(6-4)pyrimidone photoproducts in the epidermal DNA of ultraviolet-irradiated hairless mice were determined by radioimmunoassay. Few cyclobutane dimers were excised by 48 h after ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, whereas 50% of the (6-4) photoproducts were removed by 6 h, correlating with previously determined rates of unscheduled DNA synthesis in mouse skin. After this initial rapid phase of (6-4) photoproduct excision, a slower phase was observed between 6 and 48 h. These repair kinetics contrast with those for fibroblast cell cultures derived from mouse tissues irradiated with UV light yielding similar levels of damage. Although the initial rate of (6-4) photoproduct repair in cultured fibroblasts and epidermal cells was similar, the extent of repair in cultured cells was significantly greater, with most of the damage removed by 24 h. The kinetics for (6-4) photoproduct repair in mouse epidermal cells suggest that a significant population, such as terminally differentiated keratinocytes, may have a reduced repair capacity and that the culture process may select for more rapidly proliferating, repair-proficient stem cells.

Enhancement of adenovirus transformation of cloned rat embryo fibroblast cells by gamma irradiation

We have analyzed the effect of gamma irradiation on the induction of morphological transformation of cloned rat embryo fibroblast (CREF) cells by the host-range cold-sensitive type 5 adenovirus mutant, H5hr1. Treatment of CREF cells with 1-6 Gy of gamma irradiation immediately prior to viral infection resulted in dose-dependent decrease in cell survival and concomitant increase in viral transformation frequency. Exposure of CREF cells to 1-6 Gy of gamma radiation alone resulted in a similar dose-dependent inhibition in cell survival but without any subsequent morphological transformation. The effect of gamma irradiation on viral transformation was greatest when cells were irradiated directly before viral infection. The reduction in the enhancement of transformation was both dose and time dependent. The ability of gamma irradiation to enhance viral transformation was substantially reduced if CREF cells were treated with inhibitors of RNA (actinomycin D) and protein (cycloheximide) synthesis. Employing a single-cell colony transfer assay and in situ hybridization with a 32P-labeled Ad5 DNA probe, we found that gamma irradiation of CREF cells prior to infection with H5hr1 resulted, 10 and 17 d after infection and replating, in an increase in the percentage of surviving CREF colonies that contain Ad5 DNA. Analysis of viral DNA integration by DNA-filter hybridization (Southern blot analysis) in H5hr1-transformed CREF clones isolated from untreated and gamma-irradiated cultures indicates that gamma irradiation caused increases in both the number of copies of Ad5 E1A DNA sequences integrated into cellular DNA and the number of unique Ad5 E1A DNA integration sites in transformed cells. These results indicate that gamma irradiation enhancement of adenovirus transformation was a consequence of radiation-induced cellular factors with finite life spans that are mediators of enhanced viral transformation. Potentially important components of the radiation enhancement process appear to involve an alteration in both the retention of free Ad5 DNA in surviving cells and an alteration in the profile of viral-DNA integration in gamma-irradiated cells.

Inducible cellular responses to ultraviolet light irradiation and other mediators of DNA damage in mammalian cells

Both naturally occurring and carcinogen-induced tumors display not only point mutations in cellular oncogenes but also more complex changes in cellular oncogenes and other cellular genes. For this and other reasons, it seems likely that DNA damage in mammalian cells can induce alterations in gene expression that may have both short and long term consequences in the target cell. The purpose of this review is to summarize current available information on inducible responses to UV-irradiation and other mediators of DNA damage in mammalian cells, and to provide some working hypotheses. We have divided these responses into three time frames, immediate (0-12 hours), early (12-48) and late (beyond 48 hours). Immediate responses include the action of DNA repair enzymes, some of which are induced as a consequence of DNA damage, and transient inhibition of DNA synthesis. Within the past few years considerable evidence has accumulated that during this immediate period there is increased expression of certain cellular oncogenes, proteases and proteins whose functions remain to be identified. It is of interest that the expression of some of these genes is also induced by certain growth factors, tumor promoters and heat shock. Alterations in gene expression during the subsequent "early" period (12-48 hrs.) have not been studied in detail, but it is during this period that one can detect increased replication of several types of viruses in cells that harbor these viruses. We have examined in detail the induction of asynchronous polyoma DNA replication (APR) in a rat fibroblast cell line carrying integrated copies of this DNA. We have obtained evidence that UV-irradiation of these cells leads to the synthesis of a 40 kd protein, within the first 1-24 hrs after irradiation, that binds to a specific sequence TGACAACA in the regulatory region of polyoma DNA. We suggest that this protein acts together with other proteins to induce APR and that this serves as a useful model for understanding the mechanisms responsible for amplification of cellular genes, a phenomenon often seen in malignant tumors. Finally, we discuss how the events occurring during the immediate and early periods following DNA damage might lead to late effects in the target cell that are stable and contribute to the genotype and phenotype of some of the progeny of these cells that are destined to become tumor cells.

Effects of ionizing radiation on expression of genes encoding cytoskeletal elements: kinetics and dose effects

We examined the modulation in expression of genes encoding three cytoskeletal elements (beta-actin, gamma-actin, and alpha-tubulin) in Syrian hamster embryo (SHE) cells following exposure to ionizing radiations. Early-passage SHE cells were irradiated in plateau phase with various low doses (12-200 cGy) of neutrons, gamma-rays, or x-rays. RNA samples were prepared from cells at different times postexposure and were analyzed for levels of specific transcripts by northern blots. The results revealed that alpha-tubulin was induced by both high-linear energy of transfer (LET) (neutrons) and low-LET (gamma-rays and x-rays) radiations with similar kinetics. The peak in alpha-tubulin mRNA accumulation occurred between 1 and 3 h postexposure; for gamma-actin mRNA, accumulation was similarly induced. For both gamma-actin and alpha-tubulin, the higher the dose during the first hour postexposure (up to 200 cGy gamma-rays), the greater the level of mRNA induction. In contrast, mRNA specific for beta-actin showed decreased accumulation during the first hour following radiation exposure, and remained low up to 3 h postexposure. These results document the differential modulation of genes specific for cytoskeletal elements following radiation exposure. In addition, they demonstrate a decrease in the ratio of beta-actin:gamma-actin mRNA within the first 3 h following gamma-ray exposure. These changes in mRNA accumulation are similar to those reported in some transformed cell lines and in cells treated with tumor promoters, which suggests a role for changes in actin- and tubulin-mRNA expression in radiation-mediated transformation.

Mammalian genes coordinately regulated by growth arrest signals and DNA-damaging agents

More than 20 different cDNA clones encoding DNA-damage-inducible transcripts in rodent cells have recently been isolated by hybridization subtraction (A. J. Fornace, Jr., I. Alamo, Jr., and M. C. Hollander, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:8800-8804, 1988). In most cells, one effect of DNA damage is the transient inhibition of DNA synthesis and cell growth. We now show that five of our clones encode transcripts that are increased by other growth cessation signals: growth arrest by serum reduction, medium depletion, contact inhibition, or a 24-h exposure to hydroxyurea. The genes coding for these transcripts have been designated gadd (growth arrest and DNA damage inducible). Two of the gadd cDNA clones were found to hybridize at high stringency to transcripts from human cells that were induced after growth cessation signals or treatment with DNA-damaging agents, which indicates that these responses have been conserved during mammalian evolution. In contrast to results with growth-arrested cells that still had the capacity to grow after removal of the growth arrest conditions, no induction occurred in HL60 cells when growth arrest was produced by terminal differentiation, indicating that only certain kinds of growth cessation signals induce these genes. All of our experiments suggest that the gadd genes are coordinately regulated: the kinetics of induction for all five transcripts were similar; in addition, overexpression of gadd genes was found in homozygous deletion c14CoS/c14CoS mice that are missing a small portion of chromosome 7, suggesting that a trans-acting factor encoded by a gene in this deleted portion is a negative effector of the gadd genes. The gadd genes may represent part of a novel regulatory pathway involved in the negative control of mammalian cell growth.

Increased tumor necrosis factor alpha mRNA after cellular exposure to ionizing radiation

We report that tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) mRNA is increased after treatment with x-rays in certain human sarcoma cells. An increase in TNF-alpha mRNA is accompanied by the increased production of TNF-alpha protein. TNF-alpha enhances radiation lethality in both TNF-alpha-producing and -nonproducing tumor cells. These data suggest that, in addition to the direct cytotoxic effects of x-rays, production of TNF-alpha may add to radiation lethality through autocrine and paracrine mechanisms. Combinations of TNF-alpha and therapeutic radiation may be useful in clinical cancer therapy.

Expression of the E. coli Lac Z gene from a defective HSV-1 vector in various human normal, cancer-prone and tumor cells

Introducing foreign genetic material into human cells is essential for the elucidation of the function of various human genes and has potential use in the treatment of human diseases by gene therapy. In this study we demonstrate that a defective herpes simplex virus type 1 vector, pHSVlac, can effectively transfer and express the Escherichia coli Lac Z gene in a variety of exponential and quiescent human cells. The human cells tested included representative cells derived from cancer-prone patients that presumably have various DNA repair deficiencies.

Induction of the Escherichia coli lactose operon selectively increases repair of its transcribed DNA strand

Nucleotide excision repair helps to ameliorate the lethal and mutagenic consequences of DNA damage by removing helix-distorting lesions from cellular genomes. We have previously analysed the removal of ultraviolet-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers from specific DNA sequences in mammalian cells and demonstrated that transcriptionally active genes are preferentially repaired. Additionally, we found that in rodent and human cells only the transcribed strand of the dihydrofolate reductase gene is selectively repaired. Transcription is blocked by pyrimidine dimers in template DNA and the selective removal of these lesions seems to be important for cell survival after irradiation with ultraviolet light. To determine whether this feature of repair is common to prokaryotes and eukaryotes and better to understand its mechanism, we have investigated repair in the two separate DNA strands of the lactose operon of ultraviolet-irradiated Escherichia coli. We find a dramatic difference in the repair of the two strands only when transcription is induced. Most dimers are removed from the transcribed strand of the induced operon within five minutes of irradiation. In the nontranscribed strand, repair is significantly slower and resembles that found in both strands of the uninduced operon. Thus there seems to be a mechanism that couples nucleotide excision repair and transcription.

Mammalian genes coordinately regulated by growth arrest signals and DNA-damaging agents

More than 20 different cDNA clones encoding DNA-damage-inducible transcripts in rodent cells have recently been isolated by hybridization subtraction (A. J. Fornace, Jr., I. Alamo, Jr., and M. C. Hollander, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:8800-8804, 1988). In most cells, one effect of DNA damage is the transient inhibition of DNA synthesis and cell growth. We now show that five of our clones encode transcripts that are increased by other growth cessation signals: growth arrest by serum reduction, medium depletion, contact inhibition, or a 24-h exposure to hydroxyurea. The genes coding for these transcripts have been designated gadd (growth arrest and DNA damage inducible). Two of the gadd cDNA clones were found to hybridize at high stringency to transcripts from human cells that were induced after growth cessation signals or treatment with DNA-damaging agents, which indicates that these responses have been conserved during mammalian evolution. In contrast to results with growth-arrested cells that still had the capacity to grow after removal of the growth arrest conditions, no induction occurred in HL60 cells when growth arrest was produced by terminal differentiation, indicating that only certain kinds of growth cessation signals induce these genes. All of our experiments suggest that the gadd genes are coordinately regulated: the kinetics of induction for all five transcripts were similar; in addition, overexpression of gadd genes was found in homozygous deletion c14CoS/c14CoS mice that are missing a small portion of chromosome 7, suggesting that a trans-acting factor encoded by a gene in this deleted portion is a negative effector of the gadd genes. The gadd genes may represent part of a novel regulatory pathway involved in the negative control of mammalian cell growth.