Characterization of DNA repair in a mutant cell line derived from ICR 2A frog cells that is hypersensitive to non-dimer DNA damages induced by solar ultraviolet radiation

Inhibition and recovery of semiconservative DNA synthesis in normal and solar UV sensitive ICR 2A frog cell lines following the induction of non-dimer DNA damage by sunlamp UV greater than 315 nm

Cultures of the solar UV-sensitive cell lines, DRP 36 and DRP 153, and of the parental ICR 2A cell line, were exposed to 150 kJ/m2 of sunlamp UV greater than 315 nm plus photoreactivating light. This treatment resulted in the induction primarily of non-dimer DNA damage. Following either a 0, 3, 6, 12 or 24 h incubation, the cultures were pulse-labelled with [3H]thymidine, and the synthesis of different size classes of replicon intermediates measured using the alkaline step elution assay. For all three cell lines tested, an immediate depression of low molecular weight DNA synthesis was observed. This was followed by an inhibition of all size classes of replicon intermediates. Within 12 h following irradiation, recovery of DNA synthesis was observed, which was generally most apparent for low molecular weight DNA. The ICR 2A cells exhibited a nearly full recovery in all size classes of DNA synthesized by 24 h. However, a much smaller recovery of DNA synthesis was detected for the DRP 36 and DRP 153 cultures. This continued inhibition was primarily in the synthesis of full replicon size DNA, and was most pronounced for the DRP 36 cells. Hence, it appears that replicon chain elongation continues to be inhibited in these solar UV-sensitive cell lines long after irradiation.

DNA-protein crosslinking in normal and solar UV-sensitive ICR 2A frog cell lines exposed to solar UV-radiation

DNA-protein crosslinks (DPC) were measured following exposure to the solar UV wavelengths produced by a fluorescent sunlamp in ICR 2A frog cells and two solar UV-sensitive mutants derived from this cell line. Approx. 5-7 DPC per 10(10) dalton were induced in these cells by either 150 kJ/m2 of sunlamp UV greater than 315 nm plus photoreactivating light (PRL) or 10 kJ/m2 of sunlamp UV greater than 295 nm. The irradiated cells were then incubated for 0-24 h and the level of DPC measured using alkaline elution. It was found for the ICR 2A cells exposed to sunlamp UV greater than 315 nm that the level of DPC increased about 3-fold during a 2-h postirradiation incubation and then decreased. The mutant cell lines also showed an enhancement in the level of DPC following irradiation, although it was much less pronounced and the levels decreased much more rapidly. In a similar fashion, the level of DPC increased in ICR 2A cells exposed to sunlamp UV greater than 295 nm with more than a 5-fold enhancement after a 4-h incubation. Once again, the mutant cell lines showed an increase in the level of DPC that was smaller and more transient than the effect in the ICR 2A cells. These results suggests that this enhancement in DPC may be indicative of a process that plays a role in cellular survival following solar UV-irradiation.

Regulation of photorepair in growing and arrested frog cells in response to ultraviolet light

The constitutive and inducible levels of enzymatic photorepair (EPR) in growing and arrested ICR 2A frog cells were studied using clonogenic assays. Both arrested and growing cells exhibited an equal level of constitutive EPR following ultraviolet irradiation. However, only arrested, but not growing, cells treated with a low fluence of UV (90% survival) developed an enhanced EPR. The induced process developed transiently with a peak 3 days after pre-irradiation, and was totally blocked by a nontoxic concentration of cycloheximide. In addition, the induced EPR is unique to low fluences of UV.