[13] The excision of pyrimidine dimers (The detection of dimers in small amounts)

Insight in DNA Repair of UV-induced Pyrimidine Dimers by Chromatographic Methods

UV-induced formation of pyrimidine dimers in DNA is a major deleterious event in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. Accumulation of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and pyrimidine (6-4) pyrimidone photoproducts can lead to cell death or be at the origin of mutations. In skin, UV induction of DNA damage is a major initiating event in tumorigenesis. To counteract these deleterious effects, all cell types possess DNA repair machinery, such as nucleotide excision repair and, in some cell types, direct reversion. Different analytical approaches were used to assess the efficiency of repair and decipher the enzymatic mechanisms. We presently review the information provided by chromatographic methods, which are complementary to biochemical assays, such as immunological detection and electrophoresis-based techniques. Chromatographic assays are interesting in their ability to provide quantitative data on a wide range of damage and are also valuable tools for the identification of repair intermediates.

Shedding light on proteins, nucleic acids, cells, humans and fish

I was trained as a physicist in graduate school. Hence, when I decided to go into the field of biophysics, it was natural that I concentrated on the effects of light on relatively simple biological systems, such as proteins. The wavelengths absorbed by the amino acid subunits of proteins are in the ultraviolet (UV). The wavelengths that affect the biological activities, the action spectra, also are in the UV, but are not necessarily parallel to the absorption spectra. Understanding these differences led me to investigate the action spectra for affecting nucleic acids, and the effects of UV on viruses and cells. The latter studies led me to the discovery of the important molecular nature of the damages affecting DNA (cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers) and to the discovery of nucleotide excision repair. Individuals with the genetic disease xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) are extraordinarily sensitive to sunlight-induced skin cancer. The finding, by James Cleaver, that their skin cells were defective in DNA repair strongly suggested that DNA damage was a key step in carcinogenesis. Such information was important for estimating the wavelengths in sunlight responsible for human skin cancer and for predicting the effects of ozone depletion on the incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer. It took experiments with backcross hybrid fish to call attention to the probable role of the longer UV wavelengths not absorbed by DNA in the induction of melanoma. These reflections trace the biophysicist's path from molecules to melanoma.

Role of DNA polymerase II in the tolerance of thymine dimers remaining unexcised in UV-irradiated Escherichia coli exposed to pre-UV nutritional stress

Nutritional stress applied prior to UV-irradiation to E. coli 15 555-7 reduced thymine dimer excision and inhibited post-UV incorporation of thymidine in polB(+) as well as in polB(-) cells. However, the pre-UV-stressed polB(+) cells were significantly more UV-resistant and after UV synthesized larger DNA molecules than the pre-UV-stressed polB(-) cells. The data suggest that DNA polymerase II is involved in the tolerance of unremoved thymine dimers.

Inducible stable DNA replication (iSDR) and the uvr-dependent tolerance of pyrimidine dimers in UV-irradiated Escherichia coli are two uncoupled processes

Inducible stable DNA replication (iSDR) is dependent on recombination and is supposed to play a role in DNA repair of Escherichia coli. Our previous data suggested that iSDR may be involved in the tolerance of UV lesions, which remain unexcised in excision-proficient E. coli exposed to some UV pretreatments. Now, the tolerance of unexcised lesions has been followed in E. coli recB21 and in E. coli priA1 sup mutants, incapable of iSDR. The obtained data do not confirm the previous hypothesis about the involvement of iSDR in the putative uvr-dependent lesion tolerance. They rather suggest that iSDR and the uvr-dependent lesion tolerance are two uncoupled processes.

The pre-UV nutritional stresses increase UV resistance, decrease UV mutagenesis and inhibit excision repair

Nutritional stresses applied to E. coli prior to UV irradiation increase UV resistance and decrease UV mutagenesis. This effect is uvrA-dependent and might reflect a more efficient excision of pyrimidine dimers [1]. The data presented here, however, indicate that after prestarvation for glucose or amino acids pyrimidine dimer excision (PDE) was partly inhibited. It appears that the stress conditions stimulate a mode of uvr-dependent tolerance of lesions, efficient and precise. Possible modes of PDE inhibition and lesion tolerance are discussed.

Quantitative determination of cyclobutane thymine dimers in DNA by stable isotope-dilution mass spectrometry

In order to understand the role of UV-induced DNA lesions in biological processes such as mutagenesis and carcinogenesis, it is essential to detect and quantify DNA damage in cells. In this paper we present a novel and both highly selective and sensitive assay using capillary gas chromatography (GC) combined with mass spectrometry (MS) for the detection and accurate quantitation of a major product of UV-induced DNA damage (cis-syn cyclobutadithymine). Quantitation of the cyclobutane thymine dimer was achieved by the use of an internal standard in the form of a stable 2H-labeled analogue. Both isotopically labeled and nonlabeled dimers were prepared directly from their corresponding monomers. Each was identified as their trimethylsilyl ether derivative by GC-MS. Calibration plots were obtained for known quantities of both nonlabeled analyte and internal standard. Quantitation of cis-syn cyclobutadithymine was demonstrated in DNA exposed to UVC radiation over a dose range of 0 to 3500 J m-2. Under the conditions used, the limit of detection was found to be 20-50 fmol on column (equivalent to 0.02-0.05 nmol dimer per mg DNA). The results of the present study indicate that capillary GC-MS is an ideally suited technique for selective and sensitive quantification of cis-syn cyclobutadithymine in DNA and hence UV-induced DNA damage.

Constitutive increase of RecA protein: its influence on pyrimidine dimer excision and survival of UV-irradiated Escherichia coli

Transformation of E. coli with the plasmid pRA containing recA gene increased the constitutive level of RecA protein 50-67 fold. This slightly inhibited pyrimidine dimer excision and reduced cell survival in three investigated, UV-irradiated E. coli strains. Our data support the view that RecA protein prematurely present at a high level may mask the dimers. The masking subsequently reduces the dimer excision and switches off the inducing signal.

DNA UVB dosimeters

DNA can be used to establish and monitor solar UVB dose. Since the principal molecular site of UVB damage in living organisms is DNA, it is logical to quantitate biologically effective solar UVB in DNA dosimeters. In addition to their particular sensitivity to UVB, DNA dosimeters have the advantage of a 2 pi geometry for collecting diffuse UVB radiation from all vectors, low cost, small size and portability, and no moving parts. Both molecular (cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers) and biological (bacteriophage plaques) dosimeters can be quantitated as endpoints to yield the total dose. DNA dosimeters integrate the absorbed energy of all UVB wavelengths (290-320 nm), are highly sensitive to the differential biological effectiveness of these wavelengths, and also integrate over time in hours, days or weeks of exposure. Our experiments have focused on the demonstration of DNA solar dosimeters in the ocean at various depths, the application of the dosimeters to the terrestrial monitoring of solar UVB under various conditions, and the development of a mini-dosimeter which uses nanograms of DNA and is assayed by polymerase chain reaction.

Effect of pH and temperature on the stability of UV-induced repairable pyrimidine hydrates in DNA

UV irradiation of cytosine yields 6-hydroxy-5,6-dihydrocytosine (cytosine hydrate) whether the cytosine is in solution as base, nucleoside, or nucleotide or on the DNA backbone. Cytosine hydrate decomposes by elimination of water, yielding cytosine, or by irreversible deamination, yielding uracil hydrate, which, in turn, decomposes by dehydration yielding uracil. To determine how pH and temperature affect these decomposition reactions, alternating poly(dG-[3H]dC) copolymer was irradiated at 254 nm and incubated under different conditions of pH and temperature. The cytosine hydrate and uracil hydrate content of the DNA was determined by the use of Escherichia coli endonuclease III, which releases pyrimidine hydrates from DNA by virtue of its DNA glycosylase activity. Uracil content was determined by using uracil-DNA glycosylase. The rate of decomposition of cytosine hydrate to cytosine was determined at 4 temperatures at pH 3.1, 5.4, and 7.4. The Ea was determined from the rates by using the Arrhenius equation and proved to be the same at pH 5.4 and 7.4, although the decomposition rate at pH 5.4 was faster at all temperatures. At pH 3.1, the Ea was reduced. These results suggest that the dehydration reaction is affected by two discrete protonations, most probably of the N-3 and the OH group of C-6 of cytosine hydrate. The deamination of cytosine hydrate to uracil hydrate was maximal at pH 3.1 at all temperatures. The doubly protonated cytosine hydrate probably is the common intermediate for both competing decomposition reactions, explaining why cytosine hydrate is prone to deamination at acid pH.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Methods used for analyses of "environmentally" damaged nucleic acids

In this review, we present various techniques, currently applied in many laboratories, which are useful in the detection of "environmentally"-induced damage to DNA. These techniques include: (a) chromatographic methods, which allow determination of chemical changes within DNA, be they formation of adducts with or oxidation of bases in DNA; (b) electrophoretic methods, which facilitate finding the site(s) in DNA where that chemical modification occurred; and (c) immunological assays, which help to detect DNA damage using externally produced antibodies that recognize the specific chemical changes in DNA or its fragments, as well as by detection of autoantibodies that develop in response to environmental exposures of animals and humans.

Effect of plasmid pKM101 in ultraviolet irradiated uvr+ and uvr- Escherichia coli

The effect of plasmid pKM101 on UV irradiated excision proficient and excision deficient cells was investigated. The plasmid increased the survival of excision proficient cells while partially inhibiting thymine dimer excision. The frequency of mutations was almost unchanged. In excision deficient cells the effect of the plasmid on survival was less pronounced while cell mutability was increased. Our data indicate that the mucAB genes (carried by the plasmid) influence the two types of cells in a different way.

Cyclobutane-pyrimidine dimer excision in UV-sensitive CHO mutants and the effect of the human ERCC2 repair gene

Using a radiochromatographic assay, we have examined cis-syn cyclobutane-pyrimidine dimer removal after ultraviolet irradiation in cell lines representative of the first 6 complementation groups of Chinese hamster ovary DNA nucleotide excision repair mutants. AA8, the CHO cell line from which these mutants were derived, consistently showed normal dimer excision for a rodent cell. The mutants uniformly exhibited no significant dimer excision within the limits of determination. Additionally, V-H1, a mutant belonging to complementation group 2 and derived from V79 hamster cells, exhibited no dimer excision. Two UV5 derived transformants that carry the complementing human ERCC2 repair gene showed a capacity for dimer excision comparable to the AA8 wild-type cells.

In UV-irradiated Escherichia coli PQ35 overproducing the RecA protein, expression of the sfiA gene and dimer excision are alleviated

Escherichia coli PQ35 cells carrying the sfiA-::lacZ operon fusion were transformed either with a multicopy plasmid containing the recA gene (pHSG262 recA) or with a multicopy plasmid alone (pHSG262). Both transformants were UV irradiated. Then induction of the sfiA gene and dimer excision were followed. Amplification of the recA gene partly inhibited both sfiA gene induction and dimer excision. The following interpretation of this phenomenon is proposed. When the RecA protein is in abundance, pyrimidine dimers are quickly masked by it. The masked dimers are less efficiently distinguished by excision nuclease and do not provide the induction signal. Due to this, induction of the sfiA gene as well as dimer excision are inhibited early.

Repression of damage-inducible (din) genes by the lexA3 mutation or by plasmid carrying the lexA gene; effect on pyrimidine dimer excision in UV-irradiated Escherichia coli

Dimer excision was followed in Escherichia coli K-12 AB1157 DM49 lexA3 mutant (whose repressor is not cleavable with RecA protease), and in E. coli K-12 AB2497[pGC3] carrying the cloned lexA gene. In either case din genes could not be efficiently derepressed. In such cells ultraviolet (UV) irradiation caused an extensive DNA degradation, which was not observed in cells with derepressed din genes. Even after a high UV dose (70 J/m2) dimers were being excised efficiently. However, progressive DNA degradation interfered with the precise detection of unexcised dimers. We conclude that induction of din genes is required for filling some of the gaps and for prevention of DNA degradation, but not for excision itself.

The molecular genetics of the incision step in the DNA excision repair process

This review describes the evolution of research into the genetic basis of how different organisms use the process of excision repair to recognize and remove lesions from their cellular DNA. One particular aspect of excision repair, DNA incision, and how it is controlled at the genetic level in bacteriophage, bacteria, S. cerevisae, D. melanogaster, rodent cells and humans is examined. In phage T4, DNA is incised by a DNA glycosylase-AP endonuclease that is coded for by the denV gene. In E. coli, the products of three genes, uvrA, uvrB and uvrC, are required to form the UVRABC excinuclease that cleaves DNA and releases a fragment 12-13 nucleotides long containing the site of damage. In S. cerevisiae, genes complementing five mutants of the RAD3 epistasis group, rad1, rad2, rad3, rad4 and rad10 have been cloned and analyzed. Rodent cells sensitive to a variety of mutagenic agents and deficient in excision repair are being used in molecular studies to identify and clone human repair genes (e.g. ERCC1) capable of complementing mammalian repair defects. Most studies of the human system, however, have been done with cells isolated from patients suffering from the repair defective, cancer-prone disorder, xeroderma pigmentosum, and these cells are now beginning to be characterized at the molecular level. Studies such as these that provide a greater understanding of the genetic basis of DNA repair should also offer new insights into other cellular processes, including genetic recombination, differentiation, mutagenesis, carcinogenesis and aging.

5-Hydroxymethylcytosine DNA glycosylase activity in mammalian tissue

The enzymatic release of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine from T2 bacteriophage DNA was effected by an extract of calf thymus. Like the previously described 5-hydroxymethyluracil DNA glycosylase, 5-hydroxymethylcytosine DNA glycosylase was not detectable in bacterial extracts. The phylogenetic distribution of these activities indicates that their primary function is the maintenance of methylcytosine residues in differentiated tissue.

Rates of heat-induced pyrimidine alterations in synthetic polydeoxyribonucleotides

Hydrolytic damages to DNA can occur at physiological conditions. The possible role of DNA conformation on the distribution of such alterations of pyrimidines was investigated. Model compounds used were the synthetic alternating copolymer poly(dG-dC):poly(dG-dC) and the homopolymer poly(dG):poly(dC). Base damages were assayed by paper chromatography using polymers radioactively labeled in cytosine. Conformational changes were assayed by circular dichroic spectral changes. Incubation and heating of the polymers in 1 mM MnCl2 caused the spectral shift reported for the left-handed Z-DNA conformation in the alternating copolymer and the change reported for the triple helix in the homopolymer. After incubation in 85 degrees C, incidences of base damages were compared between the polymers. The presence of manganese reduced depyrimidination in both polymers. Rates of cytosine deamination to uracil were substantial and did not vary among the various conformational states.

Rates of heat-induced DNA purine alterations in synthetic polydeoxyribonucleotides

Damage to DNA by heat can occur at physiological conditions. The effects of the varying conformational states adopted by double-stranded DNA on the incidences and distributions of thermally induced hydrolytic purine alterations are unknown. The possible role of conformational changes on damage by heat to purines in DNA polymers was therefore investigated. Model compounds used were the synthetic alternating copolymer poly(dG-dC):poly(dG-dC) and the homopolymer poly(dG):poly(dC). Base damages were assayed by high performance liquid chromatography using polymers radioactively labeled in guanine. Conformational states were assayed by circular dichroic spectral changes. Incubation and heating of the polymers in 1 mM Mn2+ caused the spectral shift reported for the left-handed Z-DNA conformation in the alternating copolymer and the change reported for the triple helix in the homopolymer. After incubation at 85 degrees C., incidences of base damages were compared between the polymers. No deamination of guanine to xanthine was observed under any conditions. The presence of manganese reduced depurination in both polymers. Rates of guanine imidazole ring openings to yield 2,6-diamino-4-hydroxy-5-formamidopyrimidine were increased in the presence of the cation and constituted the chief form of purine damage in the homopolymer. Therefore, the distribution of heat-induced DNA alterations within the genome may be determined by DNA conformational states. This observed opening of purine imidazole rings in the presence of manganese ions may have mutagenic consequences and may be involved in carcinogenesis by metals.

Inhibition of enzymic incision of thymine dimers by covalently bound 2-[N-[(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)acetyl]amino]fluorene in deoxyribonucleic acid

The effects of DNA adducts of the carcinogen 2-[N-(acetoxyacetyl)amino]fluorene on enzymic incision of thymine dimers was investigated. Escherichia coli DNA labeled with [3H]thymidine was reacted with the carcinogen. Thymine dimers were then introduced into the modified DNA by irradiation with monochromatic 254-nm light in the presence of the photosensitizer silver nitrate. This DNA containing both types of damages, mainly 2-[N-[(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)acetyl]fluorene and thymine dimers, was then used as substrate for pyrimidine dimer-DNA glycosylase, purified from E. coli infected by bacteriophage T4. Activity was assayed by measuring release of free labeled thymine after photoreversal of the enzyme-reacted DNA by 254-nm light. The Vmax of the enzyme was decreased when it was reacted with the extensively arylamidated substrate. This inhibition of incision of pyrimidine dimers was increased with the number of carcinogen-DNA adducts, although no enzymic activity against modified guanines was present. Therefore, carcinogen-modified purine moieties can interfere with initiation of excision repair of ultraviolet-induced pyrimidine dimers. This suggests an indirect pathway by which modified DNA bases can be mutagenic.

A synthetic hapten for induction of thymine-dimer-specific antibodies

High specificity and sensitivity of thymine cyclobutane dimer (thy[]thy) detection were obtained by a radioimmunoassay. Attempts to raise thy[]thy-monospecific antibodies with antigens produced according to conventional methods were unsuccessful. Thy[]thy-specific antibodies could only be raised by using a new strategy to bind thy[]thy to protein: thymine was activated by trimethylsilylation and alkylated at N1 yielding N1-thyminebutanoic acid which was dimerised by ultraviolet treatment. The resulting derivative of thymine cyclobutane dimer was coupled to bovine serum albumin by the active-ester method. The new strategy appears to be generally applicable for binding haptens, such as DNA bases, photoproducts etc, to proteins via a derivative containing a carboxyl group. Immunisation of rabbits with the thy[]thy-bovine-serum-albumin conjugate prepared by the new method resulted in a highly specific antiserum which allows detection of thy[]thy down to 0.06 p mol (15pg). The thy[]thy-specific radioimmunoassay was applied to measure thy[]thy formed in human fibroblasts which were exposed to sunlight at altitudes of 600 m or 2300 m. The amounts of thy[]thy formed in an hour corresponded to doses of 14 J m-2 and 24 J m-2, respectively, of an ultraviolet light lamp emitting predominantly 245-nm light.

Error-free uvr+-dependent inducible DNA repair in Escherichia coli B/r Hcr+ cells

The frequency of suppressor (tryptophan reversions) and of true (streptomycin-resistant and dependent) mutations has been followed in E. coli cells irradiated with a single dose or two separate doses of ultraviolet (U.V.) radiation. Under these conditions dimers were efficiently excised after a single dose, while about 40 per cent of the dimers remained unexcised after two doses. Although the level of unexcised dimers in the latter case increased proportionally with the second U.V. dose, the mutation frequency increased by 1.5-2-fold, but did not continue to increase with the level of unexcised dimers. A comparison of excision-proficient and excision-deficient cells containing similar amounts of persisting dimers has shown that proficient cells can tolerate a high level of dimers without an adequate increase in mutation frequency. Our results suggest the existence of an error-free uvr+-dependent inducible repair in E. coli B/r Hcr+ cells.

Rapid quantitation of ultraviolet-induced thymine-containing dimers in human cell DNA by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

Rapid and efficient separation of all three types of cyclobutyl pyrimidine dimer (Pyr mean value of Pyr) species induced in cellular DNA by far-ultraviolet (UV) light (chiefly 254 nm) has been achieved by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography using octadecylsilyl stationary phases. The order of elution is: (Ura mean value of Ura) less than (Ura mean value of Thy) less than (Thy mean value of Thy) less than Thy. The determination of Pyr mean value of Pyr species in DNA from UV-irradiated, [3H]thymidine-labelled human skin fibroblasts in tissue culture is demonstrated for far-UV fluences as low as 10 J/m2. The ability to measure specifically individual dimer types allowed demonstration of comparable kinetics of repair for two labelled dimer species (Ura mean value of Thy and Thy mean value of Thy).

Photoreactivation of UV damage in Sminthopsis crassicaudata

A comprehensive investigation has been made of photoreactivation of UV damage in cells cultured from the fat-tailed marsupial mouse, Sminthopsis crassicaudata. Maximal photoreversal of the lethal effects of germicidal UV radiation was obtained by exposure of cells to intense fluorescent black light at 37 degrees C. Dose-reduction factors of approximately 2 were obtained. This phenomenon was shown to be a true photoreactive not a photoprotective effect. Attempts to photoreverse the lethal effects of UV light by using white fluorescent light, or black lights at lower temperatures, proved ineffectual. Photoreactivation with black light at 37 degrees C for 30 min effectively photoreversed UV-induced pyrimidine dimers and also substantially reduced the levels of UV-induced DNA-repair replication. Sunlight was also found to be an effective source of photoreactivating light. Although a reasonable correlation was found between the lethal effects of UV light and the number of pyrimidine dimers persisting unrepaired in cellular DNA, some experiments did suggest that either a small subclass of dimers or some type of non-dimer damage contributed significantly to overall lethality. Two of the effects induced by UV light could not, however, be reversed by black light. These were sister-chromatid exchanges and the inhibition of DNA synthesis. The conclusion was reached that either these effects reflect non-dimer (non-photoreactivable damage) or that, under appropriate growth conditions, some damage rapidly disrupts the DNA, say within a replicon, in a manner which cannot be reversed even when the primary lesion has been subsequently removed.

Asymmetric distribution of exogenous thymidine among pyrimidine isostichs suggests compartmentalization of replicative DNA synthesis during regeneration in rat liver

The distribution of radioactivity among pyrimidine isostichs (or isoplyths) of DNA from 24-h regenerating rat liver was studied with [3H]Thd, [14C]orotate or with inorganic 32Pi. Expression of incorporated radioactivity as log10% of total radioactivity recovered for each of the 11 pyrimidine isostichs detected showed that radioactivity from [3H]Thd was asymmetrically distributed among the isostichs, i.e., 3H radioactivity failed to access regions of DNA yielding lower molecular weight pyrimidine isostichs as efficiently as it accessed regions yielding higher molecular weight pyrimidine isostichs. The thymine (T) content of isostichs exceeded that of cytosine (C), i.e., T/C ratios for the first 10 isostichs averaged 1.43 +/- 0.08 and 1.28 +/- 0.05, depending on the method of analysis; furthermore, the T/C ratio for isostich 1 was significantly higher than ratios for isostichs 2 through 10. Asymmetric distributions of [3H]Thd radioactivity also were seen at 18 or 30 h post-partial hepatectomy. Thus, radioactivity from [3H]Thd, a DNA precursor from the salvage pathway, failed to efficiently access lower molecular weight isostichs despite thymine enrichment, suggesting that thymine moieties were supplied from additional sources. Radioactivity from [14C]orotate accessed lower molecular weight pyrimidine tracts more efficiently than [3H]Thd, but less efficiently than it accessed higher molecular weight isostichs, resulting in an asymmetric distribution of 14C radioactivity. This result suggested that appreciable quantities of thymine and cytosine moieties utilized for DNA synthesis were supplied de novo, but other sources also were utilized. Radioactivity from 32Pi, a de novo precursor, was distributed symmetrically, i.e., the slope among lower molecular weight isostichs increased enough that it was indistinguishable from slopes for intermediate and higher molecular weight isostichs. Since 32P radioactivity among lower molecular weight isostichs reflects appreciable contributions of de novo phosphate moieties from both pyrimidine- and purine-containing deoxynucleoside triphosphates, opportunities for observing contributions of 32P radioactivity from pathways other than the de novo pathways appeared to lie beyond limits of detectability. The distribution of radioactivity from labeled DNA precursors among lower molecular weight pyrimidine tracts (a) indicate that thymine moieties are contributed by both salvage and de novo pathways; (b) support the possibility that cytosine moieties also are contributed by both pathways; and (c) support the 'replitase' concept for channeling dNTPs to replicating forks.

Enhanced survival and decreased mutation frequency after photoreactivation of UV damage in rat kangaroo cells

The effect of pyrimidine dimers on cytotoxicity, DNA repair and mutagenesis was studied in cells, derived from the rat kangaroo, which possess photoreactivating capabilities. A significant enhancement in colony-forming ability was achieved after UV irradiation in exponentially growing cells if photoreactivating light treatment followed the UV irradiation. If photoreactivation treatment was delayed 24 h after UV irradiation, no significant increase in survival was observed. Assays of pyrimidine dimers, unscheduled DNA synthesis, and survival in contact-inhibited cells all confirmed a minor role of dark excision repair and a major role of photoreactivation. Photoreactivation decreased the frequency of mutations to 6-thioguanine resistance to a greater extent than the alteration seen in survival. Approximately 1.6 times the dose must be given to get equal killing in photoreactivated cells, whereas 4 times the dose must be given to obtain equal mutation frequencies in light-treated cells. This suggests that the removal of dimers is more effective in mutant reduction than enhancement of survival.

Cyclobutane-type pyrimidine photodimer formation and excision in human skin fibroblasts after irradiation with 313-nm ultraviolet light

The formation and excision of 313-nm light-induced cyclobutane-type pyrimidine photodimers were determined in confluent cultures of human fibroblasts. A new method was developed for the resolution and determination of cytosine-thymine (CT) and thymine-thymine dimers (TT) by using sodium borohydride reduction and high-pressure liquid chromatography. This assay can detect as little as 1.8 TT or 5.6 CT per 10(8) daltons, levels induced in monolayers of human skin fibroblasts by doses of 1 and 2 kJ m-2 of 313-nm light, respectively. CT formation was 20% more efficient than TT formation in the physiological dose range of 2.25-15 k m-2 at 37 degrees C. Normal fibroblasts removed 61% TT within the first 8 h of incubation following a dose of 5.5 kJ m-2. CT was removed approximately twice as efficiently as TT during the same time period following exposure to 10 kJ m-2. The lack of removal of CT as well as TT observed in xeroderma pigmentosum fibroblasts indicates that the repair deficiency in these cells affects the repair of both classes of dimers.

A sensitive radioimmuno assay for thymine dimers

A sensitive radioimmuno assay (RIA) method for detection of the UV photoproduct, thymine dimers (TT) has been developed. The limit of detection of this method is 6 X 10(-14) mol or 15 pg thymine dimer. It is highly specific: A structurally similar compound such as uridine dimer (UU) interferes with the detection of thymine dimers only when it is 53,000-fold or more in molar excess. Since this RIA method does not require the use of labeled DNA, it represents a considerable improvement for repair studies with radiation-sensitive cells.

Differential responses of log and stationary phase human fibroblasts to inhibition of DNA repair by aphidicolin

The tetracyclic diterpenoid, aphidicolin, is an effective inhibitor of DNA repair in human cells following ultraviolet irradiation. This inhibition is very efficient in confluent resting cells but not in rapidly cycling cells as measured by (1) analysis of DNA single-strand breaks by alkaline sucrose sedimentation, (2) chromatographic analysis of pyrimidine-dimer removal, and (3) repair replication using CsCl density centrifugation. The inhibition is reversed by deoxycytidine or thymidine but not by deoxyadenosine or deoxyguanosine during the repair period. The data suggest that differences in deoxynucleoside triphosphate pools between cycling and confluent resting cells determine the different efficacies of the agent in these two situations.

Use of high-performance liquid chromatography to quantitate thymine-containing pyrimidine dimers in DNA

We have developed two high-performance liquid chromatographic systems for the measurement of pyrimidine dimers in hydrolysates of DNA. Normal-phase chromatography on an NH2 column in methanol-ethyl acetate (3.97) at an elution rate of 2.0 ml/min allowed quantitation of thymine-containing (thymine-thymine plus thymine-uracil) pyrimidine dimers at levels as low as 0.1% of the total radioactivity as thymine in DNA. This system was unaffected by the presence of up to 1 mg of contaminating protein (bovine serum albumin) or 40 micrograms of DNA in hydrolysates prepared for chromatography. Reversed-phase chromatography on a muBondapak C18 column allowed measurement of thymine-thymine dimers at concentrations as low as 0.02% of the total radioactivity. With 0.1% tetrahydrofuran in water as the solvent at a flow-rate of up to 0.6 ml/min, thymine-thymine, thymine-uracil, and uracil-uracil dimers were completely resolved. We were not able to quantitate the latter two dimeric forms, however, owing to the presence of other radioactive components of undefined origin that eluted concomitantly with the uracil-containing dimers.

Effects of an extract from the sea squirt Ecteinascidia turbinata on DNA synthesis and excision repair in human fibroblasts

An aqueous ethanol extract from the marine tunicate species Ecteinascidia turbinata was studied to determine its effect on semiconservative DNA synthesis in human skin fibroblast cultures as measured by [3H] thymidine uptake in acid-insoluble cell fractions. In addition, the effect of this extract on DNA excision repair in ultraviolet light (254 nm) irradiated fibroblasts was measured by the bromodeoxyuridine photolysis assay, thymine dimer chromatography, and DNA single-strand break analysis on alkaline sucrose gradients. An extract concentration of 0.5 mg/ml resulted in 91 and 98% reductions in cell growth and DNA synthesis, respectively, after 20 hr. An extract concentration of 3.0 mg/ml resulted in a 44% reduction in excision repair in ultraviolet-irradiated cells over a 6 hr repair period; this was reduced to 26% after 24 hr of repair, and to 15% after 48 hr. Repair inhibition was accompanied by an accumulation of single-strand DNA breaks which was enhanced by the addition of 2 mM hydroxyurea. These results are discussed with respect to a mechanism of action of the marine tunicate extract at the level of DNA polymerases and are contrasted with previously studied inhibitory mechanisms of arabinofuranosyl nucleosides.

Excision repair in Drosophila. Analysis of strand breaks appearing in DNA of mei-9 mutants following mutagen treatment

Excision repair of DNA damage has been analyzed in primary and established cell cultures of Drosophila melanogaster. Chemical and enzymatic assays for pyrimidine dimers reveal a strong deficiency in dimer excision from cells which are mutant at the mei-9 locus. Single-strand interruptions, which appear in high molecular weight DNA after ultraviolet irradiation of control cells have been monitored by alkaline elution. The appearance of such breaks is greatly enhanced by inhibitors of DNA synthesis. In mutant mei-9D2 cells, on the other hand, the level of ultraviolet-induced breaks is much reduced and inhibitors fail to potentiate the response. These results imply that the inhibitors cause an accumulation of the transient strand interruptions that normally occur in excision repair by reducing the rate of the resynthesis step. Failure of the mei-9D2 cells to accumulate such intermediates strongly suggests that the initial nicking never occurs in these cells. Confirmatory experiments have also been performed with the alternate mutagen N-acetoxy-N-acetyl-2-aminofluorene.

Effect of the uvrD mutation on excision repair

A pair of related Escherichia coli K-12 strains, one of which contains the uvrD101 mutation, were constructed and compared for ability to perform various steps in the excision repair of deoxyribonucleic acid damage inflicted by ultraviolet radiation. The results of this study indicated: (i) ultraviolet sensitivity in the uvrD101 mutant was greater than that of wild type but less than that measured in an incision-deficient uvrA mutant; (ii) host cell reactivation paralleled the survival data; (iii) postirradiation deoxyribonucleic acid degradation was virtually identical in the two strains; (iv) incision, presumably at the sites of pyrimidine dimers, proceeded normally in the uvrD101 strain; (v) excision of pyrimidine dimers was markedly reduced in both rate and extent in the uvrD101 mutant; (vi) the amount of repair resynthesis was the same in both strains, and there was no evidence of abnormally long repair patches in the uvrD mutant; and (vii) rejoining of incision breaks was slow and incomplete in the uvrD strain. These data suggest that the ultraviolet sensitivity conferred by the uvrD mutation arises from inefficient removal of pyrimidine dimers or from failure to close incision breaks. The data are compatible with the notion that the uvrD+ gene produce affects the conformation of incised deoxyribonucleic acid molecules.

Gap-filling repair synthesis induced by ultraviolet light in a Bacillus subtilis Uvr- mutant

Deoxyribonucleic acid repair synthesis was studied in one wild-type and two mutant strains of Bacillus subtilis that are defective in excision of pyrimidine dimers. The cells were irradiated with ultraviolet light, and 6-(p-hydroxyphenyl-azo)-uracil was used to block replicative synthesis, allowing only repair synthesis. One of the mutations (uvs-42) resulted in a severe inhibition of incision, dimer excision, and repair synthesis. In contrast, the other mutant (uvr-1) slowly incised and excised dimers and did repair synthesis in patches which appear to be several-fold longer than those in the wild-type strain, apparently because large gaps are produced at excision sites. The results indicate that the primary defect in uvs-42 cells is in initiation of dimer excision, whereas the uvr-1 mutation appears to be a defect in the exonuclease normally used to complete dimer excision.

Pyrimidine dimer excision in Escherichia coli strains deficient in exonucleases V and VII and in the 5' leads to 3' exonuclease of DNA polymerase I

An isogenic series of Escherichia coli strains deficient in various combinations of three 5' leads to 3' exonucleases (exonuclease V, exonuclease VII, and the 5' leads to 3' exonuclease of DNA polymerase I) was constructed and examined for the ability to excise pyrimidine dimers after UV irradiation. Although the recB and recC mutations (deficient in exonuclease V) proved to be incompatible with the polA(Ex) mutation (deficient in the 5' leads to 3' exonuclease of DNA polymerase I), it was possible to reduce the level of the recB,C exonuclease by the use of temperature-sensitive recB270 recC271 mutants. It was found that, by employing strains deficient in exonuclease V, postirradiation DNA degradation could be reduced and dimer excision measurements could be facilitated. Mutants deficient in exonuclease V were found to excise dimers at a rate comparable to that of the wild type. Mutants deficient in exonuclease V and the 5' leads to 3' exonuclease of DNA polymerase I are slightly slower than the wild type at removing dimers accumulated after doses in excess of 40 J/m2. However, although strains with reduced levels of exonuclease VII excised dimers at the same rate as the wild type, the addition of an exonuclease VII deficiency to a strain with reduced levels of exonuclease V and the 5' leads to 3' exonuclease of DNA polymerase I caused a marked decrease in the rate and extent of dimer excision. These observations support previous indications that the 5' leads to 3' exonuclease of DNA polymerase I is important in dimer removal and also suggest a role for exonuclease VII in the excision repair process.

Effects of antipain (a protease inhibitor) on respiration, viability, and excision of pyrimidine dimers in UV-irradiated Escherichia coli cells

The protease inhibitor antipain increases the effectiveness of UV irradiation on cessation of respiration and cell killing in Escherichia coli B/r cultures without affecting excision of pyrimidine dimers. The actions are similar to those caused by cyclic AMP in irradiated cultures.

Chemical carcinogen alteration of SV40 virus induced transformation of normal human cell populations in vitro

The frequency of simian papovirus 40 (SV40) induced transformation of human cells was enhanced after pretreatment with either napthylamine-2,N-methyl-N'-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), N-acetyl-2-fluorenylacetamide (N-Ac-AAF), benzo[a]pyrene (BP), aflatoxin B1, propane sultone (PS), beta-propiolactone, 4-nitroquinoline oxide (4-NQO), methylmethane sulfonate (MMS) or diethyl nitrosamine (DEN). Posttreatment with 4-NQO, MMS, MNNG or DEN inhibited transformation; while posttreatment with either aflatoxin B1, beta-propiolactone or napthylamine-2 did not alter transformation similar to the action of N-Ac-AAF and BP. All carcinogens that altered transformation after pretreatment damaged cellular DNA. Pretreatment or posttreatment with carcinogens 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MCA) or 7,12-dimethylbenzanthrene (7,12-DMBA), that did not damage cellular DNA also did not enhance transformation. Moreover, pre- or posttreatment with other weak or non-carcinogens that did not damage cellular DNA did not alter virus induced transformation. All foci formed in the co-carcinogen treated cultures whether the carcinogen inhibited or enhanced transformation were virus directed. While a similar pattern of response existed for carcinogens that either enhance or inhibit transformation, each of the carcinogens that enhanced or inhibited foci formation damaged cellular DNA. Moreover, those carcinogens that enhanced focus formation, compared to the carcinogens that inhibited focus formation, exhibited similar DNA damage profiles.

Dose response, wavelength dependence and rate of excision of ultraviolet radiation-induced pyrimidine dimers in mouse skin DNA

The yield of thymine-containing dimers produced in mouse skin DNA in vivo by 290 nm ultraviolet radiation was shown to increase with dose up to around 2000 J/m2 and subsequently at a much slower rate up to 8000 J/m2. The study of wavelength dependence of dimer formation in skin indicated that 290 nm was the most effective wavelength of those investigated, followed by 300, 280 and 260 nm, with 310 nm being by far the least effective. A reduction in the number of dimers present in skin DNA was shown to occur by 24 h post-irradiation in a dose-dependent manner. A significant percentage of the dimers was, however, found to persist in the skin until at least 72 h post-irradiation.