Influence of unsaturated fatty acids, membrane fluidity and oxygenation on the survival of an E. coli fatty acid auxotroph following gamma-irradiation

Unraveling the mechanisms of extreme radioresistance in prokaryotes: Lessons from nature

The last 50 years, a variety of archaea and bacteria able to withstand extremely high doses of ionizing radiation, have been discovered. Several lines of evidence suggest a variety of mechanisms explaining the extreme radioresistance of microorganisms found usually in isolated environments on Earth. These findings are discussed thoroughly in this study. Although none of the strategies discussed here, appear to be universal against ionizing radiation, a general trend was found. There are two cellular mechanisms by which radioresistance is achieved: (a) protection of the proteome and DNA from damage induced by ionizing radiation and (b) recruitment of advanced and highly sophisticated DNA repair mechanisms, in order to reconstruct a fully functional genome. In this review, we critically discuss various protecting (antioxidant enzymes, presence or absence of certain elements, high metal ion or salt concentration etc.) and repair (Homologous Recombination, Single-Strand Annealing, Extended Synthesis-Dependent Strand Annealing) mechanisms that have been proposed to account for the extraordinary abilities of radioresistant organisms and the homologous radioresistance signature genes in these organisms. In addition, and based on structural comparative analysis of major radioresistant organisms, we suggest future directions and how humans could innately improve their resistance to radiation-induced toxicity, based on this knowledge.

Surfactant sealing of membranes permeabilized by ionizing radiation

Acute tissue injury and subsequent inflammation, including tissue edema and erythema, can be caused by sufficiently high levels of exposure to gamma radiation. The mechanism of this tissue injury is related to the generation of reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) which chemically alter biological molecules and cell physiology. Cell membrane lipids are vulnerable to ROI-mediated lipid peroxidation that then leads to many of the acute tissue effects. We hypothesize that increased cell membrane permeability leading to osmotic swelling and vascular transudation is one of these effects. Thus we used adult postmitotic rhabdomyocytes in culture and microscopic fluorescence techniques to quantify radiation-induced changes in cell membrane permeability. Based on time-resolved dye flux measurements, a characteristic lag time of 34 +/- 3 min was determined between exposure to 160 Gy of gamma radiation and the decrease in membrane permeability. Administration of 0.1 mM nonionic surfactant Poloxamer 188 added to the cell medium after irradiation completely inhibited the dye loss over the time course of 2 h. Thus a reproducible model was developed for studying the mechanism of acute radiation injury and the efficacy of membrane-sealing agents. As only supportive measures now exist for treating the acute, nonlethal injuries from high-dose radiation exposure, agents that can restore cell membrane function after radiation damage may offer an important tool for therapy.

Membrane-derived second messenger regulates x-ray-mediated tumor necrosis factor alpha gene induction

Cells adapt to adverse environmental conditions through a wide range of responses that are conserved throughout evolution. Physical agents such as ionizing radiation are known to initiate a stress response that is triggered by the recognition of DNA damage. We have identified a signaling pathway involving the activation of phospholipase A2 and protein kinase C in human cells that confers x-ray induction of the tumor necrosis factor alpha gene. Treatment of human cells with ionizing radiation or H2O2 was associated with the production of arachidonic acid. Inhibition of phospholipase A2 abolished radiation-mediated arachidonate production as well as the subsequent activation of protein kinase C and tumor necrosis factor alpha gene expression. These findings demonstrate that ionizing radiation-mediated gene expression in human cells is regulated in part by extranuclear signal transduction. One practical application of phospholipase A2 inhibitors is to ameliorate the adverse effects of radiotherapy associated with tumor necrosis factor alpha production.

Bactericidal activity of catecholamine copper complexes

Washed or growing E. coli cells are killed by epinephrine, norepinephrine or dopamine in the presence of non lethal concentrations of Cu(II). Killing is enhanced by anoxia and by sublethal concentrations of H2O2. The rate of killing is proportional to the rate of catecholamine oxidation. The copper epinephrine complex binds to E. coli cells, induces membrane damage and depletion of the cellular ATP pool. The cells may be partially protected by SOD or catalase but not by OH radical scavengers. Addition of H2O2 to cells which were sensitized by preincubation with the epinephrine-copper complex, causes rapid killing and DNA degradation. Sensitized cells are not protected by BSA.

Effects of decreased pH on membrane structural organization of Escherichia coli grown in different fatty acid-supplemented media: a 31P NMR study

Total membranes from Escherichia coli cells grown in different fatty acid-supplemented media have been examined by 31P NMR at different pH values. The isolated inner and outer membranes were also studied and compared to the liposomes formed with the corresponding extracted lipids. While the liposomes show structures that are correlated with lipid composition, degree of fatty acid unsaturation, and pH, the membrane structure is mainly bilayer. The presence of two bilayer phases characterized by different chemical shift anisotropy values (delta nu csa) is detectable at neutral pH; a perturbation of the bilayer phase characterized by the smallest delta nu csa is produced by low pH. Moreover, an isotropic peak is always present in the membrane NMR spectra: its attribution to cardiolipin molecules is discussed on the basis of digestion experiments with phospholipase C.

Peroxide sensitivity of cold-shocked Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli and its relationship to minimal medium recovery

Cold-shocked Salmonella typhimurium displayed minimal medium recovery (MMR), viable counts on M9 minimal agar being much higher than those on tryptone soya yeast extract agar (TSYA). The addition of catalase to TSYA restored counts to the level found on M9 agar. Peroxide concentrations between 12 and 30 mumol/l were measured in TSYB but none was detected in M9 medium. Cold-shocked cells were sensitive to reagent hydrogen peroxide at a concentration similar to that found in TSYB. The minimal medium recovery phenomenon of cold-shocked cells is thus a manifestation of peroxide sensitivity. Changing the composition of growth media affected both cellular catalase activity and the magnitude of the MMR effect but the two properties were not directly related. Factors additional to cellular catalase activity must therefore affect susceptibility to peroxide following cold shock. Mutational loss of catalase, exonuclease III or recA-dependent DNA repair functions all increased the sensitivity of cold-shocked Escherichia coli to the inhibitory effects of peroxide present in rich medium. The peroxide resistant fraction of a cold-shocked population of Salm. typhimurium (i.e. those cells able to grow on TSYA) was more resistant to gamma radiation than the population as a whole. Cold shock thus sensitizes cells to more than one form of oxidative stress. Prior exposure of growing cells to 30 mumol/l hydrogen peroxide abolished their sensitivity to rich medium following cold shock implying that Salm. typhimurium contains an inducible system protecting against oxidative stress.

Influence of whole-body gamma irradiation upon arachidonic acid metabolism in rat platelets

The effects of whole-body gamma irradiation (8.4 Gy) were studied on arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism in rats' blood platelets, from day D + 1 to day D + 10 after irradiation. AA conversion into thromboxane B2 (TxB2) increased at D + 1 and then gradually decreased to very low values from D + 7 to D + 10. This decrease in the conversion of exogenous AA into TxB2 was due to a lower AA incorporation into platelets and not to a decrease of cyclooxygenase and thromboxane-synthetase activities. AA incorporation into membrane phospholipids of blood platelets was much more decreased than AA incorporation into whole platelets; moreover, the lipid composition of the platelet membranes was markedly modified after irradiation, which must have resulted in structural and functional changes in these membranes; from these effects of whole-body gamma irradiation on platelets, the latter's membranes appeared as a major site of in vivo radiation damage in these cells.

Anesthetic-resistant spontaneous mutant of drosophila melanogaster: intensified response to 60Cobalt radiation damage

Accumulating evidence suggests that the extent of acute damage by ionizing irradiation is closely related to the state of membrane orderliness. Decreased orderliness apparently protects organisms from ionizing irradiation. Because anesthetics decrease membrane orderliness, anesthesia is expected to affect damages caused by ionizing irradiation. The present study compared the effects of 60Co irradiation on Drosophila melanogaster between an anesthetic-resistant spontaneous mutant and an anesthetic-sensitive strain. We have previously established an anesthetic-resistant mutant strain, Eth-29, of Drosophila melanogaster. Eth-29 is resistant to diethylether, chloroform and halothane. The anesthetic-resistant strain was found to be radiosensitive when evaluated by survival at the eighth day after irradiation or by dyskinesia (knock-down) at the second day. The results indicate that anesthetic resistance may be related to an increase in orderliness. The findings in reciprocal crosses between Eth-29 and the control strain indicate that the mechanism of survival is different from that of knock-down. Presumably, knock-down is the direct sequela of irradiation, and the present result suggests that membrane damage may be involved in inducing knock-down.

Inhibitory effect of membrane-binding drugs on excision repair of DNA damage in UV-irradiated Escherichia coli

The effects of procaine and lidocaine on DNA-repair processes were investigated in UV-irradiated cells of E. coli with different DNA-repair capacities. The cells were irradiated with various doses of UV and then incubated at 37 degrees C in M9 buffer (liquid-holding) or in EM9 medium in the presence or absence of membrane-binding drugs. The results obtained are as follows. (1) In strains H/r30 (wild-type for DNA repair) and NG30 (recA-), the increase in survival with increase in time of liquid-holding was almost completely inhibited by the addition of procaine and lidocaine. The same trends were observable under conditions of post-irradiation incubation in EM9 medium, more efficiently in recA- strain than in the wild-type strain. (2) The addition of these drugs gave an apparent enhancement of the frequency of UV-induced mutation to arginine prototrophy, corresponding to a decrease in survival. (3) There were negligible effects of the drugs on survival and mutation in the excision-repair-defective strain, Hs30 (uvrB-). (4) The removal of thymine dimers from DNA was actually reduced by the addition of procaine. From these results it is concluded that procaine and lidocaine inhibited excision-repair process in UV-irradiated E. coli cells. Procaine and lidocaine are typical local anesthetics and known to interact with cell membranes causing alterations in the structural and functional organization. Therefore, it is suggested that a disorganization of the membrane structure brought about by the drugs may result in an inhibition of excision repair of DNA damage in E. coli, assuming that at least a component of excision repair is associated with the cell membrane. Possible mechanisms involved in this process are discussed.

Effect of ionizing radiation and low temperature on L5178Y-R and L5178Y-S cells. II. Cell survival and DNA strand breaks after roentgen or gamma irradiation

The repair of DNA strand breaks and the effect on the cell survival after cold treatment or combined treatment with cold+irradiation was investigated in two strains of murine L5178Y lymphoma cells. Cold treatment alone had a slight and similar effect on the survival of L5178Y-R and L5178Y-S cells. No effect of cooling was found on the repair of DNA strand breaks. When L5178Y-R and L5178Y-S cells were cold-treated for various time intervals before irradiation with 2 Gy roentgen rays a slight gradual decrease of survival was found, a little more marked in L5178Y-S cells. No effects on the rejoining of DNA strand breaks could be seen. When the cells were first irradiated and then cold-treated the survival data showed that combined treatment gives slightly less than additive results. Five hours' cold treatment after gamma irradiation did not change the kinetics of DNA strand breaks rejoining.