Quantitative immunofluorescence assay for cyclobutyldithymidine dimers in individual mammalian cells

Use of the single-cell gel electrophoresis assay for the immunofluorescent detection of specific DNA damage

The single-cell gel electrophoresis assay or comet assay is now a widely used method to assess the level of DNA damage in irradiated or chemically modified cells. We propose an adaptation of the currently applied protocol, aimed at singling out a defined modified base, using an immunodetection approach. After the electrophoresis step, the DNA tail moment was measured using ethidium bromide. Simultaneously, cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs), the targeted lesions, were revealed by an indirect immunofluorescence detection using a specific monoclonal antibody. The assay was validated on human fibroblasts exposed to UVB light. The dose-response curves were established, showing a linear increase of the antibody response with the dose between 1000 and 10,000 J/m2. The detection limit of the method was 500 J/m2. Digestion of the CPDs, induced at 3000 J/m2, with T4 endonuclease V led to a marked decrease of the antibody response, confirming the specificity of the assay. A preliminary repair experiment is reported in which the tail moment of the comets together with the antibody response are measured, showing the disappearance of 80% of the antibody fixation sites within 48 h.

Induction and disappearance of thymine dimers in human skin exposed to UVB radiation: flow cytometric measurements in replicating and nonreplicating epidermal cells

We have earlier reported on determining UV-induced DNA damage in murine epidermal cell suspensions by flow cytometric analysis of the fluorescence from a fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled antibody (H3) directed against thymine dimers (T < > T). Here we present an optimization of the technique for analysis of epidermal cell suspensions from 4 mm biopsies from human skin. Cells with different DNA contents can easily be distinguished in flow cytometry by the intensity of DNA-specific 7-amino-actinomycin D fluorescence. Genuine G2-M-phase cells can further be distinguished from cell doublets by pulse-shape discrimination. Thus, T < > T levels in individual cells with different DNA contents (i.e. G0-G1, S or G2-M phases) can be determined after in vivo exposure of human skin to environmentally relevant UVB (280-315 nm) doses. The method was applied to measure the decrease of T < > T in nonreplicating cells (G0-G1 phase) and replicating cells (S phase or G2-M phase) from seven volunteers exposed to twice their minimal erythema dose. The reduction in the average T < > T-specific fluorescence at 24 h after exposure was 46% (ranging between 16% and 66%) for the G0-G1 cells and 70% (ranging between 37% and 100%) for the S + G2-M cells. The difference was statistically highly significant. Determination of individual DNA repair capacities with this method can become a convenient diagnostic tool for patients with DNA repair disorders, or it may even be used to identify individuals with low repair proficiencies and increased risk of developing skin cancers.

Effects of heavy ions on nucleic acids: measurement of the damage

In this short survey the main, available information on the molecular mechanisms of action of heavy ions on DNA is critically reviewed. Formation of single- and double-stranded DNA breaks in cells exposed to heavy particles is well established. On the other hand, base damage and, in a more general way, clustered lesions, whose formation should be increased upon exposure to heavy ions, have not yet been isolated and characterized. Efforts should be made to identify this important class of DNA damage in both isolated and cellular DNA. Sensitive and specific assays involving chemical and biochemical approaches have to be developed for such a purpose.

An assay for DNA photolyases using non-radioactive DNA and restriction enzymes

Restriction enzymes, such as Eco RI, Hind III, etc., which have a potential pyrimidine dimer site in their recognition sequence, fail to cleave DNA if their recognition site is modified by the formation of pyrimidine dimers as a result of UV irradiation of DNA (J. E. Cleaver, J. Mol. Biol., 170 (1983) 305-317). We have made use of this functional property of restriction enzymes to develop a rapid and sensitive assay for DNA photolyases. UV-irradiated plasmid pBR322 DNA is only partially digested when incubated with a single site enzyme Hind III even at high concentration (20 units (micrograms DNA)-1). The amount of DNA not cleaved by Hind III is determined by agarose gel electrophoresis. The effect of UV irradiation is reversed by the photoreactivation of DNA. The decrease in the amount of Hind III-resistant DNA on treatment with photolyase gives a measure of the enzymatic activity of the photolyase preparation. The advantage of using non-radioactive DNA and the high speed and simplicity of this assay make it especially suitable for use in the purification of photolyases.

Photochemistry of nucleic acids in cells

A survey of the recent aspects of the main photoreactions induced by far-UV radiation in cellular DNA is reported. This mostly includes the formation of cyclobutadipyrimidines, pyrimidine(6-4)pyrimidone photoadducts and related Dewar valence isomers in various eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, as monitored by using either specific or more general assays. Information is also provided on mechanistic aspects regarding the formation of 5,6-dihydro-5-(alpha-thyminyl) thymine, the so-called "spore photoproduct" within far-UV-irradiated bacterial spores. The second major topic of the review deals with the effects of near-UV radiation and visible light on cellular DNA which are mostly mediated by photosensitizers. The main photoreactions of furocoumarins with DNA, one major class of photosensitizers used in the phototherapy of skin diseases, involve a [2 + 2] cycloaddition to the thymine bases according to an oxygen-independent mechanism. In contrast a second type of photosensitized reaction which appears to play a major role in the genotoxic effects of both near-UV and visible light requires the presence of oxygen. The photodynamic effects which are mediated by either still unidentified endogenous photosensitizers or defined exogenous photosensitizers lead to the formation of a wide spectrum of DNA modifications including base damage, oligonucleotide strand breaks and DNA-protein cross-links.

Quantitation and mapping of integrated human papillomavirus on human metaphase chromosomes using a fluorescence microscope imaging system

Integrated human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) DNA was directly visualized on metaphase chromosomes in the two human cervical carcinoma cell lines SiHa and CaSki by fluorescence in situ hybridization with a biotinylated DNA probe (7.9 kb). The fluorescence intensities of hybridization signals from single copies and dispersed clusters of integrated HPV-16 DNA were quantified using a microscope equipped with a cooled-CCD camera that was interfaced to an image processor and host computer. Hybridization signals were localized on chromosomes using separate, registered images of 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) or propidium iodide stained metaphase chromosome spreads. In both SiHa and CaSki spreads, a single fluorescein signal was observed on one or both chromatids of chromosome 13, which was identified by simultaneous hybridization with a biotinylated centromere probe specific for chromosomes 13 and 21. Ratios of the distance from 13pter to the HPV-16 signals to the entire chromosome length were approximately 0.63 +/- 0.05 in both SiHa and CaSki cells, indicating the possibility of a common integration domain on chromosome 13. In SiHa cells, no additional signals were observed on other chromosomes. This observation, taken together with literature reports that SiHa cells contain 1 to 2 copies of the HPV-16 genome in this region of chromosome 13, suggests that each fluorescein signal on chromosome 13 represents one equivalent of the HPV-16 genome. The total integrated fluorescence intensity in isolated CaSki metaphase chromosome spreads was approximately two orders of magnitude greater than that of a single copy of HPV-16 DNA in SiHa cells, indicating an increase in HPV-16 copy number.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Immunocytochemical analysis of in vivo DNA modification

In the past decades a large number of DNA adducts induced in the intact animal by alkylating agents have been identified. The formation and repair of these adducts are important determinants, not only of mutagenesis, tumor initiation and DNA-mediated toxicity but probably also of tumor progression. Most studies on in vivo DNA modification have been performed on isolated bulk DNA. More recently, methods have been developed to study the distribution of DNA adducts at the level of either the individual gene or the individual cell. This paper reviews immunocytochemical methods to study the formation and repair of DNA adducts and other DNA modifications at the level of the individual cell. DNA modifications induced by alkylating agents and a variety of other agents including ultraviolet radiation, aromatic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and platinum anti-cancer drugs will be discussed. Up to now, immunocytochemical analysis of in vivo modified DNA has largely concentrated on experimental animals. These studies have revealed striking heterogeneities with regard to formation and/or repair of DNA adducts in tissues from rat, hamster and mouse. Immunocytochemical adduct analysis can be used to identify in a convenient, fast and detailed way cell types, cell stages and sites in which biological effects of the adducts might be expressed. More recently, immunocytochemical analysis of DNA adducts also proved to be feasible on in situ exposed human samples. A number of existing and potential applications in the field of chemical carcinogenesis, experimental chemotherapy and molecular epidemiology are discussed.

Application of quantitative immunofluorescence to clinical serology: antibody levels of Toxoplasma gondii

Methods currently used for immunofluorescent reagent standardization require subjective visual comparison of reagents with control materials. Reactivities of reagents in immunofluorescence test kits vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. To solve these problems, a quantitative immunofluorescence (QIF) method which uses a calibrated photometric system and incorporates reducing agents into the mounting medium to reduce fading was developed to replace the visual method of endpoint determination. A uranyl glass slide was used to calibrate the instrument's voltage measurements, permitting daily comparisons and measurement of the instrument reading fluctuations. The QIF method was initially tailored to the determination of serum antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii by measuring the fluorescence intensity of individual tagged organisms. The nonspecific fluorescence intensity resulting from the counterstain was eliminated by use of a red-suppressing filter. The dilution-correlated polar fluorescence component was removed by subtraction of the intensity for the matching negative control dilution from each sample dilution intensity. The QIF method showed a 94% correlation with the visual comparison method for 62 clinical specimens.