Endogenous DNA polymerase activity in fractionated rat lever chromatin

Differential inhibition of rat liver DNA polymerases in vitro by direct-acting carcinogens and the protective effect of a thiol reducing agent

The direct-acting carcinogens acetoxyacetylaminofluorene, methylnitrosourea, and N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine were tested for their ability to inhibit rat liver DNA polymerase-alpha, -beta, and -gamma activity in vitro. DNA polymerase-alpha was the most sensitive, polymerase-beta was the most resistant, and polymerase-gamma exhibited an intermediate response. When the reactions were reassayed in the presence and absence of dithiothreitol, a thiol reducing agent, it was shown that the inhibition by carcinogens was generally reversible with increasing dithiothreitol, except that polymerase-beta recovered only 80-90% of control values. These and binding data suggest that DNA polymerase-beta, the putative repair enzyme, is highly resistant to carcinogen damage. This resistance may contribute to the retention of normal function and fidelity of the repair enzyme during carcinogen exposure in vivo and to a normal cellular repair.

Decreased fidelity in one subspecies of DNA polymerase-alpha that appears during N-2-acetylaminofluorene hepatocarcinogenesis

During the exposure of rat livers to the hepatocarcinogen 2-acetylaminofluorene (N-2-fluorenylacetamide), it was demonstrated that the cytoplasmic DNA polymerase-alpha (E.C. 2.7.7.7) was strikingly error-prone when compared to that of normal liver (Chan, J.Y.H. and Becker, F.F. (1979) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76, 814-818). The fidelity of polymerization of these enzymes was assayed by determining the incorporation of noncomplementary deoxyribonucleotide triphosphates (misincorporation) on a poly(dA-dT) template. To identify the mechanism of infidelity, we modified and extended our purificaton scheme. As a result, a subspecies of polymerase-alpha 1 was identified and separated from the normal component, polymerase-alpha 2. Polymerase-alpha 1 activity eluted from a phosphocellulose column at 0.07-0.12 M NaCl, while polymerase-alpha 2 eluted at 0.15-0.2 M NaCl. Polymerase-alpha 2 demonstrated normal fidelity throughout the various steps of purification while polymerase-alpha 1, despite being purified some 10 250-fold, continued to demonstrate a severe degree of infidelity.

Alterations in chromosomal proteins in C3H/HeN mice with spontaneous primary hepatocellular carcinomas

The chromosomal proteins from chromatins of normal and background liver and spontaneous primary hepatocellular carcinomas (PHC) of C3H/HeN mice were examined by high resolution acid-urea and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Before gel analysis, the histone and non-histone chromosomal proteins (NHCP) from the various tissues studied were separated by affinity chromatography. No qualitative or quantitative differences in histone content were detected in any of the chromatins studied. Tumor and background chromatins did, however, exhibit higher NHCP content than normal tissues. When NHCP were fractionated on SDS polyacrylamide gels, the appearance of 10 new unique NHCP, many of which were of high molecular weight, was found to accompany the manifestation of malignancy in these C3H/HeN mice. Conversely, the abundance of a number of individual NHCP decreased precipitiously in PHC chromatin; and, additionally, two high-molecular-weight NHCP present in normal chromatins were not detectable in background and PHC chromatin. A number of NHCP were found to be unique to each of the chromatins studied. The progressive increase in total number of NHCP in background and PHC chromatin when compared to normal chromatin suggested that such changes in NHCP might indicate progression towards malignancy. The acquisition of new high-molecular-weight NHCP, the loss of some high-molecular-weight NHCP, and the decrease in individual NHCP found for mouse PHC correlate well with findings of previous studies in other systems in which malignant transformation was induced with some agent. It appears then that changes in NHCP accompany both spontaneous and induced malignant transformation, and that such changes may reflect alterations in gene expression known to accompany malignancy.

Replicative activity of isolated chromatin from proliferating and quiescent early passage and aging cultured mouse cells

Replicative activity of isolated chromatin from late passage cultured mouse cells has been compared to the activities of chromatin preparaions from dividing and quiescent early passage cells. Rates of endogenous DNA synthesis are similar for chromatin from growing or resting cells but this activity is stimulated 2.5-fold in senescent cell chromatin. Chromatin from growing young cells copies exogenously added single stranded DNA at the highest efficiency. Chromatin of senescent cells copies this template at a lower rate and resting young cell chromatin replicates single stranded DNA at the lowest efficiency. Similar relative rates are obtained when activated DNA is copied by the various chromatin preparations. Total activity of DNA polymerase extracted by salt from chromatin is similar for dividing and quiescent young cells but the proportion of DNA polymerase beta is higher in the latter. Elevated activities of DNA polymerases are extracted from chromatin of old cells. It is concluded, therefore, that chromatin-directed replication is differently arrested in non-dividing senescent cells and in quiescent early passage cells. The possible regulatory mechanisms of DNA replication in quiescence and aging are discussed.

Analysis of chromosomal proteins of fractionated chromatin from rat liver and transplantable hepatocellular carcinomas

The chromosomal proteins from a number of transplantable hepatocellular carcinomas (THC) induced by a single carcinogen or its derivatives and varying greatly in their growth rates were examined by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyarcylamide gel electrophoresis. Before extraction and analysis of proteins, chromatin from hepatomas, as well as from normal and regenerating liver was fractionated into rapidly and slowly sedimenting gradient components. Ten non-histone chromosomal proteins (NHCP) present in the tumors and ranging in molecular weight from 220,000 to 55,000, were absent from normal liver. Further, each rapidly growing tumor possessed more non-histone protein bands in the most rapidly sedimenting chromatin fractions than did corresponding, slowly growing tumor fractions. A number of single protein occurrences common only to normal liver and/or rapidly or slowly growing tumors were also found. In contrast, NHCP banding patterns of rapidly growing 70% hepatectomized rat liver were identical to those of non-dividing liver. Of particular interest was the finding that the prototypic "minimal deviation tumor" 9618A varied more in its NHCP-banding pattern when compared to liver than did those tumors which were rapidly growing and poorly differentiated. These studies represent an initial attempt at seeking NHCP which might be uniquely related to the malignant process.

Decreased fidelity of DNA polymerase activity during N-2-fluorenylacetamide hepatocarcinogenesis

alpha and beta DNA polymerases (DNA nucleotidyltransferase; deoxynucleosidetriphosphate:DNA deoxynucleotidyltransferase, EC 2.7.7.7) were isolated from nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions of rat livers exposed to a carcinogenic regimen with the hepatocarcinogen N-2-fluorenylacetamide and from 24-hr regenerating liver. The fidelity of polymerization of these enzymes was compared by determining the incorporation of noncomplementary deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates (misincorporation) on a poly(dA-dT).poly(dA-dT) template, with MnCl2 and MgCl2 as divalent cations. Our initial studies indicate that the cytoplasmic alpha polymerases from carcinogen-exposed rat livers were strikingly error-prone whereas the nuclear and cytoplasmic beta polymerases retained their fidelity throughout the feeding cycles. The misincorporation was significantly accentuated by MnCl2 compared with that obtained with MgCl2 as divalent cation. The products were sensitive to pancreatic DNase I digestion, indicating that the noncomplementary bases had been incorporated by the polymerization process. Nuclear alpha polymerase showed some degree of infidelity but less than that of cytoplasmic alpha polymerase.

Highly efficient copying of single-stranded DNA by eukaryotic cell chromatin

Chromatin prepared from S phase hepatoma tissue culture (HTC) cell incorporates in vitro about 11-14 pmoles [3H]dTMP into DNA in 30 min. Single-stranded DNA added to this chromatin stimulates DNA synthesis more than 40-fold whereas activated DNA enhances it about 60-fold. By contrast, stimulation of DNA synthesis by activated DNA in a crude nuclear extract exceeds the stimulation exerted by denatured DNA by a factor of 7. Stimulation of DNA synthesis by denatured DNA is not due to stabilization of either the chromatin or the product of the endogenous reaction. On the other hand, we find that poly(dC) and poly (dT) enhance DNA synthesis by serving as templates which are copied by chromatin in a true complementary fashion. It seems therefore, that eukaryotic cell chromatin is able to copy single-stranded DNA at a high efficiency. Chromatin of G1 arrested cell copies exogenous templates at a considerably reduced rate. The enzyme responsible for the copying of denatured DNA is tentatively identified as DNA polymerase alpha on the basis of its sensitivity to sulfhydril group blocking, its requirements for ions and failure to copy the ribo strand of oligo(dT) poly(A).