TOXICITY, DNA DAMAGE AND INHIBITION OF DNA REPAIR SYNTHESIS IN HUMAN MELANOMA CELLS BY CONCENTRATED SUNLIGHT

A 1 m diameter water lens was used to focus solar radiation, giving an 8-fold concentration of the total spectrum and a cytocidal flux similar to that of laboratory UV sources. Survival curves for human melanoma cells were similar for sunlight and 254 nm UV, in that D _q, was usually larger than D _o. An xeroderma pigmentosum lymphoblastoid line was equally sensitive to both agents and human cell lines sensitive to ionizing radiation (lymphoblastoid lines), crosslinking agents or monofunctional alkylating agents (melanoma lines) had the same 254 nm UV and solar survival responses as appropriate control lines. Two melanoma sublines derived separately by 16 cycles of treatment with sunlight or 254 nm UV were crossresistant to both agents. In one melanoma cell line used for further studies, DNA strand breaks and DNA-protein crosslinking were induced in melanoma cells by sunlight but pyrimidine dimers (paper chromatography) and DNA interstrand crosslinking (alkaline elution) could not be detected. The solar fiuence response of DNA repair synthesis was much less than that from equitoxic 254 nm UV, reaching a maximum near the D _o value and then declining; semiconservative DNA synthesis on the other hand remained high. These effects were not due to changes in thymidine pool sizes. Solar exposure did not have a major effect on 254 nm UV-induced repair synthesis.     

ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT-INDUCED INHIBITION OF CELL DIVISION AND DNA SYNTHESIS IN AXENICALLY GROWN REPAIR MUTANTS OF DICTYOSTELIUM DISCOIDEUM

Cell division and DNA synthesis were studied during axenic growth following 254 nm ultraviolet light (UV) irradiation of a repair-proficient parental strain ( rad⁺ , D₁₀ colony formation = 195 J/m²) and two repair mutants ( rad C. D₁₀= 50 J/m²; rad B. D₁₀= 5 J/m²) of Dictyostelium discoideum. Isopycnic CsCI gradients were used to distinguish uptake of labeled precursors into nuclear (n) and mitochondrial (m) DNA, using Netropsin to enhance the density resolution. In all strains, m-DNA synthesis was inhibited to a lesser extent than was n-DNA synthesis. For rad C, which has been shown in other experiments to be slow in incision and dimer removal, the UV-induced lags in division and n-DNA synthesis were longer than for rad⁺. However, rad B showed a more complex response. Although brief division lags were observed for < 10 J/m², little immediate division lag was detected at greater fluences. Instead, a brief period of cell multiplication of up to but not exceeding two-fold occurred, followed by a cessation of division, and then by lysis. Fluences that yielded extensive lags in n-DNA synthesis in rad^- and rad C resulted in little detectable immediate postirradiation lag in n-DNA synthesis in rad B. However, later in the postirradiation period, when DNA synthesis had resumed in rad⁺ and rad C. it gradually declined to near zero in rad B. We conclude: (1) that the more extended lag in division and n-DNA synthesis in rad C is consistent with its slower rate of excision repair, and (2) that rad B contains a defect resulting in less initial blockage of DNA replication by UV lesions.     

PRIMARY PHOTOCHEMICAL PROCESSES OF CATIONIC ACRIDINE ORANGE IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION STUDIED BY FLASH PHOTOLYSIS

Abstract— A transformation system in Escherichia coli was employed to verify the extent of the lesions caused by ultraviolet (UV) and ionizing radiations. DNA inactivated at 280 nm could be reactivated to some extent by exposing the transforming DNA solutions at 240 nm. This reactivation has been tested using more than one strain of E. coli as recipient. Transforming DNA inactivated by ionizing radiations (⁹⁰Sr beta rays and ⁶⁰Co gamma rays) was not reactivable. Low doses of beta rays, however, reactivated the DNA inactivated by 280 nm UV to a slight but significant extent.     

PRIOR EXPOSURE OF HUMAN CELLS TO NEAR UV-RADIATION GIVES A DECREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF THE UNSCHEDULED DNA-SYNTHESIS INDUCED BY FAR UV-RADIATION

Pretreatment of human cells with near UV radiation (UVA) in fluences exceeding 5 × 10⁴ Jm⁻² caused a decrease in the amount of the unscheduled DNA synthesis induced by far UV radiation (UVC). The DNA repair synthesis, as measured by the incorporation of [³H] -thymidine, is reduced by nearly a factor of 2 for a UVA radiation exposure of 1.5 × 10⁵ Jm⁻². Since solar UVA fluence rate is rather independent of latitude, this figure corresponds to a UVA exposure time of 50-60 min from noon sunlight in the summer time.     

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PHOTOSENSITIZED BREAKAGE OF DNA BY 2-THIOURACIL AND 334-nm ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION

Abstract— Breaks induced in purified DNA by 334-nm ultraviolet (UV) radiation are enhanced 30 times when 2-thiouracil (s²Ura) is present during aerobic irradiation. This enhancement by s²Ura is maximally effective at a concentration of about 1 m M. Anoxic irradiation reduces the s²Ura-enhanced breakage by 90%, indicating a Type II photosensitization. Benzoate, glycerol, diazabicyclo[2.2.2.]octane (DABCO) and histidine all inhibit formation of s²Ura photosensitized breaks, unlike diethylenetriaminepenta-acetic acid (DETAPAC) and catalase, which do not. The relationships between the concentration of DABCO. benzoate and histidine and their protection against induction of single strand breaks (SSBs) were similar, with little inhibition below 10 m M and maximal inhibition near 0.1 M for all compounds. Irradiation of the DNA-s²Ura mixture dissolved in D₂O instead of H₂O enhanced the rate of induction of SSBs in DNA by 334-nm light almost five times. Addition of superoxide dismutase (40, 80 and 200 μg/ml) decreased the rate of induction of breaks in DNA by 334-nm radiation plus s²Ura (in H₂O) by about 40%. Boiled superoxide dismutase had no effect.     

IMPAIRED REPAIR OF UVC-INDUCED DNA DAMAGE IN L5178Y-R CELLS: SEDIMENTATION STUDIES WITH THE USE OF 5''-BROMODEOXYURIDINE PHOTOLYSIS

Abstract Relative to their L5178Y-S counterparts, L5178Y-R cells have an impaired capacity to form patches in DNA after exposure to UVC radiation. The photolysis of 5'-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) incorporated into DNA was used to estimate the number of 'repair patches'formed in response to a 254 nm UV (UVC) exposure. L5178Y-S cells, typical of rodent cell lines, formed a small number of patches in exposed DNA (1-2 patches per 1 times 10⁸ dalton during a 6 h recovery after an exposure of 20 J/m²). In contrast, DNA extracted from L5178Y-R cells exposed to UVC and subsequently incubated with BrdUrd for 6 h showed no evidence of BrdUrd incorporation indicating no capacity to form sites of repair (fewer than 0.5 sites of BrdUrd incorporation per 1 times 10⁸ dalton). Moreover, in L5178Y-R cells high fluences of UVC caused an extensive DNA degradation. Such degradation was not observed in L5178Y-S cells during the 24-h post-exposure period. These results are consistent with the notion that L5178Y-R cells have a reduced capacity to repair DNA damage induced by UVC radiation.     

OXYGEN EFFECT IN SURVIVAL OF Dictyostelium discoideum TREATED WITH NEAR ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION

Abstract— Fluence-response survival curves have been measured for the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum exposed to near ultraviolet radiation. Data were obtained for a wild type strain and three UV-sensitive mutant strains in exponential growth phase. Fluences for 10% survival (F₁₀) are about 1 MJ m⁻² for cells irradiated in saline solution saturated with nitrogen. When air is bubbled through the saline, the Fm values are only one third as large. Strain HPS50, which is the strain most sensitive to gamma radiation and to 254 nm UV, also exhibits the greatest sensitivity to near UV. However, the difference in sensitivity to near UV between wild type and mutant strains is small compared to other physical and chemical agents known to damage DNA.     

DIFFERENTIAL CAUSES OF MUTATION AND KILLING IN ESCHERICHIA COLI AFTER PSORALEN PLUS LIGHT TREATMENT: MONOADDUCTS AND CROSS-LINKS

Abstract— On treatment with 8-methoxypsoralen plus near UV light, an excisionless ( uvrB^- ) strain of Escherichia coli showed about 3– and 10 times higher sensitivities to killing and mutation, respectively, than its parental strain. On re-irradiation with near UV in the absence of unbound psoralen, the uvrB^- strain pretreated with psoralen plus near UV showed a decrease in both survival and mutation. After treatment with psoralen plus near UV, re-irradiation of T7 DNA in the absence of unbound psoralen caused an increase in the cross-linked fraction with an equivalent decrease in the non-cross-linked fraction. From these and previous results, we conclude that monoadducts produced by treatment with psoralen plus near UV are converted to cross-links by further irradiation and that, in E. coli , monoadducts are responsible for the mutation induced by psoralen-plus-light whereas cross-links are the major cause of its lethal action.     

DEGRADATION OF THE DNA OF ESCHERICHIA COLI K12 REC- (JC1569b) AFTER IRRADIATION WITH ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT*

Abstract— Degradation of the DNA of a rec^- mutant of Escherichia coli K12 (JC1569 b) induced by u.v. light was investigated. The rate of degradation was much larger by growing bacteria than by stationary cells. When growing bacteria were starved for amino acids, their DNA became resistant to irradiation. The mode of u.v.-induced degradation was investigated by comparing the time course of release from the acid-insoluble fraction of the label for two growing cultures; the one was pulse-labeled with ³H-thymidine and the other was pulse-labeled and chased thereafter for 12 min. It was found that the label incorporated into the former culture begins to be lost from the acid-insoluble fraction prior to the loss of the label incorporated into the latter culture. It was concluded that breakdown of the replicating point precedes degradation of the bulk of the DNA. This result suggested that the replicating point is a sensitive site to irradiation and the u.v.-induced degradation of DNA seemed to be influenced by the state of chromosome at the time of irradiation. Experiments of centrifugation of lysed spheroplasts of bacteria uniformly labeled with ³H-thymidine in alkaline sucrose demonstrated that DNA of low molecular weight appeared after irradiation with only 5 ergs/ mm², and that the molecular weight could not be restored by post-irradiation incubation. Considering these results, an hypothesis is proposed concerning the initiation of induced degradation of the DNA of the rec^- mutant.     

PHOTOCHEMICAL ALTERATIONS IN DNA REVEALED BY DNA-BASED LIQUID CRYSTALS

Abstract The preparations of chicken erythrocyte linear double-stranded DNA and superhelical plasmid pBR322 DNA were irradiated by continuous low-intensity UV radiation (I = 25-50 W/m², λ= 254 nm) as well as by highintensity picosecond laser UV radiation (I = 10¹¹-10¹³ W/m², λ= 266 nm). The effect of DNA secondary structure alterations on the formation of liquid-crystalline dispersions from UV-irradiated DNA preparations was studied. It was shown that in the case of linear DNA, watching the disappearance of abnormal optical activity characteristic for cholesteric liquid crystal we managed to detect the presence of photochemical alterations in DNA irradiated by low-intensity UV radiation at an absorbed energy of more than 20 quanta per nucleotide. In the case of superhelical DNA using enzyme treatment of liquid-crystalline dispersions and monitoring the appearance of abnormal optical activity, we detected the presence of photochemical alterations in DNA molecules after low-intensity UV irradiation at an absorbed energy of less than 4 quanta per nucleotide. Under the latter approach using picosecond UV laser irradiation at three different light intensities we were able to distinguish the different mechanisms of fine alterations in DNA secondary structure at an absorbed energy value of about 3 quanta per nucleotide.     

UV-INDUCED DNA DEGRADATION IN THE CYANOBACTERIUM SYNECHOCYSTIS PCC 6308

Ultraviolet radiation-induced DNA degradation has been demonstrated in the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6308. The extent of DNA degradation was greatly reduced by inhibition of DNA replication by preirradiation dark incubation and degradation was completely inhibited by exposure of irradiated cells to photoreactivating wavelengths. DNA degradation was not observed when irradiated cells were incubated in the presence of the excision repair inhibitors caffeine and acriflavin, suggesting that degradation is a manifestation of excision repair of pyrimidine dimers in Synechocystis . Increasing UV fluences resulted in an increase in the final extent of DNA degradation. However, at higher fluences degradation was inhibited, suggesting saturation of the excision repair system. Incubation of irradiated cells under conditions which inhibit protein synthesis greatly increased the extent of DNA degradation and the time over which it occurred. Exposure of cells to a sublethal fluence of UV greatly reduced the extent of DNA degradation produced by a challenge fluence administered after 24 h incubation providing evidence for inducible DNA repair activity in cyanobacteria.     

REC A +-DEPENDENT SYNERGISM BETWEEN 365 NM AND IONIZING RADIATION IN LOG-PHASE ESCHERICHIA COLI: A MODEL FOR OXYGEN-DEPENDENT NEAR-UV INACTIVATION BY DISRUPTION OF DNA REPAIR

Abstract —The oxygen dependence of 365 nm inactivation of colony-forming ability of Escherichia coli has been investigated in two series of DNA repair-deficient K12 mutants grown to mid-exponential phase. All strains except a uvr A rec A double mutant are more sensitive to inactivation under O₂ and show a lower threshold dose. The inactivation of photoreactivating enzyme in a crude cell extract and DNA repair disruption are both reduced when irradiation is carried out under nitrogen. The rec A gene-dependent synergism between 365 nm and ionising radiation is reversible if cells are incubated in full growth medium before ionising radiation treatment. In a wildtype strain, incubation for 2.5 h in full growth medium after 10⁶ J m^-2 365 nm radiation changes a sensitised response to a protection from ionising radiation. Protection is not seen at 1.5 times 10⁶ J m^-2. A tentative model for near UV lethality in logarithmic phase cells is suggested which proposes two classes of lesions. One requires oxygen for it's induction, is rapidly fixed as a lethal event as a result of repair disruption, and is primarily responsible for cell death after aerobic 365 nm irradiation. The other lesion, possibly pyrimidine dimers, may lead to cell death under anaerobic conditions.     

Fluorometric analysis of DNA unwinding (FADU) as a method for detecting repair-induced DNA strand breaks in UV-irradiated mammalian cells

Fluorometric analysis of DNA unwinding (FADU assay) was originally designed to detect X-ray-induced DNA damage in repair-proficient and repair-deficient mammalian cell lines. The method was modified and applied to detect DNA strand breaks in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells exposed to ionizing radiation as well as to UV light. Exposed cells were allowed to repair damaged DNA by incubation for up to 1 h after exposure under standard growth conditions in the presence and in the absence of the DNA synthesis inhibitor aphidicolin. Thereafter, cell lysates were mixed with 0.15 M sodium hydroxide, and DNA unwinding took place at pH 12.1 for 30 min at 20 degrees C. The amount of DNA remaining double-stranded after alkaline reaction was detected by binding to the Hoechst 33258 dye (bisbenzimide) and measuring the fluorescence. After exposure to X-rays DNA strand breaks were observed in all cell lines immediately after exposure with subsequent restitution of high molecular weight DNA during postexposure incubation. In contrast, after UV exposure delayed production of DNA strand break was observed only in cell lines proficient for nucleotide excision repair of DNA photoproducts. Here strand break production was enhanced when the polymerization step was inhibited by adding the repair inhibitor aphidicolin during repair incubation. These results demonstrate that the FADU approach is suitable to distinguish between different DNA lesions (strand breaks versus base alterations) preferentially induced by different environmental radiations (X-rays versus UV) and to distinguish between the different biochemical processes during damage repair (incision versus polymerization and ligation).     

THE ROLE OF 4-THIOURIDINE IN LETHAL EFFECTS AND IN DNA BACKBONE BREAKAGE CAUSED BY 334 nm ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT IN Escherichia coli

Strains of Escherichia coli that lack 4-thiouridine (⁴Srd) are killed by monochromatic 334 nm UV light (UV) less efficiently than their wild-type parents, which contain ⁴Srd. Oxygen enhancement ratios (OER) at 10% survival are 3.3 for a strain that possesses ⁴Srd, and 2.6 for one that lacks ⁴Srd. Single-strand breaks in DNA caused by 334 nm UV accumulate more than twice as fast in the wild-type strains than in the strains lacking ⁴Srd. The results suggest that ⁴Srd is an important chromophore in some near-UV lethal effects. The results also suggest that the excitation energy from 334 nm UV light may be passed from RNA to DNA, resulting in single-strand breaks.     

DNA TURNOVER IN BUFFER-HELD ESCHERICHIA COLI AND ITS EFFECT ON REPAIR OF UV DAMAGE

Abstract— Continuous DNA degradation and resynthesis, without a net change in cellular DNA content, were observed in buffer-held, non-irradiated E. coli B/r. This constant DNA turnover probably involves most of the genome and reflects random sites of DNA repair due to the polA-dependent excision-resynthesis repair pathway. Under these non-growth conditions, it appears that at any given time there is a minimum of one repair site per 6.5 × 10⁶ daltons DNA, each of which is at least 160 nucleotides long.
While the amount of DNA degradation is not influenced by prior exposure to UV radiation, the synthetic activity decreases with increasing UV fluence. We suggest that when sites of DNA turnover occur opposite to cyclobutyl dipyrimidines in UV-irradiated cells, repair of the latter damage can be prevented. This implies that both beneficial and deleterious processes take place in irradiated buffer-held cells, and that cell survival depends on the delicate balance between DNA turnover and repair of UV-damage. Based on these findings, we propose a model to explain the limited repair observed during post-irradiation liquid-holding and to account for the large difference in cell survival between irradiation at low fluence rates (fluence-rate dependent recovery) and at high fluence rates followed by liquid-holding (liquid-holding recovery).     

QUANTITATION OF PYRIMIDINE DIMERS BY IMMUNOSLOT BLOT FOLLOWING SUBLETHAL UV-IRRADIATION OF HUMAN CELLS

An immunoslot blot assay was developed to detect pyrimidine dimers induced in DNA by sublethal doses of UV (254 nm) radiation. Using this assay, one dimer could be detected in 10 megabase DNA using 200 ng or 0.5 megabase DNA using 20 ng irradiated DNA. The level of detection, as measured by dimer specific antibody binding, was proportional to the dose of UV and amount of irradiated DNA used. The repair of pyrimidine dimers was measured in human skin fibroblastic cells in culture following exposure to 0.5 to 5 J m^-2 of 254 nm UV radiation. The half-life of repair was approximately 24, 7 and 6 h in cells exposed to 0.5, 2 and 5 J m^-2 UV radiation, respectively. This immunological approach utilizing irradiated DNA immobilized to nitrocellulose should allow the direct quantitation of dimers following very low levels of irradiation in small biological samples and isolated gene fragments.     

Attenuation of Biologically Effective UV Radiation in Tropical Atlantic Waters Measured with a Biochemical DNA Dosimeter

Abstract— A biochemical dosimeter was developed to study the attenuation of biologically effective UV radiation in marine tropical waters. Small quartz vials were used containing a solution of DNA molecules; the vials were incubated at discrete water depths. Subsequently, DNA damage was determined in these samples, using an antibody directed against thymine dimers followed by chemiluminescent detection. Measurements of DNA damage were compared with calculated biologically effective doses, as derived from spectroradiometer measurements. The biodosimeter was found to be a reliable and easy tool to determine levels of harmful UV radiation in marine waters. The highest attenuation coefficient (1.60 m^-l) measured with the biochemical dosimeter was found in eutrophic waters, at a coastal station off Curabcao, Netherlands Antilles. At the other stations attenuation coefficients ranged from 0.18 m^-1 in central Atlantic waters to 0.43 m^-1 close to the Curapcao coast line. Latter results indicate that biologically effective UV radiation may easily reach ecologically significant depths, e.g. coral reef communities.     

NEAR ULTRAVIOLET INDUCTION OF GROWTH DELAY STUDIED IN A MENAQUINONE-DEFICIENT MUTANT OF BACILLUS SUBTILIS

Abstract— The induction by near UV light of growth delay in Bacillus subtilis was studied utilizing a menaquinone-deficient ( men ^–) strain. Menaquinone appears to be a target molecule in this bacterial species, in view of the following: (i) the men ^– strain requires menaquinone precursors to terminate growth delay; (ii) the menaquinone synthesis inhibitor diphenylamine prolongs growth delay; (iii) the men ^– strain must be phenotypically Men* at the time of near UV irradiation to induce growth delay. These findings suggest that growth delay in B. subtilis may be associated with a prerequisite removal of photochemically altered menaquinone from the cytoplasmic membrane, rather than simply the time required for resynthesis of menaquinone. Alternatively, the altered menaquinone may inhibit some critical reaction(s) of intermediary metabolism or macromolecular synthesis.     

Direct observation of the transition state of ultrafast electron transfer reaction of a radiosensitizing drug bromodeoxyuridine

Replacement of thymidine in DNA by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) has long been known to enhance DNA damage and cell death induced by ionizing/UV radiation, but the mechanism of action of BrdU at the molecular level is poor understood. Using time-resolved femtosecond laser spectroscopy, we obtain the real-time observation of the transition state of the ultrafast electron transfer (ET) reaction of BrdU with the precursor to the hydrated electron, which is a general product in ionizing/UV radiation. The results show that the ET reaction is completed within 0.2 picosecond (ps) after the electronic excitation, leading to the formation of a transition state BrdU*- with a lifetime of approximately 1.5 ps that then dissociates into Br- and a high reactive radical dU*. The present results can greatly enhance our understanding not only of the mechanism of BrdU as a radio-/photosensitizer but of the role of prehydrated electrons in electron-initiated processes in biological and environmental systems.     

ANTIBODIES TO UV IRRADIATED DNA: THE MONITORING OF DNA DAMAGE BY ELISA AND INDIRECT IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE

Abstract The enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) was modified to (1) characterize antibodies raised in rabbits against UV-irradiated single-stranded DNA (UVssDNA) complexed with methylated BSA and (2) directly detect pyrimidine dimers in irradiated DNA. The antisera specifically bound to UVssDNA, UVpoly(dT) and to a limited extent to UVdsDNA and UVpoly(dC) immobilized on protamine sulfate coated microliter wells. Fifty percent of the maximum antibody binding was observed at a 1-5000 dilution against UVssDNA. Binding to ssDNA and poly(dT) was observed only at much higher concentrations of antibody (1:500 dilution), whereas no binding to double stranded DNA (dsDNA) was observed. The extent of binding of the antibody was dependent on the dose of UV radiation to DNA, as well as, to the concentration of antigen immobilized on the plate. Specific binding to DNA irradiated with 5.0 J/m² was detected with as little as 10 ng of DNA. The sensitivity was further extended to less than 1 J/m² by using higher concentrations (100 ng) of UVssDNA. The ability of various irradiated molecules, DNA, homopolymers and linkers to act as inhibitors of antibody binding establish that the antigenic determinants are mainly thymine homodimers with lower affinity for cytosine dimers. Potential usefulness of the antibodies to directly quantitate pyrimidine dimers in cells exposed to UV radiation was determined by indirect immunofluorescence. Flow cytometric analysis of immunostained human lymphocytes irradiated with 254 nm radiation indicated that greater than 50% of the population had significantly higher fluorescent intensity than unirradiated control cells.