THE INTERACTION OF A GENE (nur) CONTROLLING NEAR-UV SENSITIVITY AND THE polA1 GENE IN STRAINS OF E. COLI K12

Abstract— When stationary cell populations of the Escherichia coli W3110 strain and the polA1 mutant (p3478) derived directly from it were compared for their sensitivity to near-UV (NUV, 300–400 nm) inactivation, the polA1 strain proved to be more sensitive. By appropriate matings and transductions, four essentially isogenic strains have been developed which carry all four possible combinations of genes conferring far-UV (FUV, 200-300 nm) sensitivity ( polA1 vs. polA ⁺) and NUV sensitivity ( nur vs. nur ⁺). Stationary cells of strains carrying either the polA1 or polA ⁺ allele in combination with the nur allele are indistinguishable in their sensitivity to NUV inactivation and are equivalent in their NUV sensitivity to the original polA1 mutant strain (p3478). With the two strains carrying the nur ⁺ allele, stationary cell populations of the polA1 strain are clearly more sensitive to NUV inactivation than is the polA ⁺ strain. The NUV sensitizing effect of the polA1 mutation in a nur ⁺ genetic background is about the same as that of the nur mutation at the 0.37 survival level. This may mean that the polA1 and nur mutations sensitize E. coli stationary cell populations to NUV inactivation by a common mechanism.     

INACTIVATION BY MONOCHROMATIC NEAR-UV RADIATION OF AN Escherichia coli hemA8 MUTANT GROWN WITH AND WITHOUT δ-AMINOLEVULINIC ACID: THE ROLE OF DNA vs MEMBRANE DAMAGE

Abstract— Escherichia coli strain RT8 hemA8 [blocked in biosynthesis of δ-aminolevulinic acid (δ-ALA), and unable to manufacture porphyrins unless exogenously supplied with δ-ALA] is inactivated more efficiently by monochromatic 334- and 405-nm radiations if the cells are grown with δ-ALA supplementation. The fiuence enhancement factor for δ-ALA sensitization is larger for light at 405 nm than at 334 nm. Both irradiation conditions (plus or minus δ-ALA) showed prominent oxygen enhancement ratios, which were also larger at 405 nm than at 334 nm. At 334 nm, δ-ALA supplementation did not affect the accumulation of DNA breaks, while at 405 nm, the induction of DNA breaks doubled for cells supplemented with δ-ALA. Rubidium leakage caused by 405-nm radiation occurred at a smaller fiuence in cells supplemented with higher concentrations of δ-ALA than in cells supplemented with a lower concentration. The results suggest that (1) porphyrin derivatives may have a role in cell killing by near-UV radiations, and (2) damage to cytomembranes may be a critical lesion produced by these events, whereas DNA breakage may not.     

HYDROGEN PEROXIDE INDUCED RESISTANCE TO BROAD-SPECTRUM NEAR-ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT(300–400 nm) INACTIVATION IN Escherichia coli

Abstract— Strains of Escherichia coli carrying the four possible combinations of the alleles nur, nur⁺, uvrAb, and uvrA ⁺ were either untreated or pretreated with a sublethal dose of H₂0₂ prior to inactivation with NUV radiation. Pretreated cells exhibited a greater resistance to NUV than did untreated cells. Pretreatment with H₂O₂ did not induce resistance to FUV radiation. The induction of resistance to NUV inactivation by H₂O₂ pretreatment apparently leads to protection against the damage caused by NUV radiation. Although pretreatment of cells with H₂0₂ leads to resistance of such cells to inactivation by H₂O₂ and NUV, survival of H₂O₂ treated bacteriophage PI cml clr100 is not enhanced when assayed on H₂O₂ pretreated E. coli host cells.     

SINGLE-STRAND DNA BREAKS INDUCED BY 365 NM RADIATION IN ESCHERICHIA COLI STRAINS DIFFERING IN SENSITIVITY TO NEAR and FAR UV

The gene mutation nur has been shown specifically to sensitize Escherichia coli stationary phase cells to inactivation by broad spectrum near-UV (NUV) radiation. In the work reported here, E. coli strains RT1. RT2, RT3, and RT4, carrying the 4 possible combinations of recA1, recA⁺, nur , and nur⁺ , were exposed to monochromatic NUV (365 nm). The strains carrying the nur allele (RT1 and RT2) were more sensitive to inactivation by this wavelength and exhibited considerably more single strand break's (SSB's) than the strains carrying the nur⁺ allele (RT3 and RT4). As predicted, following X-irradiation the strains carrying the recA1 allele (RT1 and RT3) were more sensitive than the recA⁺ strains (RT2 and RT4). We conclude that the enhanced SSB's observed in strains RT1 and RT2 following monochromatic NUV irradiation correlated with the nur mutation and are unrelated to the recA1 mutation.     

THE EFFECTS OF LIQUID HOLDING ON NEAR-UV(300–400 nm) IRRADIATED ESCHERICHIA COLI STRAINS DIFFERING IN NEAR AND FAR-UV RADIATION SENSITIVITY

Abstract— Stationary phase cells from four Escherichia coli strains differing in near- (nur vs. nur ₊) and far-UV (recAl vs. recA₊) radiation sensitivity were subjected to near-UV radiation (NUV) in 0.85% saline. Although the NUV-irradiated cultures yielded increased colony numbers following 24 h of liquid holding (LH), a fluctuation test for each experiment showed that the observed increases were not due to recovery but were in fact due to cell multiplication. The decline in viability observed after NUV with liquid holding using the fluctuation test was equivalent in strains RT2, 3 and 4 while the decline observed with RT1 was less marked. The discrepancy between LH involving cell densities of 10₈-10₉ and 1–4 cells/m/ can be resolved by assuming that with dense cell suspensions, NUV-induced membrane damage leads to leakage or lysis, supplying sufficient nutrients to allow growth of undamaged, surviving cells.     

GENETIC CONTROL OF NEAR-UV (300–400nm) SENSITIVITY INDEPENDENT OF THE recA GENE IN STRAINS OF ESCHERICHIA COLI K12

Abstract— Stationary cells of isogenic pairs of Escherichia coli K12 strains presumably differing only in the recA function have been inactivated with near-UV (300–400 nm) radiation. Based on near-UV inactivation kinetics, the strains can be divided into two discrete categories in which near-UV sensitivity does not necessarily correlate with far-UV sensitivity conferred by two different recA alleles. Lack of overlap between near-UV and far-UV ( recA ) sensitivity can be explained hy assuming that a different chromosomal gene ( nur ) controls near-UV sensitivity. Support for this hypothesis comes from a mating experiment in which four selected recombinants, isogenic with respect to auxotrophic markers, were identified exhibiting all four possible combinations of far-UV ( recA 1 vs recA ⁺ ) and near-UV sensitivity ( nur vs nur⁺ ). Transduction with phase P1 has shown that introduction of the recA 1 allele into a recA⁺ recipient does not affect the near-UV sensitivity of the recipient. Additional matings together with transduction experiments suggest that the nur gene is located at a position on the E. coli linkage map clearly separable from recA (minute 58).     

PHOTOLESIONS IN DNA UPON 193 nm EXCITATION

Aqueous solutions of plasmid (pBR322 and pTZ18R) and calf thymus DNA were excited by 20 ns laser pulses at 193 nm. The quantum yields of single- and double-strand break formation, interstrand cross-links, locally denatured sites, (6–4)photoproducts and biological inactivation (Φ_ssb, Φ_dsb, Φ_icl, Φ_ids, Φ_6–4 and Φ_ina, respectively) were measured. The quantum yields are virtually independent of intensity, demonstrating a one-quantum process. The obtained values in aerated neutral solution in the absence of additives are Φ_ssb= 1.5 × 10^--³, Φ_dsb, = 0.06 × 10^--³ (dose: 10–200 J m^-2), Φ_icl=Φ_Ids= 0.1 × 10³ and Φ_6–4= 0.5 × 10^--³ Both Φ_ssb and Φ_dsb decrease strongly with increasing concentrations of TE buffer (0.01–10 m M ). Biological inactivation of the pTZ18R plasmid was determined from the transformation efficiency of Escherichia coli bacteria strains AB1157, AB1886 uvr and A82480 uvr rec; the Φ_ina values are 1.4 × 10³, 2.1 × 10³ and 3 × 10^--³, respectively. The monoexponential survival curves in all cases show that a single damage site leads to inactivation (one single hit). The biological consequences of different photoproducts are discussed.     

THERMODYNAMICS OF PORPHYRIN BINDING TO SERUM ALBUMIN: EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE, OF PORPHYRIN SPECIES and OF ALBUMIN-CARRIED FATTY ACIDS

Abstract Porphyrin binding to serum albumin was studied at the molecular level probing the effects of: porphyrin self-aggregation, porphyrin species, temperature and protein-bound fatty acids. Human serum albumin was found to have a single high-affinity site for porphyrin monomers, with binding constants of 2 x 10⁶, 5 x 10⁷ and 3 x 10⁸ (37^o C, neutral pH, M ⁻¹), for hemato-, deutero- and protoporphyrins, respectively. Three equilibria models for the dimer binding were developed and tested. The data were found to fit best with a model proposing a single high-affinity binding site for the dimer, independent of and different than the monomer site. The binding constants of the hematoporphyrin and deuteroporphyrin dimers to human serum albumin (37^o C, neutral pH, M^−l) being 4 x 10* and 5 x 10⁸ respectively. The temperature dependence (Dp and HSA, 22-37^o C) of the monomer binding showed the process to be entropy-driven (δG^o= -45 kJ mol⁻¹; δS^o=+146 kJ mol⁻¹; δH^o= 0 kJ mol⁻¹). For the dimer binding, the enthalpy change was found to be highly temperature-dependent implying continuous changes in the heat capacity of the system over the entire temperature range, the trend at the 37^o C region fitting an entropy-driven process. The monomer vs dimer differences in temperature dependence strongly support separate and independent binding sites for these species. Similar thermodynamics were determined for fatty-acid carrying as well as for fatty-acid free HSA, with mild quantitative (but not qualitative) shifts.     

PHOTODYNAMIC AND SUNLIGHT INACTIVATION OF ESCHERICHIA COLI STRAINS DIFFERING IN NEAR-UV SENSITIVITY AND RECOMBINATION PROFICIENCY

Abstract— Stationary cells of four Escherichia coli strains exhibiting all four possible combinations of genes controlling near-UV sensitivity ( nur vs nur ⁺) and recombination proficiency (far-UV sensitivity; recA1 us recA ⁺) have been inactivated by visible light in the presence of acridine orange (AO, 10µg/m l ) and sunlight. The results demonstrate that strains sensitive to near-UV inactivation are also sensitive to inactivation by visible light in the presence of AO and sunlight irrespective of the recA allele carried by the strain. These results may be interpreted to mean that major mechanisms of inactivation of stationary E. coli cells by near-UV, visible light in the presence of AO and sunlight are similar and not closely related to the mechanism of inactivation by far-UV.     

THE PHOTOTOXICITY OF PHENYLHEPTATRIYNE: OXYGEN-DEPENDENT HEMOLYSIS OF HUMAN ERYTHROCYTES AND INACTIVATION OF Escherichia coli

Abstract— Phenylheptatriyne (PHT) plus near-ultraviolet light(320–400 nm; NUV) hemolyzed human erythrocytes in an oxygen dependent manner. When the phototoxicity of PHT plus NUV was tested with a series of Escherichia coli strains carrying all four possible combinations of genes controlling excision proficiency ( uvrA6 vs uvrA ⁺) and catalase activity (HPII, katF vs katF *), the membrane was found to be an important lethal target. Consistent with this observation. PHT plus NUV did not induce histidine independent ( his-4 ⁺) mutations in the four tester strains (RT7h-RT10h). Using tester strain RT10h, it was shown that there was no inactivation by PHT plus NUV in nitrogen. Results of experiments with an E. coli fatty acid auxotroph (K1060) treated with PHT plus NUV are also consistent with membrane proteins being the chief targets for attack. Radicals were formed during the photolysis of PHT plus NUV in aqueous solutions, both in the presence of air and under nitrogen. Since PHT plus NUV did not hemolyze erythrocytes or inactivate E. coli cells under nitrogen, these radicals are not cytotoxic.     

CYTOPROTECTION AGAINST MEROCYANINE 540-SENSITIZED PHOTOINACTIVATION OF THE Na+,K+-ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATASE IN LEUKEMIA CELLS: GLUTATHIONE AND SELENOPEROXIDASE INVOLVEMENT

When irradiated with broad-band visible light in the presence of merocyanine 540 (MC540), murine leukemia L1210 cells grown under selenium-deficient conditions (Se(-) cells) accumulated lipid hydroperoxides and lost viability more rapidly than selenium-satisfied controls (Se(+) cells). These findings suggest that cytoprotection against photoperoxidation and photokilling is mediated at least in part by selenoperoxidase (SePX) action. Similar protection against photoinactivation of an intrinsic membrane enzyme, the Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase, has been observed. Thus, irradiation of MC540-sensitized Se(-) cells resulted in an immediate and progressive inactivation of ouabain-sensitive Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase; by contrast, activity loss in Se(+) cells was preceded by a prominent lag. Enzyme photoinactivation in Se(-) cells was inhibited by ebselen, an SePX mimetic, confirming that SePX(s) is (are) involved in natural protection. Desferrioxamine treatment (iron sequestration/inactivation) resulted in higher hydroperoxide levels and slower Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase inactivation during MC540/light exposure, whereas ferric-8-hydroxyquinoline treatment (iron supplementation) had the opposite effect. Thus, iron appears to play an important role in both of these processes. In contrast, photoinactivation of another intrinsic enzyme in L1210 cells, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), was unaffected by selenium or iron manipulation. On the basis of these findings, we propose that lipid peroxidation plays an important role in the photoinactivation of Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase, but not AChE. This is consistent with the fact that Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase's active site lies within the membrane bilayer, whereas AChE's active site lies outside the bilayer.     

Role of Enterobactin and Intracellular Iron in Cell Lethality During Near-UV Irradiation in Escherichia coli

Abstract— In Escherichia coli, fur mutants that constitutively express their native iron chelating agent, enterobactin, are significantly more sensitive to near-UV radiation (NUV) than wild type. An entA mutant, which is incapable of synthesizing enterobactin, is equal to wild type in resistance to NUV irradiation. However, the addition of Fe⁺³ enterobactin but not Al⁺¹ enterobactin to entA cell suspensions just prior to irradiation results in an increased sensitivity to NUV irradiation. A fes mutant, which is unable to reduce and release iron from enterobactin, is significantly more sensitive to NUV irradiation than wild type. The addition of nontoxic levels of H₂O₂ (5 μ M ) just prior to irradiation significantly increases sensitivity of both fur and fes mutants. These results suggest that one mechanism by which NUV irradiation leads to cell lethality is by creating a transient iron overload, producing very favorable conditions for the production of highly deleterious free radicals through a variety of mechanisms that lead to oxidative stress and DNA damage including lethal and mutagenic lesions. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that enterobactin is an endogenous chromophore for NUV and contributes to cell lethality via the destruction of its ligand, releasing Fe⁺² into the cytoplasm to catalyze the production of highly reactive hydroxyl radicals and other toxic oxygen species via the Haber-Weiss reaction.     

PHOTOBIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF MARMESIN (5-B-HYDROXYISOPROPYL-4–5 DIHYDROFUROCOUMARIN) IN CHINESE HAMSTER V79 CELLS

Abstract— Marmesin was isolated from the medicinal plant, Afraegle paniculata. Its cytotoxicity and mutagenicity in Chinese hamster V79 cells when sensitized to near ultraviolet (NUV) and long wavelength ultraviolet light or black light (BL) were assayed.
Marmesin was extremely cytotoxic in the dark. This cytotoxicity was photoenhanced in NUV and BL; the photoenhanced lethality being higher in NUV than in BL. The LD₅₀ of marmesin under NUV and BL photosensitization were 0.002 μ M and (0.012 μ M ), respectively. In the absence of NUV and BL, marmesin's LD₅₀ was 0.013 μ M . NUV and BL without marmesin were not significantly cytotoxic at the fluence rates of 0.29 W/m² and 4.2 W/m², respectively, for up to 20 min. In contrast to the observed high cytotoxicity of marmesin, its mutagenicity at the HGPRT locus (A_zG^r) was weak. The implication of this result in the high incidence of skin cancer in Nigeria in which A. paniculata is used as a medicinal plant is discussed.     

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.     

THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF THE REACTION RATE CONSTANT OF BILIRUBIN WITH SINGLET OXYGEN IN D2O

Abstract— The chemical reaction rate constant of bilirubin with singlet oxygen in basic aqueous solution has been redetermined to be 3.5 × 10⁸ M^-1 s^-1 by a competitive technique using a 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran in sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles. Bilirubin also physically quenches a singlet oxygen with a rate constant of 9 × 10⁸ M ^-1 s^-1. The lifetime of singlet oxygen in D₂O solution has been determined to be 35 μ s . The absorption cross-section for the molecular oxygen ³∑_g-→¹δ _g + 1 v electronic transition at 1.06μn in aqueous solution is unexpectedly larger than the gas paase cross-section.     

POTENTIAL PHOTOSENSITIZERS FOR PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY—II. PHOTOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF [26] PORPHYRIN

Abstract— –Photophysical properties of [26] porphyrin (26 P) were investigated in chloroform. The quantum yields of fluorescence, of S₁→ T₁ intersystem crossing and singlet oxygen formation were measured. The purity, stability, the strong absorption in the red (δ_max= 783 nm; ε_max= 28 000 M ¹ cm^-1) and the ability of singlet oxygen formation recommend 26 P as potential photosensitizer for tumor therapy.     

THE ELECTRON SPIN POLARIZATION OF THE DONOR-TRIPLET STATE IN NATIVE and MODIFIED PHOTOSYNTHETIC REACTION CENTERS FROM

The electron spin polarization (ESP) pattern of the donor-triplet state (P^R) of reaction centers (RC's) of the purple bacterium Rhodobacter (formerly Rhodopseudomonas) sphaeroides R-26 was investigated. δm =±1 triplet EPR spectra were recorded of unmodified RC's as well as of RC's from which Fe²⁺ or ubiquinone was removed, or ubiquinone was substituted by menaquinone.
The relative amplitude of the Y peaks in the triplet EPR powder spectrum of P^R decreases when the temperature is increased from 8 K to 100 K in RC's with an intact quinone-iron complex. This decrease is more pronounced when the primary ubiquinone is substituted by menaquinone. These observations provide further support for the hypothesis that the observed lineshape of the P^R triplet state EPR spectrum reflects the presence of a third electron spin, magnetically coupled to I^- in the P⁺I^- radical pair, as suggested by Van Wijk et al. (1986) (Photobiochem. Photobiophys . 11, 95–100). Our observations suggest that this phenomenon may be general in purple bacteria.     

INACTIVATION OF PHAGE BY NEAR-ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION AND HYDROGEN PEROXIDE

A series of phage with different genomes (both single-stranded and double-stranded RNA and DNA) was inactivated with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in various combinations with far-ultraviolet (FUV) and near-ultraviolet (NUV) radiations. In every case but one (a lipid-coated phage), a sublethal H₂O₂ concentration greatly enhanced killing by NUV but not FUV. Moreover, this NUV/H₂O₂ synergism was oxygen independent and there was little if any host cell reactivation upon NUV plus H₂O₂ inactivation. These results suggest that these phage are inactivated by a common mechanism irrespective of nucleic acid composition, but that some phage genomes may be more vulnerable to NUV/H₂O₂ inactivation than others.     

PHOTOMORPHOGENESIS IN Penicillium isariaeforme: EXOGENOUS CALCIUM SUBSTITUTES FOR LIGHT

Abstract— Penicillium isariaeforme is a photomorphogenic fungus which produces upright bundles of conidia-bearing mycelia (called coremia) when grown on a defined medium in visible (450–500 nm) light. We found that exogenous Ca²⁺ ions could substitute for light. In the dark 1–2 m M Ca²⁺ triggered coremia formation. Dark induction of coremia was specific for Ca²⁺ in that it could not be duplicated by 50 m M Ba²⁺, Fe²⁺, Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, Sr²⁺, or Zn²⁺. Additionally, light-induced coremia formation was inhibited by both KI (2.5 m M ) and phenylacetic acid (0.25 m M ).     

TRANSIENT PHENOMENA IN THE PULSE RADIOLYSIS OF RETINYL POLYENES—7. RADICAL ANIONS OF VITAMIN A AND ITS DERIVATIVES

Abstract— Upon e^--pulse irradiation in nonprotic solvents, all- trans retinol (ROH) and retinylmethyl ether (ROMe) form transient species (τ= 0.5–7μs, λ_max=575–590 nm) identifiable as radical anions. Similar species are also formed upon laser pulse photoexcitation of these retinyl derivatives in the presence of N,N-dimethylaniline in acetonitrile. In contrast, electron transfer or attachment to all- trans retinyl acetate (ROAc) and palmitate (ROPa) results in 'instantaneous' loss of carboxylate anions from electron adducts giving the retinylmethyl radical (R-, λ_max= 395 nm, τ_k > 100 μ,s); the radical anions in these cases are too short-lived to be detected by nanosecond pulse radiolysis. The lifetimes of radical anions of ROH and ROMe are very sensitive to water and alcohols (e.g. k_q = 10⁷ M ^-1 s^-1 with methanol as quencher for ROH^- in tetrahydrofuran). Based on these findings, the spectral dissimilarity of the one-electron reduction products from ROH and ROAc in alcohols and aqueous micelles becomes explainable in terms of fast formation of protonated radical anions (RH(OH), τ_1/2, > 100 μs, λ_max=370–375 nm) in the case of ROH and of retinylmethyl radical via loss of AcO^- from radical anion in the case of ROAc. In tetrahydrofuran, the complexation of ROH^- with cations such as Na⁺ and Bu₄N⁺ affects the relative importance of its major decay modes, namely, protonation and dehydroxylation, the latter process being significantly enhanced by the presence of Na⁺.