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Biomedical subjects

A M Mullinger

Publications and source records attributed to A M Mullinger.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Premitotic chromosome individualization in mammalian cells depends on topoisomerase II activity.

When DNA topoisomerase II (topo II) activity is inhibited with a non-DNA-damaging topo II inhibitor (ICRF-193), mammalian cells become checkpoint arrested in G2-phase. In this study, we analyzed chromosome structure in cells that bypassed this checkpoint. We observed a novel type of chromosome aberration, which we call omega-figures. These are entangled chromosome regions that indicate the persistence of catenations between nonhomologous sequences. The number of omega-figures per cell increased sharply as cells evaded the transient block imposed by the topo II-dependent checkpoint, and the presence of caffeine (a checkpoint-evading agent) potentiated this increase. Thus, the removal of nonreplicative catenations, a process that promotes chromosome individualization in G2, may be monitored by the topo II-dependent checkpoint in mammals.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Targeting double-strand breaks to replicating DNA identifies a subpathway of DSB repair that is defective in ataxia-telangiectasia cells.

The critical cellular defect(s) and basis for cell killing by ionizing radiation in ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) are unknown. We use the topoisomerase I inhibitor camptothecin (CPT), which kills mainly S-phase cells and induces DSBs predominantly in replication forks, to show that A-T cells are defective in the repair of this particular subclass of DSBs. CPT-treated A-T cells reaching G2 have abnormally high levels of chromatid exchanges (viewed as prematurely condensed G2 chromosomes); aberrations in normal cells are mostly chromatid breaks. Transfectants of A-T cells with the wild-type ATM cDNA are corrected for CPT sensitivity, chromatid aberrations, and the DSB repair defect. These data suggest that in normal cells ATM, the A-T protein, probably recognizes DSBs in active replicons and targets the repair machinery to the breaks; in addition, the ATM protein is involved in the suppression of low-fidelity, adventitious rejoining between replication-associated DSBs. The loss of ATM functions therefore leads to genome destabilization, sensitivity to DSB-inducing agents and to the cancer-promoting illegitimate exchange events that follow.

Ataxia Telangiectasia↗
PubMed1999

Competence for assembly of sister chromatid cores is progressively acquired during S phase in mammalian cells.

Condensed sister chromatids possess a protein scaffold or axial core to which loops of chromatin are attached. The sister cores are believed to be dynamic frameworks that function in the organization and condensation of chromatids. Chromosome structural proteins are implicated in the establishment of sister chromatid cohesion and in the maintenance of epigenetic phenomena. Both processes of templating are tightly linked to DNA replication itself. It is a question whether the structural basis of sister chromatid cores is templated during S phase. As cells proceed through the cell cycle, chromatid cores undergo changes in their protein composition. Cytologically, cores are first visualized at the start of prometaphase. Still, core assembly can be induced in G1 and G2 when interphase cells are fused with mitotic cells. In this study, we asked if chromatid cores are similarly able to assemble in S-phase cells. We find that the ability to assemble cores is transiently lost during local replication, then regained in chromosome regions shortly after they have been replicated. We propose that core templating occurs coincident with DNA replication and that the competence for the assembly of the sister chromatid cores is acquired shortly after passage of replication forks.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

A postprophase topoisomerase II-dependent chromatid core separation step in the formation of metaphase chromosomes.

Metaphase chromatids are believed to consist of loops of chromatin anchored to a central scaffold, of which a major component is the decatenatory enzyme DNA topoisomerase II. Silver impregnation selectively stains an axial element of metaphase and anaphase chromatids; but we find that in earlier stages of mitosis, silver staining reveals an initially single, folded midline structure, which separates at prometaphase to form two chromatid axes. Inhibition of topoisomerase II prevents this separation, and also prevents the contraction of chromatids that occurs when metaphase is arrested. Immunolocalization of topoisomerase II alpha reveals chromatid cores analogous to those seen with silver staining. We conclude that the chromatid cores in early mitosis form a single structure, constrained by DNA catenations, which must separate before metaphase chromatids can be resolved.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

A topoisomerase II-dependent G2 cycle checkpoint in mammalian cells/.

The enzyme DNA topoisomerase II, which removes the catenations formed between the DNA molecules of sister chromatids during replication and is a structural component of chromosome cores, is needed for chromosome condensation in yeast and in Xenopus extracts. Inhibitors of topoisomerase II arrest mammalian cells before mitosis in the G2 phase of the cell cycle, but also produce DNA damage, which causes arrest through established checkpoint controls. It is open to question whether cells need topoisomerase II to leave G2, or control late-cycle progression in response to its activity. Bisdioxopiperazines are topoisomerase II inhibitors that act without producing direct DNA damage; the most potent, ICRF-193, blocks mammalian entry into but not exit from mitosis. Here we show that checkpoint-evading agents such as caffeine override this block to produce abortively condensed chromosomes, indicating that topoisomerase II is needed for complete condensation. We find that exit from G2 is regulated by a catenation-sensitive checkpoint mechanism which is distinct from the G2-damage checkpoint.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Inhibitors of DNA topoisomerase II prevent chromatid separation in mammalian cells but do not prevent exit from mitosis.

DNA topoisomerase II (EC 5.99.1.3) is necessary for chromosome condensation and disjunction in yeast but not for other functions. In mammalian cells, it has been reported to be necessary for progression toward mitosis but not for transit through mitosis. We have found, on the contrary, that specific inhibition of topoisomerase II (but not of topoisomerase I) interferes with mammalian mitotic progression. Metaphase is prolonged, and anaphase separation of chromatids is completely inhibited, in cells given high concentrations of topoisomerase II inhibitors; nevertheless these cells attempt cleavage, sometimes generating nucleate and anucleate daughters. Lower concentrations of inhibitors interfere with anaphase and produce abnormalities of segregation. DNA topoisomerase II activity is therefore necessary for mammalian chromatid separation, but it is not tightly coupled to the control of other mitotic events.

Anaphase↗
PubMed1987

Scanning electron microscope analysis of structural changes and aberrations in human chromosomes associated with the inhibition and reversal of inhibition of ultraviolet light induced DNA repair.

Metaphase chromosomes appear decondensed in preparations from mitotic cells that have been irradiated with ultraviolet light (UV) and incubated with inhibitors of DNA synthesis; under these conditions DNA repair is inhibited and both single and double strand DNA breaks accumulate. After reversal of the inhibition chromosomes are condensed, but are often damaged. In this paper we show by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) that decondensed HeLa chromosomes are composed of fibre clusters similar to those previously described for the large chromosomes of the Indian muntjac. This suggests that the clusters may be a universal higher order packing unit in mammalian metaphase chromosomes. We also examine by SEM the nature of the aberrations that appear after the reversal of periods of inhibited repair; these include gaps, breaks, deletions and telomeric packing abnormalities. SEM analysis allows an extension and reconsideration of conclusions about chromatid continuity based on the study of conventional light microscope (LM) preparations.

Chromosome Aberrations↗
PubMed1987

Action of etoposide (VP-16-123) on human cells: no evidence for topoisomerase II involvement in excision repair of u.v.-induced DNA damage, nor for mitochondrial hypersensitivity in ataxia telangiectasia.

The excision repair of u.v. damage has been supposed to involve an initial action of DNA topoisomerase II, since some pre-incision step is sensitive to novobiocin, a topoisomerase II inhibitor. But novobiocin also affects mitochondrial structure and ATP metabolism, and this may account for its apparent inhibition of energy-dependent excision repair. We have investigated the effects of etoposide, another inhibitor of topoisomerase II, on u.v.-irradiated human cells: it is a more specific agent with no immediate side-effects on mitochondria. But etoposide is without effect on cellular excision repair, at the pre-incision stage or at the later stages of either DNA resynthesis or strand break ligation; nor does it potentiate cell killing after u.v. irradiation. The chromosome decondensation that accompanies incomplete excision repair in mitotic cells is likewise not greatly affected by etoposide. Therefore, if topoisomerase II is involved in excision repair or its regulation, it acts through a process that in whole cells is insensitive to etoposide. In ataxia telangiectasia cells, which are known to be hypersensitive to etoposide, the mitochondrial activities are not abnormally affected.

Ataxia Telangiectasia↗
PubMed1987

DNA repair under stress.

When the excision repair process of eukaryote cells is arrested by inhibitors of repair synthesis including hydroxyurea (HU), 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (araC) or aphidicolin, major cellular changes follow the accumulation of repair-associated DNA breaks. These changes, each of which reflects more or less severe cellular stress, include cycle delay, chromosome behaviour, fall in NAD level, the development of double-stranded DNA breaks, rapid chromosome fragmentation and cell killing. Disruption of the repair process by agents such as araC after therapeutic DNA damage may, therefore, have some potential value in cancer treatment. The extreme cellular problems associated with the artificial arrest of repair may have their subtler counterparts elsewhere, and we discuss several systems where delays in the completion of excision repair in the absence of repair synthesis inhibitors have marked repercussions on cell viability. We also show that the average completion time of an excision repair patch varies according to the state of cell culture, and that completion time is extended after treatment with insulin or following trypsin detachment. Under certain growth conditions ultraviolet irradiation followed by mitogenic stimulation results in double-stranded DNA breakage and additional cell killing, and we discuss these data in the light of protocols that have been used successfully to transform human or rodent cells in vitro. Finally, we consider whether the rejoining of DNA breaks accumulated by repair synthesis inhibitors is a valid model system for studying ligation, and show that this protocol provides an extremely sensitive assay for most incision events and, thereby, a means for discriminating between normal human cells on the one hand, and Cockayne's Syndrome cells and their heterozygotes on the other.

Aphidicolin↗
PubMed1987

Disassembly of the mammalian metaphase chromosome into its subunits: studies with ultraviolet light and repair synthesis inhibitors.

Metaphase chromosomes of a simian virus-transformed Indian muntjac cell line have been examined by scanning electron microscopy of material in which the fully packed metaphase structure is progressively relaxed. Such chromosomes are seen in standard, spread preparations of ultraviolet light-irradiated, metaphase-arrested cells, which have been incubated in the presence of inhibitors of DNA synthesis; they are processed for electron microscopy by trypsinization, further fixation and osmium impregnation. Decondensation is initially associated with a gradual elongation and loosening of the chromosome axis and, as loosening proceeds, the appearance of unexpected higher order structures--clusters of 20-40 nm diameter fibres. The arrangement of the clusters shows much variation between spreads. In the most fully extended chromosomes clusters are arranged in two longitudinal series with pairing between sister chromatids; the diameter of the majority of clusters in such chromosomes is in the range 0.4-0.6 micron. In the final stages of decondensation, clusters separate and individual chromosomes are no longer recognizable. Similar fibre clusters are found in interphase nuclei prepared by the same method. We suggest that the clusters of chromatin fibres may assemble as intermediates in the construction of an axial structure, which is further compacted in the fully condensed metaphase chromosome.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Novobiocin inhibition of DNA excision repair may occur through effects on mitochondrial structure and ATP metabolism, not on repair topoisomerases.

Novobiocin inhibits DNA topoisomerases. It also inhibits excision repair of DNA photodamage, blocking both repair synthesis and the earlier step of incision at u.v. damage sites (as measured by the accumulation of DNA strand breaks in u.v.-irradiated interphase cells treated with DNA synthesis inhibitors such as hydroxyurea or cytosine arabinoside). It has been supposed, therefore, that novobiocin affects repair by blocking a putative topoisomerase step prior to incision. But we find that novobiocin also has a marked dose- and time-dependent effect on mitochondria: in cells exposed to novobiocin, mitochondria swell and their cristae become disrupted, and the intracellular ATP:ADP ratio is lowered, though the membrane potential is maintained as judged by rhodamine 123 fluorescence. Mitotic cells are more resistant to mitochondrial disruption by novobiocin than are interphase cells. This correlates with a relative resistance of u.v.-irradiated mitotic cells to the inhibition of incision by novobiocin. The chromosomal decondensation that results from the accumulation of DNA breaks due to incision when u.v.-irradiated mitotic cells are treated with hydroxyurea and cytosine arabinoside is largely suppressed by novobiocin. Furthermore, the suppression of induced strand break accumulation is partly due to a suppression by novobiocin of the uptake and phosphorylation of cytosine arabinoside; breaks accumulated in u.v.-irradiated cells in the presence of aphidicolin, an inhibitor of DNA polymerase alpha that does not require phosphorylation, are less novobiocin-sensitive. We conclude that the effects of novobiocin on excision repair are more likely to be due to a non-specific effect on ATP metabolism than to a specific effect on a repair-related topoisomerase.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1985

Manipulating chromosome structure and metaphase status with ultraviolet light and repair synthesis inhibitors.

DNA repair occurs in metaphase-arrested cells in response to ultraviolet irradiation. In the presence of the repair synthesis inhibitors hydroxyurea and 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine the chromosomes of such cells, as seen in Carnoy-fixed preparations, are decondensed. The extent of decondensation is related to both the u.v. dose and the duration of incubation in the presence of inhibitors. For any particular cell type there is a reasonable correlation between the amount of decondensation and the number of single-strand DNA breaks generated by the repair process under the same inhibitory conditions, though the chromosome changes continue after the number of single-strand breaks has reached a plateau. The dose response of chromosome decondensation varies between different cell types but is in general correlated with differences in levels of single-strand breaks accumulated under comparable inhibitory conditions. Decondensation can be detected after 0.5 Jm-2 in repair-competent human cells. In human cells defective in excision repair there is much less chromosome decondensation in response to the same u.v. dose and time of repair inhibition. However, a simian virus 40-transformed muntjac cell displays pronounced chromosome decondensation but has limited incision ability. Both chromosome decondensation and single-strand break accumulation in the presence of inhibitors are reversed when DNA precursors are provided, but reversal after higher u.v. doses and longer periods of incubation leads to recondensed chromosomes that are fragmented. Elution of the DNA from such cells through polycarbonate filters under non-denaturing conditions reveals that double-strand DNA breaks are generated during the period of incubation with inhibitors. Although the chromosomes of repair-inhibited metaphase cells are decondensed in fixed preparations, their morphology appears normal in intact cells. The cells also retain a capacity to induce prematurely condensed chromosomes (PCC) when fused with interphase cells: compared with control mitotic cells, the speed of induction is sometimes reduced but the final amount of PCC produced is similar.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Cell growth state determines susceptibility of repair DNA synthesis to inhibition by hydroxyurea and 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine.

The effects of inhibitors of replicative DNA synthesis on repair DNA synthesis have been examined by autoradiography in several different cell types and in cells in different growth states. Hydroxyurea (HU) and 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara C), administered together, influence unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) in a manner which is independent of the status of the cell culture (normal or transformed) and of the species, but which is strongly affected by whether the cells are proliferating or quiescent. In proliferating human, Chinese hamster and Microtus cell cultures, UDS is not inhibited by HU and ara C, and may even appear to be stimulated. In quiescent cultures of these cells UDS is reduced by HU and ara C. In cells reseeded from a confluent culture and followed during proliferation and back to quiescence the effect of inhibitors parallels the growth pattern. The results are interpreted in terms of changes in the sizes of endogenous DNA precursor pools; they underline the potential problems associated with quantitating UDS in the presence of inhibitors.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Units of chromosome replication and packing.

Fusion between mitotic and S-phase cells induces the formation of prematurely condensed chromosomes (PCC) in the interphase partner. Viewed in the light microscope, S-phase PCC derived from the Indian muntjac appear to be fragmented and heterogeneous. In scanning electron micrographs prepared by an osmium impregnation technique, which avoids the need to sputter-coat the specimen, the S-phase fragments derived from an individual cell are resolved into about 1000 fibre aggregates, together with more dispersed fibres. Aggregates are roughly spherical and vary in diameter between about 0.25 and 1.6 micron. The spatial distribution of the aggregates shows some order: chains of single aggregates and, less commonly, duplicated chains occur. Regions of the PCC where the fibres are more dispersed are considered to be likely candidates for sites of replication at the time of fusion. The relationship between the condensed aggregate structure of the S-phase PCC and replication clusters is discussed, and also the assembly of aggregates to form metaphase chromosomes.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Packing DNA into chromosomes.

Electron microscopy of HeLa metaphase nucleoids (i.e. whole metaphase cells exposed to 2 M salt and non-ionic detergent) spread by the Kleinschmidt technique, reveals a variety of protein-depleted structures (spreads) derived from chromosomes. Spreads vary in size and shape. At one extreme are oval structures with one or more cores surrounded by a network of supercoiled fibres. These fibres are probably arranged as loops and we estimate that 600-1000 may emerge from a single, large core region. At the other extreme are chromosome-shaped spreads with an elongated core which takes the form of a multifibred axis. At intervals groups of lateral fibres appear to emerge from each axis to produce the network. Spreads intermediate between these extremes occur in which axial fibres can be resolved in only part of the elongated core. Similar structures are observed in chromosomes deproteinized and spread after isolation by a procedure which preserves high molecular weight DNA. The appearance of chromosomes isolated by the Wray-Stubblefield hexylene glycol procedure agrees in general with previous findings of others, except that in some more extended spreads axial fibres are visible. We believe our observations are consistent with the idea that the chromonema of each metaphase chromatid contains regions of multistranded DNA. We do not propose, however, that the chromatid is functionally multineme, but rather that axial fibre folding either within or between chromomere regions contributes to packing of DNA in the metaphase chromosome. These regions of constraint re also postulated as the locations of emergence of lateral loops. In spread preparations the axial fibres are seen clearly only when chromatids have been elongated beyond the contracted metaphase length. Elongation would be produced both by relaxation of chromosomal coils (gyres) and by extension of the chromonema upon deproteinization and spreading. Whereas in deproteinized nucleoids the long axis is liable to elongate, fragment or collapse, the chromomena of Wray-Stubblefield chromosomes is locked at the metaphase (gyred) length and axial fibres are generally not visible. We propose that the assembly of the complex DNA axis of the metaphase chromosome from its extended interphase counterpart plays a major part in increasing the DNA packing ratio in the mitotic cell.

Cell Nucleus↗
PubMed1979

The organization of supercoiled DNA from human chromosomes.

Nucleoids obtained from metaphase-arrested HeLa cells by gentle lysis in non-ionic detergent and 2 M salt were prepared for electron microscopy by Kleinschmidt spreading techniques. From biophysical studies nucleoids have been shown to contain high molecular weight DNA which is supercoiled and topologically constrained. The contents of nucleoids disperse and collapse into 2 dimensions on the water surface as discrete particles (spreads), which are provisionally equated with metaphase chromosomes. In some cases separate spreads are linked. The structure of the spreads is complex. A preliminary description is presented, although we believe that some of the structures reported may be products of preparation and spreading rather than significant features of the organization of intact nucleoids. There is considerable variation in the appearance of different spreads which may be related to the degree of unfolding, spreading or damage of the different preparations. Each spread consists of one or more core areas surrounded by a network of fibres. Cores are composed, at least in part, of compressed fibres and superficially appear to constrain fibres of the network. In the network the inter-twining of pairs of fibres and the occurrence of flat fibre spirals (disks) are interpreted as evidence of DNA supercoiling, but other fibres of similar thickness are not visibly supercoiled. High-order structures including groupings of disks are observed: these may be the structural correlates of the folded domains of supercoiled DNA established biophysically. The relative proportion of disks and other network structures varies between spreads.

Chromosomes, Human↗
PubMed1976

Perturbation of mammalian cell division. III. The topography and kinetics of extrusion subdivision.

If mitotic-arrested, cold-stored HeLa cells are incubated at 37 degrees C a proportion of the population divides by an aberrant process which we have called subdivision by extrusion. This process has been studied by time-lapse photography and shown to differ from normal cleavage in several respects. The cell surface becomes more generally mobile and, instead of producing the precisely localized furrowing activity of cytokinesis, gives rise to multiple surface protrusions. These protrusions enlarge at the expense of the parent cell and develop into a cluster of small daughter cells (mini segregants). The surface structure of the cell, as seen by scanning electron microscopy, also changes; the microvilli characteristic of interphase, metaphase and cleaving HeLa cells are lost during extrusion and the cell surface becomes smooth. Extrusion activity is much more variable than division by cleavage in terms of both topography and kinetics, and in general takes longer to complete. Some cells in the cold-treated populations divide by mixtures of cleavage and extrusion or by cleavage alone. The relative numbers of cells dividing in different ways vary with the conditions of pretreatment and incubation of the mitotic cells. The greater the perturbation (e.g. longer cold storage), the greater the proportion of extruding rather than cleaving cells. Human diploid cells can also be induced to subdivide by extrusion. Possible mechanisms underlying the different types of division activity are discussed.

Cell Division↗