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K G Hofer

Publications and source records attributed to K G Hofer.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Auger electrons--a nanoprobe for structural, molecular and cellular processes.

This paper provides a brief review of recently published work on biophysical and biological aspects of Auger processes. Three specific questions have been considered. (1) Does charge neutralisation contribute to molecular damage such as DNA strand breaks? (2) How many DNA double strand breaks are produced by a single decay of DNA bound (125)I? (3) What is the correlation between number of gammaH2AX foci and number of double strand breaks (DSB)? The paper also gives preliminary reports on two new calculations: (a) calculation of the spectrum of Auger electrons released during decay of (124)I and (b) the use of Auger electrons in the decay of (125)I as a probing agent of novel DNA structures.

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed2001

Targets for radiation-induced cell death: when DNA damage doesn't kill.

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) K1 and radiosensitive CHO irs-20 cells were synchronized in S phase and labeled for 10 min with 5-[(125)I]-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine ((125)IdU). The cells were washed, incubated in fresh medium for 1 h for incorporation of the intracellular radionucleotides into DNA, and then frozen (-80 degrees C) for accumulation of (125)I decays. At intervals after freezing, when the cells had accumulated the desired number of decays, aliquots of the frozen cells were thawed and plated to determine survival. The survival curves for K1 and irs-20 cells were similar from 100% to 30% survival. At higher (125)I doses (more decays/cell), the survival of K1 cells continued to decline exponentially, but the survival of X-ray-sensitive irs-20 cells remained at approximately 30% even after the cells had accumulated 1265 decays/cell. The results contradict the notion that increased DNA damage inevitably causes increased cell death. To account for these findings, we propose a model that postulates the existence of a second radiation target. According to this model, radiation damage to DNA may be necessary to induce cell death, but DNA damage alone is not sufficient to kill cells. We infer from the survival response of irs-20 cells that damage to a second (non-DNA) structure is involved in cell death, and that this structure directly affects the repair of DNA and cell survival.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Biophysical aspects of Auger processes.

In this review I begin with a brief history of Auger processes, and then present a more detailed review of recent literature reports on physical, molecular, and cellular aspects of Auger emitters, and potential therapeutic applications.

Biophysical Phenomena↗
PubMed2000

Ionizing-radiation resistance in the desiccation-tolerant cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis.

The effect of X-ray irradiation on cell survival, induction, and repair of DNA damage was studied by using 10 Chroococcidiopsis strains isolated from desert and hypersaline environments. After exposure to 2.5 kGy, the percentages of survival for the strains ranged from 80 to 35%. In the four most resistant strains, the levels of survival were reduced by 1 or 2 orders of magnitude after irradiation with 5 kGy; viable cells were recovered after exposure to 15 kGy but not after exposure to 20 kGy. The severe DNA damage evident after exposure to 2.5 kGy was repaired within 3 h, and the severe DNA damage evident after exposure to 5 kGy was repaired within 24 h. The increase in trichloroacetic acid-precipitable radioactivity in the culture supernatant after irradiation with 2.5 kGy might have been due to cell lysis and/or an excision process involved in DNA repair. The radiation resistance of Chroococcidiopsis strains may reflect the ability of these cyanobacteria to survive prolonged desiccation through efficient repair of the DNA damage that accumulates during dehydration.

Cyanobacteria↗
PubMed2000

Paradoxical effects of iodine-125 decays in parent and daughter DNA: a new target model for radiation damage.

Chinese hamster ovary cells were synchronized at the G(1)/S-phase boundary of the cell cycle and were pulse-labeled with (125)I-iododeoxyuridine 30 min after they entered the S phase. Cell samples were harvested and frozen for accumulation of (125)I decays during the first and second G(2) phase after labeling. Cell aliquots that had accumulated the desired number of decays were thawed and plated for evaluation micronucleus formation and cell death. Cells subjected to (125)I decays during the first G(2) phase after labeling exhibited single-hit kinetics of cell killing (n = 1, D(0) 41 decays/cell). In contrast, decays accumulated during the second G(2) phase killed cells with dual-hit kinetics (n = 1.9, D(0) 81 decays/cell). A similar divergence in the action of (125)I was noted for micronucleus formation. These findings indicate that the effects of (125)I varied depending on whether the decays occurred in daughter DNA (first G(2) phase) or parent DNA (second G(2) phase). Control studies with external X rays showed no such divergence of the action of radiation. To account for this paradox, a model is proposed that invokes higher-order chromatin structures as radiation targets. This model implies differential spatial arrangements for parent and daughter DNA in the genome, with DNA strands organized such that a single (125)I decay originating in daughter DNA damages two targets during the first G(2) phase, but identical decays occurring during the second G(2) phase damage only one of the targets.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

The effect of 125I decay at different stages of S-phase on survival, expression of micronuclei and chromosome aberrations in CHO cells.

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were synchronized in M phase by mitotic selection, and then re-synchronized with aphidicolin at the G1/S phase border. The cells were labelled in early-S phase by 10 min exposure to 125I-iododeoxyuridine and then cultured (chased) in non-radioactive medium for 0.5, 3 or 5h, followed by harvesting and freezing to accumulate the desired number of 125I decays. Cell damage was assessed by evaluating colony formation, micronucleus formation and chromosome aberrations. These biological estimators of damage showed that the cytocidal effect of 125I decay increased with the duration of the post-labelling chase period: the highest level of damage was found in cells from the 5 h chase period and the lowest in the cells from the 0.5 h chase period. Survival curves for the three chase periods displayed low-dose hyper-radiosensitivity for 0 to 20 125I decays cell-1. The results indicate that the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) may depend on the maturation stage of chromatin and an explanation of this finding is proposed which invokes the homologous recombination model for DSB repair.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Biophysical aspects of Auger processes--A review.

Radionuclide decay by electron capture and/or internal conversion is accompanied by complex atomic vacancy cascades and emission of low-energy electrons, resulting in a highly charged daughter atom and a high density of electron irradiation in the immediate vicinity of the decay site. The molecular and cellular consequences of such decay events include DNA strand breaks, mutations, chromosome aberrations, malignant transformation, division delay, and cell death. Damage to cells depends largely on the intracellular location of the radionuclide. Decays outside the cell nucleus produce low-LET-type radiation effects (RBE approximately 1). In contrast, decays in DNA cause pronounced high-LET-type effects (RBE approximately 7-9). However, recent studies suggest that even for DNA-associated Auger emitters cell damage can be modified to resemble the pattern observed with low-LET radiations. These findings indicate that the molecular and cellular mechanism(s) responsible for the cytotoxic effects of Auger emitters remain obscure.

Biophysical Phenomena↗
PubMed1996

DNA damage, micronucleus formation, and cell death from 125I decays in DNA.

CHO cells were pulse-labeled with 125I-iododeoxyuridine, harvested 30 min or 5 h after labeling, and stored at -196 degrees C for accumulation of 125I decays. The 30- min groups yielded low-LET survival curves (large shoulder, D0 136 decays/cell); 5-h groups showed a high-LET pattern of cell killing (no shoulder, D0 45 decay/cell). Surprisingly, the shift in 125I action was abolished in cells exposed to HAT medium; both 30-min and 5-h cell groups exhibited high-LET-type killing (no shoulder, D0 52 decays/cell). The striking difference in cell death was not accompanied by any change in induction or repair of DNA DSBs, but the pattern of micronucleus formation (and by implication chromosome damage) did parallel 125I-induced cell death. These findings suggest that cell killing may not be directly linked to the absolute number of DNA DSBs and that damage to higher-order genome structures may be an important factor in radiation-induced cell death.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

The cytotoxicity of decays of tritium and iodine-125 incorporated in DNA of mammalian cells. Implications for the low-LET dosimetry of incorporated nuclides.

To quantify the toxicity of low-LET radiation from incorporated radionuclides, we have determined the toxicity of decays of [3H]dThd pulse-incorporated into CHO cells in early S phase, with the cells frozen for decay accumulation at 30, 120 or 360 min after the pulse. D37 values of 1500, 2000 and 2100 decays were found by colony formation assay, corresponding to average nuclear doses of 4.6 and 2.7 Gy at the 30- and 360-min times. As D37 for external irradiation (60Co, 2.2 Gy/min) under these conditions is approximately 18 Gy, these results confirm the inadequacy of the dosimetry used for external irradiation to predict the biological effects of the low-LET radiation from incorporated radionuclides. We also determined the toxicity of 125IdU administered as above, and have confirmed the previously reported finding that D37 falls dramatically from 165 decays at 30 min to 40 decays at 360 min. Using the data for tritium to estimate the effect of the dose of 125I low-LET radiation, we conclude that even at 30 min, most of the toxicity of the 125I decays is due to the high-LET portion of the 125I electron spectrum, not the low-LET portion as reported previously.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Low-LET and high-LET radiation action of 125I decays in DNA: effect of cysteamine on micronucleus formation and cell killing.

Chinese hamster ovary cells were pulse-labeled with 125I-iododeoxyuridine during early S phase, and cell samples were harvested 30 min or 5 h after labeling. The samples were frozen (with or without 25 mM cysteamine) and stored at -196 degrees C for accumulation of 125I decays. X-ray control experiments were performed at 37 degrees C and -196 degrees C. Aliquots of cells were plated for evaluating micronucleus formation and cell survival. The results demonstrated a striking shift in micronucleus formation and cell death with time after labeling. Cells frozen 30 min after labeling exhibited effects typical of low-LET radiation, but cells frozen 5 h after labeling showed a response characteristic of high-LET radiation. Cysteamine provided protection against the effects of 125I during the initial phase of effects characteristic of low-LET radiation, but no protection was seen during the phase characteristic of high-LET radiation. When cell survival was evaluated as a function of micronucleus frequency rather than dose in decays/cell, the survival curves for all treatment groups became superimposed. Previous work using the same experimental system had failed to show a direct link between 125I-induced DNA double-strand breaks and cell death. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that DNA damage may not be the sole mechanism for cell killing and that damage to higher-order structures in the cell nucleus may contribute to (or modify) radiation-induced cell death.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Double-strand breaks from 125I incorporated in the DNA and cell death.

Track structure calculations of the local energy deposition by electrons emitted during the decay of 125I are used to demonstrate that the range of high energy deposition is small (< 10 nm) and restricted to the DNA and its immediate environment. An experiment in which 125I is incorporated into the DNA of synchronized CHO cells during a pulse and decays are allowed to accumulate a given time after the incorporation is described. Here it is shown that damage from 125I decays in newly replicated DNA (cells frozen for decay accumulation within 1 h after labelling) are relatively non-toxic whereas decays in mature DNA (cells frozen 5 h after labelling) are highly lethal. It is suggested that during DNA maturation the labelled DNA becomes associated with (or reorganized into) a radiosensitive nuclear structure and that damage to this structure is the primary cause of radiation-induced cell death.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Targets for radiation-induced cell death: target replication during the cell cycle evaluated in cells exposed to X-rays or 125I decays.

Chinese hamster ovary cells were labelled with 125I-iododeoxyuridine (1.15 x 10(3) Bq/ml) for 12 h, then synchronized by mitotic selection, plated for cell cycle traverse, and harvested during successive stages of the cell cycle for freezing and accumulation of 125I decays. Cell viability was evaluated by the colony-forming assay. Cells subjected to 125I decays during the G1 phase exhibited exponential survival curves with an N = 1 and a D0 = 38-41 decays/cell. A continuous increase in 125I resistance was observed as cells progressed through the S phase and cells in late-S/G2 yielded shouldered survival curves with a N = 2 and a D0 = 78-84 decays/cell. After mitosis, the radiation resistance of cells returned to G1 values. These findings suggest that the primary target for radiation-induced cell death is duplicated during S phase, with G1 cells containing one target and G2 cells two targets. Dual targets, although located within a single cell, act as independent entities as if already distributed between two separate daughter cells. Therefore, the colony-forming assay provides survival values representative of single cells/single targets only for cells irradiated during the G1 phase of the cell cycle. For cells irradiated in S or G2 phases, when intracellular target multiplicity > 1, the colony-forming assay systematically gives higher values of cell survival by up to 100% due to the target multiplicity. Experiments with external X-rays confirm these conclusions.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

The paradoxical nature of DNA damage and cell death induced by 125I decay.

Chinese hamster ovary cells were synchronized at the G1/S-phase boundary of the cell cycle and pulse-labeled for 10 min with 125I-iododeoxyuridine 30 min after entering the S phase. Cell samples were harvested for freezing and 125I-decay accumulation at intervals ranging from 15 to 480 min after termination of labeling. The survival data showed a marked shift from cell killing characteristic of low-LET radiation to that more characteristic of killing by high-LET radiation with increasing intervals between DNA pulse-labeling and decay accumulation. Cells harvested and frozen within 1 h after pulse-labeling yielded a low-LET radiation survival response with a pronounced shoulder and a large D0 of up to 0.9 Gy. With longer chase periods the shoulder and the D0 decreased progressively, and cells harvested 5 h after pulse-labeling or later exhibited a high-LET survival response (D0: 0.13 Gy). Two interpretations for these findings are discussed. (1) If DNA is the sole target for radiation death, the results indicate that DNA maturation increases radiation damage to DNA or reduces damage repair. (2) If radiation cell death involves damage to higher-order structures in the cell nucleus, the findings suggest that newly replicated DNA is not attached to these structures during the initial low-LET period, but 125I starts to induce high-LET radiation effects as labeled DNA segments become associated with the target structure(s). On balance, or data favor the latter interpretation.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

An in vitro 125IUdR-release assay for measuring the kinetics of cell death.

A radionuclide release assay for measuring the in vitro kinetics of cell death has been developed. CHO cells were labelled for 24 h with 3.0 hBq/ml of [125I] iododeoxyuridine (125IUdR) and the fate of the labelled cells and their progeny was monitored at daily intervals by measuring the rate of 125I release. Prelabelling with 125IUdR did not alter the plating efficiency, the doubling time or the selection of mitotic cells. The rate of 125I release from labelled (but otherwise untreated) CHO cells was approximately equal to 4% day. Treatment with a lethal dose of X-rays (30 Gy), heat (46 degrees C, 1 h), cold (-90 degrees C, 1 h) or the antibiotic Geneticin (300 micrograms/ml, continuously) resulted in the release of greater than 99% the 125I activity associated with the cells. Cell death was rapid after heating or freezing, and delayed after treatment with X-rays or Geneticin. The results illustrate the efficacy of the 125I release assay for measuring the kinetics of cell death in mammalian tissue culture cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Association between the division delay target and DNA late in the cell cycle.

The precise cell cycle time of association between labeled DNA (the radiation source) and the non-DNA cell structure whose damage is responsible for radiation-induced division delay was measured. Mitotic cells were selected from a monolayer of Chinese hamster ovary cells for 80 min (nine shakes) to establish the rate of cell progression into mitosis. The cell monolayers were then exposed to 0.1295 MBq/ml 125IUdR for 10 min to label the cells in S phase. After pulse labeling, mitotic cell selection was continued for various times (between 0 and 120 min) before 125I decays were accumulated at 4 degrees C. After 2 h in the cold, the cells were rewarmed and the selection of mitotic cells was continued. (Cooling had a small, transient affect on subsequent cell progression.) As the time between labeling and cooling was increased, the fraction of cells selected in mitosis decreased, indicating that an increasing proportion of 125I-labeled cells had entered a sensitive phase of the cell cycle where 125I decays are particularly effective in producing radiation-induced division delay. It is hypothesized that during this sensitive period (from -25 to +90 min of the S/G2 boundary), the labeled DNA comes into sufficiently close contact with a non-DNA structure to facilitate damage to this structure by overlap irradiation from 125I decays in the DNA.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Cytocidal effects of misonidazole, Ro 03-8799, and RSU-1164 on euoxic and hypoxic BP-8 murine sarcoma cells at normal and elevated temperatures.

Euoxic and hypoxic BP-8 murine sarcoma cells were exposed for up to 3 hours to various concentrations of three nitroimidazole derivatives (misonidazole, Ro 03-8799, RSU-1164) at normal or elevated incubation temperatures. Cell survival was monitored with the iodine 125 (125I)-iododeoxyuridine prelabeling assay. When cell lethality was evaluated as a function of drug molarity, the three nitroimidazoles displayed widely different toxicities, but when expressed in terms of toxicity ratio between euoxic and hypoxic cells, all three drugs showed nearly identical toxicity differentials of 16 to 18 in 1-hour drug incubation experiments. Prolonging the treatment period to 3 hours did not change the euoxic/hypoxic toxicity ratio for misonidazole and Ro 03-8799, but with RSU-1164 the toxicity ratio was increased significantly from 16 (1 hour) to 73 (3 hours). This increase was attributed to the bifunctional action of RSU-1164 as a combined electron-affinic and alkylating agent, with the alkylation component of cell killing becoming more pronounced after prolonged drug incubation under hypoxic conditions. Combined administration of hyperthermia and nitroimidazoles increased drug-induced cell lethality for all three agents, but did not materially change the relative toxicity differential between euoxic and hypoxic cells. In short, based on cellular toxicity data, Ro 03-8799 appears to offer no advantage over misonidazole as a selective cytocidal agent for hypoxic cells, but RSU-1164 does provide a moderate therapeutic advantage.

Animals↗