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At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

PubMed2004

End-joining repair of double-strand breaks in Drosophila melanogaster is largely DNA ligase IV independent.

Repair of DNA double-strand breaks can occur by either nonhomologous end joining or homologous recombination. Most nonhomologous end joining requires a specialized ligase, DNA ligase IV (Lig4). In Drosophila melanogaster, double-strand breaks created by excision of a P element are usually repaired by a homologous recombination pathway called synthesis-dependent strand annealing (SDSA). SDSA requires strand invasion mediated by DmRad51, the product of the spn-A gene. In spn-A mutants, repair proceeds through a nonconservative pathway involving the annealing of microhomologies found within the 17-nt overhangs produced by P excision. We report here that end joining of P-element breaks in the absence of DmRad51 does not require Drosophila LIG4. In wild-type flies, SDSA is sometimes incomplete, and repair is finished by an end-joining pathway that also appears to be independent of LIG4. Loss of LIG4 does not increase sensitivity to ionizing radiation in late-stage larvae, but lig4 spn-A double mutants do show heightened sensitivity relative to spn-A single mutants. Together, our results suggest that a LIG4-independent end-joining pathway is responsible for the majority of double-strand break repair in the absence of homologous recombination in flies.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate imbalance. 5-Fluorodeoxyuridine-induced DNA double strand breaks in mouse FM3A cells and the mechanism of cell death.

The mechanism of cytotoxic action of 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FdUrd) in mouse FM3A cells was investigated. We observed the FdUrd-induced imbalance of intracellular deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) pools and subsequent double strand breaks in mature DNA, accompanied by cell death. The imbalance of dNTP pools was maximal at 8 h after 1 microM FdUrd treatment; a depletion of dTTP and dGTP pools and an increase in the dATP pool were observed. The addition of FdUrd in culture medium induced strand breaks in DNA, giving rise to a 90 S peak by alkaline sucrose gradient sedimentation. The loss of cell viability and colony-forming ability occurred at about 10 h. DNA double strand breaks as measured by the neutral elution method were also observed in FdUrd-treated cells about 10 h after the addition. These results lead us to propose that DNA double strand breaks play an important role in the mechanism of FdUrd-mediated cell death. A comparison of the ratio of single and double strand breaks induced by FdUrd to that observed following radiation suggested that FdUrd produced double strand breaks exclusively. Cycloheximide inhibited both the production of DNA double strand breaks and the FdUrd-induced cell death. An activity that can induce DNA double strand breaks was detected in the lysate of FdUrd-treated FM3A cells but not in the untreated cells. This suggests that FdUrd induces the cellular DNA double strand breaking activity. The FdUrd-induced DNA strand breaks and cell death appear to occur in the S phase. Our results indicate that imbalance of the dNTP pools is a trigger for double strand DNA break and cell death.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

HIV-1 Vpr induces DNA double-strand breaks.

Recent observations imply that HIV-1 infection induces chromosomal DNA damage responses. However, the precise molecular mechanism and biological relevance are not fully understood. Here, we report that HIV-1 infection causes double-strand breaks in chromosomal DNA. We further found that Vpr, an accessory gene product of HIV-1, is a major factor responsible for HIV-1-induced double-strand breaks. The purified Vpr protein promotes double-strand breaks when incubated with isolated nuclei, although it does not exhibit endonuclease activity in vitro. A carboxyl-terminally truncated Vpr mutant that is defective in DNA-binding activity is less capable of Vpr-dependent double-strand break formation in isolated nuclei. The data suggest that double-strand breaks induced by Vpr depend on its DNA-binding activity and that Vpr may recruit unknown nuclear factor(s) with positive endonuclease activity to chromosomal DNA. This is the first direct evidence that Vpr induces double-strand breaks in HIV-1-infected cells. We discuss the possible roles of Vpr-induced DNA damage in HIV-1 infection and the involvement of Vpr in further acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related tumor development.

Cell Culture Techniques↗

PubMed1983

[Disorder of the repair of DNA double-stranded breaks in radiosensitive mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts].

DNA double-strand break repair and restoration of viability in X-irradiated diploid yeast cells homozygous for rad50, rad51, rad52, rad55 mutations were studies under conditions of keeping the cells in non-nutrient medium, after irradiation. All the cells were synchronized at the G1 stage of the cell cycle. In contrast to the wild-type yeast, this group of mutants are unable to repair DNA double-strand breaks and do not enhance viability, when kept in non-nutrient medium after irradiation.

DNA Repair↗

PubMed1996

The identification and characterization of mammalian proteins involved in the rejoining of DNA double-strand breaks in vitro.

Using a combination of specific assays and biochemical fractionation of mammalian extracts, we have identified multiple activities involved in the rejoining of DNA double-strand breaks. Fractionation of whole cell extracts from calf thymus has identified four biochemically distinct fractions capable of joining double-strand breaks, and an activity Rejoin Enhancement Protein (REP-1), that stimulates this process. We also show that REP-1 directly stimulates a DNA ligase and that this stimulation is associated with the increased turnover of the adenylated intermediate formed by all ATP-dependent DNA ligases. Activity relationships between the rejoining fractions and REP-1 indicates that the joining of double-strand breaks is carried out by protein complexes of which REP-1 is a component. In support of this, the cellular activities identified here that can efficiently rejoin double-strand breaks, do not show detectable adenylation products. Western analysis also shows that several proteins that have been suggested to be involved in the joining of double-strand breaks, such as the Ku heterodimer, are not present in all fractions that contain rejoining activity. These data strongly suggests that many different activities exist that can rejoin double-strand breaks and that this process is not dependent on the presence of proteins such as the end-binding protein Ku.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Expression of phosphorylated histone H2AX as a surrogate of cell killing by drugs that create DNA double-strand breaks.

Phosphorylation of histone H2AX on serine 139 (gammaH2AX) occurs at sites flanking DNA double-strand breaks and can provide a measure of both number and location of these breaks within the nucleus. Because double-strand breaks are often lethal and are produced by several chemotherapeutic agents, we examined the possibility that expression of gammaH2AX after treatment might be useful as a surrogate indicator of clonogenic cell kill. Chinese hamster V79 cells were exposed for 30 min to drugs known to produce DNA double-stand breaks with different efficiencies: bleomycin, tirapazamine, doxorubicin, etoposide, 4-nitro-quinoline-N-oxide, and hydrogen peroxide. Cells were then allowed 1 h to develop foci before fixation or were plated to measure colony formation ability. Anti-gammaH2AX antibody staining was measured using flow cytometry. Flow histograms were analyzed for the percentage of cells that showed gammaH2AX levels greater than untreated cells, and this percentage was compared with the clonogenic surviving fraction. H2AX expression measured 1 h after treatment predicted cell killing for all of the drugs examined over two logs of cell kill. Moreover, predictive ability was largely independent of drug type in this cell line, and gammaH2AX levels five times background resulted in 50-90% cell kill. This method seems to provide a useful indicator of clonogenic response to treatment with selected chemotherapeutic drugs.

4-Nitroquinoline-1-oxide↗

PubMed1998

X-ray induced DNA double-strand breaks in human sperm.

A methodology for quantifying DNA double-strand breaks in human sperm is described. Sperm from three healthy human donors on three separate days each were irradiated with 12.5, 25, 50 and 100 cGy X-rays. Linear dose-response effects were observed in migrated DNA from sperm nuclei when electrophoresed under neutral conditions. RNase and proteinase K treatments for longer duration were necessary, to decondense the chromatin and presumably to release the broken DNA for migration in the electrophoretic field in a dose-dependent manner. An increase in DNA migration was observed with as low as 12.5 cGy, but damage was observed in all samples at 25 cGy. No evidence of repair of these X-ray-induced DNA double-strand breaks was observed during a 2 h period.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

The spectrum of in vitro radiosensitivity in four human melanoma cell lines is not accounted for by differential induction or rejoining of DNA double strand breaks.

PURPOSE: Radioresistance is a significant clinical problem in advanced malignant melanoma and many melanoma cell lines show a radioresistant acute x-ray survival response in vitro. Given that the DNA double strand break is the lesion most closely correlated with x-ray induced cell lethality, differences in the induction and rejoining of these lesions may account for the radioresistance of some human melanoma cell lines. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The above hypothesis was tested using pulsed field gel electrophoresis to measure x-ray induced DNA double strand break induction and rejoining in four human melanoma cell lines: MM138, MM170, MM96-L and HT 144. RESULTS: The MM138, MM170 and MM96-L cell lines were characterized in vitro by low alpha/beta ratios and broad x-ray survival curve shoulders. MM138 and MM170 were the most radioresistant and MM96-L had intermediate sensitivity. In contrast, HT144 was markedly x-ray sensitive, despite retaining a shoulder and like the other lines, having a low alpha/beta ratio. There were no significant differences in DNA double strand break induction between the cell lines, and thus no correlation existed between DNA double strand break induction and radiosensitivity. Consistent with the shoulders on the x-ray survival curves, all four cell lines showed efficient DNA double strand break rejoining. Highly efficient DNA double strand break rejoining could account for the radioresistance of one of the melanoma lines (MM138). For example, MM138 had rejoined 50% of the induced DNA double strand breaks by 5.5 min compared to 13-17 min for the other three cell lines. The development of postirradiation apoptosis was effectively excluded as the cause of the marked radiosensitivity of the HT144 cell line. CONCLUSION: Other factors (such as lesion repair fidelity or differential lesion tolerance) underlie the differences in the intrinsic radiosensitivity between these melanoma cell lines.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed2002

Oxygen metabolism causes chromosome breaks and is associated with the neuronal apoptosis observed in DNA double-strand break repair mutants.

Cells deficient in a major DNA double-strand break repair pathway (nonhomologous DNA end joining [NHEJ]) have increased spontaneous chromosome breaks; however, the source of these chromosome breaks has remained undefined. Here, we show that the observed spontaneous chromosome breaks are partially suppressed by reducing the cellular oxygen tension. Conversely, elevating the level of reactive oxygen species by overexpressing the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), in a transgenic mouse, increases chromosome breakage. The effect of SOD1 can also be modulated by cellular oxygen tension. The elevated chromosome breakage correlates histologically with a significant increase in the amount of neuronal cell death in Ku86(-/-) SOD1 transgenic embryos over that seen in Ku86(-/-) embryos. Therefore, oxygen metabolism is a major source of the genomic instability observed in NHEJ-deficient cells and, presumably, in all cells.

Animals↗

PubMed1978

Double-strand breaks from single photochemical events in DNA containing 5-bromouracil.

Ultraviolet irradiation of Escherichia coli cells with a low level of 5-bromouracil incorporated produces DNA double-strand breaks by single photochemical events, one such break per 100 single-strand breaks, the latter assayed in alkali-denatured DNA. About 2.5--4 double-strand breaks are produced per "lethal hit," compared with about 6 double-strand breaks per lethal hit induced by gamma rays. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that an unrepaired DNA double-strand break is a major lethal event in both cases. The increase in sensitivity to ultraviolet (measured by colony-forming ability) seems linear in the number of bromouracils incorporated (0--20% of the thymines), and the linear relationship is much the same for incorporation in one or in both strands of the DNA double helix.

Bromouracil↗

PubMed2002

Characteristics of the end-joining of DNA double-strand breaks by the ataxia-telangiectasia nuclear extract.

A double-strand break was introduced in plasmid pZErO-2 at a specific site within the ccdB gene that is lethal to Escherichia coli cells and treated with nuclear extracts from human cells. The efficiency of rejoining was monitored by Southern blot analysis and the fidelity of rejoining was measured by expressing the ccdB gene after bacterial transformation. The efficiency of rejoining in the nuclear extract from an ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) cell line was comparable to that from a control cell line. However, the accuracy of rejoining was much lower for the A-T cell extract than for the control cell extract. All mutations were deletions, most of which contained short direct repeats at the breakpoint junctions. The deletion spectrum caused by the A-T nuclear extract was distinct from that of the control extract. These results indicate that the ccdB gene is useful for analysis of mis-rejoining and that A-T cells have certain deficiencies in end-joining of double-strand breaks in DNA.

Ataxia Telangiectasia↗

PubMed1999

Rejoining kinetics of DNA single- and double-strand breaks in normal and DNA ligase-deficient cells after exposure to ultraviolet C and gamma radiation: an evaluation of ligating activities involved in different DNA repair processes.

The repair kinetics for rejoining of DNA single- and double-strand breaks after exposure to UVC or gamma radiation was measured in cells with deficiencies in DNA ligase activities and in their normal counterparts. Human 46BR cells were deficient in DNA ligase I. Hamster EM9 and EM-C11 cells were deficient in DNA ligase III activity as a consequence of mutations in the XRCC1 gene. Hamster XR-1 cells had mutation in the XRCC4 gene, whose product stimulates DNA ligase IV activity. DNA single- and double-strand breaks were assessed by the comet assay in alkaline conditions and by the technique of graded-field gel electrophoresis in neutral conditions, respectively. 46BR cells, which are known to re-ligate at a reduced rate the DNA single-strand breaks incurred during processing of damage induced by UVC but not gamma radiation, were shown to have a normal repair of radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks. EM9 cells exhibited a reduced rate of rejoining of DNA single-strand breaks after exposure to ionizing radiation, as reported previously, as well as UVC radiation. EM-C11 cells were deficient in the repair of radiation-induced-DNA single-strand breaks but, in contrast to EM9 cells, demonstrated the same kinetics as the parental cell line in the resealing of DNA breaks resulting from exposure to UVC radiation. Both EM9 and EM-C11 cells displayed a significant defect in rejoining of radiation-induced-DNA double-strand breaks. XR-1 cells were confirmed to be highly deficient in the repair of radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks but appeared to rejoin DNA single-strand breaks after UVC and gamma irradiation at rates close to normal. Taken together these results indicate that: (1) DNA ligase I is involved only in nucleotide excision repair; (2) DNA ligase IV plays an important role only in repair of DNA double-strand breaks; and (3) DNA ligase III is implicated in base excision repair and in repair of DNA double-strand breaks, but probably not in nucleotide excision repair.

Animals↗

PubMed1975

Enzymatic induction of DNA double-strand breaks in gamma-irradiated Escherichia coli K-12.

The polA1 mutation increases the sensitivity of E. coli K-12 by killing by gamma-irradiation in air by a factor of 2.9 and increases the yield of DNA double-strand breaks by a factor of 2.5. These additional DNA double-strand breaks appear to be due to the action of nucleases in the polA1 strain rather than to the rejoining of radiation-induced double-strand breaks in the pol+ strain. This conclusion is based upon the observation that gamma-irradiation at 3 degrees did not affect the yield of DNA double-strand breaks in the pol+ strain, but decreased the yield in the polA1 strain by a factor of 2.2. Irradiation of the polA1 strain at 3 degrees followed by incubation at 3 degrees for 20 min before plating resulted in approximately a 1.5-fold increase in the D0. The yield of DNA double-strand breaks was reduced by a factor of 1.5. The pol+ strain, however, did not show the protective effect of the low temperature incubation upon either survival or DNA double-strand breakage. We suggest that the increased yield of DNA double-strand breaks in the polA1 strain may be the result of the unsuccessful exision repair of ionizing radiation-induced DNA base damage.

Cell Survival↗

PubMed1977

The production and repair of double strand breaks in cells from normal humans and from patients with ataxia telangiectasia.

The production and repair of double strand breaks induced by gamma-rays in the DNA of human fibroblasts have been measured by sedimentation in sucrose radients under non-denaturing conditions. Unirradiated DNA formed a rapidly sedimenting gel. Low doses of radiation released freely sedimenting DNA molecules from this gel. Higher doses reduced the rate of sedimentation of the free DNA due to the introduction of double strand breaks. The breakage efficiency was 1 break/1.3 X 10(10) daltons of DNA/krad. Postirradiation incubation after a high dose of radiation resulted in an increase in molecular weight of the free DNA molecules, and after a low dose the rapidly-sedimenting gel was reformed. The data suggest that double strand breaks are repaired in human fibroblasts. No significant differences were found between fibroblasts from two normal donors and four patients with the radiosensitive disorder, ataxia telangiectasia, in either the production or repair of double strand breaks.

Ataxia Telangiectasia↗

PubMed1985

Induction of DNA single- and double-strand breaks by diethylstilbestrol in murine L5178Y lymphoblasts in vitro.

The mechanism of action of the synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) was investigated in murine L5178Y lymphoblasts. The dose-survival curve of cells treated with DES in serum-free medium for 1 hr was characterized by a prominent shoulder followed by a simple exponential decline; the Do, the dose of DES reducing cell survival to 1/e, was 1.52 nmoles/ml. DNA single-strand breaks, as measured by the alkaline elution method, were observed in DES-treated cells, and these followed a dose-response relationship after an apparent threshold of 10 microM DES was exceeded. Protein-associated strand breaks, which represent the increment in single-strand breaks that occurs by exposing drug-treated cells to proteinase K, were also noted. DNA double-strand breaks as measured by filter elution technology at pH 9.6 were observed and increased markedly to reach a level of approximately 9000 rad equivalents at a DES concentration of 20 microM. The measured ratio (mean +/- S.E.) of single- to double-strand breaks induced by DES in L5178Y limphoblasts was 0.09 +/- 0.035. A comparison of the ratio of single- to double-strand breaks induced by DES to that observed following radiation suggested that all of the single-strand breaks produced by DES could be attributed to double-strand breaks. The close correspondence of the dose-response curve for cytocidal activity of DES with that obtained for induction of DNA double-strand breaks suggested that such breaks may play an important role in the mechanism of cell kill by DES.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Differences in repair profiles of interstitial telomeric sites between normal and DNA double-strand break repair deficient Chinese hamster cells.

Interstitial Telomeric Repeat Sequence (ITRS) blocks are recognized as hot spots for spontaneous and ionizing radiation-induced chromosome breakage and recombination. Background and ionizing radiation-induced DNA breaks in large blocks of ITRS from Chinese hamster cell lines were analyzed using the DNA Breakage Detection-Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (DBD-FISH) procedure. Our results indicate an extremely alkali-sensitivity of ITRS. Furthermore, it appears that ITRS blocks exhibit a particular chromatin structure, being enriched in short unpaired DNA segments. These segments could be liable to severe topological stress in highly compacted areas of the genome resulting in their spontaneous fragility and thus explaining their alkali-sensitivity. The induction and repair kinetics of DNA single-strand breaks (ssb) and DNA double-strand breaks (dsb) induced by ionizing radiation were assessed by DBD-FISH on neutral comets using Chinese hamster cells deficient in either DNA-PKcs or Rad51C. Our results indicate that the initial rejoining rate of dsb within ITRS is slower than that in the whole genome, in wild-type cells, demonstrating an intragenomic heterogeneity in dsb repair. Interestingly, in the absence of DNA-PKcs activity, the rejoining rate of dsb within ITRS is not modified, unlike in the whole genome. This was also found in the case of Rad51C mutant cells. Our results suggest the possibility that different DNA sequences or chromatin organizations may be targeted by specific dsb repair pathways. Furthermore, it appears that additional unknown dsb repair pathways may be operational in mammalian cells.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Extensive 3'-overhanging, single-stranded DNA associated with the meiosis-specific double-strand breaks at the ARG4 recombination initiation site.

Meiosis-specific double-strand breaks occur at the initiation site for meiotic gene conversion in the yeast ARG4 gene. Here we show that the break fragments end in extensive 3'-overhanging, single-stranded tails. The single-stranded tails very in length, generating a gradient of single-strandedness that parallels the gradient of gene conversion frequencies in ARG4. In strains carrying a rad50S mutation, which blocks meiotic recombination, the extensive single-stranded tails do not form, suggesting that their generation is an obligatory step in meiotic recombination. Using the rad50S mutant, we have mapped the site of the ARG4 break to a small region within the genetically defined recombination initiation site. These results strongly support the double-strand break model of meiotic recombination.

DNA, Fungal↗

PubMed1981

DNA double-stranded breaks in mammalian cells after exposure to intercalating agents.

Previous work has shown that exposing mouse L1210 cells to intercalating agents such as adriamycin, ellipticine and actinomycin D results in DNA single-stranded breaks and DNA-protein crosslinks. To characterize further the interaction between these drugs and intracellular DNA we have employed a modification of the alkaline elution technique which allows the detection of DNA double-stranded breaks. Ellipticine (1.25-5.0 microgram/ml) adriamycin (0.5-3.0 microgram/ml) and actinomycin D (1.5-3.0 microgram/ml) all caused double-stranded breaks in DNA from L1210 cells following a 1 h treatment. The number of double-stranded breaks found per single strand break was highest for ellipticine, despite the fact that this is least cytotoxic of the three drugs. By comparing the single and double strand break frequency caused by radiation to that caused by ellipticine, it appears that most if not all of the drug-induced single strand breaks observed actually represent double-strand breaks. We suggest that these double-strand breaks may result from the action of an intracellular enzyme, perhaps topoisomerase, which breaks both strans in concert to relieve the topological strain caused by drug intercalation.

Alkaloids↗