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The transcriptional response after oxidative stress is defective in Cockayne syndrome group B cells.

Cockayne syndrome (CS) is a human hereditary disease belonging to the group of segmental progerias, and the clinical phenotype is characterized by postnatal growth failure, neurological dysfunction, cachetic dwarfism, photosensitivity, sensorineural hearing loss, and retinal degradation. CS-B cells are defective in transcription-coupled DNA repair, base excision repair, transcription, and chromatin structural organization. Using array analysis, we have examined the expression profile in CS complementation group B (CS-B) fibroblasts after exposure to oxidative stress (H2O2) before and after complete complementation with the CSB gene. The following isogenic cell lines were compared: CS-B cells (CS-B null), CS-B cells complemented with wild-type CSB (CS-B wt), and a stably transformed cell line with a point mutation in the ATPase domain of CSB (CS-B ATPase mutant). In the wt rescued cells, we detected significant induction (two-fold) of 112 genes out of the 6912 analysed. The patterns suggested an induction or upregulation of genes involved in several DNA metabolic processes including DNA repair, transcription, and signal transduction. In both CS-B mutant cell lines, we found a general deficiency in transcription after oxidative stress, suggesting that the CSB protein influenced the regulation of transcription of certain genes. Of the 6912 genes, 122 were differentially regulated by more than two-fold. Evidently, the ATPase function of CSB is biologically important as the deficiencies seen in the ATPase mutant cells are very similar to those observed in the CS-B-null cells. Some major defects are in the transcription of genes involved in DNA repair, signal transduction, and ribosomal functions.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

The relationship between benzo[a]pyrene-induced mutagenesis and carcinogenesis in repair-deficient Cockayne syndrome group B mice.

Cockayne syndrome (CS) patients are deficient in the transcription coupled repair (TCR) subpathway of nucleotide excision repair (NER) but in contrast to xeroderma pigmentosum patients, who have a defect in the global genome repair subpathway of NER, CS patients do not have an elevated cancer incidence. To determine to what extent a TCR deficiency affects carcinogen-induced mutagenesis and carcinogenesis, CS group B correcting gene (CSB)-deficient mice were treated with the genotoxic carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene (B[a]P) at an oral dose of 13 mg/kg body weight, three times a week. At different time points, mutant frequencies at the inactive lacZ gene (in spleen, liver, and lung) as well as at the active hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (Hprt) gene (in spleen) were determined to compare mutagenesis at inactive versus active genes. B[a]P treatment gave rise to increased mutant frequencies at lacZ in all of the organs tested without a significant difference between CSB-/- and wild-type mice, whereas B[a]P-induced Hprt mutant frequencies in splenic T-lymphocytes were significantly more enhanced in CSB-/- mice than in control mice. The sequence data obtained from Hprt mutants indicate that B[a]P adducts at guanine residues were preferentially removed from the transcribed strand of the Hprt gene in control mice but not in CSB-/- mice. On oral treatment with B[a]P, the tumor incidence increased in both wild-type and CSB-deficient animals. However, no differences in tumor rate were observed between TCR-deficient CSB-/- mice and wild-type mice, which is in line with the normal cancer susceptibility of CS patients. The mutagenic response at lacZ, in contrast to Hprt, correlated well with the cancer incidence in CSB-/- mice after B[a]P treatment, which suggests that mutations in the bulk of the DNA (inactive genes) are a better predictive marker for carcinogen-induced tumorigenesis than mutations in genes that are actively transcribed. Thus, the global genome repair pathway of NER appears to play an important role in the prevention of cancer.

Animals↗

Cockayne syndrome with early onset of manifestations.

The Cockayne syndrome is an autosomal recessive syndrome of growth failure and characteristic physical and pathological changes. Typically the disorder becomes manifest in the second year of life; growth and development are normal during the first year. We report presumably monozygotic twins with otherwise classic Cockayne syndrome but with a prenatal onset. Several previously described cases seem to represent a similar form of Cockayne syndrome with early onset of growth failure and development delay.

Cockayne Syndrome↗

Cockayne syndrome--a primary defect in DNA repair, transcription, both or neither?

Cockayne syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by a complex clinical phenotype. Most Cockayne syndrome cells are hypersensitive to killing by ultraviolet radiation. This observation has prompted a wealth of studies on the DNA repair capacity of Cockayne syndrome cells in vitro. Many studies support the notion that such cells are defective in a DNA repair mode(s) that is transcription-dependent. However, it remains to be established that this is a primary molecular defect in Cockayne syndrome cells and that it explains the complex clinical phenotype associated with the disease. An alternative hypothesis is that Cockayne syndrome cells have a defect in transcription affecting the expression of certain genes, which is compatible with embryogenesis but not with normal post-natal development. Defective transcription may impair the normal processing of DNA damage during transcription-dependent repair.

Cockayne Syndrome↗

[Cockayne syndrome: siblings with different ultraviolet sensitivity and early onset of manifestations].

Siblings of Cockayne syndrome were reported. Both of them had characteristic manifestation of Cockayne syndrome. A 4-year-old boy had been noted to have irritability and nystagmus from the 6th day of his life, and his elder sister, 8 years old, had been diagnosed as cerebral palsy at the age of 6 months. The elder sister lacked photosensitivity clinically. The proband was more severely affected than his elder sister on both cerebral CT-scan and electrophysiological studies. Reduced colony forming ability after ultraviolet exposure is currently considered to be the primary abnormality in Cockayne syndrome. The cells originating from the boy had moderately reduced colony forming ability after ultraviolet irradiation, whereas the cells from his elder sister showed mildly reduced colony forming ability. There may be some relationship between the severity of the symptoms and the colony forming ability. There is a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations in Cockayne syndrome. Further investigations are necessary to clarify the relationship between the cytological abnormalities of Cockayne syndrome and its neurological manifestations.

Child↗

Decrease of thymic hormone serum level in Cockayne syndrome.

Previous reports concerning children with Cockayne syndrome had described decreased T cell proliferative responses and renal anomalies which could be associated with immunologic disturbances. Herein, the thymic function was evaluated by measuring the serum level of thymic hormone. This serum level was found to be undetectable or decreased in seven cases of Cockayne syndrome. Active serum concentrations varied between 0 and 1/8, whereas normal children of the same age show activity in the range between 1/16 and 1/64. In contrast, T cell function, explored by phytohemagglutinin and Concavalin A responses, and mixed lymphocyte cultures was normal. Whether or not this premature sign of immunological aging is primary or secondary to other manifestations of the syndrome is still difficult to assess.

Adolescent↗

Phenotypic consequences of mutations in the conserved motifs of the putative helicase domain of the human Cockayne syndrome group B gene.

Cockayne syndrome (CS) is a human genetic disorder characterized by several neurological and developmental abnormalities. Two genetic complementation groups, CS-A and CS-B, have been identified. The CSB protein belongs to helicase superfamily 2, and to the SWI/SNF family of proteins. The CSB protein is implicated in transcription-coupled repair (TCR), basal transcription and chromatin remodeling. In addition, CS cells undergo UV-induced apoptosis at much lower doses than normal cells. However, the molecular function of the CSB protein in these biological pathways has remained unclear. Evidence indicates that the integrity of the Walker A and B boxes (motifs I and II) are important for CSB function, but the functional significance of the helicase motifs Ia, III--IV has not been previously examined. In this study, single amino acid changes in highly conserved residues of helicase motifs Ia, III, V, VI and a second putative nucleotide-binding motif (NTB) of the CSB protein were generated by site-directed mutagenesis to analyze the genetic function of the CSB protein in survival, RNA synthesis recovery and apoptosis after UV treatment. The survival analysis of these CS-B mutant cell lines was also performed after treatment with the chemical carcinogen, 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4-NQO). The lesions induced by UV light, cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, are known to be repaired by TCR whereas the lesions induced by 4-NQO are repaired by global genome repair. The results of this study demonstrate that the point mutations in highly conserved residues of helicase motifs Ia, III, V and VI abolished the genetic function of the CSB protein in survival, RNA synthesis recovery and apoptosis after UV treatment. Similarly, the same mutants failed to complement the sensitivity toward 4-NQO. Thus, the integrity of these helicase motifs is important for the biological function of the CSB protein. On the contrary, a point mutation in a C-terminal, second, NTB motif of the CSB protein showed full complementation in the ability to repair damage induced by UV light or 4-NQO, suggesting that this motif is not important for the CSB repair function.

4-Nitroquinoline-1-oxide↗

Xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group G associated with Cockayne syndrome.

Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) and Cockayne syndrome (CS) are two rare inherited disorders with a clinical and cellular hypersensitivity to the UV component of the sunlight spectrum. Although the two traits are generally considered as clinically and genetically distinct entities, on the biochemical level a defect in the nucleotide excision-repair (NER) pathway is involved in both. Classical CS patients are primarily deficient in the preferential repair of DNA damage in actively transcribed genes, whereas in most XP patients the genetic defect affects both "preferential" and "overall" NER modalities. Here we report a genetic study of two unrelated, severely affected patients with the clinical characteristics of CS but with a biochemical defect typical of XP. By complementation analysis, using somatic cell fusion and nuclear microinjection of cloned repair genes, we assign these two patients to XP complementation group G, which previously was not associated with CS. This observation extends the earlier identification of two patients with a rare combined XP/CS phenotype within XP complementation groups B and D, respectively. It indicates that some mutations in at least three of the seven genes known to be involved in XP also can result in a picture of partial or even full-blown CS. We conclude that the syndromes XP and CS are biochemically closely related and may be part of a broader clinical disease spectrum. We suggest, as a possible molecular mechanism underlying this relation, that the XPGC repair gene has an additional vital function, as shown for some other NER genes.

Adolescent↗

Reduced RNA polymerase II transcription in extracts of cockayne syndrome and xeroderma pigmentosum/Cockayne syndrome cells.

The hereditary disease Cockayne syndrome (CS) is a complex clinical syndrome characterized by arrested post-natal growth as well as neurological and other defects. The CSA and CSB genes are implicated in this disease. The clinical features of CS can also accompany the excision repair-defective hereditary disorder xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) from genetic complementation groups B, D or G. The XPB and XPD proteins are subunits of RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) transcription factor IIH (TFIIH). We show here that extracts of CS-A and CS-B cells, as well as those from XP-B/CS cells, support reduced levels of RNAP II transcription in vitro and that this feature is dependent on the state or quality of the template.

Cell Line↗

Molecular and cellular analysis of the DNA repair defect in a patient in xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group D who has the clinical features of xeroderma pigmentosum and Cockayne syndrome.

Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) and Cockayne syndrome (CS) are quite distinct genetic disorders that are associated with defects in excision repair of UV-induced DNA damage. A few patients have been described previously with the clinical features of both disorders. In this paper we describe an individual in this category who has unusual cellular responses to UV light. We show that his cultured fibroblasts and lymphocytes are extremely sensitive to irradiation with UV-C, despite a level of nucleotide excision repair that is 30%-40% that of normal cells. The deficiency is assigned to the XP-D complementation group, and we have identified two causative mutations in the XPD gene: a gly-->arg change at amino acid 675 in the allele inherited from the patient's mother and a -1 frameshift at amino acid 669 in the allele inherited from his father. These mutations are in the C-terminal 20% of the 760-amino-acid XPD protein, in a region where we have recently identified several mutations in patients with trichothiodystrophy.

Cells, Cultured↗

Preferential repair of ionizing radiation-induced damage in the transcribed strand of an active human gene is defective in Cockayne syndrome.

Cells from patients with Cockayne syndrome (CS), which are sensitive to killing by UV although overall damage removal appears normal, are specifically defective in repair of UV damage in actively transcribed genes. Because several CS strains display cross-sensitivity to killing by ionizing radiation, we examined whether ionizing radiation-induced damage in active genes is preferentially repaired by normal cells and whether the radiosensitivity of CS cells can be explained by a defect in this process. We found that ionizing radiation-induced damage was repaired more rapidly in the transcriptionally active metallothionein IIA (MTIIA) gene than in the inactive MTIIB gene or in the genome overall in normal cells as a result of faster repair on the transcribed strand of MTIIA. Cells of the radiosensitive CS strain CS1AN are completely defective in this strand-selective repair of ionizing radiation-induced damage, although their overall repair rate appears normal. CS3BE cells, which are intermediate in radiosensitivity, do exhibit more rapid repair of the transcribed strand but at a reduced rate compared to normal cells. Xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group A cells, which are hypersensitive to UV light because of a defect in the nucleotide excision repair pathway but do not show increased sensitivity to ionizing radiation, preferentially repair ionizing radiation-induced damage on the transcribed strand of MTIIA. Thus, the ability to rapidly repair ionizing radiation-induced damage in actively transcribing genes correlates with cell survival. Our results extend the generality of preferential repair in active genes to include damage other than bulky lesions.

Blotting, Southern↗

Complementation of transformed fibroblasts from patients with combined xeroderma pigmentosum-Cockayne syndrome.

Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) and Cockayne syndrome (CS) are human hereditary disorders characterized at the cellular level by an inability to repair certain types of DNA damage. Usually, XP and CS are clinically and genetically distinct. However, in rare cases, CS patients have been shown to have mutations in genes that were previously linked to the development of XP. The linkage between XP and CS has been difficult to study because few permanent cell lines have been established from XP/CS patients. To generate permanent cell lines, primary fibroblast cultures from two patients, displaying characteristics associated with CS and belonging to XP complementation group G, were transformed with anorigin-of-replication-deficient simian virus 40 (SV40). The new cell lines, summation operatorXPCS1LVo- and summation operatorXPCS1ROo-,were characterized phenotypically and genotypically to verify that properties of the primary cells are preserved after transformation. The cell lines exhibited rapid growth in culture and were shown, by immunostaining, to express the SV40 T antigen. The summation operatorXPCS1LVo- and summation operatorXPCS1ROo- cell lines were hypersensitive to UV light and had an impaired ability to reactivate a UV-irradiated reporter gene. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and restriction enzyme cleavage, the summation operatorXPCS1ROo- cells were shown to retain the homozygous T deletion at XPG position 2972. This mutation also characterizes the parental primary cells and was evident in the XPG RNA. Finally, to characterize the XPG DNA repair deficiency in these cell lines, an episomal expression vector containing wild-type XPG cDNA was used to correct UV-induced damage in a beta-galactosidase reporter gene.

Cell Line, Transformed↗

[Clinical and cellular studies in a patient with Cockayne syndrome].

Hypersensitivity to the lethal effect of ultraviolet light (UV) and other DNA-damaging agents has been observed in cells from patients affected by Cockayne syndrome, suggesting that this syndrome is deficient in the capability to repair damage in cellular DNA. We report a case showing the main clinical features of Cockayne syndrome in which the clinical and cellular photosensitivity described as typical for Cockayne syndrome is not present. These cytological results suggest that there is considerable clinical and cellular heterogeneity in Cockayne syndrome and that cellular sensitivity to UV might not be as essential for the diagnosis of Cockayne syndrome as previously thought.

Adolescent↗

MR findings of cerebral white matter in Cockayne syndrome.

The characteristic magnetic resonance (MR) findings of Cockayne syndrome have been reported; however, the corresponding characteristics on diffusion-weighted and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) imaging are yet to be documented. In this adult case with Cockayne syndrome, we identified small patchy subcortical lesions visualized as areas of high intensity on diffusion-weighted images and low intensity on FLAIR images. It is possible that these findings reflect active demyelinating lesions.

Adult↗

Cockayne syndrome with tetralogy of Fallot: a case report.

Cockayne syndrome (CS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by growth retardation, senile-like appearance, loss of subcutaneous adipose tissue, photosensitive dermatitis, microcephaly, deafness, pigmentary degeneration of retina, disproportionately long limbs, skeletal malformations with knee contractures and neurologic abnormalities. This is a description of a three-year-old boy with typical features of Cockayne syndrome complicated with tetralogy of Fallot, pneumonia and hepato-splenomegaly. He had been suffering from frequent attacks of pneumonia and had been hospitalized for several times since birth. Tetralogy of Fallot was diagnosed under echocardiography study and he died suddenly in hospital during a mydriatic procedure in the Ophthalmologic Clinic.

Child, Preschool↗

ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling by the Cockayne syndrome B DNA repair-transcription-coupling factor.

The Cockayne syndrome B protein (CSB) is required for coupling DNA excision repair to transcription in a process known as transcription-coupled repair (TCR). Cockayne syndrome patients show UV sensitivity and severe neurodevelopmental abnormalities. CSB is a DNA-dependent ATPase of the SWI2/SNF2 family. SWI2/SNF2-like proteins are implicated in chromatin remodeling during transcription. Since chromatin structure also affects DNA repair efficiency, chromatin remodeling activities within repair are expected. Here we used purified recombinant CSB protein to investigate whether it can remodel chromatin in vitro. We show that binding of CSB to DNA results in an alteration of the DNA double-helix conformation. In addition, we find that CSB is able to remodel chromatin structure at the expense of ATP hydrolysis. Specifically, CSB can alter DNase I accessibility to reconstituted mononucleosome cores and disarrange an array of nucleosomes regularly spaced on plasmid DNA. In addition, we show that CSB interacts not only with double-stranded DNA but also directly with core histones. Finally, intact histone tails play an important role in CSB remodeling. CSB is the first repair protein found to play a direct role in modulating nucleosome structure. The relevance of this finding to the interplay between transcription and repair is discussed.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Xeroderma pigmentosum--Cockayne syndrome complex: a further case.

We report on a male patient born to healthy, first cousin, Moroccan parents. During the pregnancy growth retardation was observed. Birth weight, length, and OFC were all well below the 3rd centile. Facial anomalies, microphthalmia, cleft palate, small penis, and flexion contractures of large joints were noted. Cerebral MRI showed dysmyelination. The clinical course was characterised by feeding difficulties, growth failure, lack of development, photosensitivity, and death at 7 months. The main differential diagnoses were COFS syndrome and early onset Cockayne syndrome (CS). UV exposure of cultured fibroblasts showed inhibition of nucleic acids synthesis. Further DNA repair studies showed extreme cellular sensitivity to UV and xeroderma pigmentosum (XP)-like defective nucleotide excision repair (NER), which in combination with the clinical symptoms indicated the very rare XP-CS complex. Complementation analysis showed that the XPG gene is affected in this patient. In cases suspected of having COFS syndrome and early onset CS, extensive DNA repair studies are needed to reach the definitive diagnosis, thereby allowing reliable genetic counselling and prenatal diagnosis.

Cell Survival↗