Mechanisms of tolerance to DNA lesions in mammalian cells

1981 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rogerio Meneghini ◽  
Carlos F. M. Menck ◽  
R. Ivan Schumacher

In recent years it has become clear that different pathways are involved in the process of removing lesions from DNA. In spite of a continuous surveillance of the genetic integrity by repair enzymes, quite often lesions are not eliminated before the portion of the genome where they have been inserted is used for DNA replication or transcription. Actually, the number of unexcised lesions a cell can tolerate without significantly losing its capacity to reproduce is surprising. As an example, human fibroblasts from certain patients with the genetic disease xeroderma pigmentosum (XP)† are virtually unable to excise pyrimidine dimers, the major DNA lesion produced by short-wavelength UV light.

Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1450
Author(s):  
Wojciech Strzałka ◽  
Piotr Zgłobicki ◽  
Ewa Kowalska ◽  
Aneta Bażant ◽  
Dariusz Dziga ◽  
...  

In their life cycle, plants are exposed to various unfavorable environmental factors including ultraviolet (UV) radiation emitted by the Sun. UV-A and UV-B, which are partially absorbed by the ozone layer, reach the surface of the Earth causing harmful effects among the others on plant genetic material. The energy of UV light is sufficient to induce mutations in DNA. Some examples of DNA damage induced by UV are pyrimidine dimers, oxidized nucleotides as well as single and double-strand breaks. When exposed to light, plants can repair major UV-induced DNA lesions, i.e., pyrimidine dimers using photoreactivation. However, this highly efficient light-dependent DNA repair system is ineffective in dim light or at night. Moreover, it is helpless when it comes to the repair of DNA lesions other than pyrimidine dimers. In this review, we have focused on how plants cope with deleterious DNA damage that cannot be repaired by photoreactivation. The current understanding of light-independent mechanisms, classified as dark DNA repair, indispensable for the maintenance of plant genetic material integrity has been presented.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 3443-3450
Author(s):  
C A Berger ◽  
H J Edenberg

UV light produces lesions, predominantly pyrimidine dimers, which inhibit DNA replication in mammalian cells. The mechanism of inhibition is controversial: is synthesis of a daughter strand halted at a lesion while the replication fork moves on and reinitiates downstream, or is fork progression itself blocked for some time at the site of a lesion? We directly addressed this question by using electron microscopy to examine the distances of replication forks from the origin in unirradiated and UV-irradiated simian virus 40 chromosomes. If UV lesions block replication fork progression, the forks should be asymmetrically located in a large fraction of the irradiated molecules; if replication forks move rapidly past lesions, the forks should be symmetrically located. A large fraction of the simian virus 40 replication forks in irradiated molecules were asymmetrically located, demonstrating that UV lesions present at the frequency of pyrimidine dimers block replication forks. As a mechanism for this fork blockage, we propose that polymerization of the leading strand makes a significant contribution to the energetics of fork movement, so any lesion in the template for the leading strand which blocks polymerization should also block fork movement.


1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 342-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
J R Greenberg ◽  
E Carroll

A variety of evidence suggests that the cytoplasmic mRNA-associated proteins of eucaryotic cells are derived from the cytoplasm and function there, most likely in protein synthesis or some related process. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that protein-free mRNA added to a cell-free translation system should become associated with a set of proteins similar to those associated with mRNA in native polyribosomes. To test this hypothesis, we added deproteinized rabbit reticulocyte mRNA to a homologous cell-free translation system made dependent on exogenous mRNA by treatment with micrococcal nuclease. The resulting reconstituted complexes were irradiated with UV light to cross-link the proteins to mRNA, and the proteins were analyzed by gel electrophoresis. The proteins associated with polyribosomal mRNA in the reconstituted complexes were indistinguishable from those associated with polyribosomal mRNA in intact reticulocytes. Furthermore, reticulocyte mRNA-associated proteins were very similar to those of cultured mammalian cells. The composition of the complexes varied with the translational state of the mRNA; that is, certain proteins present in polyribosomal mRNA-protein complexes were absent or reduced in amount in 40S to 80S complexes and in complexes formed in the absence of translation. However, other proteins, including a 78-kilodalton protein associated with polyadenylate, were present irrespective of translational state, or else they were preferentially associated with untranslated mRNA. These findings are in agreement with previous data suggesting that proteins associated with cytoplasmic mRNA are derived from the cytoplasm and that they function in translation or some other cytoplasmic process, rather than transcription, RNA processing, or transport from the nucleus to the cytoplasm.


2022 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. e202101134
Author(s):  
Ka Man Wong ◽  
Devin A King ◽  
Erin K Schwartz ◽  
Rafael E Herrera ◽  
Ashby J Morrison

Carcinogenic insult, such as UV light exposure, creates DNA lesions that evolve into mutations if left unrepaired. These resulting mutations can contribute to carcinogenesis and drive malignant phenotypes. Susceptibility to carcinogens (i.e., the propensity to form a carcinogen-induced DNA lesion) is regulated by both genetic and epigenetic factors. Importantly, carcinogen susceptibility is a critical contributor to cancer mutagenesis. It is known that mutations can be prevented by tumor suppressor regulation of DNA damage response pathways; however, their roles carcinogen susceptibility have not yet been reported. In this study, we reveal that the retinoblastoma (RB1) tumor suppressor regulates UV susceptibility across broad regions of the genome. In particular, centromere and telomere-proximal regions exhibit significant increases in UV lesion susceptibility when RB1 is deleted. Several cancer-related genes are located within genomic regions of increased susceptibility, including telomerase reverse transcriptase, TERT, thereby accelerating mutagenic potential in cancers with RB1 pathway alterations. These findings reveal novel genome stability mechanisms of a tumor suppressor and uncover new pathways to accumulate mutations during cancer evolution.


Author(s):  
Danilo José Silva Moreira ◽  
Juliana Brito da Fonseca ◽  
Karoline Rossi ◽  
Suzana dos Santos Vasconcelos ◽  
Vinicius Faustino Lima de Oliveira ◽  
...  

Xeroderma Pigmentoso (XP) is a rare, recessive and autosomal genetic disease that also affects both sexes and all ethnicities, being closely associated with communities with a high rate of inbreeding. The aim of this review was to detail the main routes of DNA repair of XP, the different functional defects that result in the development of the 8 types of XP, the main characteristics of the clinical picture of a patient with XP, the main comorbidities associated with XP, and the treatments available or that are still in studies for individuals affected by XP. The bibliographic research was carried out in the databases: Redalyc, Institutional Repository of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Scielo, Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, Science Research.com, Lilacs and Pub Med, using keywords or their associations: Xeroderma – Xeroderma Pigmentoso. XP is a genetic disease that has no cure; the individual with XP has a photosensitive skin and, when exposed to UV radiation, may develop several dermatological complications; the manifestations of XP are directly linked to the genetic defect; NER is undoubtedly the main route of DNA repair when it comes to XP; in XP-V the by-pass of the tape with the DNA lesion is not done by polymerase pol eta but by another polymerase of the Family Y; defects in DNA repair pathways can cause not only XP, but also other diseases; and the treatment for XP is palliative. It consists of the use of specific UV protectors, drugs, repair enzymes and adenoviral vectors, as well as cryosurgery, photodynamic therapy (PDT), surgical removal of tumors and psychological follow-up.


1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 4572-4577 ◽  
Author(s):  
G A Freyer ◽  
S Davey ◽  
J V Ferrer ◽  
A M Martin ◽  
D Beach ◽  
...  

DNA lesions induced by UV light, cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, and (6-4)pyrimidine pyrimidones are known to be repaired by the process of nucleotide excision repair (NER). However, in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, studies have demonstrated that at least two mechanisms for excising UV photo-products exist; NER and a second, previously unidentified process. Recently we reported that S. pombe contains a DNA endonuclease, SPDE, which recognizes and cleaves at a position immediately adjacent to cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and (6-4)pyrimidine pyrimidones. Here we report that the UV-sensitive S. pombe rad12-502 mutant lacks SPDE activity. In addition, extracts prepared from the rad12-502 mutant are deficient in DNA excision repair, as demonstrated in an in vitro excision repair assay. DNA repair activity was restored to wild-type levels in extracts prepared from rad12-502 cells by the addition of partially purified SPDE to in vitro repair reaction mixtures. When the rad12-502 mutant was crossed with the NER rad13-A mutant, the resulting double mutant was much more sensitive to UV radiation than either single mutant, demonstrating that the rad12 gene product functions in a DNA repair pathway distinct from NER. These data directly link SPDE to this alternative excision repair process. We propose that the SPDE-dependent DNA repair pathway is the second DNA excision repair process present in S. pombe.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (5) ◽  
pp. E410-E419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celine Walmacq ◽  
Lanfeng Wang ◽  
Jenny Chong ◽  
Kathleen Scibelli ◽  
Lucyna Lubkowska ◽  
...  

In human cells, the oxidative DNA lesion 8,5′-cyclo-2'-deoxyadenosine (CydA) induces prolonged stalling of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) followed by transcriptional bypass, generating both error-free and mutant transcripts with AMP misincorporated immediately downstream from the lesion. Here, we present biochemical and crystallographic evidence for the mechanism of CydA recognition. Pol II stalling results from impaired loading of the template base (5′) next to CydA into the active site, leading to preferential AMP misincorporation. Such predominant AMP insertion, which also occurs at an abasic site, is unaffected by the identity of the 5′-templating base, indicating that it derives from nontemplated synthesis according to an A rule known for DNA polymerases and recently identified for Pol II bypass of pyrimidine dimers. Subsequent to AMP misincorporation, Pol II encounters a major translocation block that is slowly overcome. Thus, the translocation block combined with the poor extension of the dA.rA mispair reduce transcriptional mutagenesis. Moreover, increasing the active-site flexibility by mutation in the trigger loop, which increases the ability of Pol II to accommodate the bulky lesion, and addition of transacting factor TFIIF facilitate CydA bypass. Thus, blocking lesion entry to the active site, translesion A rule synthesis, and translocation block are common features of transcription across different bulky DNA lesions.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 745-750
Author(s):  
D S Morra ◽  
B P Eliceiri ◽  
G L Eliceiri

It has been shown previously that the synthesis of small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) U1, U2, U3, U4, and U5, in contrast to that of all other RNA species tested, decreases markedly within 2 h of cell incubation after exposure to UV light (254 nm), while pyrimidine dimers are being removed from DNA. We examined the possibility that the postirradiation cell incubation-dependent, UV light-induced inhibition of snRNA synthesis might reflect hypersensitivity of the snRNA transcriptional domains to single-stranded DNA nicks or relaxation of DNA torsional stress or both that occur during DNA repair. This late suppression of snRNA biosynthesis was as pronounced in UV light-irradiated (DNA incision-deficient) xeroderma pigmentosum fibroblasts (complementation group A) as in irradiated normal human fibroblasts. The synthesis of snRNAs was not preferentially sensitive to gamma radiation (which produces single-stranded DNA breaks) or novobiocin or nalidixic acid (which induce DNA relaxation). Neither of these two drugs prevented the UV light-induced inhibition of snRNA synthesis observed during postirradiation cell incubation. These results suggest that the late suppression of snRNA synthesis does not result from hypersensitivity of snRNA transcriptional domains to single-stranded DNA cleavages or relaxation of DNA torsional strain. The UV light-induced late inhibition of snRNA synthesis: shows an inactivation curve whose slope differs from that observed immediately after irradiation; is seen in untransformed cells as well as established cells lines; and has been conserved between birds and mammals.


1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 342-351
Author(s):  
J R Greenberg ◽  
E Carroll

A variety of evidence suggests that the cytoplasmic mRNA-associated proteins of eucaryotic cells are derived from the cytoplasm and function there, most likely in protein synthesis or some related process. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that protein-free mRNA added to a cell-free translation system should become associated with a set of proteins similar to those associated with mRNA in native polyribosomes. To test this hypothesis, we added deproteinized rabbit reticulocyte mRNA to a homologous cell-free translation system made dependent on exogenous mRNA by treatment with micrococcal nuclease. The resulting reconstituted complexes were irradiated with UV light to cross-link the proteins to mRNA, and the proteins were analyzed by gel electrophoresis. The proteins associated with polyribosomal mRNA in the reconstituted complexes were indistinguishable from those associated with polyribosomal mRNA in intact reticulocytes. Furthermore, reticulocyte mRNA-associated proteins were very similar to those of cultured mammalian cells. The composition of the complexes varied with the translational state of the mRNA; that is, certain proteins present in polyribosomal mRNA-protein complexes were absent or reduced in amount in 40S to 80S complexes and in complexes formed in the absence of translation. However, other proteins, including a 78-kilodalton protein associated with polyadenylate, were present irrespective of translational state, or else they were preferentially associated with untranslated mRNA. These findings are in agreement with previous data suggesting that proteins associated with cytoplasmic mRNA are derived from the cytoplasm and that they function in translation or some other cytoplasmic process, rather than transcription, RNA processing, or transport from the nucleus to the cytoplasm.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (7) ◽  
pp. E633-E638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanislaw K. Jozwiakowski ◽  
Farimah Borazjani Gholami ◽  
Aidan J. Doherty

DNA replicases routinely stall at lesions encountered on the template strand, and translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) is used to rescue progression of stalled replisomes. This process requires specialized polymerases that perform translesion DNA synthesis. Although prokaryotes and eukaryotes possess canonical TLS polymerases (Y-family Pols) capable of traversing blocking DNA lesions, most archaea lack these enzymes. Here, we report that archaeal replicative primases (Pri S, primase small subunit) can also perform TLS. Archaeal Pri S can bypass common oxidative DNA lesions, such as 8-Oxo-2'-deoxyguanosines and UV light-induced DNA damage, faithfully bypassing cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers. Although it is well documented that archaeal replicases specifically arrest at deoxyuracils (dUs) due to recognition and binding to the lesions, a replication restart mechanism has not been identified. Here, we report that Pri S efficiently replicates past dUs, even in the presence of stalled replicase complexes, thus providing a mechanism for maintaining replication bypass of these DNA lesions. Together, these findings establish that some replicative primases, previously considered to be solely involved in priming replication, are also TLS proficient and therefore may play important roles in damage tolerance at replication forks.


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