UV-damaged Sites Research Articles

In Vivo Destabilization and Functional Defects of the Xeroderma Pigmentosum C Protein Caused by a Pathogenic Missense Mutation

Xeroderma pigmentosum group C (XPC) protein plays an essential role in DNA damage recognition in mammalian global genome nucleotide excision repair (NER). Here, we analyze the functional basis of NER inactivation caused by a single amino acid substitution (Trp to Ser at position 690) in XPC, previously identified in the XPC patient XP13PV. The Trp690Ser change dramatically affects the in vivo stability of the XPC protein, thereby causing a significant reduction of its steady-state level in XP13PV fibroblasts. Despite normal heterotrimeric complex formation and physical interactions with other NER factors, the mutant XPC protein lacks binding affinity for both undamaged and damaged DNA. Thus, this single amino acid substitution is sufficient to compromise XPC function through both quantitative and qualitative alterations of the protein. Although the mutant XPC fails to recognize damaged DNA, it is still capable of accumulating in a UV-damaged DNA-binding protein (UV-DDB)-dependent manner to UV-damaged subnuclear domains. However, the NER factors transcription factor IIH and XPA failed to colocalize stably with the mutant XPC. As well as highlighting the importance of UV-DDB in recruiting XPC to UV-damaged sites, these findings demonstrate the role of DNA binding by XPC in the assembly of subsequent NER intermediate complexes.

Influence of XPB helicase on recruitment and redistribution of nucleotide excision repair proteins at sites of UV-induced DNA damage

The XPB DNA helicase, a subunit of the basal transcription factor TFIIH, is also involved in nucleotide excision repair (NER). We examined recruitment of NER proteins in XP-B cells from patients with mild or severe xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) having different XPB mutations using local UV-irradiation through filters with 5 μm pores combined with fluorescent antibody labeling. XPC was rapidly recruited to UV damage sites containing DNA photoproducts (cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, CPD) in all the XP-B and normal cells, thus reflecting its role in damage recognition prior to the function of XPB. Cells from the mild XP-B patients, with a missense mutation, showed delayed recruitment of all NER proteins except XPC to UV damage sites, demonstrating that this mutation impaired localization of these proteins. Surprisingly, in cells from severely affected patients, with a C-terminal XPB mutation, XPG and XPA proteins were normally recruited to UV damage sites demonstrating that this mutation permits recruitment of XPG and XPA. In marked contrast, in all the XP-B cells recruitment of XPF was absent immediately after UV and was delayed by 0.5 and 3 h in cells from the mild and severely affected XP patients, respectively. Redistribution of NER proteins was nearly complete in normal cells by 3 h but by 24 h redistribution was only partially present in cells from mild patients and virtually absent in cells from the severely affected patients. Ineffectual repair of UV-induced photoproducts resulting from delayed recruitment and impaired redistribution of NER proteins may contribute to the markedly increased frequency of skin cancer in XP patients.

Neurons and astrocytes exhibit lower activities of global genome nucleotide excision repair than do fibroblasts

Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is a DNA repair pathway, which eliminates various types of helix-distorting DNA damage including some forms of oxidative damage and UV-induced photoproducts. To understand why patients with NER-defective disorders develop progressive neurological abnormalities, we investigated NER capabilities in neural cells. Primary cultured neurons and astrocytes derived from rat embryonic brains were prepared in mixed-cell cultures, and fibroblasts from the same embryos were cultured for comparison. Neurons in culture were unable to proliferate, while cultured astrocytes maintained that capacity. Determination of (6-4) photoproducts in situ using antibodies against those DNA lesions was used to measure NER capabilities in individual neural cells, which were identified by staining with specific cell markers. The results demonstrate that both neurons and astrocytes have significantly lower NER capabilities than fibroblasts. That result was consistent with the finding that levels of an NER-related protein (proliferating cell nuclear antigen, PCNA) recruited at the localized UV-damage sites were lower in neurons and in astrocytes than in fibroblasts. Interestingly, the degrees of NER deterioration in those neural cells were almost equivalent to those found in NER-defective human fibroblasts (TTD2VI) that show an increased sensitivity to UV. Thus, the present study suggests that an attenuated NER capacity is not specific to post-mitotic neurons, but may be common to neural cells constituting the central nervous system regardless of their residual proliferative capacity. Although the reduced but substantial NER capability of neural cells is indispensable to preventing progressive neurological abnormalities, that low NER capability might have implications for brain ageing.

TLK1B promotes repair of UV-damaged DNA through chromatin remodeling by Asf1

BackgroundThe mammalian protein kinase TLK1 is a homologue of Tousled, a gene involved in flower development in Arabidopsis thaliana. The function of TLK1 is not well known, although knockout of the gene in Drosophila, or expression of a dominant negative mutant in mouse mammary cells causes loss of nuclear divisions and chromosome mis-segregation. TLK1B is a splice variant of TLK1 and it confers radioresistance in a normal mammary mouse cell line possibly due to increased chromatin remodeling capacity, but the mechanism of resistance remains to be fully elucidated.ResultsWe now show that TLK1B also affords protection against UV radiation. We find that nuclear extracts isolated from TLK1B-containing mouse cells promote more efficient chromatin assembly than comparable extracts lacking TLK1B. TLK1B-containing extracts are also more efficient in repair of UV-damaged plasmid DNA assembled into nucleosomes. One of the two known substrates of TLK1 (or TLK1B) is the histone chaperone Asf1, and immuno-inactivation experiments suggest that TLK1B increases UV-repair through the action of Asf1 on chromatin assembly/disassembly.ConclusionOur studies provide evidence for TLK1B-mediated phosphorylation of Asf1 triggering DNA repair. We suggest that this occurs via Asf1-mediated chromatin assembly at the sites of UV damage.

The Spacer Region of XPG Mediates Recruitment to Nucleotide Excision Repair Complexes and Determines Substrate Specificity

XPG has structural and catalytic roles in nucleotide excision repair (NER) and belongs to the FEN-1 family of structure-specific nucleases. XPG contains a stretch of over 600 amino acids termed the "spacer region" between the conserved N- and I-nuclease regions. Its role is unknown, and it is not similar to any known protein. To investigate its possible functions, we generated and analyzed several deletion mutants of XPG. The spacer region is not required for endonuclease activity, but amino acids 111-550 contribute to the substrate specificity of XPG, and they are required for interaction with TFIIH and for NER activity in vitro and in vivo. Deletion of residues 184-210 and 554-730 leads only to a partial defect in NER activity and a weakened interaction with TFIIH. XPGDelta184-210 and XPGDelta554-730 are not observed at sites of local UV damage in living cells by immunofluorescence, suggesting that the weakened interaction between XPG and TFIIH results in an NER reaction with altered kinetics. This study demonstrates that the N-terminal portion of the spacer region is particularly important for NER progression by mediating the XPG-TFIIH interaction and XPG substrate specificity.

Definition of a Short Region of XPG Necessary for TFIIH Interaction and Stable Recruitment to Sites of UV Damage

XPG is the human endonuclease that cuts 3' to DNA lesions during nucleotide excision repair. Missense mutations in XPG can lead to xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), whereas truncated or unstable XPG proteins cause Cockayne syndrome (CS), normally yielding life spans of <7 years. One XP-G individual who had advanced XP/CS symptoms at 28 years has been identified. The genetic, biochemical, and cellular defects in this remarkable case provide insight into the onset of XP and CS, and they reveal a previously unrecognized property of XPG. Both of this individual's XPG alleles produce a severely truncated protein, but an infrequent alternative splice generates an XPG protein lacking seven internal amino acids, which can account for his very slight cellular UV resistance. Deletion of XPG amino acids 225 to 231 does not abolish structure-specific endonuclease activity. Instead, this region is essential for interaction with TFIIH and for the stable recruitment of XPG to sites of local UV damage after the prior recruitment of TFIIH. These results define a new functional domain of XPG, and they demonstrate that recruitment of DNA repair proteins to sites of damage does not necessarily lead to productive repair reactions. This observation has potential implications that extend beyond nucleotide excision repair.

3 Xeroderma pigmentosum and related disorders: Defects in DNA repair and transcription

The genetic disorders xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), Cockayne syndrome (CS), and trichothiodystrophy (TTD) are all associated with defects in nucleotide excision repair (NER) of DNA damage. Their clinical features are very different, however, XP being a highly cancer-prone skin disorder, whereas CS and TTD are cancer-free multisystem disorders. All three are genetically complex, with at least eight complementation groups for XP (XP-A to -G and variant), five for CS (CS-A, CS-B, XP-B, XP-D, and XP-G), and three for TTD (XP-B, XP-D, and TTD-A). With the exception of the variant, the products of the XP genes are proteins involved in the different steps of NER, and comprise three damage-recognition proteins, two helicases, and two nucleases. The two helicases, XPB and XPD, are components of the basal transcription factor TFIIH, which has a dual role in NER and initiation of transcription. Different mutations in these genes can affect NER and transcription differentially, and this accounts for the different clinical phenotypes. Mutations resulting in defective repair without affecting transcription result in XP, whereas if transcription is also affected, TTD is the outcome. CS proteins are only involved in transcription-coupled repair, a subpathway of NER in which damage in the transcribed strands of active genes is rapidly and preferentially repaired. Current evidence suggests that they also have an important but not essential role in transcription. The variant form of XP is defective in a novel DNA polymerase, which is able to synthesise DNA past UV-damaged sites.

A processive versus a distributive mechanism of action correlates with differences in ability of normal and xeroderma pigmentosum group A endonucleases to incise damaged nucleosomal DNA

A DNA endonuclease, isolated from the nuclei of normal human and xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group A (XPA) cells, which recognizes predominately pyrimidine dimers, was examined for the mechanism by which it locates sites of damage on UVC-irradiated DNA. In reaction mixtures with low ionic strengths (i.e. lacking KCl), the normal and XPA endonuclease locate sites of UV damage on both naked and reconstituted nucleosomal DNA by different mechanisms. On both of these substrates, the normal endonuclease acts by a processive mechanism, meaning that it binds non-specifically to DNA and scans the DNA for sites of damage, whereas the XPA endonuclease acts by a distributive one, meaning that it randomly locates sites of damage on DNA. However, while both the normal and XPA endonucleases can incise UVC irradiated naked DNA, they differ in ability to incise damaged nucleosomal DNA. The normal endonuclease showed increased activity on UVC treated nucleosomal DNA compared with naked DNA, whereas the XPA endonuclease showed decreased activity on the damaged nucleosomal substrate. Since a processive mechanism of action is sensitive to the ionic strength of the micro-environment, the KCl concentration of the reaction was increased. At 70 mM KCI, the normal endonuclease switched to a distributive mechanism of action and its ability to incise damaged nucleosomal DNA also decreased. These studies show that there is a correlation between the ability of these endonucleases to act by a processive mechanism and their ability to incise damaged nucleosomal DNA; the normal endonuclease, which acts processively, can incise damaged nucleosomal DNA, whereas the XPA endonuclease, which acts distributively, is defective in ability to incise this substrate.

PHOTOSYNTHETIC RESPONSE OF THE GIANT KELP MACROCYSTIS PYRIFERA (PHAEOPHYCEAE) TO ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION1

ABSTRACTSolar ultraviolet radiation (UVA + UVB) impairs photosynthesis in marine algae. Canopy blades of the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera (L.) C. Agardh are exposed to high levels of solar UV in the field. To determine the effects of UV radiation on photosynthesis in the giant kelp and to identify sites of UV damage, O2 evolution, reaction center organization, light harvesting, and energy transfer efficiency were measured in canopy blades that had been exposed to elevated levels of UV in the laboratory. UV treatment reduced both the light‐saturated rate and the light‐limited rate of photosynthesis by 50% but produced no significant change in the rate of dark respiration. A significant impairment of photosystem II (PSII) reaction center function was observed, suggesting that PSII is a major site of damage in chromophytes. Reduced quantum efficiency of photosynthesis and loss of energy transfer from light‐harvesting pigments (fucoxanthin, chlorophyll a, and chlorophyll c) to PSII indicate that the major light‐harvesting complex of M. pyrifera, the fucoxanthin‐chlorophyll protein complex (FCPC), was another site of UV damage. These measures provide the first evidence of a direct effect of UV radiation on specific sites in the photosynthetic apparatus of chromophytes and indicate that in situ fluorescence excitation analysis may be a simple means to detect UV stress in algae.

Sites of preferential induction of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers in the nontranscribed strand of lacI correspond with sites of UV-induced mutation in Escherichia coli

An approach utilizing fluorescence-activated DNA sequencing technology was used to study the position and frequency of UV-induced lesions in the lacI gene of Escherichia coli. The spectrum of sites of UV damage in the NC+ region of the gene was compared with a published spectrum of UV-induced mutation in lacI (Schaaper, R.M., Dunn, R.L., and Glickman, B.W. (1987) J. Mol. Biol. 198, 187-202). On average, the frequency of UV-induced lesions in the nontranscribed strand was higher than that in the transcribed strand in the region analyzed. A large fraction of mutations occurs at sites of UV-induced lesions in the nontranscribed strand, but not in the transcribed strand. This bias is reduced in an excision repair deficient (UvrB-) strain. In addition, mutations occur overwhelmingly at sites where a dipyrimidine sequence is present in the nontranscribed strand. This bias is also markedly reduced in the UvrB- strain. In light of recent work Mellon and Hanawalt (Mellon, I., and Hanawalt, P.C. (1989) Nature 342, 95-98) describing the preferential removal of cyclobutane dimers from the transcribed strand of the expressed lacZ gene in E. coli, our data suggest that preferential strand repair may have a significant effect on mutagenesis.

Unscheduled DNA synthesis in xeroderman pigmentosum cells after microinjection of yeast photoreactivity enzyme

Photoreactivating enzyme (PRE) from yeast causes a light-dependent reduction of UV-induced unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) when injected into the cytoplasm of repair-proficieint human fibroblasts (Zwetsloot et al., 1985). This result indicates that the exogenous PRE monomerizers UV-induced dimers in these cells competing with the endogenous excision repair. In this paper we present the results of the injection of yeast PRE on (residual) UDS in fibroblasts from different excision-deficient XP-strains representing complementation groups A, C, D, E, F, H and I (all displaying more than 10% of the UDS of wild-type cells) and in fibroblasts from two excision-proficient XP-variant strains. In fibroblasts belonging to complementation groups C, F and I and in fibroblasts from the XP-variant strains UDS was significantly reduced, indicating that pyrimidine dimers in these cells are accessible to and can be monomerized by the injected yeast PRE. The UDS reduction in the XP-variant strains is comparable with the effect in wild-type cells. In cells from complementation groups C, F and I the reduction is less than in wild-type and XP-variant cells. Fibroblasts belonging to groups A, D, E and H did not show any reduction in UDS level after PRE injection and illumination with photoreactivating light. These result give evidence that the genetic repair defect in some XP-strains is probably due to an altered accessibility of the UV-damaged sites.

Cell cycle‐related variations in UV damage and repair capacity in chinese hamster (CHO‐K1) cells

UV damage to CHO cell DNA, measured by formation of thymine-containing dimers, increases from mitosis to early S phase. Computer simulation of UV absorption by the DNA of an idealized CHO cell at different stages in the cell cycle resembles the cycle dependence of UV damage. Incision at UV damage sites, measured by the accumulation of breaks in preexisting DNA during 30 minutes' post-irradiation incubation with the DNA synthesis inhibitors 1-beta-D arabinofuranosylcytosine and hydroxyurea, increases from mitosis to interphase. Analysis of the dose dependence of DNA break accumulation indicates that both the affinity of the endonuclease for dimer sites and the maximum enzyme activity at saturating levels of dimers are significantly lower in mitosis than in interphase. The killing of CHO cells by UV is enhanced if repair is temporarily inhibited by are C. The DNA gyrase inhibitor novobiocin prevents UV-induced incision.

A new mutant of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae defective in excision of UV-damaged sites in DNA.

An UV-sensitive yeast mutant, uvs12, with almost unchanged sensitivity to gamma-irradiation and methylmethane sulphonate was obtained. uvs12, non allelic to any of the known UV-sensitive mutants from radI to rad21 is defective in early steps of excision repair. This inference is based on the fact that after 4-5 h post-irradiation incubation unexcised pyrimidine dimers are retained in nuclear DNA, which follows from two independent tests: the retention of UV-endonuclease-sensitive sites and enhanced survival after photoreactivation.