C-myc overexpression facilitates radiation-induced DHFR gene amplification.

To investigate the role of myc-overexpression on radiation-induced amplification of the dihydrofolate reductase gene (DHFR) we compared diploid Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO-9) to cells of the same line that had been stably transfected with a dexamethasone-inducible c-myc cDNA. The application of flow-cytofluorometry and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) allowed the evaluation of an increase in DHFR gene copy number following radiation treatment without the use of a preceding selection procedure. We show that DHFR gene amplification may occur independently of p53 status in cells overexpressing c-myc.

Alterations in oncogene expression and radiosensitivity in the most frequently used SV40-transformed human skin fibroblasts.

In comparison with primary cell cultures, SV40-transformed human skin fibroblasts, either from healthy donors or from patients suffering from ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) or xeroderma pigmentosum, are more resistant to the cytotoxic action of low LET 60cobalt gamma-rays as well as to high LET alpha-particles. Resistance factors calculated from D10's lie between 1.4 and 2.0. Northern blot analysis reveals spontaneous overexpression of the oncogenes c-myc, Ki-ras and c-raf and of the tumour suppressor gene p53 as a consequence of SV40 transformation. For c-myc, the increased expression is due to gene amplification and gene rearrangement. An even further increase in the expression of c-myc has been found for AT cells (AT5BI-VA) after moderate doses of 60cobalt gamma-irradiation. A possible correlation between SV40-induced changes in gene expression and cellular radioresistance is discussed.

Permissivity for methotrexate-induced DHFR gene amplification correlates with the metastatic potential of rat adenocarcinoma cells.

During selection for methotrexate (MTX) resistance the metastatic subclone BSp73ASML of a spontaneous rat adenocarcinoma and a metastatic transfectant containing the metastogene META-1 underwent amplification of the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) gene at accelerated rates in contrast to non-metastatic but closely related BSp73AS cells. A four log increase in MTX resistance was associated with a 16-fold amplification and increased expression of the DHFR gene. The capacity for gene amplification in metastatic BSp73ASML cells was correlated with a deletion in the p53 gene and enhanced expression of the oncogene c-myc due to a 10-fold amplification of the myc gene. Increased expression of Ki-ras and c-raf in the non-metastatic BSp73AS cells seems to confer tumorigenicity but not permissivity for gene amplification.

Similarities between human ataxia fibroblasts and murine SCID cells: high sensitivity to gamma rays and high frequency of methotrexate-induced DHFR gene amplification, but normal radiosensitivity to densely ionizing alpha particles.

Two gamma-ray hypersensitive cell lines, human ataxia telangiectasia (AT) and murine severe combined immune deficiency (SCID) cells, proved to be very competent in amplifying their dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) gene under methotrexate selection stress. Over a period of months, methotrexate-resistant clones were obtained which were able to grow in progressively increasing methotrexate concentrations up to 1 mM. By then methotrexate-resistant AT and SCID cells had amplified their DHFR gene 6- and 30-fold, respectively, and showed very high DHFR mRNA expression. In contrast, related cells with normal radiosensitivity (human GM637 and mouse BALB/c fibroblasts) did not show DHFR gene amplification under comparable conditions. This correlation of the capacity of DHFR gene amplification and gamma-ray hypersensitivity in AT and SCID cells suggests that gene amplification may have a mechanism(s) in common with those involved in repair of gamma-radiation-induced damage. No difference in cell killing could be observed following exposure to densely ionizing alpha particles: AT and SCID cells exhibited comparable survival rates to GM637 and BALB/c cells, respectively.

Retinoic-acid-induced differentiation prevents gene amplification in teratocarcinoma stem cells.

In an attempt to study the regulatory properties of cells required for gene amplification, the capacity for amplification of the dehydrofolate reductase gene (dhfr) was determined in F9 teratocarcinoma stem cells during differentiation. By stepwise selection of surviving cells exposed to progressively increasing concentrations of methotrexate (MTX) up to 1,000 microM within 4 months, non-differentiated F9 cells reached a more than 40-fold amplification of their dhfr gene, elevated levels of dhfr mRNA and a 5-log increase in MTX resistance. Exposure to 5 Gy of 60Co-gamma-irradiation accelerated the process of amplification. In contrast, F9 cells that had been differentiated to endodermal cells by treatment with retinoic acid (RA) did not grow in MTX concentrations above 0.1 microM, either with or without radiation pretreatment and did not amplify the dhfr gene to any measurable extent over the same period of time. Upon treatment of methotrexate-resistant (F9-MTXr) cells with retinoic acid, loss of the amplified DNA in the absence of selection was significantly retarded. The ability to amplify the dhfr gene was correlated with the occurrence of origin binding activity in vitro (early domain of SV40 minimal origin of replication). These data indicate an increase in genomic stability and rigorous control of origin activity by differentiation.

SV40 DNA amplification and reintegration in surviving hamster cells after 60Co gamma-irradiation.

SV40-transformed Chinese hamster embryo cells were exposed to 60Co gamma-irradiation and the fate of the integrated SV40 sequences was pursued over a period of 20 days following radiation exposure. As shown by colony hybridization, integrated SV40 sequences were amplified in surviving and non-surviving cells. At later times, however, clonal sublines of surviving cells grown for 20-30 cell generations after irradiation had lost most of their amplified SV40 copies but showed altered restriction fragment patterns indicating reintegration of SV40 sequences at new sites of the hamster genome. This suggests that 60Co gamma-irradiation can generate mutations by inducing over-replication of chromosome segments that are then substrates of enzymatic rearrangements.

Radiation-induced gene amplification in rodent and human cells.

Ionizing and UV radiations induce amplification of SV40 DNA sequences integrated in the genome of Chinese hamster cells and increase amplification of the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) gene during methotrexate selection in human skin fibroblasts of a patient with ataxia telangiectasia. By cell fusion experiments it could be shown that SV40 gene amplification is mediated by one or several diffusible trans-acting factors induced or activated in a dose dependent manner by all types of radiation. One of these factors binds to a 10 bp sequence within the minimal origin of replication of SV40. In vivo competition with an excess of a synthetic oligonucleotide comprising this sequence blocks radiation-induced amplification.

UV-induced early-domain binding factor as the limiting component of simian virus 40 DNA amplification in rodent cells.

UV radiation and other carcinogenic agents induce an increase in DNA-binding activity to the early domain of the simian virus 40 (SV40) minimal origin in both SV40-permissive and SV40-nonpermissive cells. The increase is due to posttranslational modification of a preexisting protein, since it occurs in the presence of cycloheximide or anisomycin. Binding of this factor is an absolute requirement for the UV-induced SV40 DNA amplification in Co631 cells in vivo. A synthetic double-stranded oligonucleotide covering the early domain sequence totally blocked the UV-induced amplification in competition experiments. Point mutants of the sequence and unrelated oligonucleotides which could not bind the factor also did not block SV40 amplification. Inhibitors of protein synthesis caused an immediate increase of both early-domain factor activity (perhaps by prolonging mRNA half-life for the factor or for a modifying enzyme) and DNA amplification. The effects of UV and cycloheximide on SV40 amplification were superaddition.

DHFR gene amplification in cultured skin fibroblasts of ataxia telangiectasia patients after methotrexate selection.

During selection for methotrexate resistance, SV40-transformed human skin fibroblasts from patients with ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) underwent amplification of the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) gene, experienced nearly complete loss of the integrated SV40 sequences and showed a 3.6-fold increase in Ki-ras gene copy number. Over a period of months methotrexate-resistant (MTXr) A-T subclones were obtained, which were able to grow in progressively increasing MTX concentrations up to 100 microM. The ED50 values determined as the effective dose of MTX causing 50% growth inhibition in comparison to control cells increased from 3 x 10(-2) microM for MTXs AT5BI-VA cells to 250 microM MTX for the MTXr AX100 subclone. In contrast, human skin fibroblasts of healthy individuals did not show DHFR gene amplification and loss of SV40 sequences under comparable conditions and were unable to grow in MTX concentrations greater than 1 microM. Gene amplification and loss of DNA sequences are features underlying the genomic instability known to be a characteristic property of A-T cells and being probably responsible for the high cancer incidence in these patients.

Rejoining of double strand breaks in normal human and ataxia-telangiectasia fibroblasts after exposure to 60Co gamma-rays, 241Am alpha-particles or bleomycin.

The rejoining of DNA double strand breaks (dsb) induced by 60Co gamma-rays, 241Am alpha-particles or bleomycin was measured by neutral filter elution. In agreement with their colony-forming ability, ataxia-telangiectasia cells (AT2BE) and normal fibroblasts exhibited similar dsb rejoining capacity following alpha-irradiation, but showed marked differences in the rejoining kinetics of dsb induced by gamma-rays or bleomycin.

Alpha-radiation-induced amplification of integrated SV40 sequences is mediated by a trans-acting mechanism.

Treatment of Chinese hamster embryo cells with alpha irradiation (4 MeV, emitted by 241americium) induces a 15-fold amplification of integrated SV40 sequences. The extent of amplification depends on the dose of irradiation and on the presence of a functional T-antigen encoded by the SV40 A gene. The inducing signal can be transmitted to a non-irradiated nucleus following cell fusion. Amplification is therefore the result of some trans-acting process, and this could explain how SV40 amplification can occur after doses of alpha irradiation that are too low to cause direct DNA damage within the SV40 replicon.

Amplification of oncogenes and integrated SV40 sequences in mammalian cells by the decay of incorporated iodine-125.

Iodine-125, in the form of 5-[125I]iododeoxyuridine (I-UdR), was incorporated into the DNA of SV40 transformed Chinese hamster embryo cells. Disintegration of the 125I led to increased cell killing with increasing dose as measured by the colony-forming ability of single cells. The D37 (the dose at which 37% of the cells survive) amounts to 95 decays per cell, corresponding to 0.66 Gy. Variations in the copy number of specific DNA sequences was measured by using dispersed cell blotting with sensitive DNA hybridizations. A 13-fold amplification of the viral DNA sequences (SV40) and a twofold amplification of two cellular oncogenes of the ras-family (Ki-ras and Ha-ras) were found. Other cellular genes, like the alpha-actin gene, were not amplified, and no variation in gene copy number was detected after incubation of cells with cold I-UdR. We suggest the observed gene amplifications are induced by the densely ionizing radiation emitted by the decay of the incorporated 125I atoms.

Selective gene amplification in mammalian cells after exposure to 60Co gamma rays, 241Am alpha particles, or uv light.

Simian Virus 40 wild type (SV40)-transformed Chinese hamster embryo cells (Co631) contain about five viral copies integrated per cell genome. These SV40 sequences were used as endogenous indicator genes to study the response of mammalian cells to radiation at the gene level. An increase in copy number was detected by dispersed cell blotting and Southern analysis in combination with specific DNA hybridization. All types of radiation tested induce a 15- to 25-fold amplification of SV40 sequences without producing intact virus. The amplification is dose dependent and increases with time after irradiation: a maximum effect is observed at Day 3 after alpha particle or uv exposure and at Day 6 after gamma-ray exposure. A RBE of 6 can be calculated for alpha particles if amplification rates at Day 3 are compared. However, when the maximum effect is considered independent of time, no difference between different types of radiation is observed. Southern blots of genomic DNA show that not all integrated SV40 sequences are amplified upon radiation. Amplified sequences are found either in restriction fragments of relatively high molecular weight or in unit size fragments. SV40 amplification is selective in that the amplification of other genes, e.g., of alpha-actin, dhfr (dihydrofolate reductase), and of two oncogenes of the ras family (Kirsten ras and Harvey ras), was below detection level.

The mammalian genetic stress response.

A number of carcinogenic and cocarcinogenic agents induce new gene products in mammalian cells including primary human skin fibroblasts. These have been defined by cDNA cloning techniques, by protein resolutions in 2D PAGE and by the detection of new enzymatic functions. The uniform and transient genetic reaction is tentatively called the genetic stress response.

12-O-Tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced gene sequences in human primary diploid fibroblasts and their expression in SV40-transformed fibroblasts.

We have isolated cDNA sequences from TPA-treated primary human fibroblasts, which indicate RNA species that are coordinately regulated after treatment of these cells with either ultraviolet light, mitomycin C, the UV-induced factor EPIF, or TPA. The levels of RNA are elevated in Bloom syndrome (cells of two out of three patients). After transformation with SV40 one of the sequences is overexpressed while another one is reduced. Both genes maintain their inducibility by the agents mentioned.

Cell cycle dependent G2 delay and killing of L929 cells after exposure to 241Am alpha particles.

Survival and G2 delay of L929 mouse fibroblasts exposed to 3.4-MeV alpha particles depend on the cell age at the time of irradiation. Greatest sensitivity for both endpoints has been found at the G1/S transition: The surviving fraction of G1/S cells is reduced to 0.11 following 1 Gy of alpha particles compared to 0.31 for early G1 cells. The G2 + M transit time rises from 3 hr for control cells to 22 and 30 hr for cells irradiated with 0.3 Gy in G2 or at the G1/S boundary, respectively. Cells irradiated in early G1 do not show increased G2 + M transit times. Growth delay as calculated for the entire population increases linearly with dose by 23 hr/Gy of alpha particles.

PCC technique reveals severe chromatin lesions and repair in G2-arrested cells after alpha irradiation.

Exponentially growing Chinese hamster V79 cells were exposed to 4 MeV alpha particles emitted by an americium-241 source. The chromatin of cells arrested in G2 by alpha irradiation is severely damaged, though all cells were still capable to condensate their chromatin after fusion with mitotic cells. In addition to the common types of aberrations (breaks, gaps, dicentrics and exchanges) cells were found possessing one or more chromosomes with long stretches of undercondensed chromatin. Repair of these lesions was indicated by site-specific unscheduled DNA synthesis and by the observation that condensation of these regions improved during G2 arrest.

Caffeine-mediated release of alpha-radiation-induced G2 arrest increases the yield of chromosome aberrations.

Severe and partly irreversible G2 arrest caused by americium-241 alpha-particles in Chinese hamster V79 cells acted as a competing process to the yield of detectable aberrant mitoses at metaphase. With increasing dose of alpha-radiation an increasing fraction of cells was irreversibly arrested in G2 with the consequence of interphase death before the first post-irradiation mitosis. This irreversible G2 arrest (demonstrated by flow cytofluorometry and mitotic indices) could be overcome by adding caffeine 8 hours after irradiation, the time point of maximum G2 arrest (80-90 per cent of all cells). Within 3.5 hours the number of aberrant mitoses increased by this treatment from 54 to 96 per cent and from 65 to 99.9 per cent for doses of 1.75 and 4.38 Gy of alpha-particles, respectively. The aberration frequency per mitotic cell, scored as chromatid and isochromatid breaks, rings, interchanges and dicentrics increased by a factor of about 3 after releasing G2 arrested cells. The frequency distribution of aberrations per cell revealed that, after 4.38 Gy, 58 per cent of the formerly G2-arrested cells had more than five aberrations per cell compared to only 8 per cent without the interaction of caffeine.