The Instrument Design of the DLR Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer (DESIS).

Whether for identification and characterization of materials or for monitoring of the environment, space-based hyperspectral instruments are very useful. Hyperspectral instruments measure several dozens up to hundreds of spectral bands. These data help to reconstruct the spectral properties like reflectance or emission of Earth surface or the absorption of the atmosphere, and to identify constituents on land, water, and in the atmosphere. There are a lot of possible applications, from vegetation and water quality up to greenhouse gas monitoring. But the actual number of hyperspectral space-based missions or hyperspectral space-based data is limited. This will be changed in the next years by different missions. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer (DESIS) is one of the new currently existing space-based hyperspectral instruments, launched in 2018 and ready to reduce the gap of space-born hyperspectral data. The instrument is operating onboard the International Space Station, using the Multi-User System for Earth Sensing (MUSES) platform. The instrument has 235 spectral bands in the wavelength range from visible (400 nm) to near-infrared (1000 nm), which results in a 2.5 nm spectral sampling distance and a ground sampling distance of 30 m from 400 km orbit of the International Space Station. In this article, the design of the instrument will be described.

Impact of copper on the induction and repair of oxidative DNA damage, poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation and PARP-1 activity.

Copper is an essential trace element involved, among other functions, in enzymatic antioxidative defense systems. However, nonprotein bound copper ions have been shown to generate reactive oxygen species. To gain insight into the discrepancy between the protective properties of copper on the one hand and its toxicity on the other hand, we examined the genotoxic effects of CuSO(4) in cultured human cells. Here we report that copper, at cytotoxic concentrations, induces oxidative DNA base modifications and DNA strand breaks. However, at lower noncytotoxic concentrations, copper inhibits the repair of oxidative DNA damage induced by visible light. As a first mechanistic hint, inhibition of H(2)O(2)-induced poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation was identified in cultured cells and further experiments demonstrated a strong inhibition of the activity of isolated poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase-1 (PARP-1) by copper. Bioavailability studies of copper showed a dose-dependent uptake in cells and pointed out the relevance of the applied concentrations. Taken together, the results indicate that copper, under conditions of either disturbed homeostasis or overload due to high exposure, exerts defined genotoxic effects. Hence, a balance needs to be maintained to ensure sufficient uptake and to prevent overload.

Impact of arsenite and its methylated metabolites on PARP-1 activity, PARP-1 gene expression and poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation in cultured human cells.

The underlying mechanisms of arsenic carcinogenicity are still not fully understood. Mechanisms currently discussed include the induction of oxidative DNA damage and the interference with DNA repair pathways. Still unclear is the role of biomethylation, which has long been considered to be one major detoxification process. Methylated arsenicals have recently been shown to interfere with DNA repair in cellular and subcellular systems, but up to now no DNA repair protein has been identified being particular sensitive towards methylated arsenicals in cultured cells. Here we report that the trivalent methylated metabolites MMA(III) and DMA(III) inhibit poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation in cultured human HeLa S3 cells at concentrations as low as 1nM, thereby showing for the first time an inactivation of an enzymatic reaction related to DNA repair by the trivalent methylated arsenicals at very low environmentally relevant concentrations. In contrast the pentavalent metabolites MMA(V) and DMA(V) showed no such effects up to high micromolar concentrations. All investigated arsenicals did not alter gene expression of PARP-1. However, all trivalent arsenicals were able to inhibit the activity of isolated PARP-1, indicating that the observed decrease in poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation in cultures human cells, predominantly mediated by PARP-1, is likely due to changes in the activity of PARP-1. Since poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation plays a major role in DNA repair, cell cycle control and thus in the maintenance of genomic stability, these findings could in part explain DNA repair inhibition and the genotoxic and carcinogenic effects of arsenic.

Arsenite and its biomethylated metabolites interfere with the formation and repair of stable BPDE-induced DNA adducts in human cells and impair XPAzf and Fpg.

The underlying mechanisms of arsenic carcinogenicity are only poorly understood and especially the role of biomethylation is still a matter of debate. Besides the induction of oxidative DNA damage the interference with DNA repair processes have been proposed to contribute to arsenic-induced carcinogenicity. Within the present study the effects of arsenite and its mono- and dimethylated trivalent and pentavalent metabolites on BPDE-induced DNA adduct formation and repair has been investigated and compared in cultured human lung cells. Whereas only arsenite and MMA(III) increased BPDE-DNA adduct formation, arsenite (>/=5 microM), the trivalent (>/=2.5 microM) and the pentavalent (>/=250 microM) metabolites diminished their repair at non-cytotoxic concentrations. As potential molecular targets, interactions with the zinc finger domain of the human XPA protein (XPAzf) and the Escherichia coli zinc finger protein Fpg, involved in NER and BER, respectively, have been investigated. All trivalent arsenicals were able to release zinc from XPAzf; furthermore, MMA(III) and DMA(III) inhibited the activity of isolated Fpg. Altogether the results suggest that besides arsenite, especially the trivalent methylated metabolites may contribute to diminished NER at low concentrations.

Induction of oxidative DNA damage by arsenite and its trivalent and pentavalent methylated metabolites in cultured human cells and isolated DNA.

Even though a well-known human carcinogen the underlying mechanisms of arsenic carcinogenicity are still not fully understood. For arsenite, proposed mechanisms are the interference with DNA repair processes and an increase in reactive oxygen species. Even less is known about the genotoxic potentials of its methylated metabolites monomethylarsonous [MMA(III)] and dimethylarsinous [DMA(III)] acid, monomethylarsonic [MMA(V)] and dimethylarsinic [DMA(V)] acid. Within the present study we compared the induction of oxidative DNA damage by arsenite and its methylated metabolites in cultured human cells and in isolated PM2 DNA, by frequencies of DNA strand breaks and of lesions recognized by the bacterial formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase (Fpg). Only DMA(III) (> or =10 micro M) generated DNA strand breaks in isolated PM2 DNA. In HeLa S3 cells, short-term incubations (0.5-3 h) with doses as low as 10 nM arsenite induced high frequencies of Fpg-sensitive sites, whereas the induction of oxidative DNA damage after 18 h incubation was rather low. With respect to the methylated metabolites, both trivalent and pentavalent metabolites showed a pronounced induction of Fpg-sensitive sites in the nanomolar or micromolar concentration range, respectively, which was present after both short-term and long-term incubations. Furthermore MMA(III) and DMA(V) generated DNA strand breaks in a concentration-dependent manner. Taken together our results show that very low physiologically relevant doses of arsenite and the methylated metabolites induce high levels of oxidative DNA damage in cultured human cells. Thus, biomethylation of inorganic arsenic may be involved in inorganic arsenic-induced genotoxicity/carcinogenicity.