Photosensitized decontamination of blood with the silicon phthalocyanine Pc 4: no activation of the human immunodeficiency virus promoter.

Photochemical decontamination of red blood cell concentrates (RBCC) with the silicon phthalocyanine Pc 4 and red light is being studied to enhance the viral safety of blood transfusion. Recent reports indicate that treatments with radiation and various phototsensitizing agents can activate the promoter of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This raises the possibility that an inadequate, sublethal photochemical treatment of RBCC could induce HIV in latently infected cells. This question has been addressed using HeLa cells stably transfected with the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase gene under the control of the HIV promoter. In control studies, 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) excited by UVA light caused activation of the HIV promoter in a dose- and time-dependent manner. At 0.1 microgram/mL of 8-MOP, maximal activation occurred with 18 J/cm2, 30 h after light exposure, With Pc 4 at 20 nM, over 90% of HeLa cells were killed after 24 h when exposed to 1 J/cm2 of red light. During that time interval and over a wide range of light doses no activation of the HIV promoter occurred. It is concluded that RBCC sterilization with Pc 4 and red light is unlikely to induce HIV production in latently infected cells.

Activation of the human immunodeficiency virus promoter by UVA radiation in combination with psoralens or angelicins.

The effects of mono- and bifunctional furocoumarins plus UVA radiation (PUVA and related treatments) on the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) promoter were studied using HeLa cells stably transfected with the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase gene under the control of the HIV-1 promoter. The experiments were performed with three psoralens (5-methoxypsoralen, 5-MOP; 8-methoxypsoralen, 8-MOP; and 4'-aminomethyl-4,8,5'-trimethylpsoralen, AMT) and four angelicins (angelicin; 4,5'-dimethylangelicin, 4,5'-DMA; 6,4'-dimethylangelicin, 6,4'-DMA; and 4,6,4'-trimethylangelicin, TMA). The drugs alone and UVA radiation alone showed no effect on the HIV promoter. However, when the cells were incubated with the furocoumarins at 0.1-40 micrograms/mL and then irradiated, the HIV promoter was activated in distinct fluence ranges, i.e. (1) no promoter activity was discernible at low fluences (e.g. at 0.1 microgram/mL of 8-MOP up to 100 kJ/m2), (2) as the fluence was increased, the promoter activity increased to reach a maximum (10-50-fold with respect to the unexposed samples), and (3) as the fluence was further increased, the promoter activity decreased. Similar (although shifted on the fluence scale) patterns were observed with either > 340-nm UVA radiation or with UVA radiation contaminated with a small amount of UVB radiation (typical for PUVA lamps). The effective fluences were inversely related to the drug concentration. Experiments with 5-MOP and 8-MOP indicated reciprocity of the drug concentration and radiation fluence. The HIV promoter response patterns were similar for monofunctional angelicins and bifunctional psoralens.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Spectral effects in activation of the human immunodeficiency virus promoter by psoralens plus ultraviolet A treatment.

The effects of PUVA treatment on HIV promoter activation and cell killing in HIV cat/HeLa cells were studied using two UV sources, a UVASUN sunlamp and a UVAR Photoactivation Chamber. A 4 to 5 times higher dose of ultraviolet radiation was required from the UVASUN lamp than from the UVAR lamps: 1) to activate the HIV promoter in the presence of 0.1 or 1.0 microgram/ml 8-MOP and 2) to reduce cell survival to a level of 10%, in the presence of 0.1 or 1.0 microgram/ml 8-MOP. In addition, exposures performed with a fixed dose of 20 kJ/m2 at varying concentrations of 8-MOP, required a 4.7 times higher combined PUVA dose from the UVASUN lamp than from the UVAR lamps. Two possible sources of these differences were analyzed: (1) the presence of UVB + UVA2 (280-340 nm) in the radiation emitted by the UVAR, but not the UVASUN lamp, and its potential biological activity independent of 8-MOP, and (2) the difference in the overlap of the emission spectra of the two lamps with the absorption spectrum of 8-MOP. The area of overlap was higher for the UVAR lamp than for the UVASUN lamp by a factor of 4.6, which is close to the difference between these two lamps in induction of the HIV promoter and killing HeLa cells. This indicates that the effectiveness of a particular UVA source used in combination with 8-MOP can be predicted by its congruence to the absorption spectrum of the photosensitizing drug.

Cytotoxicity and mutagenicity of ophthalmic solution preservatives and UVA radiation in L5178Y cells.

Four chemical preservatives commonly used in ophthalmic solutions were tested for their toxic and mutagenic potential in mouse lymphoma cells with and without exposure of the cells to ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation. The preservatives tested were benzalkonium chloride (BAK), chlorhexidine, thimerosal and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Cell survival and mutagenesis were measured using the L5178Y mouse lymphoma (TK +/-) system. Cells were exposed to varying amounts of preservatives for 1 h at 37 degrees C, and then aliquots were irradiated with UVA radiation (during the exposure to preservative). Cells were then assayed for survival, and for mutagenesis at the thymidine kinase (TK) locus. In concentrations commonly found in ophthalmic solutions, BAK, chlorhexidine, and thimerosal were toxic to cells, and thimerosal was slightly mutagenic. When cells were exposed to preservative and UVA radiation, chlorhexidine was mutagenic and the mutagenic activity of thimerosal was enhanced.

Host cell reactivation studies with epidermal cells of mice sensitive and resistant to carcinogenesis.

Primary epidermal cells from AKR, BALB/c, CD-1, and SENCAR mice, listed in order of least to most sensitive to epidermal carcinogenesis by initiation and promotion protocols, were found to be equally competent to "reactivate" herpes simplex virus type 1 irradiated by germicidal ultraviolet radiation. Nontumorigenic BALB/c epidermal cell lines selected in vitro for resistance to terminal differentiation after in vivo or in vitro treatment with initiating doses of carcinogens showed virus survival curves similar to those of primary cells. Similarly, primary cultures which were allowed to grow to confluency following a single treatment with the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (100 ng/ml) retained normal host cell reactivation. Host cell reactivation studies with mouse dermal fibroblasts could not be done because of the failure of the herpes simplex virus to infect these cells and produce plaques. These results demonstrate that survival of ultraviolet light-damaged virus in primary epidermal cells in culture is unrelated to whether the cells are derived from mice sensitive or resistant to epidermal carcinogenesis. Furthermore, virus survival is not changed by tumor promoter treatment or by treatment with initiating doses of carcinogens which results in differentiation-resistant cells.

Susceptibility determinants for mouse epidermal carcinogenesis.

SENCAR mice are markedly more susceptible to two-stage skin carcinogenesis than BALB/c mice. Studies were carried out to elucidate the basis for this sensitivity. It is not related to differences in the metabolism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (DiGiovanni et al., 1980) but appears to be determined by the target tissue, since when SENCAR skin was grafted onto nude mice they developed papillomas at a high frequency after initiation and promotion, whereas after grafting of BALB/c skin, no tumours developed. DNA repair capacity was studied in SENCAR and BALB/c epidermal cells in culture. Host cell reactivation, utilizing ultra-violet light-irradiated herpes simplex virus, was similar in cells of the two strains. SENCAR cells have a greater binding capacity for epidermal growth factor than BALB/c cells; however, the increased binding in response to retinoic acid and the rapid decrease after exposure to phorbol esters are similar in the two strains. Spontaneous expression of endogenous proviral DNA sequences for xenotropic-type C RNA viruses occurs more readily in BALB/c epidermal cells than in those of SENCAR. The frequency of spontaneous differentiation-resistant foci in vitro (Kulesz-Martin et al., 1980) is greater in SENCAR than in BALB/c epidermal cells. These results suggest that susceptibility for skin carcinogenesis in SENCAR mice is determined by the target tissue itself and has no clear relation to DNA excision repair, endogenous virus complement or epidermal growth factor receptors.