Andrew J. Rainbow

Inhibition of RNA polymerase II as a trigger for the p53 response

The mechanisms by which the p53 response is triggered following exposure to DNA-damaging agents have not yet been clearly elucidated. We and others have previously suggested that blockage of RNA polymerase II may be the trigger for induction of the p53 response following exposure to ultraviolet light. Here we report on the correlation between inhibition of mRNA synthesis and the induction of p53, p21WAF1 and apoptosis in diploid human fibroblasts treated with either UV light, cisplatin or the RNA synthesis inhibitors actinomycin D, DRB, H7 and α-amanitin. Exposure to ionizing radiation or the proteasome inhibitor LLnL, however, induced p53 and p21WAF1 without affecting mRNA synthesis. Importantly, induction of p53 by the RNA synthesis or proteasome inhibitors did not correlate with the induction of DNA strand breaks. Furthermore, cisplatin-induced accumulation of active p53 in repair-deficient XP-A cells occurred despite the lack of DNA strand break induction. Our results suggest that the induction of the p53 response by certain toxic agents is not triggered by DNA strand breaks but rather, may be linked to inhibition of mRNA synthesis either directly by the poisoning of RNA polymerase II or indirectly by the induction of elongation-blocking DNA lesions.

Persistent DNA damage induced by ultraviolet light inhibits p21waf1 and bax expression : implications for DNA repair, uv sensitivity and the induction of apoptosis

Ultraviolet light (UV) induced DNA lesions efficiently block transcript elongation and induce the p53 response. Although p53 contributes to transcriptional activation of the p21waf1 and bax genes, accumulation of these proteins requires that these genes are free of UV induced pyrimidine dimers. We assessed the level of expression of p53 and the p53 regulated p21waf1 and bax gene products in normal diploid fibroblasts (NDF) and several nucleotide excision repair deficient fibroblasts following UV-irradiation. At low UV fluences, increased expression of p53, p21waf1 and bax was only observed in fibroblasts deficient in transcription coupled repair (TCR). Whereas p53 protein levels increased in all cell types at high UV fluences, p21waf1 levels initially decreased and then recovered in a manner dependent on TCR. At later times, expression of p21waf1 and bax was only elevated in TCR-proficient cells. The lack of TCR strongly correlated with an enhanced induction of apoptosis. Furthermore, we assessed the effect of modulation of the p53/p21waf1/pRb pathway on clonogenic survival following UV irradiation. Expression of E2F-1, E2F-4, and the large tumour antigens of SV40 and Polyomavirus conferred UV sensitivity to NDF whereas p21waf1 protected cells against UV treatment. We propose that the fluence dependent attenuation of protective functions of p53 by blockage of transcription favours apoptosis following UV exposure.

Induction of Hsp60 by Photofrin-mediated photodynamic therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) invokes a number of cellular responses. Other studies have shown that PDT induces transcription and translation of heat shock proteins (Hsps). The expression of mitochondrial heat shock protein, Hsp60, was measured following in vitro Photofrin-mediated PDT in the colon cancer cell line HT29 and its PDT-induced resistant variant HT29-P14 as well as the radiation-induced fibrosarcoma cells RIF-1 and its PDT-induced resistant variant, RIF-8A. Basal levels of Hsp60 were found to be similar in the two murine cell lines. In the human model, the resistant HT29-P14 cell line showed a small increase in basal levels relative to its parental population. Incubation with Photofrin (PII) alone or photosensitization caused a significant increase in Hsp60 levels in all cell lines as determined by flow cytometry. A dose-dependent and temporal relationship for PDT response was observed, maximum levels were detected 6-8 h post PDT, at which time, Hsp60 induction was found to be significantly greater in the two resistant variants. Induction in the RIF cells was also found to be greater after incubation with PII alone at the highest doses tested. These results indicate that the presence of PII and the subsequent oxidative stress of PDT can induce Hsp60 and implicated it as a common factor that may contribute to the resistance observed in the induced resistant cells.

Studies on the ultraviolet light sensitivity of Bloom's syndrome fibroblasts

The sensitivity of Blooms syndrome (bl/bl) fibroblasts to ultraviolet light (254 nm) has been estimated by 4 criteria: sister-chromatid exchange (SCE) formation, micronucleus production, cell survival, and host-cell reactivation of UV-irradiated adenovirus 2. In general, bl/bl strains did not differ significantly from the normal (+/+) strains in their response to UV treatment by any of the 4 criteria. One bl/bl strain, GM1492, was exceptional: It was abnormally sensitive to UV light in the SCE, micronucleus, and host-cell reactivation assays, but was not sensitive to UV as estimated by colony-forming ability. Thus, although one of the bl/bl strains studied in the experiments was sensitive to UV light as judged by some criteria, UV sensitivity is not a universal characteristic of Blooms syndrome cells. It is unclear whether the UV sensitivity of the GM1492 strain reflects genetic diversity within the syndrome or some unrelated property of this strain.

DNA Damage and Biological Function of Human Adenovirus after U.V.-irradiation

SummaryHuman adenovirus type 2 was irradiated with U.V.-light, and the radiosensitivity of several viral functions was determined and correlated with the damage in the viral DNA. The D37 for plaque formation and clone inhibition was found to be 2·1 × 103 erg/mm3 and 6·4 × 103 erg/mm2, respectively. Thymine dimers, cross-links and single-strand breaks were detected in the viral DNA. The fraction of thymine present as dimer was 1·9 × 10−6/erg/mm2, and the number of U.V. induced single-strand breaks was 21/erg/mm2/1012 daltons. An average of 30 dimers and one single-strand break were induced per lethal hit as measured by plaque formation. The addition of caffeine to the plaquing medium was found to reduce the survival of U.V.-irradiated virus, suggesting the possibility of a host-mediated repair mechanism.

The role of the p53 tumor suppressor in the response of human cells to photofrin-mediated photodynamic therapy.

Although there is evidence that the p53 tumor suppressor plays a role in the response of some human cells to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, its role in the response of human cells to photodynamic therapy (PDT) is less clear. In order to examine the role of p53 in cellular sensitivity to PDT, we have examined the clonogenic survival of normal human fibroblasts that express wild‐type p53 and immortalized Li–Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) cells that express only mutant p53, following Photofrin‐mediated PDT. The LFS cells were found to be more resistant to PDT compared to normal human fibroblasts. The D37 (LFS cells)/D37 (normal human fibroblasts) was 2.8 ± 0.3 for seven independent experiments. Although the uptake of Photofrin per cell was 1.6 ± 0.1‐fold greater in normal human fibroblast cells compared to that in LFS cells over the range of Photofrin concentrations employed, PDT treatment at equivalent cellular Photofrin levels also demonstrated an increased resistance for LFS cells compared to normal human fibroblasts. Furthermore, adenovirus‐mediated transfer and expression of wild‐type p53 in LFS cells resulted in an increased sensitivity to PDT but no change in the uptake of Photofrin per cell. These results suggest a role for p53 in the response of human cells to PDT. Although normal human fibroblasts displayed increased levels of p53 following PDT, we did not detect apoptosis or any marked alteration in the cell cycle of GM38 cells, despite a marked loss of cell viability. In contrast, LFS cells exhibited a prolonged accumulation of cells in G2 phase and underwent apoptosis following PDT at equivalent Photofrin levels. The number of apoptotic LFS cells increased with time after PDT and correlated with the loss of cell viability. A p53‐independent induction of apoptosis appears to be an important mechanism contributing to loss of clonogenic survival after PDT in LFS cells, whereas the induction of apoptosis does not appear to be an important mechanism leading to loss of cell survival in the more sensitive normal human fibroblasts following PDT at equivalent cellular Photofrin levels.

Decreased repair of gamma ray damaged DNA in progeria.

A sensitive host-cell reactivation technique was used to examine the DNA repair ability of fibroblasts from two patients with classical progeria. Fibroblasts were infected with either non-irradiated or gamma-irradiated adenovirus type 2 and at 48 hrs after infection cells were examined for the presence of viral structural antigens using immunofluorescent staining. The production of viral structural antigens was considerably reduced in the progeria lines as compared to normal fibroblasts when gamma-irradiated virus was used, indicating a defect in the repair of gamma ray damaged DNA in the progeria cells.

Up‐regulation of Hsp27 Plays a Role in the Resistance of Human Colon Carcinoma HT29 Cells to Photooxidative Stress¶

The Photofrin‐resistant cell line (HT29‐P14) was used in the present study to investigate the mechanism(s) involved in Photofrin‐mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT). We compared gene expression profiles between the resistant cell line and its parental cell line (HT29) using DNA microarray analysis. A significant up‐regulation of small heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27) was found in HT29‐P14 cells. The elevated Hsp27 level may play an important role in the resistance of HT29‐P14 to Photofrin‐PDT. To test this hypothesis, we stably transfected HT29 cells with human Hsp27 complementary DNA. The potential role of Hsp27 in the resistance to PDT was examined in Hsp27‐overexpressing cells. Stable trasnfected cells (H13) showed an increased survival after Photofrin‐PDT, suggesting that the up‐regulation of Hsp27 is related to the induced resistance to Photofrin‐PDT. Phosphorylation of Hsp27 has been suggested to play an important role in cytoprotection. We have examined the phosphorylation activity of Hsp27 among the parental and resistant cells, as well as the overexpression cells. An elevated level of Hsp27 resulted in an increased ability of phosphorylation in both resistant and overexpressing cells after PDT. The activation of the phosphorylation of Hsp27 induced by PDT was not mediated by the p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase. These data suggest that Hsp27 may play an important role in mediating the adaptive response to Photofrin‐PDT–induced oxidative stress and that the pathways leading to Hsp27 phosphorylation may contribute to the resistance of the cells to photooxidative damage.

In Vitro Induction of PDT Resistance in HT29, HT1376 and SK-N-MC Cells by Various Photosensitizers ¶

Our approach to examine the mechanism(s) of action for photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been via the generation of PDT‐resistant cell lines. In this study we used three human cell lines, namely, human colon adenocarcinoma (HT29), human bladder carcinoma and human neuroblastoma. The three photosensitizers used were Photofrin, Nile Blue A and aluminum phthalocyanine tetrasulfonate. The protocol for inducing resistance consisted of repeated in vitro photodynamic treatments with a photosensitizer to the 1–10%‐survival level followed by regrowth of single surviving colonies. Varying degrees of resistance were observed. The three induced variants of the HT29 cell line were the most extensively studied. Their ratios of increased survival at the LD90 level range between 1.5‐ and 2.62‐fold more resistant.

Alterations in Mitochondrial and Apoptosis-regulating Gene Expression in Photodynamic Therapy-resistant Variants of HT29 Colon Carcinoma Cells¶

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a novel cancer therapy inducing irreversible photodamage to tumor tissue via photosensitizer‐mediated oxidative cytotoxicity. The cellular and molecular responses associated with PDT are only partially understood. We have reported previously the generation of several photosensitizer‐specific PDT‐resistant cell variants of HT29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells by selecting cells from sequential PDT treatment using different photosensitizers. In this report, we describe the use of messenger RNA (mRNA) differential display to identify genes that were differentially expressed in the parental HT29 cells compared with their resistant variants. In comparison with parental HT29 cells, mRNA expression was increased in the PDT‐resistant cell variants for BNIP3, estrogen receptor‐binding fragmentassociated gene 9, Myh‐1c, cytoplasmic dynein light chain 1, small membrane protein I and differential dependent protein. In contrast, expression in the PDT‐resistant variants was downregulated for NNX3, human HepG2 3′region Mbol complementary DNA, glutamate dehydrogenase, hepatomaderived growth factor and the mitochondrial genes coding for 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) dehydrogenase subunit 4. The reduction for mitochondrial 16S rRNA in the PDT‐resistant variants was confirmed by Northern blotting, and the elevated expression of the proapoptotic BNIP3 in the PDT‐resistant variants was confirmed by Northern and Western blotting analysis. We also examined the expression of some additional apoptosis‐regulating genes using Western blotting. We show an increased expression of Bcl‐2 and heat shock protein 27 and a downregulation of Bax in the PDT‐resistant variants. In addition, the mutant p53 levels in the parental HT29 cells were reduced substantially in the PDT‐resistant variants. We suggest that the altered expression in several mitochondria1 and apoptosisregulating genes contributes to PDT resistance.