Transformation of ultraviolet-irradiated human fibroblasts by simian virus 40 is enhanced by cellular DNA repair functions

Ultraviolet stimulation of intermolecular homologous recombination in Chinese hamster ovary cells

We previously showed that ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of cotransfected plasmid DNA molecules stimulated genetic transformation that depended on intermolecular homologous recombination in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Repair-proficient cells and an excision repair complementation class 1 (ERCC1) UV-sensitive DNA repair-deficient mutant responded similarly to UV stimulation in cotransfections with plasmids containing linker insertion-disrupted copies of the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) gene. In this study, we cotransfected homologous DNA molecules containing nonoverlapping deletions of the hamster adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) gene into APRT-deficient CHO ERCC1 (UVL-10) and ERCC2 (UVL-1) excision-repair mutants and parental repair-proficient CHO cells. UV damage in cotransfected circular plasmid molecules stimulated transformation in repair-proficient cells and an ERCC1 mutant, but not in an ERCC2 mutant. Linearization of plasmids prior to cotransfection greatly enhanced transformation frequencies in all three cell lines, but UV stimulation using linear recombination substrates was no longer evident. Our results suggest (i) that the ERCC1 gene defect in CHO UVL-10 cells does not affect UV stimulation of homology-dependent extra-chromosomal recombination, and (ii) that a CHO cell ERCC2 excision-repair mutant, although recombination proficient, may exhibit altered recombination in response to UV damage.

Induction of expression of human immunodeficiency virus in a chronically infected promonocytic cell line by ultraviolet irradiation

Infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is often followed by a prolonged latent state, and mechanisms of maintaining latency or inducing expression from latency are active areas in AIDS research. It has been previously shown using a variety of viruses and cell systems that ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is capable of inducing the expression of latent viruses as well as augmenting the effects of acute viral infection. The ability of UV irradiation to affect HIV latency was investigated using a chronically HIV-infected, virus nonexpressing promonocytic cell line termed U1. After exposure to UV-C in doses ranging from 0.75 to 2.0 mJ/cm2, U1 cells were induced to express virus as assessed by detection of elevated reverse transcriptase activity and p24 antigen levels in culture supernatants of treated cells compared with unstimulated controls. In addition, immunofluorescence on cytospin preparations of UV-irradiated cells revealed a time-dependent increase in viral antigen production after UV stimulation. A similar increase in RT levels was seen after exposure of U1 cells to UV-B, although somewhat higher doses of UV-B (mJ) were required compared with UV-C (mJ). Viral induction by UV irradiation was associated with a drop in viability and a static growth curve, suggesting that a certain level of cellular stress was most likely necessary to initiate viral expression. The potential role of UV-induced cell damage with activation of a cellular "SOS" repair response is a probable explanation of the enhanced viral production observed.

Effect of DNA damage on stable transformation of mammalian cells with integrative and episomal plasmids

The efficiency of stable transformation of human cells by integrative (non-replicating) plasmids carrying a selectable gene has been shown to be markedly enhanced by the introduction into the plasmid DNA of bulky damage, such as cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers or psoralen photoadducts. Enhanced transformation (ET) occurs in all human cells tested, including DNA repair-deficient cells from the hereditary syndrome xeroderma pigmentosum, but significantly less, if at all, in rodent cells. ET has been observed with a variety of integrative plasmid constructs, suggesting the generality of the phenomenon; as expected, ET is due to an increase in the number of cells carrying integrated plasmid sequences. In contrast to integrative plasmids, stable transformation by episomal (autonomously replicating) plasmids derived from the Epstein-Barr virus is only depressed by the introduction of photoproducts; furthermore, pronounced inactivation of transformation mediated by episomal plasmids becomes apparent in xeroderma pigmentosum cells. Altogether, these results suggest that DNA damage increases the probability of stable insertion of heterologous non-replicating DNA into human chromosomes. Moreover, the differential sensitivity to DNA damage of human cell transformation mediated by integrative versus episomal plasmids suggests caution in using such assay to measure host cell reactivation capacity; processing of DNA damage in mammalian cells might differ significantly between intra- versus extra-chromosomal DNA. Since ET may be induced by damage outside the selectable gene carried on integrative plasmids, we propose a model that involves local disruption of chromatin structure by helix-distorting DNA lesions flanking actively transcribed sequences; alternatively, reorganization of such altered DNA structure might be favored by the presence of topoisomerase-like activities in the proximity of active genes. Because ET can also be induced by DNA damage to the recipient cells, it is speculated that similar mechanism(s) might be involved in the generation of other types of non-homologous DNA recombination in damaged human chromosomes, including oncogenic cell transformation mediated by integrative DNA viruses.

Enhanced induction of SV40 replication from transformed mammalian cells by fusion with UV-irradiated untransformed cells

DNA-damaging agents such as ultraviolet (UV) light are known to cause stimulation of virus replication in SV40-transformed hamster and human cells. The dose-response curves of UV-induced SV40 replication in transformed hamster cells resemble that obtained for UV-enhanced reactivation (ER) and UV-enhanced mutagenesis (EM) of SV40 or herpes viruses in mammalian cells. We have investigated whether UV-enhanced production of SV40 from transformed hamster (THK) and human (NB-E) cells belongs to the same category of conditional responses as ER and EM. To answer this question we have made use of the phenomenon that fusion of the SV40-transformed cells with monkey cells that are permissive to SV40 results in a considerable increase in the production of SV40 virus. When THK or NB-E cells were fused with UV-irradiated CV-1 cells at various times after irradiation, induction of SV40 was further increased and reached a maximum value of 2--3-fold when fusion was delayed for 24-48 h after irradiation. The kinetics of enhanced SV40 induction resembled that of ER and EM, suggesting that the UV-stimulated part of the induction represents one of the pleiotropic responses that are transiently induced in mammalian cells by DNA-damaging agents. Evidence is presented, showing that this transient effect can be induced only in cells that are permissive to SV40 replication. This suggests that the enhanced induction observed after fusion with irradiated monkey cells may be attributed to a transient increase in the activity of "permissiveness' factors. No enhanced induction was found when the THK or NB-E cells were fused with irradiated rodent cells, that are not or only slightly permissive to SV40 replication.

Studies on chemical carcinogen enhancement of Epstein-Barr virus induced transformation of human neonatal and adult peripheral blood lymphocytes

The effects of a wide range of selected chemical carcinogens on the frequency of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-induced transformation have been investigated. The carcinogens tested included direct-acting chemicals and chemicals requiring either activation via reactions with nucleophiles, or cell-mediated enzyme activation. Treatment with some but not all chemicals suspected of being carcinogens resulted in enhanced EBV-induced transformation of neonatal or adult peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs). The temporal relationship between carcinogen exposure and EBV infection could dramatically influence the results of the chemical carcinogen-cellular interaction as measured by the cells' ability to subsequently undergo morphologic transformation. This relationship was particularly evident when cells were treated with alkylating agents such as dimethylsulfonate (DMS) or N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG). Beginning at 24 h, and at later times following EBV-infection, cellular transformation became more resistant to the cytotoxic effects of DMS and, in contrast, more sensitive to the cytotoxic effects of MNNG. These diametrically opposed results clearly demonstrate the ability of EBV infection to alter the response of lymphocytes to chemical carcinogens as measured by transformation. The lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) established from carcinogen-treated PBLs had increased cloning efficiency. Furthermore, using radiolabelled, molecularly cloned subgenomic fragments of EBV DNA and DNA-DNA hybridization, we have been able to detect an increased number of EBV genome equivalents in whole-cell and high-molecular-weight cellular DNA extracted from LCLs established from MNNG as well as DMS-treated PBLs. We propose that carcinogen enhancement of EBV-induced transformation is an example of a two-step mechanism of oncogenic transformation in primary human lymphoid cells. The possible significance of these findings in relation to potential development of lymphomas following EBV exposure will be discussed.

SV40-induced transformation and T-antigen production is enhanced in normal and repair-deficient human fibroblasts after pretreatment of cells with UV light

Human fibroblasts irradiated with UV light were infected with simian virus 40 and tested either for transformation or T-antigen production. At UV doses that allowed approximately 5-10% of the irradiated cells to survive, the number of surviving transformed colonies increased. This result was confirmed by testing for T-antigen 96 h post infection by means of indirect immunofluorescence. Since these results were obtained for a normal cell line as well as for two UV excision repair-deficient ones (XP groups A and D), it was concluded that excision repair functions cannot play a decisive role in the events leading to increased transformation and T-antigen production. It is proposed that the relative increase of transformation and T-antigen production is the expression of host functions which are induced by DNA damage threatening cell survival.