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Base excision repair (BER) removes at least 20,000 DNA lesions per human cell per day and is critical for the maintenance of genomic stability. We hypothesize that aberrant BER, resulting from mutations in BER genes, can lead to genomic instability and cancer. The first step in BER is catalyzed by DNA N-glycosylases. One of these, n th endonuclease III-like (NTH1), removes oxidized pyrimidines from DNA, including thymine glycol. The rs3087468 single nucleotide polymorphism of the NTH1 gene is a G-to-T base substitution that results in the NTH1 D239Y variant protein that occurs in ∼6.2% of the global population and is found in Europeans, Asians, and subSaharan Africans. In this study, we functionally characterize the effect of the D239Y variant expressed in immortal but nontransformed human and mouse mammary epithelial cells. We demonstrate that expression of the D239Y variant in cells also expressing wild-type NTH1 leads to genomic instability and cellular transformation as assessed by anchorage-independent growth, focus formation, invasion, and chromosomal aberrations. We also show that cells expressing the D239Y variant are sensitive to ionizing radiation and hydrogen peroxide and accumulate double strand breaks after treatment with these agents. The DNA damage response is also activated in D239Y-expressing cells. In combination, our data suggest that individuals possessing the D239Y variant are at risk for genomic instability and cancer.DNA repair | mutagenesis | MCF10A breast epithelial cells T he base excision repair (BER) pathway is responsible for the removal of at least 20,000 DNA lesions per cell per day (1), making it critical for the maintenance of genomic stability. The simplest and most common form of BER is short patch BER, which can be initiated by one of several different DNA glycosylases, each having preferences for specific types of lesions (2). Monofunctional DNA glycosylases recognize DNA lesions and catalyze the hydrolysis of the N-glycosylic bond to generate an abasic site. The abasic site is nicked at its 5′ side by the APE1 endonuclease, leaving a 3′OH and a 5′deoxyribose phosphate (dRP). DNA polymerase beta (pol β) fills in the single nucleotide gap and catalyzes removal of the dRP group. Bifunctional glycosylases, which usually recognize oxidative lesions, generate an abasic site and then catalyze its removal via β-elimination to generate a 3′dRP and 5′phosphate. APE1 then catalyzes removal of the 3′dRP, leaving a 3′OH, to which pol β can bind and fill in the resulting single nucleotide gap. In both cases, the XRCC1/ Ligase IIIα or XRCC1/Ligase I complex catalyzes ligation of the resulting ends. An alternative BER pathway, that does not depend on APE1, is used when the NEIL glycosylases initiate repair (3). NEIL 1, 2, and perhaps 3 catalyze excision of the damaged base via β,δ elimination, leaving a 3′phosphate and a 5′phosphate. The 3′phosphate is removed by polynucleotide kinase, leaving a gap that is most often filled by pol β, followed by ligation.NTH1 is one of four human bifunctio...

Three somatic mutation assays were evaluated in men exposed to low-dose, whole-body, ionizing radiation. Blood samples were obtained between 1992 and 1999 from 625 Russian Chernobyl cleanup workers and 182 Russian controls. The assays were chromosome translocations in lymphocytes detected by FISH, hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) mutant frequency in lymphocytes by cloning, and flow cytometic assay for glycophorin A (GPA) variant frequency of both deletion (N/Ø) and recombination (N/N) events detected in erythrocytes. Over 30 exposure and lifestyle covariates were available from questionnaires. Among the covariates evaluated, some increased (e.g. age, smoking) and others decreased (e.g. date of sample) biomarker responses at a magnitude comparable to Chernobyl exposure. When adjusted for covariates, exposure at Chernobyl was a statistically significant factor for translocation frequency (increase of 30%, 95% CI of 10%-53%, P = 0.002) and HPRT mutant frequency (increase of 41%, 95% CI of 19%-66%, P < 0.001), but not for either GPA assay. The estimated average dose for the cleanup workers based on the average increase in translocations was 9.5 cGy. Translocation analysis is the preferred biomarker for low-dose radiation dosimetry given its sensitivity, relatively few covariates, and dose-response data. Based on this estimated dose, the risk of exposure-related cancer is expected to be low.

Most of the DNA damage produced by ionizing radiation is repaired by the base excision repair (BER) pathway. To determine whether the BER genes were up-regulated by low doses of ionizing radiation, we investigated their expression in TK6 human lymphoblastoid cells by measuring mRNA levels using real-time quantitative PCR. No induction at the transcriptional level of any of the base excision repair genes, NTH1 (NTHL1), OGG1, NEIL1, NEIL2, NEIL3, APE1, POLB, or accessory protein genes, LIG3, XRCC1 or XPG, was found at gamma-radiation doses ranging from 1 cGy to 2 Gy in a 24-h period. As has been measured in other cell lines, a dose-dependent induction of CDKN1A (WAF1) mRNA levels was observed in TK6 cells in the dose range of 0.5 to 2.0 Gy. We also examined BER enzyme activity on 8-oxoguanine-, dihydrouracil- and furan-containing oligonucleotide substrates and found no increase in extracts of TK6 cells after gamma-ray doses of 0.5-2.0 Gy. These data were corroborated by Western blot analysis of APE1 and NTH1, suggesting that the BER enzymes are also not up-regulated at the post-transcriptional level after ionizing radiation exposure.

Base excision repair (BER) is a key genome maintenance pathway. The NEIL1 DNA glycosylase recognizes oxidized bases, and likely removes damage in advance of the replication fork. The rs5745906 SNP of the NEIL1 gene is a rare human germline variant that encodes the NEIL1 G83D protein, which is devoid of DNA glycosylase activity. Here we show that expression of G83D NEIL1 in MCF10A immortalized but non-transformed mammary epithelial cells leads to replication fork stress. Upon treatment with hydrogen peroxide, we observe increased levels of stalled replication forks in cells expressing G83D NEIL1 versus cells expressing the wild-type (WT) protein. Double-strand breaks (DSBs) arise in G83D-expressing cells during the S and G2/M phases of the cell cycle. Interestingly, these breaks result in genomic instability in the form of high levels of chromosomal aberrations and micronuclei. Cells expressing G83D also grow in an anchorage independent manner, suggesting that the genomic instability results in a carcinogenic phenotype. Our results are consistent with the idea that an inability to remove oxidative damage in an efficient manner at the replication fork leads to genomic instability and mutagenesis. We suggest that individuals who harbor the G83D NEIL1 variant face an increased risk for human cancer.

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We have investigated the biochemical basis of the mevalonate dependence of DNA replication. Stimulating quiescent rat hepatoma cells to proliferate in the presence of compactin, an inhibitor of mevalonate synthesis, prevented DNA replication in as many as 80% of these cells. The percentage of cells that failed to replicate DNA increased with the increased duration of quiescence. Aphidicolin-sensitive DNA polymerase and ornithine decarboxylase activities were selectively decreased in compactin-treated cells, whereas RNA and protein synthesis, the level of dihydrofolate reductase and aphidicolin-resistant DNA polymerase activity were unaffected. Adding putrescine, the product of ornithine decarboxylase and the precursor of other polyamines, did not restore DNA replication. Our results demonstrate that the decreased activities of at least two DNA-replication enzymes are among the proximal causes of the failure of mevalonate-deprived cells to synthesize DNA. More importantly, our data indicate that a mevalonate-dependent factor(s) is progressively depleted during quiescence, and that inability to resynthesize this factor(s) may be the ultimate cause of the failure of resting cells to replicate DNA when stimulated to proliferate in the absence of mevalonate.