Hypoxia--a hallmark of solid tumors--makes hypoxic cells radioresistant. On the other hand, DNA, the main target of anticancer therapy, is not sensitive to the near UV photons and hydrated electrons, one of the major products of water radiolysis under hypoxic conditions. A possible way to overcome these obstacles to the efficient radio- and photodynamic therapy of cancer is to sensitize the cellular DNA to electrons and/or ultraviolet radiation. While incorporated into genomic DNA, modified nucleosides, 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine in particular, sensitize cells to both near-ultraviolet photons and γ rays. It is believed that, in both sensitization modes, the reactive nucleobase radical is formed as a primary product which swiftly stabilizes, leading to serious DNA damage, like strand breaks or cross-links. However, despite the apparent similarity, such radio- and photosensitization of DNA seems to be ruled by fundamentally different mechanisms. In this review, we demonstrate that the most important factors deciding on radiodamage to the labeled DNA are (i) the electron affinity (EA) of modified nucleoside (mNZ), (ii) the local surroundings of the label that significantly influences the EA of mNZ, and (iii) the strength of the chemical bond holding together the substituent and a nucleobase. On the other hand, we show that the UV damage to sensitized DNA is governed by long-range photoinduced electron transfer, the efficiency of which is controlled by local DNA sequences. A critical review of the literature mechanisms concerning both types of damage to the labeled biopolymer is presented. Ultimately, the perspectives of studies on DNA sensitization in the context of cancer therapy are discussed.

The TYT and TXT trimeric oligonucleotides, where X stands for a native nucleobase, T (thymine), C (cytosine), A (adenine), or G (guanine), and Y indicates a brominated analogue of the former, were irradiated with ionizing radiation generated by a (60)Co source in aqueous solutions containing Tris as a hydroxyl radical scavenger. In the past, these oligomers were bombarded with low energy electrons under an ultra-high vacuum and significant damage to TXT trimers was observed. However, in aqueous solution, hydrated electrons do not produce serious damage to TXT trimers although the employed radiation dose exceeded many times the doses used in radiotherapy. Thus, our studies demonstrate unequivocally that hydrated electrons, which are the major form of electrons generated during radiotherapy, are a negligible factor in damage to native DNA. It was also demonstrated that all the studied brominated nucleobases have a potential to sensitize DNA under hypoxic conditions. Strand breaks, abasic sites and the products of hydroxyl radical attachment to nucleobases have been identified by HPLC and LC-MS methods. Although all the bromonucleobases lead to DNA damage under the experimental conditions of the present work, bromopyrimidines seem to be the radiosensitizers of choice since they lead to more strand breaks than bromopurines.

Some literature reports suggest that in DNA labeled with 5-bromouracil (5BrU), near-UV photons lead to strand breaks that are formed due to the formation of a reactive uracil-5-yl radical capable of abstracting a hydrogen atom from its own or adjacent sugar moiety, which results in a direct strand break. However, other reports propose the formation of 2′-deoxyribonolactone rather than a strand break during the photodamage of 5BrU-substituted DNA. In order to resolve these contradictions, we carried out a series of experiments where 25 nucleotides-long DNA duplexes labeled with 5BrU were irradiated with 300 nm light. Two experimental methods were used to detect and separate the degradation products generated under experimental conditions, DHPLC (completely denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography) and denaturing PAGE electrophoresis. In addition, the identity of the particular products was confirmed with negative ion mass spectrometry. Our studies demonstrate that direct strand breaks reported in the past for 5BrU-labeled oligonucleotides are rather secondary breaks. SECTION: Biophysical Chemistry and Biomolecules

No abstract

No abstract