Impairment of V(D)J recombination in double-strand break repair mutants.

Cells maintain the integrity of their genome through an intricate network of repair systems that recognize and remove lesions from DNA. The only known site-directed recombination process in vertebrates is the V(D)J recombination of lymphocyte antigen receptor genes. A large panel of cell lines deficient in DNA repair were tested for the ability to perform V(D)J recombination after introduction of the RAG-1 and RAG-2 genes. Two mutants failed to generate normal V(D)J recombination, and further analysis provided evidence for two distinct nonlymphoid-specific genes that encode factors involved in both DNA repair and V(D)J recombination.

Isolation and characterization of bleomycin-sensitive Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Nineteen bleomycin-sensitive Chinese hamster ovary cell mutants have been isolated using a replica plating and photography approach. As judged by the dose which reduces cell survival to 37% of the untreated control, these mutants are from 2.5- to 32-fold more sensitive to a 16-h bleomycin treatment than the parental cell, while for chronic bleomycin exposure, the increase in sensitivity was 5 to 58 times that of the parental cell. Four bleomycin-sensitive mutants had increased sensitivities to killing by gamma-rays (2- to 3-fold), mitomycin C (2-fold), and ethyl methane sulfonate (4- to 5-fold), while six other mutants were resistant to these agents. Nine other bleomycin-sensitive mutants displayed a variable pattern of cross-sensitivities to these agents. Using the technique of alkaline elution, the relative frequency of single-strand DNA breaks introduced by varying concentrations of bleomycin was examined in one mutant and its parent cell. The elution profiles of both cells were similar, suggesting that the bleomycin sensitivity of this mutant is not due to a greater frequency of single-strand breaks introduced by bleomycin.

The hypersensitivity of the Chinese hamster ovary variant BL-10 to bleomycin killing is due to a lack of glutathione S-transferase-alpha activity.

As a means to understand the fundamental mechanisms of bleomycin cell killing, we previously isolated 19 bleomycin-sensitive mutants which represent at least six genetically distinct complementation groups (T.D. Stamato, B. Peters, P. Patil, N. Denko, R. Weinstein, and A. Giaccia. Cancer Res., 47: 1588-1592, 1987). One class of mutants represented by the cell line BL-10 displays only hypersensitivity to killing by bleomycin in both acute (16 h) and chronic treatments but no sensitivity to killing by other DNA-damaging agents. Complementation studies between this mutant and human fibroblasts suggested that the human gene which corrects the defect of BL-10 rested on human chromosome 6. It has been reported that the gene for human glutathione S-transferase (GST) alpha also resides on chromosome 6. Measurements of selenium-independent peroxidase (alpha-GST + glutathione peroxidase) activity in wild-type Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, using cumene hydrogen peroxide as a substrate, gave a value of 112 nmol of glutathione oxidized/min/mg protein compared with 88.1 nmol of glutathione oxidized/min/mg protein for BL-10. Measurement of the selenium-dependent peroxidase activity, using H2O2 as a substrate, resulted in 65.9 nmol of reduced glutathione oxidized/min/mg protein in CHO and 81.5 nmol of reduced glutathione oxidized/min/mg protein for BL-10. In other words, BL-10 cells did not exhibit a difference in their ability to metabolize both substrates in contrast to CHO cells. This indicates that BL-10 possesses little alpha-GST activity. Transfection of BL-10 cells with a mammalian expression vector containing the alpha-GST gene increases the survival of BL-10 to bleomycin and does not increase the bleomycin resistance of two other bleomycin mutants which lie in different genetic complementation groups. These data strongly implicate a role for alpha-GST in the resistance of cells to bleomycin.

Loss of the intrinsic heat resistance of human cells and changes in Mr 70,000 heat shock protein expression in human x hamster hybrids.

Since mammalian cells vary widely in their intrinsic thermoresistance, we have investigated the genetic basis underlying this phenomenon in human and rodent cell lines. Typically, human cells are considerably more resistant to killing by heat than rodent cell lines. To determine whether the heat-resistant phenotype is dominant or recessive and to locate the chromosome(s) bearing determinants for heat resistance, we have prepared hybrids of heat-resistant human HT1080 cells and heat-sensitive Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells to test their response to heat. For both mass hybrid cultures and individual clones, the heat response of the hybrids was similar to that of the CHO parent. Analysis by in situ hybridization revealed the presence of five to 20 human chromosomes per cell in the mass hybrids and four to eight intact chromosomes plus some fragments in individual clones isolated from the hybrid cell population. A similar result was obtained using a different human cell line, AG1522. These data suggest that heat resistance is a recessive trait. Consistent with this conclusion are the results from a study of a fusion of HT1080 to a CHO mutant, BL-10, which was found to be hypersensitive to heat-induced killing. These hybrids had a normal CHO heat response and not the more heat-resistant phenotype of HT1080 cells. Two hybrid clones, H2 and H4, from the HT1080/BL-10 fusion were studied in more detail. Both clones possess similar amounts of Mr 70,000 heat shock protein (HSP70), despite the fact that H4 contains three human chromosomes (Nos. 6, 14, and 21) which carry HSP70 genes while H2 contains only one (chromosome 6). Both hybrid cell lines have the same response to heat. Although we found a wide range of sensitivities to heat, all cell lines contained a similar amount of constitutive HSP70, suggesting that HSP70 levels per se are not the critical determinant of intrinsic heat resistance.

Molecular cloning of the breakpoint region on chromosome 6 in cutaneous malignant melanoma: evidence for deletion in the c-myb locus and translocation of a segment of chromosome 12.

Nonrandom involvement of chromosome 6 in cutaneous malignant melanoma have been noted by several investigators. Recently an alteration in the c-myb locus (6q22-23) has been identified by Southern analysis in the WM983A cell line which was derived from a primary melanoma of the vertical growth phase. In the present study, the nature of this rearrangement in the WM983A cell line has been further characterized by molecular cloning and nucleotide sequence analysis of the break-point region in the c-myb locus. The results of this investigation demonstrate that the rearrangement in the 6q22-23 region results in deletion of the 3'-end of the c-myb locus with the concomitant translocation of a portion of chromosome 12 to chromosome 6.

Activation of NF-kappaB is necessary for the restoration of the barrier function of an epithelium undergoing TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) induces apoptosis in confluent LLC-PK1 epithelial cells, but also activates NF-kappaB, a negative regulator of apoptosis. The presence of increased TNF-induced apoptosis causes a transient increase in epithelial permeability, but the epithelial barrier function recovers, as assessed by measuring the transepithelial electrical resistance, the paracellular flux of mannitol and by the electron microscopic evaluation of the penetration of the electron-dense dye ruthenium red across the tight junctions. The integrity of the epithelial cell layer is maintained by rearrangement of non-apoptotic cells in the monolayer and by the phagocytosis of apoptotic fragments. To study the role of NF-kappaB in an epithelium exposed to TNF, NF-kappaB was inhibited in LLC-PK1 epithelial cells with either the dietary compound, curcumin, or by transfection with a dominant negative mutant inhibitor I kappaB alpha. Replacement of serine 32 and 36 by alanine has been shown to prevent its phosphorylation and degradation, blocking NF-kappaB activation. Inhibition of NF-kappaB altered the morphology of TNF-induced apoptotic cells, which showed lack of fragmentation and membrane blebbings, and absence of phagocytosis by neighboring cells. TNF treatment of NF-kappaB-inhibited cells also caused altered distribution of the tight junction-associated protein ZO-1, increased epithelial leakiness, and impaired the recovery of the epithelial barrier function, which normally occurs 6 hours after TNF treatment of LLC-PK1 cells. These data demonstrate that NF-kappaB activation is required for the maintenance of the barrier function of an epithelium undergoing TNF-induced apoptosis.

Asymmetric field inversion gel electrophoresis: a new method for detecting DNA double-strand breaks in mammalian cells.

A new method is described for detecting DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) that utilizes asymmetric field inversion gel electrophoresis (AFIGE). DNA purified from cells in agarose plugs is subjected to AFIGE and DNA breakage quantitated by the fraction of DNA released from the plug. To test the specificity of the method for DNA DSBs, purified DNA in agarose plugs was treated for increasing times with restriction endonuclease, XhoI. After an initial time period, the fraction of DNA released increased in direct proportion to time. This correlates with the expected response for a randomly broken DNA molecule. In contrast, treatment with the single-strand breaking agent, hydrogen peroxide, over a 1000-fold range produced no release of DNA from the plug. Thus the assay appears to be specific for DNA DSBs and was used to measure DNA breaks induced by gamma radiation. Purified DNA, irradiated in agarose plugs, exhibited a log-linear dose response up to doses that release greater than 90% DNA from the plug. When live cells were irradiated in agarose, a similar linear dose response was observed up to 40 Gy and a significant signal as low as 2.5 Gy. Also in live cells, a threefold lower percentage of DNA was released from the plug over the same dose range. However, less DNA per gray is released at doses above 40 Gy and may reflect a crosslinking effect produced by the irradiation of DNA in live cells. DNA which was "pulse-labeled" was used to test the effect of DNA replication on the ability of AFIGE to detect DNA DSBs. Replicating DNA irradiated in the cell or after purification exhibited a reduced rate of release from the plug per dose of irradiation. Overall, the above results indicate that AFIGE is a sensitive method for detecting DSBs in DNA.

Two methods for assaying DNA double-strand break repair in mammalian cells by asymmetric field inversion gel electrophoresis.

The rejoining of gamma-ray-induced DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in mammalian cells was measured after various doses of gamma rays by using a version of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to elute fragments of DNA from an agarose plug into the lane of an agarose gel. Two approaches for measuring the kinetics of DNA repair were compared. In the first method, cells are irradiated and incubated at 37 degrees C in monolayers, after which the cells are suspended in agarose and DNA is isolated and subjected to electrophoresis. In the second approach, cells are suspended in agarose first, then irradiated and incubated for repair, and the DNA is isolated for electrophoresis. In both methods the kinetics of repair appears to be biphasic, with an initial fast phase and a second slow phase. At equal doses the t1/2 for fast repair is two-fold less in cells incubated in monolayers than in cells suspended in agarose (11 min compared to 20-23 min) and threefold less after subtracting the slow repair component. In the agarose method the t1/2 values for fast repair increase with increasing radiation dose, while in the monolayer method they are constant. In both methods t1/2 values for slow repair are approximately constant with radiation dose. At a given radiation dose, the level of initial damage is two- to threefold higher as assessed by the agarose method than by the monolayer method in which DNA repair can occur during the preparation of samples. The detection of higher levels of initial damage by the agarose method permits DNA repair to be assayed at doses as low as 8 Gy and enables fast repair processes to be assayed more readily. However, in the monolayer approach, repair occurs under normal growth conditions and is not subjected to the effects of prior manipulations and/or the rates of nutrient diffusion. Thus this approach might be more representative of normal intracellular repair kinetics.

Cell-cycle-dependent repair of potentially lethal damage in the XR-1 gamma-ray-sensitive Chinese hamster ovary cell.

Repair of potentially lethal damage (PLD) was investigated in a gamma-ray-sensitive Chinese hamster cell mutant, XR-1, and its parent by comparing survival of plateau-phase cells plated immediately after irradiation with cells plated after a delay. Previous work indicated that XR-1 cells are deficient in repair of double-strand DNA breaks and are gamma-ray sensitive in G1 but have near normal sensitivity and repair capacity in late S phase. At irradiation doses from 0 to 1.0 Gy (100 to 10% survival), the delayed- and immediate-plating survival curves of XR-1 cells were identical; however, at doses greater than 1.0 Gy a significant increase in survival was observed when plating was delayed (PLD repair), approaching a 20-fold increase at 8 Gy. Elimination of S-phase cells by [3H]thymidine suicide dramatically increased gamma-ray sensitivity of plateau-phase XR-1 mutant cells and reduced by 600-fold the number of cells capable of PLD repair after a 6-Gy dose. In contrast, elimination of S-phase cells in plateau-phase parental cells did not alter PLD repair. These results suggest that the majority of PLD repair observed in plateau-phase XR-1 cells occurs in S-phase cells while G1 cells perform little PLD repair. In contrast, G1 cells account for the majority of PLD repair in plateau-phase parental cells. Thus, in the XR-1 mutant, a cell's ability to repair PLD seems to depend upon the stage of the cell cycle at which the irradiation is delivered. A possible explanation for these findings is discussed.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and the oxidative pentose phosphate cycle protect cells against apoptosis induced by low doses of ionizing radiation.

The initial and rate-limiting enzyme of the oxidative pentose phosphate shunt, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), is inhibited by NADPH and stimulated by NADP(+). Hence, under normal growth conditions, where NADPH levels exceed NADP(+) levels by as much as 100-fold, the activity of the pentose phosphate cycle is extremely low. However, during oxidant stress, pentose phosphate cycle activity can increase by as much as 200-fold over basal levels, to maintain the cytosolic reducing environment. G6PD-deficient (G6PD(-)) cell lines are sensitive to toxicity induced by chemical oxidants and ionizing radiation. Compared to wild-type CHO cells, enhanced sensitivity to ionizing radiation was observed for G6PD(-) cells exposed to single-dose or fractionated radiation. Fitting the single-dose radiation response data to the linear-quadratic model of radiation-induced cytotoxicity, we found that the G6PD(-) cells exhibited a significant enhancement in the alpha component of radiation-induced cell killing, while the values obtained for the beta component were similar in both the G6PD(-) and wild-type CHO cell lines. Here we report that the enhanced alpha component of radiation-induced cell killing is associated with a significant increase in the incidence of ionizing radiation-induced apoptosis in the G6PD(-) cells. These data suggest that G6PD and the oxidative pentose phosphate shunt protect cells from ionizing radiation-induced cell killing by limiting the incidence of radiation-induced apoptosis. The sensitivity to radiation-induced apoptosis was lost when the cDNA for wild-type G6PD was transfected into the G6PD(-) cell lines. Depleting GSH with l-BSO enhanced apoptosis of K1 cells while having no effect in the G6PD(-) cell line

Measurement of the relative proportion of symmetrical and asymmetrical chromosome-type interchanges induced by gamma radiation in human-hamster hybrid cells.

Using hamster-human hybrid cells and methods for differential staining of the hamster and human chromosomes, the relative proportion of induced chromosome-type symmetrical and asymmetrical interchange aberrations was measured after a 6.5-Gy dose of gamma radiation. The ratio of these aberration types was not significantly different from 1:1, i.e., the proportion of such interchanges that are symmetrical is very near 0.5, in agreement with the conclusion of others (J.A. Heddle, Genetics 52, 1329-1334, 1965; M. Holmberg and J. Jonasson, Hereditas 74, 57-68, 1973; J.R.K. Savage and D.G. Papworth, Mutat. Res. 95, 7-18, 1983). This proportion is important because virtually all estimates of radiation-induced chromosome-type exchange aberrations are based on measurement of the easily observed but unstable and lethal asymmetrical types, while some of the biological effects of concern from the point of view of oncogenesis and mutagenesis are thought to result from production of stable and nonlethal symmetrical types.

Higher-order chromatin structure-dependent repair of DNA double-strand breaks: involvement of the V(D)J recombination double-strand break repair pathway.

Repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) is linked to the V(D)J recombination pathway through investigations of radiation-sensitive mutants. Here we report a possible association between the distribution of DSBs within higher-order chromatin structures and this pathway. Both murine severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) and Chinese hamster XR-1 cells exhibit defective DNA DSB repair and defective V(D)J recombination. The DSB repair defect is not complete, with only a subset of slowly repairing lesions affected by the mutations in these cell lines. We used a modified neutral filter elution procedure which retained elements of higher-order chromatin structures, namely nuclear matrix-DNA interactions. X-ray-induced DSBs that occurred as multiples within looped DNA structures were nonrepairable in SCID and XR-1 cells. In contrast, these lesions were repaired in radioresistant wild-type cells. Cell lines complemented with human DNA containing the respective complementing genes (XRCC7 and XRCC4) showed an increased rate of DSB repair. These results agree with previous findings with xrs5 cells (a member of the XRCC5 group). Xrs5 cells are defective for the Ku p80 subunit of the V(D)J recombination complex and show repair and V(D)J recombination defects similar to those of SCID and XR-1 cells.

Radiation-induced recombination is dependent on Ku80.

We have recently shown that irradiating cells prior to transfection induces recombination, as manifested by increased stable transduction of both plasmid and adenoviral vectors. We hypothesized that Ku proteins, which have previously been shown to be involved in both recombination and the repair of DNA damage after irradiation, would likely be important mediators of radiation-induced recombination. The present work demonstrates that Ku80 is essential for radiation-induced recombination. While human and hamster Ku80 are equally effective at restoring the transfection efficiency and radiation resistance of xrs-5 cells, human Ku80 is much more effective at radiation-induced recombination than hamster Ku80. This difference is not due to differences in Ku80 expression or DNA end-binding activity, but it may be due to structural differences between human and hamster Ku80.

EMS and UV-light-induced colony sectoring and delayed mutation in Chinese hamster cells.

PURPOSE: To review studies of mutagen-induced colony sectoring which demonstrate that UV light and EMS produce delayed mutational events in Chinese hamster ovary cells. METHODS AND RESULTS: Since the late 1940s, it has been known that the treatment of a single bacterial or yeast cell with mutagenic agents produces complete mutant colonies (pures) and colonies composed of both mutant and non-mutant cell types (mosaics) with various sectored patterns. A similar sectoring phenomenon has been observed in Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO) using the DNA alkylating agent ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) or ultraviolet light. However, unlike bacteria and yeast, a significant fraction of CHO mutant colonies contained sectors of less than 1/2; i.e. 1/4, 1/8 and 1/16 sectors, suggesting a delayed production of mutations. Using various colony-replating approaches, it was found that these mutagenic agents produced the ratio of mutant to wild-type cells expected for a delayed mutational process which produces mutant events for at least 12-14 cell divisions following treatment. This delayed mutation phenomenon was observed at both the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT) loci. Various mutational mechanisms for the production of delayed mutations are discussed. CONCLUSIONS: These studies suggest that mutagens such as UV light and EMS induce long-term alterations in mammalian cells that act to increase the 'apparent' spontaneous mutation frequency. This delayed mutational decrease in stability of the genome may explain the accumulation over time of the multiple genetic changes observed in malignant tumours.

Detection of DNA double-strand breaks in synchronous cultures of CHO cells by means of asymmetric field inversion gel electrophoresis.

A pulsed field gel electrophoresis technique, asymmetric field inversion gel electrophoresis (AFIGE), was used to evaluate induction by X-rays of DNA damage in CHO cells. The fraction of DNA activity released from the plug (FAR) was used as a measure for the amount of radiation-induced DNA damage, predominantly DNA double-strand breaks (dsb) (Stamato and Denko 1990), and was determined at various stages of growth and phases of the cell cycle in a range of doses between zero and 70 Gy. The FAR per unit dose fluctuated throughout the cell cycle and was high for cells irradiated in G1; it decreased as cells entered S and reached a minimum in the middle of this phase. The FAR per unit dose increased again as cells progressed towards the end of S, and reached values in G2 similar to those measured in G1. When damage was introduced into DNA by means of 125I decay similar fluctuations in the FAR per decay were observed throughout the cell cycle, suggesting that the variations in the FAR per unit of radiation dose observed throughout the cell cycle do not derive from alterations in the induction of dsb. The fluctuations in the FAR per unit dose throughout the cell cycle were quantitatively similar to the fluctuations in the fraction of activity eluted in irradiated cells assayed by the non-unwinding filter elution assay throughout the cycle (Okayasu et al. 1988), and suggest that both techniques respond to similar DNA replication-associated alterations of the biophysical and/or biochemical properties of the DNA molecule. It is concluded that caution needs to be exercised before differences observed in the FAR between different cell lines or between various phases of the cell cycle after exposure to a given dose of radiation are interpreted as suggesting differences in the induction of DNA dsb.

Oxidation of cellular thiols by hydroxyethyldisulphide inhibits DNA double-strand-break rejoining in G6PD deficient mammalian cells.

PURPOSE: We investigated the effect of protein- and non protein-thiol oxidation on DNA double-strand-break (DSB) rejoining after irradiation and its relevance in the survival of CHO cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used mutant cells null for glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity since reducing equivalents, required for reduction of oxidized thiols, are typically generated through G6PD regulated production of NADPH. Cellular thiols were oxidized by pre-incubating the cells with hydroxyethyldisulphide (HEDS), the oxidized form of mercaptoethanol (ME). The concentrations of the intracellular and extracellular non-protein thiols (NPSH), glutathione, cysteine and mercaptoethanol were quantitated by HPLC. Protein thiols (PSH) were estimated using Ellman's reagent. Cell survival was determined by clonogenic assay. The induction and rejoining of DSB in cells was quantitated by Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis after exposure to ionizing radiation. RESULTS: Much lower bioreduction of HEDS was found in the G6PD deficient mutants (E89) than in the wild-type cells (K1). A 1 h treatment of E89 cells with HEDS produced almost complete depletion of non-protein thiol (NPSH) and a 26% decrease in protein thiols. Only minor changes were found under similar conditions with K1 cells. When exposed to gamma radiation in the presence of HEDS, the G6PD null mutants exhibited a higher cell killing and decreased rate and extent of rejoining of DSB than were observed in K1 cells. Moreover, when the G6PD deficient cells were transfected with the gene encoding wild-type G6PD (A1A), they recovered close to wild-type cellular thiol status, cell survival and DSB rejoining. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that a functioning oxidative pentose phosphate pathway is required for DSB rejoining in cells exposed to a mild thiol oxidant.

Lethal sectoring is not the basis for EMS-induced pure mutant clones in Chinese hamster cells.

Treatment of G1-synchronized mammalian cells with mutagenic agents which act on one strand of the DNA at a given site would be expected to produce colonies containing both mutant and wild-type cells (mosaic). We have observed that in addition to mosaic colonies, G1-synchronized Chinese hamster ovary cells which had been treated with the single-strand mutagen ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS), produced colonies in which all the cells lacked glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity. These completely mutant (pure) colonies could be derived from a potentially mosaic colony by the "death" of the wild-type cell after the first cell division, leaving only the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD)-deficient cell to grow into a colony (lethal sectoring). Using time-lapse photography to analyze cell lineages after EMS treatment, we find that cell lysis, cell release, cell migration, or proliferative failure of one lineage at the 2-cell stage accounts for only 20-25% of the pure mutant colonies observed. This result suggests that in the Chinese hamster cell there exists a mutational mechanism which fixes the mutation in both strands of the DNA before the next replication cycle following EMS treatment.

Normal DNA ligase activity in a gamma-ray-sensitive Chinese hamster mutant.

A Chinese hamster cell mutant (XR-1) was previously described that is extremely deficient in the repair of double-strand DNA breaks produced by gamma-irradiation during the sensitive G1--early-S period and somewhat deficient in repair of gamma-ray-induced single-strand DNA breaks. To determine whether a deficiency in DNA ligase activity might underlie the biochemical defect, protein extracts from mutant and parental cells were examined for their ability to ligate single- and double-strand breaks in DNA. The kinetics of ligation of single 5'-phosphate-3'-hydroxyl breaks in double-stranded DNA were the same in protein extracts from both cells. After separation of protein extracts by gel-filtration chromatography, the percentage of activity in the large and small molecular forms of DNA ligase was also similar in the two cells. Finally, protein extracts prepared from exponentially growing or G1-synchronized mutant and parental cells were equal in their ability to ligate blunt-end DNA substrates. These data suggest that a deficiency in DNA ligase is not the cause of the repair defect in the XR-1 mutant cell.

The probability with which EMS-initiated mutagenic lesions generate mutations in CHO cells.

In this note we distinguish between multiple mutations affecting a given locus which are generated at separate error-prone lesions and multiple independent mutations generated at a single error-prone lesion. We describe a basis for determining the probability with which the latter class of mutations occurs based on the mutant fraction in the progeny and determine an average probability of 0.6 mutations/replication/mutagenic site for those EMS-modified sites which are mutagenic for G6PDH activity in CHO cells.

Time versus replication dependence of EMS-induced delayed mutation in Chinese hamster cells.

We have previously observed in Chinese hamster cells that ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) induces mutations which are distributed over at least 10-14 cell divisions following treatment. This delayed appearance of mutations could be explained by EMS-induced lesions which remain in DNA and have a probability that is significantly less than 1.0 of producing base mispairing errors during successive replication cycles (replication-dependent). Alternatively, delayed mutation may be a time-dependent process in which a slow acting or damage inducible error-prone repair process removes persistent DNA lesions and replaces them with an incorrect base during the course of 7-10 days of colony growth following EMS exposure. To address this question, the distribution of HGPRT delayed mutation events (fifth division or later) in cells plated immediately for exponential growth after EMS treatment was compared with the distribution in cells which remained under confluent growth conditions for 8 days and then were replated. Both the distribution and rate of accumulation of delayed mutations (mutations/cell division) were similar in the two culture conditions. In contrast, the frequency of early mutations (before the fifth division) in the confluent population was reduced more than 2-fold compared to dividing cells. A comparison of the frequency of EMS-induced DNA lesions in the two populations revealed that the density inhibited population contained one third the DNA lesions of the exponential population. These results argue against a time-dependent process since, if this mechanism applies, one would expect an increase in early mutant events and a decrease in delayed events in the confluent population. The results, however, are consistent with a replication model in which potential early mutant lesions are preferentially removed in the density inhibited culture during the 8 days of incubation while lesions producing late mutants are not removed.