[Mosaic forms of ataxia-telangiectasia].

Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) is a severe hereditary autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease associated with accelerated aging and caused by mutation in both alleles of atm gene. This gene encodes a key protein of cell response to DNA damage--an ATM protein kinase. Normally, upon formation of DNA double strand breaks ATM is autophosphorylated and its active form phospho-ATM (P-ATM) appears. Here we describe a mosaic form of AT in which cells of the same patient with normal atm gene demonstrated the accumulation of P-ATM in response to DNA double-strand breaks-inducing factors whereas in cells bearing a mutant form of atm P-ATM was not detected. The epigenetic markers such as histone deacetylases SIRT1 and SIRT6, and trimethylated forms of histone H3 - H3K9me3 and H3K27me3--were studied in the nuclei of primary fibroblasts derived from patients with different forms of AT and the increase of SIRT6 level was revealed.

[Diagnostics of ataxia-telangiectasia by the express-test found on the method of indirect immunofluorescence].

Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) is a hereditary severe neurodegenerative disease developing, when mutations take place in both alleles of the atm gene, which encodes the key protein of the cellular response to DNA damage (DDR)--ATM proteinkinase. In response to the occurrence of double-strand DNA breaks, the ATM proteinkinase pass the autophosphorylation, and its active form--the phospho-ATM (P-ATM) appears in cells. In the nuclei of cells having the atm gene, P-ATM is revealed, being absent in cells with mutated forms of this gene, by means of the application of the modified method of indirect immunofluorescence. This peculiarity may be applied in the clinic, in order to confirm the diagnosis of AT.

[Regulation of proliferation and viability of tumor cells in vitro by alloferon-1 and allostatin-1].

Alloferon-1 (AF) and allostatin-1 (AS) cytotoxic and growth modulating activities have been compared. AF is cationic oligopeptide isolated from the hemolymph of experimentally infected blow fly Calliphora vicina. AS is AF synthetic analog that differs from the parent molecule in two amino acids substituted. It has been shown that both AF and AS have no direct cytotoxic activity in concentrations ranging from 1 x 10(-1) to 10 microg/ml, however, the peptides demonstrated significant effect on tumor cells proliferation in vitro. Both peptides displayed growth modulating activity in mass cell cultures and boosted growth inhibiting activity of doxorubicin in the course of P388D1 cells cloning, although AS potentated doxorubicin cytostatic activity to a greater extent. Similarly, AS boosted anti-clonogenic activity of cyclophosphamide applied in a subthreshold concentration. Experiments with peptide-fluorescein complex have demonstrated that AF and AS belong to the group of cell-penetrating peptides. Moreover, the experiments displayed AF ability to bind with chromosomes.

[Reconstruction of the connective tissue as a result of transplantation of fibrins dermal equivalent to the wounds of experimental animals].

We analyzed the effectiveness of wound healing in rats after application of the dermal equivalent (DE) based on fibrin with dermal fibroblasts. Histological studies of newly formed dermis biopsy samples selected during its recovery in the model wound in laboratory animals have shown a positive effect of DE on wound healing. It was found a significant increase in the area of collagen fibers, in the number of prekapillaries, capillaries and postcapillaries in the granulation tissue after application of DE compared with the control group, suggesting a more intense repair.

[Syndrome of premature ageing in ataxia-telangiectasia patients].

Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT), a genetic disorder due to mutation of gene atm characterized by progressive neurological abnormalities in combination with oculocutaneous telangiectasias, immunodeficiency, and increased frequency of malignant formations, is inherited according to autosome recessive mechanism. Cells of the patients with AT show increased radio sensitivity and some markers of premature ageing. The telomere lengths are sharply shortened in these cells already from the birth. We studied radio sensitivity (at the dose 2 Gy) and manifestations of premature ageing markers in cultured skin fibroblasts obtained from two unrelated AT patients and their heterozygous parents. We have shown that all the markers studied, that is HP1-gamma, phosphorylation of the histone variant H2AX (gamma-H2AX), and focuses 53BP1, indicate premature ageing of both the patients' and their blood relatives' cells. However, cells of the heterozygous carriers express premature ageing to a less extent. Investigation of the repair process characteristics (the amount of gamma-H2AX and the deal of cells with focuses 53BP1 in their nuclei) after X-ray irradiation has given following results: the patients' cells complete repair only half even in 24 after irradiation, while the healthy donor's cells complete repair in 24 h. Heterozygous cells also reliably differ from healthy donor's cells. Only in the case of apoptosis marker, p21, heterozygous cells do not differ from normal cells, whereas the patients' cells differ significantly. It has been noted that the mutation of gene atm is related to suppression of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) repair systems, which, in its turn, is in accordance with the increased radio sensitivity and premature ageing at the cell level in the AT families.

Forskolin decreases phosphorylation of histone H2AX in human cells induced by ionizing radiation.

Forskolin is a natural compound found in the coleus herb that activates the enzyme adenylate cyclase and increases the concentration of intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP). This chemical is widely used as a stimulating food additive. It is unknown whether forskolin can effect cellular responses to ionizing radiation, such as induction of phosphorylation of histone H2AX (gamma-H2AX) in megabase chromatin domains near DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Here we report that treatment with forskolin decreases H2AX phosphorylation after irradiation detected by immunoblotting or by analysis of the overall gamma-H2AX-associated fluorescence in the nuclei. However, this chemical does not affect the number of gamma-H2AX foci, the frequency of radiation-induced chromosome aberrations, or cell survival after X irradiation, which is consistent with the view that it does not change the induction of repair of DSBs. We suggest that the overall decrease of H2AX phosphorylation after treatment with forskolin in irradiated cells reflects a lesser extent of apparent H2AX modification at individual DSBs that may be caused by inhibition of the initial spread of gamma-H2AX and/or by stimulation of elimination of gamma-H2AX from chromatin after DSB rejoining.

[Cellular repair potential in families of ataxia-telangiectasia patients].

The key protein of the global cellular response to DNA damage is proteinkinase ATM. Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT), a genetic disorder due to mutations in both alleles of ATM gene, is characterized by numerous neurological abnormalities, increased frequency of malignant tumors, premature ageing and increased radio sensitivity. AT is the most frequently found disease displaying inherited radio sensitivity. The data accumulated by this time on the role of the protein ATM in regulation of cellular response to DNA damage and detailed description of its proteins-targets allows to analyze repair potential and manifestation of premature ageing markers both in the cells obtained from AT patients and in the cells of their heterozygous parents. Primary skin fibroblasts obtained from AT patients and their heterozygous parents were analyzed by the flow cytometry and comet assay. It has been shown that cells of the patient AT8SP do not initiate cell cycle blockade after ionizing irradiation during all the experiment, unlike the healthy donor cells where cell cycle blockade is observed. Irradiated cells of the heterozygous parents demonstrated less brightly expressed changes in cell cycle parameters than healthy donor's cells did. The ability to repair DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) after irradiation is reduced in the cells of AT patients and their heterozygous parents in comparison with the healthy donor's cells. Cells of the healthy donor were capable to repair not less than 90 % of DNA damage for 2.5 h. The repair efficiency in the cells of AT patients came only to about 30 % of DNA damage and in the cells of heterozygous carries of the disease was approximately 50 %. The difference in the dynamics of DNA damage repair process in different proband's families is in accordance with the reports about great phenotypic variety of the given disease.

[An atypical case of Werner syndrome: epigenetic control and DNA damage response alterations].

A case of adult progeria has been described. It has been suggested that this case is an atypical form of Werner syndrome with laminopathy--not WRN helicase-nuclease defect. During detailed studies of the patient's cells, epigenetic control and DNA damage response alterations were detected.

[The atypical of Werner syndrome: effect of laminopathy].

A case of adult progeria has been described. During detailed studies of the cells from this patient the nuclear lamina and cytoskeleton aberrations were detected. It has been suggested that this case is an atypical form of Werner syndrome with laminopathy--not the WRN helicase-nuclease defect.

[Discrimination of heterozygote currency of ataxia-telangiectasia by indirect immunofluorescent analysis].

The qualitative differences in P53 protein stabilization after ionizing irradiation in different doses were found in cells of members of ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) family--proband AT6SP, her sister AT(S)6SP and father AT(F)6SP. The method of indirect immunofluorescence with confocal microscopy was used.

[Characteristics of p53 protein stabilization in cells of patients with ataxia-telangiectasia after gamma-irradiation].

Stabilization of P53 protein in cells isolated from patients with a grave hereditary disease ataxia-telangiectasia (AT), characterized by strongly enhanced sensitivity to ionizing radiation and impairment of cell cycle control after DNA damage, was studied. The level of expression of these reactions by patients may vary, and it tends to be linked with the severity of the disease. In all AT strains studied, both acquired by the authors and obtained from foreign colleagues, we observed the alteration of timing and character of stabilization of P53 protein, after the action of ionizing radiation in sublethal dosage, as compared to that in cells from healthy donor.

[Age dymamics of stable chromosome aberration frequency in humans with natural and pathological senescence]. / Vozrastnaia dinamika chastoty stabil'nykh khromosomnykh aberratsii u cheloveka pri estestvennom i patologicheskom starenii.

The age dynamics of stable chromosome aberration (SCA) frequency was analysed by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) in human blood lymphocytes derived from donors, irradiated by low doses of ionizing radiation (Chernobyl clean-up workers, nuclear weapon testers, etc.) and patients with hereditary premature aging--Werner's syndrome and Hutchinson-Gilford's syndrome. It was found that the level of SCA was age-dependent and increased in irradiated persons. So, the SCA level may be really an index of a so-called "radiation senescence", and may show a real biological age of irradiated persons. The patients with Werner's syndrome demonstrate increased SCA level in blood lymphocytes, corresponding to the premature aging of the organisms. But in the case of another form of premature aging--Hutchinson--Gilford's syndrome-- no rise of SCA level was found. Some possible reasons of such results are discussed.

[Recognition of internal (TTAGGG)n repeats by telomeric protein TRF1 and its role in maintenance of chromosomal stability in Chinese hamster cells]. / Uznavanie vnutrennikh povtorov (TTAGGG)n telomernym belkom TRF1 i ego rol' v podderzhanii stabil'nosti khromosom v kletkakh kitaiskogo khomiachka.

Mammalian telomeres contain long tandem (TTAGGG)n repeats, which are protected by a complex of different proteins. Telomeric repeat-binding factors TRF1 and TRF2 play the key role in protection of telomeres through the formation of terminal loops (called T-loop). A T-loop isolates the 3' strand telomeric end and with this mechanism protects telomeres from the influence of enzymes of DNA reparation and telomere fusions and also interferes with the interaction of telomerase with telomeres. Many vertebrate species also contain large blocks of (TTAGGG)n sequences in pericentric and interstitial chromosome bands. The Chinese hamster genome contains a total of 18 arrays of these non-telomeric internal (TTAGGG)n sequences (ITs). Chromosome bands containing these arrays are unstable and should be protected with the help of another mechanism, rather than that using telomeres. In this study we analysed association of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP)-tagged TRF1 in Chinese hamster V79 cells with ITs. We found that in these cells GFP-TRF1 associates with ITs in the interphase nucleus. We detected a little overlap between IT-associated GFP-TRF1 and random DSB sites visualized after the treatment of V79 cells with ionizing radiation. We found that the treatment of V79 cells with WM significantly increases the frequency of spontaneous chromosome aberrations. These WM effects are possible due to inhibiting phosphorylation of TRF1 by ATM. TRF1 is known to be eliminated from telomeres by overexpression of TANK1, which induces TRF1 poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation. We transfected V79 cells by plasmid encoding TANK1 and found that the frequency of chromosome rearrangements increased in these cells independently of their treatment by IR. Taken together, our results suggest that TRF1 may be involved in the sequence-specific protection of internal non-telomeric (TTAGGG)n repeats.

[Cytological and molecular changes in the atypical case of accelerated human aging]. / Tsitologicheskie i molekuliarnye izmeneniia pri netipichnom sluchae uskorennogo stareniia cheloveka.

A complex research of cells of a patient with unusual form of premature ageing was made. The clinical picture is not typical for any of known forms of hereditary premature aging--progerias. Skin fibroblasts of the patient AG has limited proliferation capacity in vitro. It was shown by fluorescent-immunochemical hybridization (FISH-method), that the level of stable chromosome aberrations in AG blood lymphocytes was characteristic of aged 55-65 years, though as he was only 26 years old. Some characteristic peculiarities, typical for progerias, were found in the reaction of skin fibroblasts of AG to growth factors addition. Some clinical and biochemical peculiarities are results rather, than reasons of the disease. The conclusion is that the premature ageing in this case is a manifestation of Werner's syndrome--one of hereditary forms of accelerated senescence.

Visualization of focal nuclear sites of DNA repair synthesis induced by bleomycin in human cells.

In this study, we examined DNA repair synthesis in human cells treated with the radiomimetic drug bleomycin, which efficiently induces double-strand breaks (DSBs). Using tyramide-biotin to amplify fluorescent signals, discrete nuclear foci from the incorporation of 5-iododeoxyuridine (IdU) were detected in proliferating human cells treated with bleomycin. We believe this comes from the repair of DSBs. An increase in the number of foci (>5 per nucleus) was detected in a major fraction (75%) of non-S-phase cells labeled for 30 min with IdU 1 h after the end of bleomycin treatment. The fraction of cells with multiple IdU-containing foci was found to decrease 18 h after treatment. The average number of foci per nucleus detected 1 h after bleomycin treatment was found to decrease twofold between 1 and 3.5 h, indicating that the foci may be associated with the slow component of DSB repair. The presence of DSBs in bleomycin-treated cells was confirmed using antibodies against phosphorylated histone H2AX (gamma-H2AX), which is strictly associated with this type of DNA damage. After treatment with bleomycin, non-S-phase cells also displayed heterogeneous nuclear foci containing tightly bound proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), suggesting an ongoing process of unscheduled DNA synthesis. PCNA is known to be involved in base excision repair, but a fraction of the PCNA foci may also be associated with DNA synthesis occurring during the repair of DSBs.

[UV-induced immobilization of DNA repair protein XPA in different human cell line]. / UF-indutsirovannaia immobilizatsiia reparatsionnogo belka XPA v raz lichnykh liniiakh kletok cheloveka.

XPA repair protein is absolutely needed for nucleotide excision repair (NER). It preferentially binds UV-irradiated DNA in vitro and possibly takes place in the recognition of pyrimidine dimers, the main type of UV-lesions in DNA. Using immunofluorescent microscopy and immunoblotting technique we have found that XPA protein is fully extractable by Triton X-100 solution from non-irradiated normal human fibroblasts, but after UV-irradiation its extractability decreases in UV-dose dependent manner. UV-induced XPA-immobilization was observed in human cell lines with different types of repair defects, but XPA-extractability from unirradiated cells of these lines was significantly lower in comparison with normal fibroblasts. These data do not permit to make conclusion concerning the distinct connection of this phenomenon with different pathways of NER. Histone deacetylase inhibitor, sodium butyrate, did not change the level of extractability in unirradiated and UV-irradiated normal human cells and CHO cells, defective in global genome repair, that indicated the independence of XPA-immobilization from the level of histone acetylation. It was established with the help of confocal microscopy that XPA-foci in detergent-treated UV-irradiated cell were partially colocalized with the focal sites of PCNA, an auxiliary protein of DNA polymerases delta and epsilon. It may mean that a part of detergent-resistant XPA foci correspond to DNA repair synthesis sites, but the major part of immobilized XPA reflects the early step of repair proteins assembly formation needed for the repair of the lesions.

[Features of the radiosensitivity of cells from ataxia-telangiectasia patients]. / Osobennosti radiochuvstvitel'nosti kletok bol'nykh ataksiei- teleangiéktaziei.

Cell survival, single and double DNA strand breaks formation and removal, spontaneous and induced chromosome aberrations and sister chromatid exchange (SCE) levels in gamma-irradiated cells of patients with ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) were studied. Except SCE all of the above indexes of AT cells sensitivity, were higher, than in normal human cells, but lower, than it is commonly characteristic of AT cells in literature. A conclusion is that the analysed AT cells belong to the AT-variant form. Possible mechanisms of high radiosensitivity of AT cells, accompanied by radioresistance of DNA replication, are discussed. The authors suppose that the DNA repair defect in AT cells is not primary.

[Defect of preferential repair of gamma-ray-induced single-strand breaks in transcribed DNA in ataxia-telangiectasia cells]. / Defekt preimushchestvennoi reparatsii gamma-indutsirovannykh odnonitevykh razryvov b transkribiruemoi DNK pri ataksii-teleangiéktazii.

Transcriptionally activity-dependent heterogeneity of gamma-induced DNA single-strand break repair in ataxia-telangiectasia cells has been investigated. It is found that in AT cells no increased induction of damage in the c-myc gene compares with normal human fibroblasts. At the same time an evident defect of preferential accelerated repair of single-strand breaks in the c-myc gene was observed. DNA single-strand breaks repair in human satellite III and total DNA single-strand breaks in c-myc gene in AT cells correlate with increased radiosensitivity of cells.