X-rays induce dose-dependent and cell cycle-independent accumulation of p21(sdi1/WAF1).

Cell cycle arrest at the G1 checkpoint is governed by a function of wild-type p53. We assessed the behavior of the sdi1 gene, which codes for a 21kDa potent inhibitor of cdk/cyclins, after X-irradiation. X-irradiation induced sdi1 mRNA accumulation and G1 arrest only in cells possessing wild-type p53. Elevation of p21(sdi1/WAF1) was preceded by p53 accumulation, which occurred despite p53 mRNA constancy in normal cells growing in the log phase. The quantity of accumulated p53 and p21(sdi1/WAF1) was radiation dose dependent. A decrease in the S phase cell population in normal cells observed after irradiation reached a minimum at less-than-maximum levels of p53 and p21(sdi1/WAF1). Furthermore, an accumulation of p53 and p21(sdi1/WAF1) was also observed when cells were synchronized in the G0, G1 and S phase and X-irradiated. These results indicated that an X-ray induced p53 and p21(sdi1/WAF1) accumulation mechanism exists throughout the cell cycle, and that the signal strength induced by X-irradiation is dose-dependent.

Preferential induction of RET/PTC1 rearrangement by X-ray irradiation.

Ionizing radiation is a well known risk factor of thyroid cancer development, but the mechanism of radiation induced carcinogenesis is not clear. The RET/PTC oncogene, an activated form of the RET proto-oncogene, is frequently observed in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC); RET/PTC1, -2 and -3 are known to be the three major forms. High frequencies of RET/PTC rearrangements have been observed in radiation-associated PTC, such as those appearing post-Chernobyl or post-radiotherapy, but the rearrangement types differ between these two populations. We investigated whether a specific type of RET/PTC rearrangement was induced by X-rays in vivo and in vitro. In human normal thyroid tissues transplanted in scid mice, the RET/PTC1 rearrangement was predominantly detected throughout the observation period (up to 60 days) after X-ray exposure of 50 Gy. On the other hand, RET/PTC3 was detected only 7 days after X-irradiation, and no transcript of RET/PTC2 was detected. These results are supported by the results of an in vitro study. The RET/PTC1 rearrangement was preferentially induced in a dose-dependent manner by X-rays within a high dose range (10, 50 and 100 Gy) in four cell lines. On the other hand, RET/PTC3 was induced at a much lower frequency, and no induction of RET/PTC2 was observed. These results suggest that the preferential induction of the RET/PTC1 rearrangement may play an important role in the early steps of thyroid carcinogenesis induced by acute X-irradiation.

Mutant p53: epigenetic mutator of the T-cell receptor via induction of methylation.

The mechanism and effects of epigenetic alterations in human carcinogenesis are not well understood, except that cancers often have alterations in the methylation status of their genomes. Additionally, human cancers, including aggressive T-cell leukemias and lymphomas, have a high frequency of p53 mutations, particularly missense mutations, which raises the possibility of gain-of-new-function proteins, but the new proteins' oncogenic functions are mechanistically ill-defined. To investigate the mechanisms behind the high prevalence of p53 tumor suppressor gene mutations in aggressive or relapsed T-cell leukemias, we transfected Jurkat cells null for p53 protein with a temperature-sensitive p53 mutant. We showed that this mutant p53 abrogated expression of the T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) by affecting the methylation of an at least 20-kb region of DNA, 5'to the TCR beta-chain gene enhancer region, which includes TCRbetaC1 and betaC2. Expression of the TCR is restored when the temperature is reduced to 32 degrees C, at which temperature the mutant p53 regains wild-type function. The TCR, a common site of dysfunction in T-cell malignancies, is the principal signal transduction moiety controlling both T-cell activation and activation-induced apoptosis. These results suggest a new role for mutant p53-as an epigenetic mutator, bridging p53, methylation, and transcriptional silencing-and suggest novel mechanisms in immunosuppression and cancer progression.

p53 mutations in tumor and non-tumor tissues of thorotrast recipients: a model for cellular selection during radiation carcinogenesis in the liver.

Concerns over cancer development from exposure to environmental sources of densely ionizing, high linear energy transfer (LET) radiation, such as alpha-particles from radon, is a current public health issue. The study of tumors attributable to high LET irradiation would greatly augment our insights into the biological mechanisms of carcinogenesis. Chronic low-dose-rate internal exposure to alpha-radiation from thorium dioxide deposits following intravascular administration of the radiographic contrast agent Thorotrast is known to markedly increase the risk of cancer development, especially that of hepatic angiosarcomas and cholangiocarcinomas. Although the mechanism is hypothesized to be via cellular damage, DNA being a major target, wrought by the high LET alpha-particles, the specific genes and the actual sequence of events involved in the process of transforming a normal cell into a malignant one are largely unknown. To shed some light on the molecular mechanisms of cancer development during a lifetime exposure to alpha-radiation, we analyzed the most commonly affected tumor suppressor gene in humans, p53, in 20 Thorotrast recipients who developed cancer, mostly of hepatic bile duct and blood vessel origin. Of the 20 cases, 19 were found to harbor p53 point mutations. Moreover, the accompanying non-tumor tissues from these patients also had p53 mutations, albeit at lower frequency. The distribution pattern of the point mutations was significantly different between the non-tumor and tumor tissues, with most mutations in malignant tissues located in the highly conserved domains of the p53 gene. Our results support the idea that p53 mutations are important in the genesis of Thorotrast-induced tumors but that these point mutations are a secondary outcome of genomic instability induced by the irradiation. Additionally, non-tumor cells harboring p53 mutations may gain some survival advantage in situ but mutations in the domains responsible for the formation of structural elements critical in binding DNA may be necessary for a cell to reach full malignancy.

Close correlation between a p53 or hMSH2 gene mutation in the tumor and survival of hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

We analyzed 42 hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) (38 patients) for mutations in the DNA mismatch repair gene hMSH2 and the p53 tumor suppressor gene, a possible upregulater of hMSH2. Mutations of the hMSH2 or p53 gene were detected in 13 patients (34%). There were no patients who possessed mutations in both genes. There was a significant correlation between mutation of either gene and pathological indicators of malignancy. The survival rate of patients with hMSH2 or p53 gene mutation-positive tumors was much poorer than that with hMSH2 and p53 gene mutation-negative tumors (p=0.0012). Our results suggest that mutations in the p53 or hMSH2 gene may closely correlate with the survival of hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

Lifespan of human memory T-cells in the absence of T-cell receptor expression.

To evaluate the intrinsic lifespan of human memory T-cells in the absence of T-cell receptor signaling, we used radiation-induced mutant CD4+ T-cells lacking surface expression of TCR/CD3 complex as an in vivo cell marker. We analyzed the long-term kinetics of TCR/CD3 - mutant T-cells among CD4+ CD45RA+ naive and CD4+ CD45RA- memory T-cell fractions in peripheral blood of gynecological cancer patients receiving radiotherapy. Both the proportion and number of these mutant T-cells decayed exponentially with time following radiotherapy. The estimated half-life of mutant memory T-cells was 2 to 3 years and did not differ from that of mutant naive T-cells. These results indicate that the lifespan of mature CD4+ T-cells is limited regardless of their memory or naive phenotype in the absence of TCR/CD3 expression. This finding may suggest that continued T-cell receptor signaling is required for lifetime maintenance of human memory T-cells.

Multiple, unique, and common p53 mutations in a thorotrast recipient with four primary cancers.

Four primary cancers found at autopsy of a patient who received the thorium-based contrast agent Thorotrast 50 years ago and who was healthy up until a few months before his death from liver failure were analyzed for p53 mutations. The data suggest that the chronic alpha-irradiation may be a large causative factor. Multiple mutations were found in all the cancer tissues: two foci of a cholangiocellular carcinoma, a tubular adenocarcinoma of the stomach, a squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, and an adenocarcinoma of Vater's ampulla. The total number of point mutations detected were 13. Moreover, homozygous aberrations were detected in a large area of normal small intestine and noncancer liver tissues suggesting that nontumor cells which harbored p53 abnormalities gained a survival advantage and clonally expanded.

RNA from decades-old archival tissue blocks for retrospective studies.

The validity of molecular studies using DNA and RNA extracted from decades-old formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue blocks has been demonstrated. The quality and usability of DNA and RNA from archival tissues are modified by various factors, such as the fixative, the fixation time, and the postmortem time. However, in contrast to DNA, there are no comprehensive studies quantitatively addressing the feasibility of RNA from old (more than 10 years) archival samples. This study examined the integrity of RNA extracted from 738 autopsy liver and 63 autopsy thyroid cancer tissue blocks procured during a span of nearly four decades, beginning in 1952 and ending in 1989, from the atomic bomb survivors. The integrity of RNA was assessed by amplification of c-BCR messenger RNA (mRNA) between two sequential exons with an intervening intron by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The integrity of RNA was influenced by the age of the samples and the postmortem time, but not by the formalin-fixation period. It was possible to amplify more than 60% of the samples. Using these RNAs, the HCV genome in liver cancers and the H4-RET gene in thyroid cancers were detectable. This study illustrates the possibility of molecular studies using RNA from routinely prepared paraffin blocks stored for long periods and provides the statistics and critical factors to consider in assessing the feasibility of such contemplated studies.

Continued expression of a tissue specific activated oncogene in the early steps of radiation-induced human thyroid carcinogenesis.

Ionizing radiation is a well-known risk factor of cancer development, but the mechanism of radiation induced carcinogenesis is not clear. Chromosomal rearrangements induced by radiation most likely are one of the principal genetic alterations resulting in malignant transformation. The chimeric BCR-ABL associated with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and H4-RET oncogenes associated with thyroid papillary carcinoma are the result of a translocation and inversion, respectively. In vitro studies showed these genes were induced by high-doses of X-irradiation in cell lines. Studies also show that therapeutic external X-ray doses as high as 60 Gy for treatment of various childhood cancers including Hodgkin's disease significantly increase the risk of thyroid cancer. Therefore, we examined the induction and persistence of these chimeric genes in human thyroid tissues transplanted in scid mice after 50 Gy exposure as a function of time for 2 months to elucidate the early events of thyroid carcinogenesis. The H4-RET genes were detected on day 2 and throughout the 2 month period. On the other hand, BCR-ABL genes were detected on day 2 and were undetectable subsequently. These results suggest that ionizing radiation causes various oncogene activations, but cells with only specific gene alteration uniquely associated with thyroid carcinogenesis are selectively retained demonstrating one of the early events in the beginnings of radiation carcinogenesis in human thyroid tissues.

X-ray phototherapy for canine brain masses.

Brain masses diagnosed in 47 pet dogs as tumors by CT scans, and confirmed in 12 dogs by necropsies, were injected with iodinated contrast media and treated by a modified CT scanner, the CTRx. Twenty-six dogs that received six or more weekly treatments of about 5.6 Gy per fraction, of which about 25% was contributed by radiation from the iodine, for a median total dose of 39 Gy, had a median survival of 230 days. This compares well with the 150 days reported for 25 dogs given 46-48 Gy of cobalt-60 radiation to the whole brain, and is significantly greater than the 6 to 13 days in untreated historic controls.

Gain-of-function p53 mutations enhance alteration of the T-cell receptor following X-irradiation, independently of the cell cycle and cell survival.

Missense mutations are by the far the most common types of mutations found in p53 of human tumors, suggesting that mutant p53 proteins function either by abrogating wild-type function or by gaining new oncogenic functions. To distinguish between the dominant-negative effect and gain of new function of p53 missense mutants, we measured the ability of transfected missense mutant p53s in p53-null Jurkat cells to alter T-cell receptor (TCR) surface expression. The TCR is a key signal transduction moiety common to T lymphocytes and is one of the major sites for aberrations in T-cell leukemias/lymphomas. Three p53 mutants (248trp, 249ser, and 273his) enhanced the frequency of TCR mutants after graded doses of X-radiation compared to null p53 parent- and wild-type p53-possessing normal lymphocytes; the parent Jurkat and normal lymphocyte showed no difference. These enhancements were not the results of a change in radiosensitivity or in G1 checkpoint arrest characteristics. Therefore, the creation of this mutator phenotype by missense-type p53 mutations implies that a more direct mechanism, apart from changes of cell cycle kinetics or cell death, may be responsible for the selection of certain p53 point mutations, which eventually result in the tumorigenesis of the cell.

Feasibility of using decades-old archival tissues in molecular oncology/epidemiology.

Archival tissues are a bountiful resource for various studies. Polymerase chain reaction permits the use of such tissues for molecular biological analyses of disease causation. However, a comprehensive study using a large number of decades-old samples (20 or more years) for molecular oncology/epidemiology has never been shown to be feasible. We have relied upon the unique tumor registry of atomic bomb survivors to show that such studies are possible using 275 hepatocellular carcinoma and 41 skin cancer cases. We used 23 relatively recent thyroid papillary carcinoma cases from persons living in the vicinity of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident for comparison. Degradation of DNA is severe in autopsy hepatocellular carcinoma samples but can be compensated for by decreasing the polymerase chain reaction product size. Increasing the amount of DNA that is used by a factor of 8 improved amplification efficiency from approximately 60 to 80%. Age of the samples was not as great a problem as was the source of procurement. The extracted DNA can be used for all types of assays that require polymerase chain reaction amplification, such as restriction fragment length polymorphism, single-strand conformation polymorphism, and direct sequencing.

Mutation frequency in human blood cells increases with age.

Using either the colony formation assay or flow cytometry, it is feasible to measure the frequency of rare mutant lymphocytes or erythrocytes in human peripheral blood. Accordingly, we have investigated the mutant cell frequencies of the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase and T-cell receptor genes in T lymphocytes and of the glycophorin A gene in erythrocytes of several hundred persons aged 0-96 years. The mutant frequency of every one of these genes increased significantly with age. A simple accumulation of mutations in hematopoietic stem cells over time may explain the age-dependent increase in the frequency of glycophorin A mutants. In contrast, a balance between mutant cell generation and loss should be taken into account for the mechanism of the increase of T-cell mutations.

The usefulness of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice to study human carcinogenesis.

In the present study, we engrafted normal colonic epithelial and histologically diagnosed colonic adenomas from a familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) patient into severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice and subsequently examined them histologically and molecular biologically. Successful engraftment and metastasis was observed. The facts that human normal colonic epithelium and adenomatous polyps can take in SCID mice indicates the possibility that this human SCID mouse system will be useful for investigating the dynamics of human carcinogenesis in various tissues.

Production of 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid and tumor necrosis factor-alpha by murine peritoneal macrophages in response to irradiation.

Ionizing radiation can induce the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) in a variety of cell types, although the signal transduction pathways that are involved have not been fully elucidated. Recently hydroxy lipids have been implicated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of TNF-alpha by macrophages. We hypothesized that irradiation may act through a similar pathway. The effect of irradiation on the production of the linoleic acid derivative 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoate (13-HODE) by murine peritoneal macrophages was therefore examined and correlated with radiation-induced production of TNF-alpha. We have shown that low to intermediate doses of radiation (0.5-5 Gy) increase levels of 13-HODE, and in particular the free rather than the ester form. Irradiation also "primed" macrophages for elevated production of TNF-alpha and 13-HODE in response to LPS. Linoleate treatment in vitro and in vivo similarly enhanced the ability of macrophages to make TNF-alpha in response to LPS. Radiation-induced oxidized derivatives of linoleate may mediate many inflammatory and noninflammatory effects of irradiation. Although the mechanism by which radiation leads to production of oxidized lipid derivatives and how they interact with other elements in the TNF-alpha pathway have yet to be elucidated fully, our findings suggest an important role for lipid metabolites in radiation-induced signal transduction.

A positive correlation between T-cell-receptor mutant frequencies and dicentric chromosome frequencies in lymphocytes from radiotherapy patients.

Dose estimates for the assessment of future risks, following accidental exposure to radiation, for certain diseases such as cancer usually rely on both physical and biological quantitative analyses. A traditional biological method of choice is the measurement of chromosome aberration frequencies in peripheral-blood lymphocytes. However, thorough examination of large sample populations is time and labor intensive. Recently, it became possible to measure mutant frequencies in T lymphocytes; one method is a colony assay at the HPRT gene, and the other is a flow-cytometric assay at the T-cell-receptor (TCR) gene. To test for the possible use of these mutation assays, concurrent measurements were taken on blood samples from women who previously received a full course of radiation therapy for gynecological cancer. The results showed that the frequency of TCR mutants correlated reasonably well with that of dicentric chromosomes, whereas the frequency of HPRT mutants did not. Possible uses of the TCR mutation assay in combination with the conventional chromosome analysis or micronucleus assay after exposure of a relatively large population are discussed.

In vitro irradiation is able to cause RET oncogene rearrangement.

Elevated risk of thyroid cancers among the atomic bomb survivors as compared to the nonexposed population suggests that some genetic events related to thyroid cancer must be caused by ionizing radiation. Accordingly, inducibility of RET oncogene rearrangements, i.e., the generation of the RET-PTC oncogene, specific for thyroid cancer, was investigated among human undifferentiated thyroid carcinoma cells (8505C), which do not have RET oncogene rearrangement, after 0, 10, 50, and 100 Gy of in vitro X-irradiation by means of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. After testing 10(8) cells at each dose point, 3 independent samples obtained with 50 Gy of X-irradiation and 6 independent samples obtained with 100 Gy of X-irradiation showed a rearranged RET oncogene amplified band. No rearranged transcripts were obtained from cells irradiated with 0 or 10 Gy. All of the transcripts were sequenced and found to contain the D10S170 and RET sequence. Interestingly, two types of rearrangements were included in these transcripts: one is specific for thyroid cancer and the other, which contains a 150-base pair insert, is atypical, not usually seen in vivo. This insert was found to be the exon of D10S170. Furthermore, in fibrosarcoma cells (HT1080), X-irradiation also induced RET oncogene rearrangements, which included the same two types of rearrangements observed in the X-irradiated thyroid cells (8505C). These results are in favor of the hypothesis that some radiation-induced thyroid cancers, including those among atomic bomb survivors, might have developed when a growth advantage was obtained through a specific form of RET oncogene rearrangement induced by radiation exposure.