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Title: Inhibition of uracil-DNA glycosylase increases SCEs in BrdU-treated and visible light-irradiated cells

Journal Article · · Exp. Cell Res.; (United States)

The authors have approached the study of the ability of different types of lesions produced by DNA-damaging agents to develop sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) by analyzing SCE levels observed in Allium cepa L cells with BrdU-substituted DNA and exposed to visible light (VL), an irradiation which produces uracil residues in DNA after debromination of bromouracil and enhances SCE levels but only above a certain dose. They have partially purified an uracil-DNA glycosylase activity from A. cepa L root meristem cells, which removes uracil from DNA, the first step in the excision repair of this lesion. This enzyme was inhibited in vitro by 6-amino-uracil and uracil but not by thymine. When cells exposed to VL, at a dose that did not produce per se an SCE increase, were immediately post-treated with these inhibitors of uracil-DNA glycosylase, a significant increase in SCE levels was obtained. Moreover, SCE levels in irradiated cells dropped to control level when a short holding time elapsed between exposure to VL and the beginning of post-treatment with the inhibitor. Thus, our results showed that inhibitors of uracil-DNA glycosylase enhanced SCE levels in cells with unifilarly BrdU-substituted DNA exposed to visible light; and indicated the existence of a very rapid repair of SCE-inducing lesions produced by visible light irradiation of cells with unifilarly BrdU-containing DNA.

Research Organization:
Instituto de Biologia Celular, Madrid, Spain
OSTI ID:
6227901
Journal Information:
Exp. Cell Res.; (United States), Vol. 1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English