RadA： A protein involved in DNA damage repair processes of Deinococcus radiodurans R1

RadA is highly conserved in bacteria and belongs to the RecA/RadA/Rad51 protein su-perfamily found in bacteria,archaea and eukarya. In Archaea,it plays a critical role in homologous re-combination process due to its RecA-like function. In Escherichia coli,it takes part in conjugational recom-bination and DNA repair but is not as important as that of archaea. Using PSI-BLAST searches,we found that Deinococcus radiodurans RadA had a higher similarity to that of bacteria than archaea and eukarya. Disruption of radA gene in D. radiodurans resulted in a modestly decreased resistance to gamma radiation and ultraviolet,but had no effect on the resistance to hydrogen peroxide. Complementa-tion of the radA disruptant by both E. coli radA and D. radiodurans radA could fully restore its resistance to gamma radiation and ultraviolet irradiation. Further domain function analyses of D. radiodurans RadA showed that the absence of the zinc finger domain resulted in a slightly more sensitive phenotype to gamma and UV radiation than that of the radA mutant,while the absence of the Lon protease domain exhib-ited a slightly increased resistance to gamma and UV radiation. These data suggest that D. radiodurans RadA does play an important role in the DNA damage repair processes and its three different domains have different functions.     

Expression of the E. coli uvrA gene is inducible

UvrA+-dependent excision repair is one of the most important systems in Escherichia coli for repairing UV-induced pyrimidine dimers and a variety of other forms of DNA damage. The uvrA protein acts in conjunction with the uvrB and uvrC gene products to introduce a nick at the of a DNA lesion and thus initiate the repair process. We have recently used the Mud(Ap, lac) operon fusion vector to identify a set of genes whose expression is induced by DNA damage. One Mud(Ap, lac) insertion mapped at the uvrA locus and made the cells sensitive to UV light. In this fusion strain, beta-galactosidase expression was induced by DNA-damaging agents in a recA+lexA+-dependent fashion. We were surprised by this result because uvrA+-dependent excision repair is observed both in cells in which protein synthesis has been inhibited and in recA- and lexA- cells, findings which have led to the conclusion that the uvrA gene product is constitutively expressed and not under the control of the complex recA+lexA+ regulatory circuitry (see below). We have investigated this possibility further and describe here the generation and characterization of a set of fusions of the lac genes to the promoter of the uvrA gene. We confirm that the uvrA gene product is induced by DNA damage in a recA+lexA+-dependent fashion.     

Engineering Deinococcus radiodurans into biosensor to monitor radioactivity and genotoxicity in environment

Based on a genetically modified radioresistant bacteria Deinococcus radiodurans, we constructed a real time whole cell biosensor to monitor radioactivity and genotoxicity in highly radioactive environ-ment. The enhanced green fluorescence protein (eGFP) was fused to the promoter of the crucial DNA damage-inducible recA gene from D. radiodurans, and the consequent DNA fragment (PrecA-egfp) car-ried by plasmid was introduced into D. radiodurans R1 strain to obtain the biosensor strain DRG300. This engineered strain can express eGFP protein and generate fluorescence in induction of the recA gene promoter. Based on the correlation between fluorescence intensity and protein expression level in live D. radiodurans cells, we discovered that the fluorescence induction of strain DRG300 responds in a remarkable dose-dependent manner when treated with DNA damage sources such as gamma radiation and mitomycin C. It is encouraging to find the widely detective range and high sensitivity of this re-constructed strain comparing with other whole cell biosensors in former reports. These results suggest that the strain DRG300 is a potential whole cell biosensor to construct a detective system to monitor the biological hazards of radioactive and toxic pollutants in environment in real time.     

Reassembly of shattered chromosomes in Deinococcus radiodurans

Dehydration or desiccation is one of the most frequent and severe challenges to living cells. The bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans is the best known extremophile among the few organisms that can survive extremely high exposures to desiccation and ionizing radiation, which shatter its genome into hundreds of short DNA fragments. Remarkably, these fragments are readily reassembled into a functional 3.28-megabase genome. Here we describe the relevant two-stage DNA repair process, which involves a previously unknown molecular mechanism for fragment reassembly called 'extended synthesis-dependent strand annealing' (ESDSA), followed and completed by crossovers. At least two genome copies and random DNA breakage are requirements for effective ESDSA. In ESDSA, chromosomal fragments with overlapping homologies are used both as primers and as templates for massive synthesis of complementary single strands, as occurs in a single-round multiplex polymerase chain reaction. This synthesis depends on DNA polymerase I and incorporates more nucleotides than does normal replication in intact cells. Newly synthesized complementary single-stranded extensions become 'sticky ends' that anneal with high precision, joining together contiguous DNA fragments into long, linear, double-stranded intermediates. These intermediates require RecA-dependent crossovers to mature into circular chromosomes that comprise double-stranded patchworks of numerous DNA blocks synthesized before radiation, connected by DNA blocks synthesized after radiation.     

Separase-mediated cleavage of cohesin at interphase is required for DNA repair

Sister chromatids are held together by cohesins. At anaphase, separase is activated by degradation of its inhibitory partner, securin. Separase then cleaves cohesins, thus allowing sister chromatid separation. Fission yeast securin (Cut2) has destruction boxes and a separase (Cut1) interaction site in the amino and carboxyl terminus, respectively. Here we show that securin is essential for separase stability and also for proper repair of DNA damaged by ultraviolet, X-ray and gamma-ray irradiation. The cut2(EA2) mutant is defective in the repair of ultraviolet damage lesions, although the DNA damage checkpoint is activated normally. In double mutant analysis of ultraviolet sensitivity, checkpoint kinase chk1 (ref. 9) and excision repair rad13 (ref. 10) mutants were additive with cut2(EA2), whereas recombination repair rhp51 (ref. 11) and cohesin subunit rad21 (ref. 12) mutants were not. Cohesin was hyper-modified on ultraviolet irradiation in a Rad3 kinase-dependent way. Experiments using either mutant cohesin that cannot be cleaved by separase or a protease-dead separase provide evidence that this DNA repair function of securin-separase acts through the cleavage of cohesin. We propose that the securin-separase complex might aid DNA repair by removing local cohesin in interphase cells.     

Influence of He-Ne laser irradiation on the excision repair of cyclobutyl pyrimidine dimers in the wheat DNA

Using agarose gel electrophoresis and T4-endodeoxyribonuclease-V, which is a kind of restriction endonuclease of cyclobutyl pyrimidine dimer (CPD), the impacts of He-Ne laser (5 mW · mm⁻²) irradiation on DNA excision repair capacity in damaged wheat cells induced by enhanced ultraviolet-B (10.08 kJ ·m⁻² ·d⁻¹) radiation were studied. The results indicated that the content of endonuclease sensitive sites (ESS) was reduced by He-Ne laser irradiation, which formed in cells irradiated by enhanced ultraviolet-B. With the irradiation of He-Ne laser, the excision of CPDs and the reduction of single strand breaks (SSB) contents which were the endonuclease sensitive sites (ESS) digested by T4-endodeoxyribonuclease-V had been stimulated in the wheat cells.     

玫瑰微球菌海藻糖合成相关酶基因的克隆和序列分析

从玫瑰微球菌QS412中克隆出海藻糖生成相关酶――麦芽寡糖基海藻糖基水解酶的基因treZ ,测定了其核苷酸序列并进行了表达。treZ 编码的蛋白质有624个氨基酸、分子质量为68 kD. 它们与已报道的其他微生物的海藻糖生成相关酶的基因进行同源性比较，treZ 的同源性分别为33.0%(耐放射异常球菌)；10.1%(硫矿硫化叶菌KM1)；51.9%(节杆菌Q36)；52.8%(根瘤菌M11)；48.5% (短杆菌)。经过氨基酸序列比较分析还发现，所有的海藻糖生成相关酶都含有糖苷酶家族13个中几个高度保守的α-淀粉酶催化活性区，推测这些海藻糖生成相关酶都可能有着共同的进化来源。     

Functional analysis of the sbcD （dr1921 ） gene of the extremely radioresistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans

In eukaryotes, the Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 (MRN) complex, which resides at the crossroads of DNA repair and checkpoint signaling, rapidly forms prominent foci at damage sites following double-strand break (DSB) induction. This complex carries out the initial processing of the DSB ends. Mutations in the genes that encode components of this complex result in DNA-damage hypersensitivity, genomic in- stability, telomere shortening, and aberrant meiosis. Therefore, the MR proteins are highly conserved during evolution. The bacterial orthologs of Mre11 and Rad50 are the SbcD and SbcC proteins, respec- tively. Deinococcus radiodurans, an extremely radioresistant bacterium, is able to mend hundreds of radiation-induced DSBs. The SbcD and SbcC proteins were identified as the products of the Dr1921 and Dr1922 genes. Disruption of the sbcD gene, by direct reverse-orientation insertional mutagenesis tech- nology, remarkably increases the cells’ sensitivity to various types of DNA damaging agents, such as ionizing radiation, ultraviolet irradiation, hydrogen peroxide, and mitomycin C. We also provide evidence that the drSbcD protein plays an important role in both growth and DNA repair in this organ- ism, especially in repair of DSBs generated after cellular exposure to 6000 Gy of IR. These results demonstrate that the drSbcD protein plays an important role in DSBs repair in D. radiodurans.     

pEgr-Endostatin重组质粒联合电离辐射抗肿瘤效应的实验研究

目的研究pEgr-Endostatin辐射诱导肿瘤的表达特性及其抗肿瘤作用,为提高临床肿瘤放疗疗效提供实验证据.方法 Western blotting法检测pEgr-Endostatin重组质粒联合电离辐射诱导黑色素瘤B16细胞蛋白表达;建立动物模型,用ELISA法检测不同处理组Endostatin的剂量水平,比较不同处理方式的差异.结果 Western blotting法检测结果显示:重组质粒转染的黑色素瘤B16细胞上清中均有Endostatin蛋白表达,而未转染重组质粒的B16细胞和转染空质粒的B16细胞上清中未见Endostatin蛋白表达.ELISA法检测结果表明:体外接受2~10 Gy X射线照射,Endostatin表达水平明显增加,且照射剂量为4 Gy时Endostatin的表达水平最高.2 Gy照射8~72 h后,Endostatin表达水平与假照射组比较明显增加,在48 h时Endostatin表达水平最高.动物实验表明:荷瘤+25 Gy照射组、荷瘤+pEgr-Endostatin照射组、荷瘤+pc DNA3.1+25 Gy照射组和荷瘤+pEgr-Endostatin+25Gy照射组肿瘤生长率显著低于单纯荷瘤组(P0.05#0.01),荷瘤+pEgr-Endostatin+25 Gy照射组亦明显低于荷瘤+25 Gy照射组和荷瘤+pEgr-Endostatin组(P0.05#0.01).结论 pEgr-Endostatin重组质粒联合电离辐射能使Endostatin蛋白表达增加,从而抑制血管内皮细胞生长、发挥抗肿瘤作用.     

用细小病毒H-1探测人细胞中的直接诱变与间接诱变途径

用细小病毒H-1为探针,可在人细胞中检测由紫外线照射诱导的三种不同致突变途径.直接突变产生于细胞的结构性复制(或修复)功能对受损DNA模板的复制;间接无靶突变和间接有靶突变分别产生于紫外线诱导的易错修复功能对完整模板和模板上的靶损伤的作用.在低剂量范围内,间接无靶突变在某些DNA毒剂诱导的细胞突变中起主要作用.某些DNA损伤,如烷化剂诱导的次级损伤(无碱基位损伤)可作为诱导性易错修复功能的靶损伤.     

Two levels of protection for the B cell genome during somatic hypermutation

Somatic hypermutation introduces point mutations into immunoglobulin genes in germinal centre B cells during an immune response. The reaction is initiated by cytosine deamination by the activation-induced deaminase (AID) and completed by error-prone processing of the resulting uracils by mismatch and base excision repair factors. Somatic hypermutation represents a threat to genome integrity and it is not known how the B cell genome is protected from the mutagenic effects of somatic hypermutation nor how often these protective mechanisms fail. Here we show, by extensive sequencing of murine B cell genes, that the genome is protected by two distinct mechanisms: selective targeting of AID and gene-specific, high-fidelity repair of AID-generated uracils. Numerous genes linked to B cell tumorigenesis, including Myc, Pim1, Pax5, Ocab (also called Pou2af1), H2afx, Rhoh and Ebf1, are deaminated by AID but escape acquisition of most mutations through the combined action of mismatch and base excision repair. However, approximately 25% of expressed genes analysed were not fully protected by either mechanism and accumulated mutations in germinal centre B cells. Our results demonstrate that AID acts broadly on the genome, with the ultimate distribution of mutations determined by a balance between high-fidelity and error-prone DNA repair.     

A model of calcium signaling and degranulation dynamics induced by laser irradiation in mast cells

Recent experiments show that calcium signaling and degranulation dynamics induced by low power laser irradiation in mast cells must rely on extracellular Ca^2＋ influx. An analytical expression of Ca^2＋ flux through TRPV4 cation channel in response to interaction of laser photon energy and extracellular Ca^2＋ is deduced, and a model characterizing dynamics of calcium signaling and degranulation activated by laser irradiation in mast cells is established. The model indicates that the characteristics of calcium signaling and degranulation dynamics are determined by interaction between laser photon energy and Ca^2＋ influx. Extracellular Ca^2＋ concentration is so high that even small photon energy can activate mast cells, thus avoiding the possible injury caused by laser irradiation with shorter wavelengths. The model predicts that there exists a narrow parameter domain of photon energy and extracellular Ca^2＋ concentration of which results in cytosolic Ca^2＋ limit cycle oscillations, and shows that PKC activity is in direct proportion to the frequency of Ca^2＋ oscillations. With the model it is found that sustained and stable maximum plateau of cytosolic Ca^2＋ concentration can get optimal degranulation rate. Furthermore, the idea of introducing the realistic physical energy into model is applicable to modeling other physical signal transduction systems.     

Construction of DNA damage response gene pprI functiondeficient and function-complementary mutants in Deinococcus radiodurans

PprI, a DNA damage response factor from the extraordinary radioresistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans, plays a central regulatory role in multiple DNA damage repair. In this study, a fusion DNA fragment carrying kanamycin resistance gene with the D. radiodurans groEL promoter was cloned by PCR amplification and reversely inserted into the pprl locus in the genome of the wild-type strain R1. The resultingpprl-deficient strain, designated YR1,was very sensitive to ionizing radiation. Meanwhile, the recombinant DNA fragment was cloned into the shuttle vector pRADZ3, and resulted in plasmid pRADK with kanamycin resistance in D. radiodurans. The fragments containing complete pprl gene and 3‘-terminal deletion pprIΔ were cloned into plasmid pRADK. The resulted plasmids designated pRADKpprI and pRADKpprIΔ were then transformed to YR1. Results show that YR1 carrying pRADKpprI was able to fully restore the extreme radioresistance to the same level as the wild-type D. raiodurans R1, whereas YR1 pRADKpprIΔ failed to do so. Construction of DNA repair switch PprI function-deficient and function-complementary mutants in D. radiodurans is not only useful to elucidating the relationship between domains and functions of PprI protein, but also opens the door to the further studies of the biological functions of PprI protein in vivo.     

Requirement for the replication protein SSB in human DNA excision repair

Replication and repair are essential processes that maintain the continuity of the genetic material. Dissection of simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA replication has resulted in the identification of many eukaryotic replication proteins, but the biochemistry of the multienzyme process of DNA excision repair is less well defined. One protein that is absolutely required for semiconservative replication of SV40 DNA in vitro is human single-stranded DNA-binding protein (SSB, also called RF-A and RP-A). SSB consists of three polypeptides of relative molecular mass 70,000, 34,000 and 13,000, and acts with T antigen and topoisomerases to unwind DNA, allowing the access of other replication proteins. Human SSB can also stimulate the activity of polymerases alpha and delta, suggesting a further role in elongation during DNA replication. We have now found a role for human SSB in DNA excision repair using a cell-free system that can carry out nucleotide excision repair in vitro. Monoclonal antibodies against human SSB caused extensive inhibition of DNA repair in plasmid molecules damaged by ultraviolet light or acetylaminofluorene. Addition of purified SSB reversed this inhibition and further stimulated repair synthesis by increasing the number of repair events. These results show that a mammalian DNA replication protein is also essential for repair.