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Biomedical subjects

L G Durrant

Publications and source records attributed to L G Durrant.

76 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Potentiation of cell killing by inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase in four rodent cell lines exposed to N-methyl-N-nitrosourea or UV light.

The sensitivities (Do-values) of the cytotoxic effect of MNU on four rodent cell lines were: mouse L1210, 0.07 mM; rat Yoshida sarcoma, 0.52 mM; Chinese hamster V79A, 0.70 mM and the UV sensitive, X-ray sensitive V79/79, 0.35 mM. The abilities of maximum non-toxic doses of the poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors, 5-methyl nicotinamide (5MeN), 3-methoxybenzamide (3MBA) and caffeine to potentiate this cytotoxicity and that of UV light in V79A and V79/79 was measured. The degree of potentiation (ratio Do without inhibitor/Do with inhibitor) was both agent and cell line dependent. In general the lymphoid cell lines L1210 and YS showed greater potentiation, up to 4-fold, than did the fibroblast lines V79A and V79/79. The use of inhibitors in pairs suggested that 5MeN and 3MBA affect one process whereas caffeine affects additional processes. The data provide further support for a role for poly(ADP-ribose) in DNA repair, but indicate that metabolic factors may modify the effectiveness of individual inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase in different cell lines.

Animals↗

Pretreatment of Chinese hamster v79 cells with MNU increases survival without affecting DNA repair or mutagenicity.

Exposure of Chinese hamster V79 cells to a non-toxic dose of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea, followed at intervals by exposure to toxic challenging doses of the same agent, resulted in increased survival of colony forming ability when these cells were compared with matched control cells that only received the challenging dose. The extent of the increase was dependent on the time interval between exposures, and rose to a maximum of about two-fold 5 days after the initial dose, declining slowly to control values on subsequent days. Whilst pretreatment enhanced survival, it altered neither the frequency of mutation to 6-thioguanine resistance, nor the formation or loss of 3-methyladenine, 7-methylguanine and O6-methylguanine. Modification of the conditions by which the initial dose was administered led to a reduction or abolition of the survival response. It is suggested that enhanced survival may result from alteration in the ability to recover from cellular damage rather than by improved DNA repair.

Animals↗

Effects of 5-methylnicotinamide on mouse L1210 cells exposed to N-methyl-N-nitrosourea: mutation induction, formation and removal of methylation products in DNA, and unscheduled DNA synthesis.

The lethality of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) to mouse L1210 cells, as determined by colon forming ability, was potentiated 2.8 fold by the addition of 1 mM 5'-methylnicotinamide (5MeN). When 5MeN was present throughout the expression and selection of 6-thioguanine resistant mutants, the MNU-induced mutation frequency was reduced in duplicate experiments from 15.6 and 12.0 to 7.0 mutants per 10(4) survivors per mM MNU. At the same level of survival, cells treated with 5MeN had approximately 12 times fewer mutants than untreated cells. The rate of removal of the promutagenic lesion O6-methylguanine from DNA was enhanced approximately 2-fold, whereas that of 7-methylguanine was unaffected by the incubation of MNU treated cells with 5MeN. Since 5MeN is a potent inhibitor of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, this may imply that in normal cells it is specific ADP-ribosylation of the repair enzyme causing the removal of O6-methylguanine, rather than a more general modification of chromatin structure, that limits the rate of repair of the promutagenic lesion. 5MeN also stimulated unscheduled DNA synthesis in MNU treated cells, implying that an earlier observation that 5MeN prevented rejoining of strand breaks induced by repair of alkyl lesions, probably resulted from inhibition of ligation and not the failure of DNA polymerase to replace bases removed by repair nucleases.

Animals↗

MUC3 and MCA serum levels and steroid receptor content in breast cancer.

Mucins are an important class of complex glycoproteins expressed by many epithelial cells and their malignant counterparts. The aim of this study was to determine the serum levels of MUC3 and mucin-like carcinoma-associated antigen (MCA) in patients with primary breast cancer and to analyze the possible relationships between these two mucins and the steroid receptor status. The preoperative basal serum levels of MUC3 (ELISA assay with monoclonal antibody 1143/B7) and MCA (EIA assay with anti-MCA mouse monoclonal antibody b-12) were determined in 44 patients with breast cancer while estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) levels were measured by the dextran-coated charcoal method in the cytosol of neoplastic tissue. MUC3 was expressed in 43/44 serum samples while high MCA serum levels were found in 16/44 only; the mean values of both markers did not correlate with menopausal status, tumor size, nodal involvement or ER. The only significant difference observed was a lower median value of MCA in patients with small tumors (T1-T2). No statistically significant correlation between MUC3 and MCA, MUC3 and ER or MCA and ER was observed; a statistically significant direct correlation between MUC3 and PgR+ status and a statistically significant inverse correlation between MCA and PgR+ were observed. Our results suggest that further investigations are necessary to establish whether progesterone can modulate MUC3 and MCA expression in breast cancer.

Adult↗