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The curious case of sporadic nematode susceptibility in "Tifguard" peanut (Arachis hypogaea): seed mixture or genetic instability?

The Runner-type peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivar "Tifguard" carries an introgressed chromosomal segment on chromosome A09 from A. cardenasii that confers resistance to root-knot nematode (RKN). Despite this, a proportion of "Tifguard" plants show RKN symptoms, which could plausibly be attributed to seed mixture or outcrossing. However, recent work has shown that cultivated peanut exhibits surprisingly frequent large-scale chromosomal instability (1% to 5%); suggesting that resistance loss could arise from spontaneous structural genomic change. To test these possibilities, we grew foundation seed in an RKN-infested field and collected symptomatic and asymptomatic plants. Lineages derived by single-seed descent were genotyped using the Axiom Arachis 48K SNP array v2 and whole-genome sequencing. Symptomatic lineages lacked the A. cardenasii introgression on chromosome A09 and instead carried the complete endogenous A. hypogaea A09 region at the expected dosage. There was no evidence of large-scale homoeologous exchange, deletion, or other genomic instability affecting this chromosome. Most susceptible plants were closely related to resistant "Tifguard" but lacked the A09 introgression, with a smaller proportion assignable to known nematode-susceptible cultivars, implicating seed mixture with a possible contribution from cross-pollination rather than genomic instability. Because resistance depends on a single major-effect segment, rare events have disproportionate phenotypic impact, placing high demands on genetic purity. For important traits conferred by major loci, marker-based testing across seed-increase stages could verify trait retention directly, and is increasingly practical as marker costs decline.

Arachis↗

Associations among telomerase activity, p53 protein overexpression, and genetic instability in lung cancer.

Genomic instability is a driving force for tumorigenesis. p53 and telomerase play central roles in maintaining genomic integrity. The purpose of this study was to assess the associations among p53 protein overexpression, telomerase activity and genetic instability in lung cancer. We found that telomerase activity was detectable in 80% of 100 lung tumours, but only 7.7% of 91 paired adjacent normal tissues. p53 protein was overexpressed in 63% of the tumours but only 2% of the normal tissues. p53 was overexpressed in 56 of the 80 (70%) tumour tissues with telomerase activity but only seven of the 20 (35%) without telomerase activity. p53 protein overexpression carried a 6.7-fold (95% confidence interval, 1.7-27.7) increased risk for positive telomerase activity after adjustment by age, sex, ethnicity, smoking status and family history of lung cancer. The mean in vitro bleomycin-induced breaks per cell (a marker of cancer susceptibility) was significantly higher (0.92) for patients who overexpressed p53 in lung tumour tissue than that for patients with no detectable p53 expression in lung tumour tissue (0.65). Our data suggest that p53 protein overexpression may be common in individuals genetically susceptible to carcinogen exposure. p53 status may be related to telomerase expression.

Adult↗

[Human mismatch repair genes and HNPCC].

Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is a major cancer susceptibility syndrome known to be caused by the inheritance of mutations in DNA mismatch repair genes, such as hMSH2, hMLH1, hPMS1 and hPMS2. Germline mutations in the hMSH2 and hMLH1 genes were detected in 9 and 11 Japanese or Korean HNPCC kindreds, respectively. These data establish a basis for the presymptomatic diagnosis of HNPCC patients. To determine the relation between the mutation of the TGF-beta type II receptor gene and genomic instability in the tumorigenesis of HNPCC, we screened genomic DNA of tumors from HNPCC patients. Seventeen of the 24 (71%) genomic instability-positive HNPCC tumors carried one or two A deletions in the (A)10 repeat, while none of the 14 genomic instability-negative tumors did. These deletions inactivate the receptor through a frameshift mutation and the resultant protein truncation. These data suggest that the TGF-beta type II receptor gene is a major target of genomic instability in HNPCC tumorigenesis.

Colorectal Neoplasms↗

Telomere-dependent chromosomal instability.

Telomeres are specialized DNA-protein structures at the ends of the linear chromosomes. In mammalian cells, they are composed of multifold hexameric TTAGGG repeats and a number of associated proteins. The double-stranded telomeric DNA ends in a 3' single stranded overhang of 150 to 300 base pair (bp) which is believed to be required for a higher order structure (reviewed in (Blackburn, 2001)). One important model is that the telomeres form loop structures, the T-loops, and by invasion of the 3' overhang into the duplex region of the double stranded part protect the DNA against degradation and hinder the cellular machinery to recognize the ends as broken DNA, thus providing chromosomal integrity (Griffith et al, 1999). If telomeres become critically short they loose their capping function, become sticky, and are prone to illegitimate chromosome end-to-end fusions. The resulting dicentric chromosomes are highly unusable and because of bridge-fusion-breakage cycles they give rise to chromosomal translocations, deletions, and amplifications. Thus, critically short telomeres are thought to be responsible for the onset of genomic instability. In addition, we provide evidence that in a length-independent manner telomeres can confer to genomic instability by forming telomericaggregates which through chromosomal dys-locations contribute to chromosomal aberrations.

Animals↗

A stochastic model of cancer initiation including a bystander effect.

A stochastic model of cancer initiation is considered. The model is used to evaluate whether a bystander effect may be important in the pre-malignant and malignant stages of carcinogenesis, and furthermore, on the basis of epidemiological data, to estimate the mutation rates of genes involved in the development of oral leukoplakias. The bystander effect is defined here as the capability of oncogenic mutations to increase the mutation probability of neighbouring (bystander) cells, thus leading potentially to a cascade of neighbouring mutated and neoplastic cells as a pre-stage in the development to leukoplakias and cancer. We find that incidence data for oral cancer are indeed in accordance with a significant bystander effect, operating either alone or in combination with genomic instability in the early stages of carcinogenesis, i.e. the development of neoplasia. Simulations performed gave a picture of how mutations and neoplasia may spread in a tissue, to form characteristic leukoplakias with a core of neoplastic cells. The model also showed that the probability of finding at least one neoplastic cell in the tissue after a given number of years is more sensitive to changes in genomic instability within the cell itself than to changes in a bystander effect. Based on epidemiological data we also calculate the maximum number of oncogenic genes that may be involved in the bystander effect and development of genomic instability. Even if capable of explaining the initial development of oncogenic mutations towards neoplastic cells, the bystander model could not reproduce the observed incidence rates of leukoplakia without assuming a carcinogen mutation probability per cell per year of neoplastic cells practically equal to one. This means that the bystander effect, to be of substantial importance in the final development of neoplastic cells towards leukoplakias, requires a very significant increase in mutation probabilities for bystanders to neoplastic cells. Alternatively, additional mechanisms such as abnormal cell differentiation and uncontrolled proliferation and apoptotis in the neoplastic stage may be of major importance during the development to cancerization.

Bystander Effect↗

Multiplex polymerase chain reaction analysis of UV-A- and UV-B-induced delayed and early mutations in V79 Chinese hamster cells.

We previously reported that approximately 10% of V79 Chinese hamster fibroblast populations clonally derived from single cells immediately after irradiation with either ultraviolet B (UV-B, 290-320 nm, mainly 311 nm) or ultraviolet A (UV-A, 320-400 nm, mainly 350-390 nm) radiation exhibit genomic instability. The instability is revealed by relatively high mutation frequencies in the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase (hprt) gene up to 23 cell generations after irradiation. These delayed mutant clones exhibited higher levels of oxidative stress than normal cells. Therefore, persistently increased oxidative stress has been proposed as a mechanism for UV-induced genomic instability. This study investigates whether this mechanism is reflected in the deletion spectrum of delayed mutant clones. Eighty-eight percent of the delayed mutant clones derived from UV-A-irradiated populations were found to have total deletion of the hprt gene. Correspondingly, 81% of UV-A-induced early mutations (i.e. detected shortly after irradiation) also had total deletions. Among delayed UV-B-induced mutant clones, 23% had total deletions and 8% had deletion of one exon, whereas all early UV-B events were either point mutations or small deletions or insertions. In conclusion, the multiplex polymerase chain reaction deletion screen showed that there were explicit differences in the occurrence of large gene alterations between early and delayed mutations induced by UV-B radiation. For UV-A radiation the deletion spectra were similar for delayed and early mutations. UV-A radiation is, in contrast to UV-B radiation, only weakly absorbed by DNA and probably induces mutation almost solely via production of reactive oxygen species. Therefore, the present results support the hypothesis that persistent increase in oxidative stress is involved in the mechanism of UV-induced genomic instability.

Animals↗

Radiation-induced bystander effects: past history and future directions.

There has been a recent upsurge of interest in the phenomenon now known as radiation-induced bystander effects. This is largely due to the increased awareness of the contribution of indirect and delayed effects, such as genomic instability, to cellular outcomes after low-dose exposures. It is also due to the availability of tools such as the microbeam and advanced cell culture systems and to the ability to study end points such as gene or protein expression at low doses which were previously difficult to study. This review looks at the history of bystander effects in the earlier literature, in which the clastogenic effect of plasma from irradiated patients was well known. The effect was known to persist for several years and to cause transgenerational effects, making it similar to what we now call genomic instability. The review then examines the current data and controversies which are now beginning to resolve the questions concerning the mechanisms underlying the induction and transmission of both bystander effects and genomic instability. Finally, the possible impact of data concerning radiation-induced bystander effects on radiotherapy and radiation protection is discussed.

Animals↗

Defects in mismatch repair occur after APC mutations in the pathogenesis of sporadic colorectal tumours.

The roles of the intrinsic mutation rate and genomic instability in tumorigenesis are currently controversial. In most colorectal tumours, it is generally supposed that the first mutations occur at the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) locus; APC mutations are thought to provide cells with a selective advantage but have no known effect on the mutation rate. It has also been suggested that genomic instability is the initiating event in colorectal tumorigenesis and, if this is true, mutations of DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes (or at similar loci) are the most likely candidates. If defective MMR precedes APC mutations, the APC mutations of colon tumours with defective MMR and hence replication errors (RER+) should differ from those of RER- tumours, in at least three specific ways: (1) a higher frequency of allele loss at APC in RER- tumours; (2) more frameshift than nonsense mutations in RER+ tumours; and (3) APC mutations in simple repeat sequences [(N)n, (N1N2)n, or (N1N2N3)n] in RER+ tumours. We found no evidence that sporadic RER+ and RER- colon cancers (including cell lines) differ in any of these three ways. Although it remains possible that MMR is abnormal in tumours from HNPCC families before APC mutations occur, it is likely that in sporadic colon tumours, APC mutations, rather than genomic instability, are the initiating events in tumorigenesis.

Alleles↗

Studies on mammary carcinogenesis induced by a heterocyclic amine, 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine, in mice and rats.

Ten heterocyclic amines (HCAs) that are produced by heating amino acids, proteins, or proteinaceous food such as fish and meat were examined for carcinogenicity in rats and mice. Three of them, 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ), 2-amino-3,4-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (MeIQ), and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP), have been shown to induce mammary cancer in female F344 and/or SD rats, but none of the HCAs induced mammary cancer in CDF(1) mice. This report reviews our recent studies on mammary carcinogenesis of PhIP in various strains of mice and on the roles of genomic instability in the rat mammary carcinogenesis of PhIP. We demonstrated that the survival time from mammary adenocarcinomas was shorter in PhIP-treated BALB/c mice than that in the untreated control, and with a significantly higher incidence in the C.B-17 strain of mice compared with that of the control. To clarify mechanisms of mammary carcinogenesis, we examined genomic instability in rat mammary cancer induced by PhIP. Mammary cancers were induced in F344 x SD F(1) rats harboring the lacI transgene, and two cell lines were established from two adenocarcinomas. They showed a greater than 10-fold higher frequency of spontaneous mutations than that of the primary culture of normal mammary epithelial cells, in the lacI transgene and the hprt endogenous gene during cell replication. Nucleotide sequencing revealed that almost all types of mutations were increased, with a remarkable increase of A:T --> C:G mutation. This genomic instability was not attributed either to alterations of mismatch-repair enzymes or to p53. These mutational characteristics were also observed in the original tumors. Single-nucleotide instability (SNI) might be implicated in the mammary cancer induced by PhIP.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Delayed cytotoxic and genotoxic effects in a human cell line following X-irradiation.

BACKGROUND: In order to clarify the relationship between delayed reproductive death and radiation-induced genomic instability, the colony-forming efficiency of surviving, irradiated human squamous carcinoma cells and centromere positive as well as centromere negative micronuclei in surviving progeny were examined. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Colony-forming ability and micronucleus (MN) frequency in binucleated cells 24 h after the addition of cytochalasin B during 2 weeks of post-irradiation growth were determined in a squamous cell carcinoma cell line (SCL-II) of human origin. In addition, centromeres in micronuclei were detected using FISH. RESULTS: In the human epithelial cell line used for these experiments, delayed reproductive death was pronounced and persisted for at least 2 weeks after irradiation. Although there is evidence for an increased rate of centromere positive micronuclei, but not of centromere negative micronuclei, arising during the first week of post-irradiation proliferation, this decreases later while the rate of delayed reproductive death remains elevated. CONCLUSION: In the studied cell line, the observed delayed reproductive death is not closely related to the investigated criteria of radiation-induced genomic instability. This casts doubt on the common assumption that delayed reproductive death is a direct manifestation of radiation-induced genomic instability.

Cell Division↗

Bystander effects may modulate ultraviolet A and B radiation-induced delayed mutagenesis.

Ultraviolet irradiation of cells can induce a state of genomic instability that can persist for several cell generations after irradiation. However, questions regarding the time course of formation, relative abundance for different types of ultraviolet radiation, and mechanism of induction of delayed mutations remain to be answered. In this paper, we have tried to address these questions using the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) mutation assay in V79 Chinese hamster cells irradiated with ultraviolet A or B radiation. Delayed HPRT(-) mutations, which are indications of genomic instability, were detected by incubating the cells in medium containing aminopterin, selectively killing HPRT(-) mutants, and then treating the cells with medium containing 6-thioguanine, which selectively killed non-mutant cells. Remarkably, the delayed mutation frequencies found here were much higher than reported previously using a cloning method. Cloning of cells immediately after irradiation prevents contact between individual cell clones. In contrast, with the present method, the cells are in contact and are mixed several times during the experiment. Thus the higher delayed mutation frequency measured by the present method may be explained by a bystander effect. This hypothesis is supported by an experiment with an inhibitor of gap junctional intercellular communication, which reduced the delayed mutation frequency. In conclusion, the results suggest that a bystander effect is involved in ultraviolet-radiation-induced genomic instability and that it may be mediated in part by gap junctional intercellular communication.

Aminopterin↗

Efficient scarless gene editing in Pichia pastoris via survival stress-based intramolecular homologous recombination.

To overcome low efficiency and/or genomic instability induced by DNA cleavage in current genome-editing approaches, a novel pop-in/pop-out-based editing system was developed for Pichia pastoris. An ingenious arrangement of components leads to a more efficient screening by permitting the only type of DNA recombination under defined pressure conditions, in terms of the overall efficiency of gene editing, the system virtually depends on the integration efficiency mediated by single-crossover recombination. It does not rely on exogenous recombinases or programmable nucleases such as Cas9, thereby avoiding nuclease induced double strand breaks and associated off target mutations or chromatin fatigue. This strategy preserves high editing efficiency with no modification to the host's inherent genetic properties. Relative to site-specific recombination methods, its dual MazF counterselection enables seamless editing, avoiding scar sequence-induced genomic instability. In this study, nearly 100% knockout efficiency and over 86.67% integration efficiency were achieved in the described experimental cases with this system, which provides a new gene-editing tool for synthetic biology in Pichia pastoris.

Efficient scarless editing↗

Mutator phenotype of BCR--ABL transfected Ba/F3 cell lines and its association with enhanced expression of DNA polymerase beta.

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is characterized by the Philadelphia chromosome resulting from the translocation t(9-22) producing the chimeric 190 and 210 kDa BCR-ABL fusion proteins. Evolution of the CML to the more agressive acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is accompanied by increased cellular proliferation and genomic instability at the cytogenetic level. We hypothezised that genomic instability at the nucleotide level and spontaneous error in DNA replication may also contribute to the evolution of CML to AML. Murine Ba/F3 cell line was transfected with the p190 and p210-encoding BCR-ABL oncogenes, and spontaneous mutation frequency at the Na-K-ATPase and the hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) loci were measured. A significant 3-5-fold increase in mutation frequency for the transfected cells relative to the untransfected control cells was found. Furthermore, we observed that BCR-ABL transfection induced an overexpression of DNA polymerase beta, the most inaccurate of the mammalian DNA polymerases, as well as an increase in its activity, suggesting that inaccuracy of DNA replication may account for the observed mutator phenotype. These data suggest that the Philadelphia abnormality confers a mutator phenotype and may have implications for the potential role of DNA polymerase beta in this process.

Animals↗

Haploinsufficiency for BRCA1 is associated with normal levels of DNA nucleotide excision repair in breast tissue and blood lymphocytes.

BACKGROUND: Screening mammography has had a positive impact on breast cancer mortality but cannot detect all breast tumors. In a small study, we confirmed that low power magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could identify mammographically undetectable tumors by applying it to a high risk population. Tumors detected by this new technology could have unique etiologies and/or presentations, and may represent an increasing proportion of clinical practice as new screening methods are validated and applied A very important aspect of this etiology is genomic instability, which is associated with the loss of activity of the breast cancer-predisposing genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. In sporadic breast cancer, however, there is evidence for the involvement of a different pathway of DNA repair, nucleotide excision repair (NER), which remediates lesions that cause a distortion of the DNA helix, including DNA cross-links. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe a breast cancer patient with a mammographically undetectable stage I tumor identified in our MRI screening study. She was originally considered to be at high risk due to the familial occurrence of breast and other types of cancer, and after diagnosis was confirmed as a carrier of a Q1200X mutation in the BRCA1 gene. In vitro analysis of her normal breast tissue showed no differences in growth rate or differentiation potential from disease-free controls. Analysis of cultured blood lymphocyte and breast epithelial cell samples with the unscheduled DNA synthesis assay (UDS) revealed no deficiency in nucleotide excision repair (NER). CONCLUSION: As new breast cancer screening methods become available and cost effective, patients such as this one will constitute an increasing proportion of the incident population, so it is important to determine whether they differ from current patients in any clinically important ways. Despite her status as a BRCA1 mutation carrier, and her mammographically dense breast tissue, we did not find increased cell proliferation or deficient differentiation potential in her breast epithelial cells, which might have contributed to her cancer susceptibility. Although NER deficiency has been demonstrated repeatedly in blood samples from sporadic breast cancer patients, analysis of blood cultured lymphocytes and breast epithelial cells for this patient proves definitively that heterozygosity for inactivation of BRCA1 does not intrinsically confer this type of genetic instability. These data suggest that the mechanism of genomic instability driving the carcinogenic process may be fundamentally different in hereditary and sporadic breast cancer, resulting in different genotoxic susceptibilities, oncogene mutations, and a different molecular pathogenesis.

Adult↗

[Fanconi-Zinsser disease].

Fanconi-Zinsser's disease is a serious involutive myelopathy responsible for pancytopenia, hyperpigmentation, oralplakia and onychodystrophy, together with lesser dysmorphisms in many cases. The marrow blood picture is reminiscent of the better-known Fanconi's disease, while the skin and mucosa picture is similar to that of congenital dyskeratosis - hence the combined name. A typical case, but complicated by Lewandowsky's disease for the first time in the literature, is presented. Papova-virus was noted in the typical verrucae. The modern "pathology due to genome instability" is examined. Lewandowsky's disease is regarded as a familial form and precancerous, owing to its possible Bowenoid transformation. The association is seen as particularly significant in stressing the disorder of the immunocompetent syste, this being most evident from the finding of serum anti-red-cell auto-antibodies and a deficiency of T lymphocytes. Fanconi-Zinsser's disease has only been reported 21 times in the literature, mostly in males. Incomplete forms are, however, noted in relatives, suggesting that it originates in a genetic disorder whose transmission modality is not clear, though incomplete dominance is suspected. Genome instability is probably responsible behind the onset of the disease and its neoplastic complications - these being also feature of other forms provoked by such instability, such as Bloom's syndrome and ataxia telengiectasia. Fanconi's disease also has marked neoplastic tendencies. Clinically, Fanconi-Zinsser's disease can be classified as distinct, since it has signs and an evolutive modality that distinguish it from Franconi's disease, Estren-Damesheck's syndrome and amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia. Genetically, it can be seen that all these diseases are referable to "pathology due to genome instability".

Adult↗

Increased spontaneous mutation rates and prevalence of karyotype abnormalities in highly metastatic human melanoma cell lines.

Previous studies have suggested that increased malignant potential might be related to increased genomic instability, but this issue still remains controversial. We tested this hypothesis in a human tumour spontaneous metastasis model, using six clones and variants isolated from the parental poorly metastatic M4Be melanoma cell line, and expressing various metastatic abilities. The spontaneous rates of mutation to ouabain resistance measured in these cells by Luria and Delbrück fluctuation analysis correlated with the metastatic ability of the cells: moderately and highly metastatic cells showed spontaneous mutation rates 10 to 50 times higher than those of poorly metastatic cells. Genomic instability at the chromosome level was assessed by searching for accumulated structural abnormalities in the moderately and highly metastatic cell lines. All the cell lines appeared hypertriploid, and showed comparable modal numbers and great chromosome dispersion. Unstable DNA amplification in the form of double minute chromosomes was shown in one of the four poorly metastatic cell lines, and in a significantly higher proportion of the cells of two of the three metastatic cell lines. Abnormal chromosomes were demonstrated in all cell lines, with markers involving specific rearrangements of chromosomes 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14 and 15, as frequently observed in human melanoma cells. Clonal markers were present in all cell lines, documenting the common origin of all variants and clones, and specific marker amplification was noticed in highly metastatic cells compared to poorly metastatic lines. These results suggest that human tumour progression might be accompanied both by an increase in genomic instability and by accumulation of karyotypic abnormalities.

Cell Division↗

[Sexual differences in a state systems of DNA structure maintenance and generation of reactive oxygen species in somatic cells of mice 101/H reparation-defective strain and manifestation of these differences after exposure to ionizing radiation].

To analyse a role of the factor of a genetic fundamentals of cells in formation of radiation-induced genome instability (RIGI) we investigated a condition of DNA pattern, content of superoxide anion-radical O2*- and a sum of reactive oxigen species (ROS) (O2*-, OH*, H2O2), and also catalase activity in bone marrow cells of male and female mice of 101/H strain in the norm and at once after chronic (10 day) exposure to 200 mGy gamma-radiation. Thus we based on conception about a significance of mechanisms of DNA repair and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in development of radiation-induced genome instability (RIGI), and also on the data on sex bound differences in efficiency of DNA repair in reply to impact of the genotoxic agents for male and female mice of 101/H strain. Sex connected differences in redox system of bone marrow cells were established. In males lower catalase activity was found in the norm, with considerable increase of the activity and the content of ROS after chronic irradiation with a low dose (200 mGy); at the same time a direct correlation between the ROS content and catalase activity occurred. In female, which have higher DNA repair potential, higher level of catalase activity was found in the norm, with reduction after irradiation and lower, than in male, level of O2*- content; no changes in the general ROS content, or direct correlation between the content of a superoxide anion-radical (O2*-) and the sum of ROS were observed. The detected differences between male and female the studied parameters in the norm and after irradiation indicate a connection of the studied characteristics and their changes with a sex, confirm the literature data about a significance of the factor of a genetic fundamentals of bioobject in formation of radiation-induced genome instability.

Animals↗

Imbalanced DNA synthesis induced by cytosine arabinoside and fludarabine in human leukemia cells.

Previous studies have demonstrated that cytosine arabinoside (araC) induces an accumulation of Okazaki fragments, while fludarabine (FaraA) inhibits Okazaki fragment synthesis. We extended these observations in the present study to provide insights into various mechanisms by which these anticancer drugs affect DNA replication and induce genomic instability in human CEM leukemia cells. Neither araC nor FaraA induced a detectable amount of re-replicated DNA in S-phase cells, which indicated that drug-induced alterations in Okazaki fragment synthesis were not accompanied by DNA re-replication. Synthesis on both leading and lagging DNA strands within the c-myc locus was measured in cells incubated with equitoxic concentrations of araC or FaraA. In araC-treated cells, nascent DNA from the lagging strand was enriched about 5-fold compared with the leading strand. In contrast, FaraA did not induce any replication imbalance. AraC- and FaraA induced changes in the frequency of N-(phosphonacetyl)-l-aspartate (PALA) resistance and the extent of CAD gene amplification were monitored as markers of drug-induced genomic instability. At concentrations that reduced cloning efficiency by 50% (IC(50)), araC increased the frequency of PALA resistance about 4-fold, while FaraA did not have a significant effect on the frequency of PALA resistance. Pretreatment with araC also increased the extent of CAD gene amplification. We propose that the imbalanced DNA synthesis induced by araC leads to the accumulation of Okazaki fragments on the lagging arms and single-stranded DNA regions on the leading arms of replication forks. The formation of these abnormal replication structures was associated with the generation of genomic instability.

Antineoplastic Agents↗