Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.1.30.2 (endonuclease)
 18,621 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The previously reported extensive DNA strand breakage in resting murine splenic lymphocytes is not an artifact of the extraction or assay procedure. The benzamide inhibitors of poly(ADP ribose) synthetase (pADPRS), such as 5-methoxybenzamide (MBA), had been shown to block the strand break repair occurring within 2 h of activation of splenic lymphocytes by the mitogen concanavalin A (conA); the inhibitors also blocked early events in proliferation, such as blast formation, as well as entry into S phase. Inhibitors of pADPRS blocked lymphocyte proliferation by inhibiting the activity of this enzyme, rather than by non-specific effects. Aphidicolin, an inhibitor of alpha-polymerase, also prevented DNA strand break repair in conA-stimulated cells but, unlike MBA, did not prevent blast formation. DNA strand breaks accumulated in the presence of MBA at the same linear rate (300-400/h) in both resting and conA-treated cells. We and others had hypothesized that this accumulation was due to a continuous production of strand breaks in lymphocytes, leading to their accumulation in presence of repair inhibitors. However, incubation of the cells with aphidicolin at concentrations that inhibited repair did not result in any increase in strand breaks. The hypothesis of continuous cycling of breaks is incorrect; accumulation of breaks was due to some indirect effect of MBA, such as a possible disinhibition of an ADP-ribosylation-sensitive endonuclease described in other cell types. All of the early stages of lymphocyte proliferation, including blast transformation (but not DNA synthesis) require ADP ribosylation. Repair of DNA strand breaks is not a precondition for blast formation, though experiments involving the combined effects of MBA and aphidicolin showed that repair of the breaks is essential in order for the cells to replicate their DNA. Our data are consistent with a model suggesting that DNA strand breaks introduced into differentiated cells act as an additional safety-catch mechanism that restrains them from replicating their genetic material but not from undergoing the early stages of proliferation.
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PMID:Early nuclear events in lymphocyte proliferation. The role of DNA strand break repair and ADP ribosylation. 309 84

1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara C) enhances the formation of chromosome rearrangements such as translocations or dicentric chromosomes in G1 cells containing DNA lesions. The formation of rearrangements is hypothesized to be the result of inhibition of excision repair. Ara C has also been known to lead to the formation of chromosome rearrangements in G1 cells in the absence of induced DNA lesions. It is not known whether a common mechanism is involved in these two processes. In the present study, we used excision repair-deficient XP cells to investigate whether excision repair is involved in the formation of chromosome rearrangements in G1 cells which do not contain induced DNA lesions. G0 Lymphocytes from an XP patient were either treated with 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO) or left untreated. Cells were then cultured in the presence of ara C for about 18 h. Aphidicolin (APC), which induces chromosome rearrangements in cells containing 4NQO-induced DNA lesions, was used for comparison. The resulting frequency of dicentrics and rings (dic & ring) was determined at the first mitoses after culture initiation. In 4NQO-pretreated XP cells, the frequency of dic & ring was not increased by post-treatment with ara C or with APC. This result is thought to reflect the absence of excision repair in XP cells. However, normal induction of dic & ring was observed in XP cells not pretreated with 4NQO but treated with ara C. Thus, there seems to be two different processes involved in the induction of G1 rearrangements: excision repair-dependent and excision repair-independent. UV-endonuclease is not involved in excision repair-independent rearrangements.
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PMID:Evidence for excision repair-dependent and -independent processes in ara C-induced chromosome rearrangements in G1 human lymphocytes. 822 9

Camptothecin is an S-phase-specific anticancer agent that inhibits the activity of the enzyme DNA topoisomerase-I (topo-I). Irreversible DNA double-strand breaks are produced during DNA synthesis in the presence of camptothecin, suggesting that this agent should not be toxic to nondividing cells, such as neurons. Unexpectedly, camptothecin induced significant, dose-dependent cell death of postmitotic rat cortical neurons in vitro; astrocytes were more resistant. Aphidicolin, an inhibitor of DNA polymerase alpha, did not prevent camptothecin-induced neuronal death, while death was prevented by actinomycin D and 5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl benzimidazole as well as cycloheximide and anisomycin, inhibitors of RNA and protein synthesis, respectively. Camptothecin-induced neuronal death was apoptotic, as characterized by chromatin condensation, cytoplasmic shrinking, plasma membrane blebbing, and fragmentation of neurites. DNA fragmentation was also confirmed by the use of the in situ DNA end labeling assay. In addition, aurintricarboxylic acid, an inhibitor of the apoptotic endonuclease, partially protected against camptothecin-induced neuronal death. The toxicity of stereoisomers of a camptothecin analogue was stereospecific, demonstrating that toxicity was a result of inhibition of topo-I. The difference in sensitivity to camptothecin between neurons and astrocytes correlated with their transcriptional activity and level of topo-I protein expression. These data indicate important roles for topo-I in postmitotic neurons and suggest that topo-I inhibitors can induce apoptosis independent of DNA synthesis. We suggest a model based on transcriptionally mediated DNA damage, a novel mechanism of action of topo-I poisons.
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PMID:Induction of neuronal apoptosis by camptothecin, an inhibitor of DNA topoisomerase-I: evidence for cell cycle-independent toxicity. 870 53