UNG-initiated base excision repair is the major repair route for 5-fluorouracil in DNA, but 5-fluorouracil cytotoxicity depends mainly on RNA incorporation

Cytotoxicity of 5-fluorouracil (FU) and 5-fluoro-2′-deoxyuridine (FdUrd) due to DNA fragmentation during DNA repair has been proposed as an alternative to effects from thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibition or RNA incorporation. The goal of the present study was to investigate the relative contribution of the proposed mechanisms for cytotoxicity of 5-fluoropyrimidines. We demonstrate that in human cancer cells, base excision repair (BER) initiated by the uracil–DNA glycosylase UNG is the major route for FU–DNA repair in vitro and in vivo. SMUG1, TDG and MBD4 contributed modestly in vitro and not detectably in vivo. Contribution from mismatch repair was limited to FU:G contexts at best. Surprisingly, knockdown of individual uracil–DNA glycosylases or MSH2 did not affect sensitivity to FU or FdUrd. Inhibitors of common steps of BER or DNA damage signalling affected sensitivity to FdUrd and HmdUrd, but not to FU. In support of predominantly RNA-mediated cytotoxicity, FU-treated cells accumulated ~3000- to 15 000-fold more FU in RNA than in DNA. Moreover, FU-cytotoxicity was partially reversed by ribonucleosides, but not deoxyribonucleosides and FU displayed modest TS-inhibition compared to FdUrd. In conclusion, UNG-initiated BER is the major route for FU–DNA repair, but cytotoxicity of FU is predominantly RNA-mediated, while DNA-mediated effects are limited to FdUrd

mtSSB may sequester UNG1 at mitochondrial ssDNA and delay uracil processing until the dsDNA conformation is restored

AbstractSingle-strand DNA binding proteins protect DNA from nucleolytic damage, prevent formation of secondary structures and prevent premature reannealing of DNA in DNA metabolic transactions. In eukaryotes, the nuclear single-strand DNA binding protein RPA is essential for chromosomal DNA replication and transcription and directly participates in several DNA repair processes by binding to and modulating the activity of repair factors. Much less is known about the involvement of the only mitochondrial single-strand binding protein mtSSB in the context of DNA repair. Here we demonstrate that mtSSB impedes excision of uracil and oxidative demethylation of 3meC in single-stranded DNA by UNG1 and ABH1, respectively, whereas excision by NEIL1 was partially inhibited. mtSSB also effectively inhibited nicking of single-stranded DNA by APE1 and ABH1 and partially inhibited the lyase activity of NEIL1. Finally we identified a putative surface motif in mtSSB that may recruit UNG1 to DNA-bound mtSSB. We suggest that the massive amount of mtSSB in mitochondria effectively prevents processing of uracil and other types of damaged bases to avoid introduction of nicks in single-stranded mtDNA formed during replication. Local enrichment of UNG1 at DNA-bound mtSSB may furthermore facilitate rapid access to- and processing of the damage once the dsDNA conformation is restored. This could be of potential biological importance, since mitochondria have no or limited capacity for homologous recombination to process nicks at the replication fork

Genome-wide analysis of the oxyntic proliferative isthmus zone reveals ASPM as a possible gastric stem/progenitor cell marker overexpressed in cancer.

The oxyntic proliferative isthmus zone contains the main stem/progenitor cells that provide for physiological renewal of the distinct mature cell lineages in the oxyntic epithelium of the stomach. These cells are also proposed to be the potential cells-of-origin of gastric cancer, although little is known about their molecular characteristics and specific biological markers are lacking. In this study, we developed a method for serial section-navigated laser microdissection to isolate cells from the proliferative isthmus zone of rat gastric oxyntic mucosa for genome-wide microarray gene expression analysis. Enrichment analysis showed a distinct gene expression profile for the isthmus zone, with genes regulating intracellular processes such as the cell cycle and ribosomal activity. The profile was also related to stem cell transcriptional networks and stomach neoplasia. Genes expressed uniquely in the isthmus zone were associated with E2F transcription factor 1 (E2F1), which participates in the self-renewal of stem cells and in gastric carcinogenesis. One of the unique genes was Aspm [Asp (abnormal spindle) homologue, microcephaly-associated (Drosophila)]. Here we show ASPM in single scattered epithelial cells located in the proliferative isthmus zone of rat, mouse and human oxyntic mucosa, which do not seem to be actively dividing. The ASPM-expressing cells are mainly mature cell marker-deficient, except for a limited overlap with cells with neuroendocrine and tuft cell features. Further, both ASPM and E2F1 were expressed in human gastric cancer cell lines and increased and correlated in human gastric adenocarcinomas compared to non-tumour mucosa, as shown by expression profile analyses and immunohistochemistry. The association between ASPM and the transcription factor E2F1 in gastric tissue is relevant, due to their common involvement in crucial cell fate-regulatory mechanisms. Our results thus introduce ASPM as a novel possible oxyntic stem/progenitor cell marker that may be involved in both normal gastric physiology and gastric carcinogenesis. © 2015 Authors. Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland

Optimization of cDNA microarrays procedures using criteria that do not rely on external standards-4

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Optimization of cDNA microarrays procedures using criteria that do not rely on external standards"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/8/377</p><p>BMC Genomics 2007;8():377-377.</p><p>Published online 18 Oct 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2147032.</p><p></p> lines NRK52E and AR42J) compared to self-self hybridization (rat cell line AR42J). The samples were hybridized to rat 15 k cDNA duplicates under six different blocking conditions including no blocker, 1000 ng poly(dA), and 25 to 1000 ng LNA dT blocker. Dye-swap and self self were performed for all blocking conditions (total of 24 hybridizations). Green-labelled samples are placed at the tail and red labelled samples at the head of the arrows

Optimization of cDNA microarrays procedures using criteria that do not rely on external standards-1

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Optimization of cDNA microarrays procedures using criteria that do not rely on external standards"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/8/377</p><p>BMC Genomics 2007;8():377-377.</p><p>Published online 18 Oct 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2147032.</p><p></p

Optimization of cDNA microarrays procedures using criteria that do not rely on external standards-5

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Optimization of cDNA microarrays procedures using criteria that do not rely on external standards"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/8/377</p><p>BMC Genomics 2007;8():377-377.</p><p>Published online 18 Oct 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2147032.</p><p></p

C-C Motif Ligand 20 (CCL20) and C-C Motif Chemokine Receptor 6 (CCR6) in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells: Dysregulated in Ulcerative Colitis and a Potential Role for CCL20 in IL-1β Release

The chemokine C-C motif ligand 20 (CCL20) is increased in the colonic mucosa during active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and can be found both in the epithelium and immune cells in the lamina propria. The present study investigated CCL20 and C-C motif Chemokine Receptor 6 (CCR6) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) (n = 40) from IBD patients and healthy controls, to identify inductors of CCL20 release encountered in a local proinflammatory environment. CCL20 release from PBMCs was increased when activating TLR2/1 or NOD2, suggesting that CCL20 is part of a first line response to danger-associated molecular patterns also in immune cells. Overall, ulcerative colitis (UC) had a significantly stronger CCL20 release than Crohn’s disease (CD) (+242%, p < 0.01), indicating that the CCL20-CCR6 axis may be more involved in UC. The CCL20 receptor CCR6 is essential for the chemotactic function of CCL20. UC with active inflammation had significantly decreased CCR6 expression and a reduction in CCR6+ cells in circulation, indicating chemoattraction of CCR6+ cells from circulation towards peripheral tissues. We further examined CCL20 induced release of cytokines from PBMCs. Stimulation with CCL20 combined with TNF increased IL-1β release from PBMCs. By attracting additional immune cells, as well as inducing proinflammatory IL-1β release from immune cells, CCL20 may protract the inflammatory response in ulcerative colitis