0000000000307120
AUTHOR
Sankar Mitra
Induction of the alkyltransferase (MGMT) gene by DNA damaging agents and the glucocorticoid dexamethasone and comparison with the response of base excision repair genes.
Repair of alkylated bases in DNA is performed by O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) and a set of enzymes of the base excision repair pathway involving N-methylpurine-DNA glycosylase (MPG), apurinic endonuclease (APE), DNA polymerase beta (Pol beta) and DNA ligase. The level of expression of these enzymes may exert a profound effect on resistance of cells towards alkylating drugs. We have comparatively analyzed the expression of MGMT and the different base excision repair genes in rat hepatoma cells (line H4IIE) after exposure to alkylating agents, X-rays and the glucocorticoid hormone dexamethasone. Furthermore, the effect of these agents on the activity of the cloned human MGMT …
Inducible Responses and Protective Functions of Mammalian Cells Upon Exposure to UV Light and Ionizing Radiation
In mammalian cells, ultraviolet (UV) light as well as ionizing radiation (IR) transcriptionally activate the early-responsive genes c-fos, c jun,junB and junD. The induction of fos and jun by UV-C is currently understood to occur via activation of the EGF receptor and the Ras, Raf, ERK and JNK cascade leading ultimately to phosphorylation of transcription factors such as Fos and Jun (AP-1). This, finally, gives rise to transcriptional activation of AP-1 dependent target genes. Another gene we have recently demonstrated to be immediate-early inducible upon UV-irradiation encodes the Ras-related small GTPase RhoB. The pathway of rhoB induction appears to be different from fos/jun because (i) …