Mate, an infusion containing caffeine (3 g/liter), is drunk hot by most Uruguayan, North Argentinian, and South Brazilian people. This beverage has been recently associated with esophageal cancer in Brazil and Uruguay. To test the mutagenic and lethal effects of mate infusion, caffeine, hyperthermia, and their combinations, we used Saccharomyces cerevisiae as an eucaryotic model system measuring lys to LYS reversions. We showed that mate infusion was not mutagenic, whereas caffeine at the same concentration contained in mate, produced a 5-fold increase in the spontaneous mutation rate. The highest observed mutagenic rate corresponded to hyperthermia (54 degrees C at 60 min). Hot caffeine also produced a time-dependent mutagenic effect, whereas hot mate infusion determined a significantly lower mutagenic effect than hot caffeine. The differential lethality produced by the tested agents plays an important role in the expression of the induced mutagenic damage. Caffeine and mate infusion could decrease the mutagenic effect of hyperthermia through the channeling of part of the induced DNA lesions into an error-free repair pathway.
Humans may b exposed to highly energetic charged particle radiation as a result of medical treatments, occupational activitie or accidental events. In recent years, our increasing presence and burgeoning interest in space exploration beyond low Earth orbit has led to a large increase in the research of the biological effects ofcharged particle radiation typical of that encountered in the space radiation environment. The study of the effects of these types of radiation qualities in terms ofDNA damage induction and repair is fundamental to understand mechanisms both underlying their greater biological effectiveness as we)) as the short and long term risks of health effects such as carcinogenesis, degen rative diseases and premature aging. Charged particle radiation induces a variety of DNA alterations, notably bistranded clustered damages, defined as two or more closely-opposed strand break , oxidized bases or abasic sites within a few helical turns. The induction of such highly complex DNA damage enhances the probability of incorrect or incomplete repair and thus constitutes greater potential for genomic instability, cell death and transformation.
BACKGROUND As already reviewed in Part I, SARS-CoV-2 Spike is optimized for infection of multiple cell types, including immune cells. Accordingly, as reviewed in Part II, it can generate a systemic persistent infection. OBJECTIVE Now, two questions are addressed. First, whether it can be discarded that SARS-CoV-2 might remain as a latent infection to be reactivated by a stress years later. Second, whether it can or not be transmitted to descendants. METHODS A literature review was done through Google searches in order to know, first, if ss(+)RNA virus can establish latent infections. Then, regarding partially known mechanisms to do so. Third, wondering whether SARS-CoV-2 has the necessary elements to establish a latent infection using mechanisms similar to the ones previously reported. Apart from that, it was also searched whether there were reports of SARS-CoV-2 in semen, maternal transmission or fertility issues. RESULTS An hypotheses regarding COVID-19 latency is raised. The question regarding fertility is unanswered. CONCLUSIONS There is plenty of work to be done. In the meantime, as will be discussed in Part V Viewpoint, it is a good idea to make an effort to stay uninfected if possible, particularly for the young generations.
In order to analyze the roles of some repair genes in the processing of bleomycin-induced DNA damage and, especially, the interrelationships among the involved repair pathways, we investigated the potentially lethal effect of bleomycin on radiosensitive mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae defective in recombination, excision, and RAD6-dependent DNA repair. Using single, double, and triple rad mutants, we analyzed growth kinetics and survival curves as a function of bleomycin concentration. Our results indicate that genes belonging to the three epistasis groups interact in the repair of bleomycin-induced DNA damage to different degrees depending on the concentration of bleomycin. The most important mechanisms involved are recombination and postreplication repair. The initial action of a potentially inducible excision repair gene could provide intermediate substrates for the RAD6- and RAD52-dependent repair processes. Interaction between RAD6 and RAD52 genes was epistatic for low bleomycin concentrations. RAD3 and RAD52 genes act independently in processing DNA damage induced by high concentrations of bleomycin. The synergistic interaction observed at high concentrations in the triple mutant rad2-6 rad6-1 rad52-1 indicates partial independence of the involved repair pathways, with possible common substrates. On the basis of the present results, we propose a heuristic model of bleomycin-induced DNA damage repair.
Effective radioprotection for human space travelers hinges upon understanding the individual properties of charged particles. A significant fraction of particle radiation astronauts will encounter in space exploratory missions will come from high energy protons in galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) and/or possible exposures to lower energy proton flux from solar particle events (SPEs). These potential exposures present major concerns for NASA and others, in planning and executing long term space exploratory missions. We recently reported cell survival and transformation (acquisition of anchorage-independent growth in soft agar) frequencies in apparently normal NFF-28 primary human fibroblasts exposed to 0-30 cGy of 50MeV, 100MeV (SPE-like), or 1000 MeV (GCR-like) monoenergetic protons. These were modeled after 1989 SPE energies at an SPE-like low dose-rate (LDR) of 1.65 cGy/min or high dose rate (HDR) of 33.3 cGy/min delivered at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) at BNL.
Significant opportunities remain for pharmacologically enhancing the clinical effectiveness of proton and carbon ion-based radiotherapies to achieve both tumor cell radiosensitization and normal tissue radioprotection. We investigated whether pretreatment with the hydroxamate-based histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) SAHA (vorinostat), M344, and PTACH impacts radiation-induced DNA double-strand break (DSB) induction and repair, cell killing, and transformation (acquisition of anchorage-independent growth in soft agar) in human normal and tumor cell lines following gamma ray and light ion irradiation. Treatment of normal NFF28 primary fibroblasts and U2OS osteosarcoma, A549 lung carcinoma, and U87MG glioma cells with 5–10 µM HDACi concentrations 18 h prior to cesium-137 gamma irradiation resulted in radiosensitization measured by clonogenic survival assays and increased levels of colocalized gamma-H2AX/53BP1 foci induction. We similarly tested these HDACi following irradiation with 200 MeV protons, 290 MeV/n carbon ions, and 350 MeV/n oxygen ions delivered in the Bragg plateau region. Unlike uniform gamma ray radiosensitization, effects of HDACi pretreatment were unexpectedly cell type and ion species-dependent with C-12 and O-16 ion irradiations showing enhanced G0/G1-phase fibroblast survival (radioprotection) and in some cases reduced or absent tumor cell radiosensitization. DSB-associated foci levels were similar for proton-irradiated DMSO control and SAHA-treated fibroblast cultures, while lower levels of induced foci were observed in SAHA-pretreated C-12 ion-irradiated fibroblasts. Fibroblast transformation frequencies measured for all radiation types were generally LET-dependent and lowest following proton irradiation; however, both gamma and proton exposures showed hyperlinear transformation induction at low doses (≤25 cGy). HDACi pretreatments led to overall lower transformation frequencies at low doses for all radiation types except O-16 ions but generally led to higher transformation frequencies at higher doses (>50 cGy). The results of these in vitro studies cast doubt on the clinical efficacy of using HDACi as radiosensitizers for light ion-based hadron radiotherapy given the mixed results on their radiosensitization effectiveness and related possibility of increased second cancer induction.
'%3e%3ccircle r='20' fill='%23008'/%3e%3ccircle r='17.5' fill='%23fff'/%3e%3ccircle r='3.5' fill='%23008'/%3e%3cg id='d'%3e%3cg id='c'%3e%3cg id='b'%3e%3cg id='a' fill='%23008'%3e%3ccircle r='.875' transform='rotate(7.5 -8.75 133.5)'/%3e%3cpath d='M0 17.5.6 7 0 2l-.6 5L0 17.5z'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(15)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23b' transform='rotate(30)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23c' transform='rotate(60)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23d' transform='rotate(120)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23d' transform='rotate(-120)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
