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Age-dependent spontaneous mutagenesis in Xpc mice defective in nucleotide excision repair
S W Wijnhoven1, H J Kool, L H Mullenders
1Department of Radiation Genetics and Chemical Mutagenesis-MGC, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 AL Leiden, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
DNA damages caused by cellular metabolites and environmental agents induce mutations, that may predispose to cancer. Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is a major cellular defence mechanism acting on a variety of DNA lesions. Here, we show that spontaneous mutant frequencies at the Hprt gene increased 30-fold in T-lymphocytes of 1 year old Xpc-/- mice, possessing only functional transcription-coupled repair (TCR). Hprt mutant frequencies in Xpa-/- and Csb-/- mice that both have a defect in this NER subpathway, remained low during ageing. In contrast to current models, the elevated mutation rate in Xpc-/- mice does not lead to an increased tumour incidence or premature ageing. Oncogene (2000) 19, 5034 - 5037