Characterization of an X-ray-hypersensitive mutant of V79 Chinese hamster cells

A V79 Chinese hamster cell line XR-V15B exhibiting hypersensitivity to X-ray has been isolated and characterized. Additionally to increased X-ray-sensitivity (approximately 8-fold, as judged by D10 values), cross-sensitivity to bleomycin (3-fold increase), 4NQO (3-fold), H2O2, EMS, MMS (2-fold) were observed also. No increased sensitivity to UV and MMC was found. Genetic complementation analysis indicates that XR-V15B belongs to the same complementation group as the X-ray-sensitive (xrs) mutants of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells described by Jeggo (1985). Biochemical analysis of XR-V15B confirms this finding: the mutant showed a decreased ability to rejoin double-strand breaks induced by X-ray as measured by neutral elution. After 4 h of repair more than 50% of the double-strand breaks remain in comparison to 3% in V79 cells. No difference was observed between wild-type and XR-V15B cells in the initial number of single-strand breaks induced, in the kinetics of their rejoining and in the final level of unrejoined single-strand breaks. Treatment with 5-azacytidine did not have an effect on the reversion frequency of XR-V15B, contrary to the results obtained with the xrs mutants. XR-V15B has been grown in continuous culture for more than 3 months without evidence of reversion. The mutation induction by X-ray irradiation at the HPRT locus is not significantly increased in the mutant, but at doses giving the same degree of cell killing, XR-V15B cells are hypomutable.