Characterization of the effects induced on DNA in mouse and hamster cells by lithocholic acid

Lithocholic acid (LCA) is a promoting agent in colon carcinogenesis. In this work we have tried to characterize the DNA alteration induced by LCA in cells grown in vitro and in nuclei. Confirming previous findings, a clear increase in elution rate was observed at both alkaline and neutral pH. The extent of the increase was very similar at the two pHs. However, an increased elution rate could be observed only when lysing the nuclei at high ionic strength and low detergent concentration (2 M NaCl + 0.2% N-lauroylsarcosine sodium salt). No effect could be observed when the nuclei were lysed with a high detergent concentration (2% sodium dodecyl sulfate). In addition, a slight effect could be observed using a method for the evaluation of DNA unwinding in alkali. After termination of the incubation with LCA, the DNA alteration observed with DNA elution disappeared very rapidly both in intact cells and nuclei, even when the incubation buffer was totally unsuitable for the repair of the type of DNA damage induced by typical genotoxic agents. The effect of LCA on DNA was apparently not mediated through an inhibition of topoisomerase II. Only the intact chromatin of nuclei was responsive, not the quasinaked DNA of nuclei lysed at high ionic strength. We advance the hypothesis that the increased alkaline and neutral elution rate observed with LCA could be independent of DNA fragmentation and related to changes in chromatin structure.