Lesions induced in DNA by ultraviolet light are repaired at the nuclear cage

In mammalian cells, S-phase DNA synthesis occurs at sites fixed to a sub-nuclear structure, the nuclear matrix or cage. This is an ordered network of non-histone proteins, which maintains its essential morphology even in the absence of DNA. We show here that unscheduled DNA synthesis following exposure of HeLa cells to ultraviolet light also takes place at this sub-structure. We also show that ultraviolet irradiation grossly reorganizes nuclear DNA, arresting S-phase synthesis at the cage and leaving the residual synthesis highly localized.