Induction and repair of strand breaks and 3'-hydroxy terminals in the DNA of mouse brain following gamma irradiation.

DNA was isolated from mouse brain after in vivo gamma-ray irradiation, treated with endonuclease S1 from Aspergillus oryzae if necessary, and analysed further by alkaline and neutral sucrose gradient centrifugation. In parallel, its template activity was determined by DNA polymerase (EC 2.7.7.7, enzyme A of Klenow from Escherichia coli) assay as described previously. Similar experiments were performed with cultured mouse leukaemia cells (L5178Y) irradiated in vitro at 0 degrees C. Irradiation induced single- and double-strand breaks in the DNA of the brain with a yield of 1.0 and 0.1 break per 10(12) dalton per rad (100 eV/break and 770 eV/break), respectively. The yield of single-strand breaks in the brain was lower than that found in the cultured cells, whereas the yield of double-strand breaks was found to be almost the same in both cases. Treatment of irradiated DNA with single-strand-specific S1 endonuclease gave rise to further breaks detected on neutral sucrose gradient analysis. The yield of these breaks was also higher in the brain compared to the cultured cells. The increase per unit dose in the template activity of the DNA from the brain was found to be five times as much as that found in the cultured cells. Then, the average number of deoxyribonucleotides incorporated per break was determined on DNA which had experienced different treatments. The value for the brain DNA irradiated in vivo was found to be five times as much as that found for DNA treated with pancreatic deoxyribonuclease and 10 times as much as those found for DNA from the cultured cells and isolated brain nuclei irradiated in vitro at 0 degrees C. Thus, in vivo irradiation seemed to induce gaps with 3'-OH terminals in addition to simple breaks with or without 3'-OH terminals found in the cultured cells. Radiation-induced single-strand breaks and 3'-OH terminals in the DNA of the brain were repaired following irradiation. Approx. 20--40% of the terminals or breaks induced were, however, remaining at 3 h or more after irradiation, depending on the dose administered.