DNA damage-induced cell death is enhanced by progression through mitosis
Authors
Varmark, HanneSparks, Cynthia A.
Nordberg, Joshua J.
Koppetsch, Birgit S.
Theurkauf, William E.
Document Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2009-08-29Keywords
CaspasesCell Death
Cell Line
Cell Line, Tumor
Cytokinesis
*DNA Damage
Embryonic Stem Cells
HCT116 Cells
Humans
Kinetics
*Mitosis
Tumor Suppressor Protein p53
Life Sciences
Medicine and Health Sciences
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Progression through the G(2)/M transition following DNA damage is linked to cytokinesis failure and mitotic death. In four different transformed cell lines and two human embryonic stem cell lines, we find that DNA damage triggers mitotic chromatin decondensation and global phosphorylation of histone H2AX, which has been associated with apoptosis. However, extended time-lapse studies in HCT116 colorectal cancer cells indicate that death does not take place during mitosis, but 72% of cells die within 3 days of mitotic exit. By contrast, only 11% of cells in the same cultures that remained in interphase died, suggesting that progression through mitosis enhances cell death following DNA damage. These time-lapse studies also confirmed that DNA damage leads to high rates of cytokinesis failure, but showed that cells that completed cytokinesis following damage died at higher rates than cells that failed to complete division. Therefore, post-mitotic cell death is not a response to cytokinesis failure or polyploidy. We also show that post-mitotic cell death is largely independent of p53 and is only partially suppressed by the apical caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK. These findings suggest that progression through mitosis following DNA damage initiates a p53- and caspase-independent cell death response that prevents propagation of genetic lesions.Source
Cell Cycle. 2009 Sep 15;8(18):2951-63. Epub 2009 Sep 16.