Endogenous endonuclease-induced DNA fragmentation: an early event in cell-mediated cytolysis.
- 1 October 1983
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Vol. 80 (20) , 6361-6365
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.80.20.6361
Abstract
Within minutes of exposure of target cells [mouse mastocytoma P815, concanavalin A-stimulated lymphoblasts] to cytotoxic T lymphocytes, their nuclear DNA begins to be fragmented. This phenomenon precedes 51Cr release by at least an hour. DNA fragmentation occurs only when appropriately sensitized cytotoxic T cells are used and is not merely a result of cell death because killing of target cells by heating, freeze/thawing, or lysing with antibody and complement did not yield DNa fragments. Agarose gel electrophoresis of target cell DNA showed discrete multiples of an approximately 200-base-pair subunit, suggesting that fragmentation was the result of activation of a specific endonuclease. A similar pattern of DNA fragments is observed during glucocorticoid-induced killing of mouse thymocytes. The endonuclease in that case is inhibited by Zn ions, and we find that Zn2+ also inhibits DNA fragmentation and 51Cr release induced by cytotoxic T cells, suggesting a final common biochemical pathway for both types of cell death.This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
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