INDUCTION OF DNA‐PROTEIN CROSSLINKS IN HUMAN CELLS BY ULTRAVIOLET and VISIBLE RADIATIONS: ACTION SPECTRUM

Abstract— DNA‐protein crosslinking was induced in cultured human P3 teratocarcinoma cells by irradiation with monochromatic radiation with wavelengths in the range254–434 nm (far‐UV, near‐UV, and blue light). Wavelength 545 nm green light did not induce these crosslinks, using the method of alkaline elution of the DNA from membrane filters. The action spectrum for the formation of DNA‐protein crosslinks revealed two maxima, one in the far‐UV spectrum that closely coincided with the relative spectrum of DNA at 254 and 290 nm, and one in the visible light spectrum at 405 nm, which has no counterpart in the DNA spectrum. The primary events for the formation of DNA‐protein crosslinks by such long‐wavelength radiation probably involve photosensitizers. This dual mechanism for DNA‐protein crosslink formation is in strong contrast to the single mechanism for pyrimidine dimer formation in DNA, which apparently has no component in the visible light spectrum.