On the role of Ca, Mg-dependent nuclease in the postirradiation degradation of chromatin in lymphoid tissues.

The characteristics of the postirradiation degradation of chromatin in thymocytes in vivo were compared with the features of chromatin fragmentation in isolated thymocyte nuclei in vitro by endogenous chromatin-bound nucleases. Nuclease which degrades chromatin produces in vivo fragments of nucleosomal size; the double-strand breaks appear as the result of the accumulation of single-strand breaks with 3'-OH ends; the nuclease is inhibited by Zn2+ and DTNB and its activity is depressed by cycloheximide pretreatment. In experiments on in vitro degradation of chromatin in isolated thymocyte nuclei similar properties were observed for the Ca, Mg-dependent, but not for acid nuclease. The results bring further evidence of the involvement of an enzyme of the Ca, Mg-dependent nuclease-type in chromatin degradation in irradiated thymocytes.