Action of etoposide (VP-16-123) on human cells: no evidence for topoisomerase II involvement in excision repair of u.v.-induced DNA damage, nor for mitochondrial hypersensitivity in ataxia telangiectasia.

The excision repair of u.v. damage has been supposed to involve an initial action of DNA topoisomerase II, since some pre-incision step is sensitive to novobiocin, a topoisomerase II inhibitor. But novobiocin also affects mitochondrial structure and ATP metabolism, and this may account for its apparent inhibition of energy-dependent excision repair. We have investigated the effects of etoposide, another inhibitor of topoisomerase II, on u.v.-irradiated human cells: it is a more specific agent with no immediate side-effects on mitochondria. But etoposide is without effect on cellular excision repair, at the pre-incision stage or at the later stages of either DNA resynthesis or strand break ligation; nor does it potentiate cell killing after u.v. irradiation. The chromosome decondensation that accompanies incomplete excision repair in mitotic cells is likewise not greatly affected by etoposide. Therefore, if topoisomerase II is involved in excision repair or its regulation, it acts through a process that in whole cells is insensitive to etoposide. In ataxia telangiectasia cells, which are known to be hypersensitive to etoposide, the mitochondrial activities are not abnormally affected.