Ultrafast chemical repair of DNA single and double strand break precursors in irradiated V79 cells.

The fast kinetics of reactions of free radical precursors of DNA single strand breaks (ssb) and double strand breaks (dsb) have been determined in Chinese hamster V79 cells by fast mixing and irradiation methods using the alkaline unwinding technique to assay breaks. Fast chemical repair of oxygen-dependent ssb and dsb precursors was observed and approached completion within 10-20 ms of irradiation. Treatment of cells with the glutathione synthesis blocking agent, buthionine sulphoximine, showed that approximately half of the chemical repair was attributable to intracellular non-protein thiols. The nature of the residual repair is obscure, but it is apparently not attributable to non-protein thiols. Similar repair rates and thiol dependences were also found for cell kill. With all three endopoints, oxygen competes with and blocks the chemical repair.