DNA Damage-induced Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Stress Response in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Lori A. Rowe, Emory University; Natalya Degtyareva, Emory University; Paul W. Doetsch, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2008-10-15
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2008.07.018
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Free Radical Biology and Medicine
• ISSN: 0891-5849
• Volume: 45
• Issue: 8
• Start Page: 1167
• End Page: 1177
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by NIH Grant ES 011163 (PWD).
• Keywords: reactive oxygen species; oxidative stress response; genotoxic stress; DNA damage; DNA repair; Yap1 transcription factor
• Research Categories: Chemistry, Biochemistry; Biology, Microbiology

Abstract

Cells are exposed to both endogenous and exogenous sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS). At high levels, ROS can lead to impaired physiological function through cellular damage of DNA, proteins, lipids, and other macromolecules, which can lead to certain human pathologies including cancers, neurodegenerative disorders, and cardiovascular disease, as well as aging. We have employed Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system to examine the levels and types of ROS that are produced in response to DNA damage in isogenic strains with different DNA repair capacities. We find that when DNA damage is introduced into cells from exogenous or endogenous sources there is an increase in the amount of intracellular ROS which is not directly related to cell death. We have examined the spectrum of ROS in order to elucidate its role in the cellular response to DNA damage. As an independent verification of the DNA damage-induced ROS response, we show that a major activator of the oxidative stress response, Yap1, relocalizes to the nucleus following exposure to the DNA alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate. Our results indicate that the DNA damage-induced increase in intracellular ROS levels is a generalized stress response that is likely to function in various signaling pathways.