Selective gene amplification in mammalian cells after exposure to 60Co gamma rays, 241Am alpha particles, or uv light.

Simian Virus 40 wild type (SV40)-transformed Chinese hamster embryo cells (Co631) contain about five viral copies integrated per cell genome. These SV40 sequences were used as endogenous indicator genes to study the response of mammalian cells to radiation at the gene level. An increase in copy number was detected by dispersed cell blotting and Southern analysis in combination with specific DNA hybridization. All types of radiation tested induce a 15- to 25-fold amplification of SV40 sequences without producing intact virus. The amplification is dose dependent and increases with time after irradiation: a maximum effect is observed at Day 3 after alpha particle or uv exposure and at Day 6 after gamma-ray exposure. A RBE of 6 can be calculated for alpha particles if amplification rates at Day 3 are compared. However, when the maximum effect is considered independent of time, no difference between different types of radiation is observed. Southern blots of genomic DNA show that not all integrated SV40 sequences are amplified upon radiation. Amplified sequences are found either in restriction fragments of relatively high molecular weight or in unit size fragments. SV40 amplification is selective in that the amplification of other genes, e.g., of alpha-actin, dhfr (dihydrofolate reductase), and of two oncogenes of the ras family (Kirsten ras and Harvey ras), was below detection level.