title: Fragmentation of cellular DNA is a nonspecific indicator of responsiveness to tumor necrosis factor.
abstract: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) or lymphotoxin (LT) treatment of cells sensitive to the anticellular action of TNF results in the degradation of their cellular DNA into fragments that are multiples of about 200 base pairs. The specificity of this DNA fragmenting effect was examined. The DNA of cells dying either as a result of exposure to interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) or as a result of having exhausted their culture media was observed to be fragmented into multiples of 200 base pairs. Antibody to TNF or LT failed to block the IFN-gamma-mediated DNA fragmentation and antibodies to IFN-gamma, TNF, and LT failed to block the DNA fragmentation observed in the cells dying as a result of having exhausted their culture media. Thus the fragmentation of cellular DNA appears to be nonspecific effect of cell death that can be induced by a variety of treatments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Lymphokine Biology, New York Blood Center, New York 10021.
authors.forename: B Y
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Lunn
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Hellermann
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004247:DNA / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000494:pharmacology; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000494:pharmacology; D008233:Lymphotoxin-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D007370:Interferon Type I; D008233:Lymphotoxin-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D004247:DNA