DNA damage response after treatment of cycling and quiescent cord blood hematopoietic stem cells with distinct genotoxic noxae

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) from cord blood can be applied as an alternative to bone marrow in transplantation to treat hematological diseases. Umbilical cord blood (UCB) consists of cycling and non-cycling CD34+/CD45low cells needed for long-term and short-term engraftment. After sorting and subsequent in vitro culture, quiescent HSCs enter the cell cycle. This enables the analysis of HSCs in two different cell cycle stages and the comparison of their responses to different genotoxic noxae. To analyze different mechanisms of DNA damage induction in cells, two different genotoxins were compared: etoposide, a Topoisomerase II inhibitor that targets mitosis in the S/G2-phase of the cell cycle and the alkylating nitrosamine N-Nitroso-N-methylurea (MNU), which leads to the formation of methyl DNA adducts resulting in DNA double breaks during DNA replication and persistent mutations. Cycling cells recovered after treatment even with higher concentrations of etoposide (1.5µM/ 5µM/10µM), while sorted cells treated with MNU (0.1mM/0.3mM/0.5mM/1mM/3Mm/ 5mM) recovered after treatment with the lower MNU concentrations whereas high MNU concentrations resulted in Apoptosis activation. Quiescent cells were not affected by etoposide treatment showing no damage upon entry into the cell cycle. Treatment with MNU, similarly to the cycling cells, resulted in a dose-dependent cell death. In conclusion, we found that depending on the genotoxic trigger and the cycling status, CD34+cells have distinct responses to DNA damage. Cycling cells employ both DDR and Apoptosis mechanisms to prevent damage accumulation. Quiescent cells predominantly undergo Apoptosis upon damage, but their cell cycle status protects them from certain genotoxic insults.

Cell cycle; Cord blood; DNA damage response; Genotoxins; Hematopoietic stem cell; Quiescence.