Treatment of cancer cells with methioninase produces DNA hypomethylation and increases DNA synthesis.

Methionine depletion in the human cell line CCRF-CEM through the action of recombinant methioninase (rMETase), a methionine-cleaving enzyme, was previously demonstrated to produce a strong cytotoxic synergistic effect with fluorouracil (FUra) throughout a broad range of concentrations of FUra and rMETase, including subcytotoxic levels of rMETase. Potentiation was associated with a decrease in free thymidylate synthase from preexisting levels. To further investigate the action of rMETase on CCRF-CEM cells, in the present study we explored the effects of rMETase as a single agent on DNA methylation levels and DNA synthesis, which may be changed as a result of deprivation of methionine. Cells treated with rMETase under subcytotoxic conditions contained significantly lower levels of genomic methylated DNA than did control cells, as demonstrated by incorporation of the methyl radical of [methyl-(3)H]S-adenosylmethionine in DNA and by use of methylation-sensitive arbitrarily primed PCR. DNA hypomethylation produced by rMETase was of similar magnitude as that produced with the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-azacytidine. Cells exposed to rMETase synthesized significantly more DNA than did untreated cells. Incorporation of [6-3H]thymidine and [6-3H]2'-deoxyuridine in these cells was augmented over that in control by mean factors of 1.78 and 2.36, respectively. Increased 3H nucleoside incorporation resulted in greater numbers of nuclear grains as demonstrated by autoradiography. The increase in DNA synthesis induced by rMETase is likely to result from enhancement of DNA repair because it was not accompanied by differences in cell cycle phase distribution or in total DNA content as determined by flow cytometry. We hypothesize that potentiation of FUra cytotoxicity by rMETase may result from increased inhibition of thymidylate synthase, together with DNA hypomethylation and enhanced DNA repair that could be involved in cell responses to drug-induced damage.