Studies on the ultraviolet light sensitivity of Bloom's syndrome fibroblasts

The sensitivity of Bloom's syndrome (bl/bl) fibroblasts to ultraviolet light (254 nm) has been estimated by 4 criteria: sister-chromatid exchange (SCE) formation, micronucleus production, cell survival, and host-cell reactivation of UV-irradiated adenovirus 2. In general, bl/bl strains did not differ significantly from the normal (+/+) strains in their response to UV treatment by any of the 4 criteria. One bl/bl strain, GM1492, was exceptional: It was abnormally sensitive to UV light in the SCE, micronucleus, and host-cell reactivation assays, but was not sensitive to UV as estimated by colony-forming ability. Thus, although one of the bl/bl strains studied in the experiments was sensitive to UV light as judged by some criteria, UV sensitivity is not a universal characteristic of Bloom's syndrome cells. It is unclear whether the UV sensitivity of the GM1492 strain reflects genetic diversity within the syndrome or some unrelated property of this strain.