•Pol β plays an important role in cdA lesion bypass during DNA replication and BER.•Pol β can efficiently bypass a 5′R-cdA lesion via nucleotide misinsertions.•Pol β stalls during its bypass of a 5′S-cdA lesion.•Pol β bypass of cdPus leads to genome instability.5′,8-Cyclopurine-2′-deoxynucleosides including 5′,8-cyclo-dA (cdA) and 5′,8-cyclo-dG (cdG) are induced by hydroxyl radicals resulting from oxidative stress such as ionizing radiation. 5′,8-cyclopurine-2′-deoxynucleoside lesions are repaired by nucleotide excision repair with low efficiency, thereby leading to their accumulation in the human genome and lesion bypass by DNA polymerases during DNA replication and base excision repair (BER). In this study, for the first time, we discovered that DNA polymerase β (pol β) efficiently bypassed a 5′R-cdA, but inefficiently bypassed a 5′S-cdA during DNA replication and BER. We found that cell extracts from pol β wild-type mouse embryonic fibroblasts exhibited significant DNA synthesis activity in bypassing a cdA lesion located in replication and BER intermediates. However, pol β knock-out cell extracts exhibited little DNA synthesis to bypass the lesion. This indicates that pol β plays an important role in bypassing a cdA lesion during DNA replication and BER. Furthermore, we demonstrated that pol β inserted both a correct and incorrect nucleotide to bypass a cdA at a low concentration. Nucleotide misinsertion was significantly stimulated by a high concentration of pol β, indicating a mutagenic effect induced by pol β lesion bypass synthesis of a 5′,8-cyclopurine-2′-deoxynucleoside. Moreover, we found that bypass of a 5′S-cdA by pol β generated an intermediate that failed to be extended by pol β, resulting in accumulation of single-strand DNA breaks. Our study provides the first evidence that pol β plays an important role in bypassing a 5′,8-cyclo-dA during DNA replication and repair, as well as new insight into mutagenic effects and genome instability resulting from pol β bypassing of a cdA lesion.

•Pol β cells were transformed into malignant pol β-T cell by repeatedly BaP exposure.•Enhanced genetic instability was found in pol β-T cells compared with pol β cells.•Protein and mRNA expression in pol β-T cells were 2.1- and 2.8-fold of pol β cells.ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between DNA polymerase β (pol β) overexpression and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) carcinogenesis.MethodsFirstly, mouse embryonic fibroblasts that express wild-type level of DNA polymerase β (pol β cell) and high level of pol β (pol β oe cell) were treated by various concentrations of BaP to determine genetic instability induced by BaP under differential expression levels of pol β. Secondly, malignant transformation of pol β cells by low concentration of BaP (20 μM) was determined by soft agar colony formation assay and transformation focus assay. Thirdly, the mRNA and protein levels of BaP-transformed pol β cells (named pol β-T cells) was measured by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blot, and the genetic instability of these cells were examined by HPRT gene mutation assay and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) assay.ResultsPol β cells were successfully transformed into malignant pol β-T cells by an exposure to low concentration of BaP for 6 months. Pol β-T cells exhibited increased levels of pol β gene expression, HPRT gene mutation frequency and polymorphisms of RAPD products that were comparable to those of pol β oe cells.ConclusionPol β overexpression and its-associated genetic instability may play a key role in BaP carcinogenesis.Download full-size image