Herpes virus production as a marker of repair in ultra-violet irradiated human skin cells of different origin

Human skin fibroblast cultures were irradiated with ultraviolet light 0 to 48 hours before infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV). Different viral yields were obtained according to the origin of the host cells. Cells from normal donors showed a dose-dependent recovery of HSV production during the 36-40 hours following U.V. exposure. The recovery was maximal for a dose at which a plateau level of unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) was reached (24Jm-2). In a xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) heterozygote line from a mother of XP children, the level of UDS after irradiation up to 48 Jm-2 was normal whereas the extent of recovery of HSV production capacity was lower than normal. In strains from XP children, with a normal UDS (XP variants), the recovery process was slower and its extent was lower than in normal or XP heterozygote cells. Excision-deficient XP strains from XP children presented little or no recovery, the extent of which was in good agreement with the corresponding level of UDS. Measurement of this recovery seems to be a very sensitive assay for detecting differences in the repair abilities of U.V.-irradiated human skin cells of various origins. (author)