Enhancement of XPG mRNA transcription by human interferon-beta in Cockayne syndrome cells with complementation group B.

Human interferon-beta (HuIFN-beta) confers UV-refractoriness in association with increased DNA repair capacity to human cells. We examined the modulation of XPG gene expression by HuIFN-beta in UV-sensitive cells from Cockayne syndrome complementation B (CSB), xeroderma pigmentosum complementation A (XPA) and normal control cells. Northern blot analysis revealed that XPG mRNA was more extensively transcribed in CSB cells treated with HuIFN-beta than in those without HuIFN-beta treatment. XPG mRNA from XPA cells and normal control cells was not markedly transcribed by HuIFN-beta treatment compared to that from CSB cells. The findings suggested that different mechanisms of UV-refractoriness by HuIFN-beta exist between CS and XP.