Radioprotective Effects of Bmi-1 Involve Epigenetic Silencing of Oxidase Genes and Enhanced DNA Repair in Normal Human Keratinocytes

Normal human keratinocytes (NHKs) undergo premature senescence following exposure to ionizing radiation (IR). This study investigates the effect of Bmi-1, a polycomb group protein, on radiation-induced senescence response. When exposed to IR, NHK transduced with Bmi-1 (NHK/Bmi-1) showed reduced senescent phenotype and enhanced proliferation compared with control cells (NHK/B0). To investigate the underlying mechanism, we determined the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), expression of ROS-generating enzymes, and DNA repair activities in cells. ROS level was increased upon irradiation but notably reduced by Bmi-1 transduction. Irradiation led to strong induction of oxidase genes, e.g., Lpo (lactoperoxidase), p22-phox, p47-phox, and Gp91, in NHK/B0 but their expression was almost completely silenced in NHK/Bmi-1. Induction of oxidase genes upon irradiation was linked with loss of trimethylated histone 3 at lysine 27 (H3K27Me3), but NHK/Bmi-1 expressed a higher level of H3K27Me3 compared with NHK/B0. Bmi-1 transduction suppressed IR-associated induction of jumanji domain containing 3 while enhancing the expression of EZH2, thereby preventing the loss of H3K27Me3 in the irradiated cells. Furthermore, NHK/Bmi-1 demonstrated increased repair of IR-induced DNA damage compared with NHK/B0. These results indicate that Bmi-1 elicits radioprotective effects on NHK by mitigating the genotoxicity of IR through epigenetic mechanisms.