HMCES Maintains Genome Integrity by Shielding Abasic Sites in Single-Strand DNA

1. Download high-res image (211KB)
2. Download full-size image

     

Alkylpurine Glycosylase D Employs DNA Sculpting as a Strategy to Extrude and Excise Damaged Bases

Alkylpurine glycosylase D (AlkD) exhibits a unique base excision strategy. Instead of interacting directly with the lesion, the enzyme engages the non-lesion DNA strand. AlkD induces flipping of the alkylated and opposing base accompanied by DNA stack compression. Since this strategy leaves the alkylated base solvent exposed, the means to achieve enzymatic cleavage had remained unclear. We determined a minimum energy path for flipping out a 3-methyl adenine by AlkD and computed a potential of mean force along this path to delineate the energetics of base extrusion. We show that AlkD acts as a scaffold to stabilize three distinct DNA conformations, including the final extruded state. These states are almost equivalent in free energy and separated by low barriers. Thus, AlkD acts by sculpting the global DNA conformation to achieve lesion expulsion from DNA. N-glycosidic bond scission is then facilitated by a backbone phosphate group proximal to the alkylated base.     

APE1 Incision Activity at Abasic Sites in Tandem Repeat Sequences

Repetitive DNA sequences, such as those present in microsatellites and minisatellites, telomeres, and trinucleotide repeats (linked to fragile X syndrome, Huntington disease, etc.), account for nearly 30% of the human genome. These domains exhibit enhanced susceptibility to oxidative attack to yield base modifications, strand breaks, and abasic sites; have a propensity to adopt non-canonical DNA forms modulated by the positions of the lesions; and, when not properly processed, can contribute to genome instability that underlies aging and disease development. Knowledge on the repair efficiencies of DNA damage within such repetitive sequences is therefore crucial for understanding the impact of such domains on genomic integrity. In the present study, using strategically designed oligonucleotide substrates, we determined the ability of human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) to cleave at apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites in a collection of tandem DNA repeat landscapes involving telomeric and CAG/CTG repeat sequences. Our studies reveal the differential influence of domain sequence, conformation, and AP site location/relative positioning on the efficiency of APE1 binding and strand incision. Intriguingly, our data demonstrate that APE1 endonuclease efficiency correlates with the thermodynamic stability of the DNA substrate. We discuss how these results have both predictive and mechanistic consequences for understanding the success and failure of repair protein activity associated with such oxidatively sensitive, conformationally plastic/dynamic repetitive DNA domains.     

DNA Polymerase II of Escherichia Coli in the Bypass of Abasic Sites in Vivo

The function of DNA polymerase II of Escherichia coli is an old question. Any phenotypic character that Pol II may confer upon the cell has escaped detection since the polymerase was discovered 24 yr ago. Although it has been shown that Pol II enables DNA synthesis to proceed past abasic sites in vitro, no role is known for it in the bypass of those lesions in vivo. From a study of phage S13 single-stranded DNA, we now report SOS conditions under which Pol II is needed for DNA synthesis to proceed past abasic sites with 100% efficiency in vivo. Overproduction of the GroES(+)L(+) heat shock proteins, which are members of a ubiquitous family of molecular chaperones, eliminated this requirement for Pol II, which may explain why the role of Pol II in SOS repair had eluded discovery. Mutagenesis accompanied SOS bypass of abasic sites when the original occupant had been cytosine but not when it had been thymine; the quantitative difference is shown to imply that adenine was inserted opposite the abasic sites at least 99.7% of the time, which is an especially strict application of the A-rule. Most, but not all, spontaneous mutations from Rif(s) to Rif(r), whether in a recA(+) or a recA(Prt(c)) cell, require Pol II; while this suggests that cryptic abasic lesions are a likely source of spontaneous mutations, it also shows that such lesions cannot be the exclusive source.     

Non-productive DNA damage binding by DNA glycosylase-like protein Mag2 from Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Schizosaccharomyces pombe contains two paralogous proteins, Mag1 and Mag2, related to the helix-hairpin-helix (HhH) superfamily of alkylpurine DNA glycosylases from yeast and bacteria. Phylogenetic analysis of related proteins from four Schizosaccharomyces and other fungal species shows that the Mag1/Mag2 duplication is unique to the genus Schizosaccharomyces and most likely occurred in its ancestor. Mag1 excises N3- and N7-alkylguanines and 1,N⁶-ethenoadenine from DNA, whereas Mag2 has been reported to have no detectible alkylpurine base excision activity despite high sequence and active site similarity to Mag1. To understand this discrepancy we determined the crystal structure of Mag2 bound to abasic DNA and compared it to our previously determined Mag1–DNA structure. In contrast to Mag1, Mag2 does not flip the abasic moiety into the active site or stabilize the DNA strand 5′ to the lesion, suggesting that it is incapable of forming a catalytically competent protein–DNA complex. Subtle differences in Mag1 and Mag2 interactions with the DNA duplex illustrate how Mag2 can stall at damage sites without fully engaging the lesion. We tested our structural predictions by mutational analysis of base excision and found a single amino acid responsible at least in part for Mag2's lack of activity. Substitution of Mag2 Asp56, which caps the helix at the base of the DNA intercalation loop, with the corresponding serine residue in Mag1 endows Mag2 with ?A excision activity comparable to Mag1. This work provides novel insight into the chemical and physical determinants by which the HhH glycosylases engage DNA in a catalytically productive manner.     

Synthesis of Circular Oligodeoxynucleotide Conjugates VIA Transient Abasic Sites

Abstract

New chemical ligation or cyclisation reactions, using high reactivity of abasic sites with amines, are reported for the synthesis of oligonucleotide clamps and singlestranded circular oligonucleotides. Thermal denaturation experiments show that these molecules display very high binding affinities for complementary DNA oligomer by forming triple-helical complexes.     

DNA Sequence Context Effects on the Glycosylase Activity of Human 8-Oxoguanine DNA Glycosylase

Human 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1) is a key enzyme involved in removing 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG), a highly mutagenic DNA lesion generated by oxidative stress. The removal of 8-oxoG by OGG1 is affected by the local DNA sequence, and this feature most likely contributes to observed mutational hot spots in genomic DNA. To elucidate the influence of local DNA sequence on 8-oxoG excision activity of OGG1, we conducted steady-state, pre-steady-state, and single turnover kinetic evaluation of OGG1 in alternate DNA sequence contexts. The sequence context effect was studied for a mutational hot spot at a CpG dinucleotide. Altering either the global DNA sequence or the 5′-flanking unmodified base pair failed to influence the excision of 8-oxoG. Methylation of the cytosine 5′ to 8-oxoG also did not affect 8-oxoG excision. In contrast, a 5′-neighboring mismatch strongly decreased the rate of 8-oxoG base removal. Substituting the 5′-C in the CpG dinucleotide with T, A, or tetrahydrofuran (i.e. T:G, A:G, and tetrahydrofuran:G mispairs) resulted in a 10-, 13-, and 4-fold decrease in the rate constant for 8-oxoG excision, respectively. A greater loss in activity was observed when T:C or A:C was positioned 5′ of 8-oxoG (59- and 108-fold, respectively). These results indicate that neighboring structural abnormalities 5′ to 8-oxoG deter its repair thereby enhancing its mutagenic potential.     

Identification of Escherichia coli Mismatch-specific Uracil DNA Glycosylase as a Robust Xanthine DNA Glycosylase

The gene for the mismatch-specific uracil DNA glycosylase (MUG) was identified in the Escherichia coli genome as a sequence homolog of the human thymine DNA glycosylase with activity against mismatched uracil base pairs. Examination of cell extracts led us to detect a previously unknown xanthine DNA glycosylase (XDG) activity in E. coli. DNA glycosylase assays with purified enzymes indicated the novel XDG activity is attributable to MUG. Here, we report a biochemical characterization of xanthine DNA glycosylase activity in MUG. The wild type MUG possesses more robust activity against xanthine than uracil and is active against all xanthine-containing DNA (C/X, T/X, G/X, A/X and single-stranded X). Analysis of potentials of mean force indicates that the double-stranded xanthine base pairs have a relatively narrow energetic difference in base flipping, whereas the tendency for uracil base flipping follows the order of C/U > G/U > T/U > A/U. Site-directed mutagenesis performed on conserved motifs revealed that Asn-140 and Ser-23 are important determinants for XDG activity in E. coli MUG. Molecular modeling and molecular dynamics simulations reveal distinct hydrogen-bonding patterns in the active site of E. coli MUG that account for the specificity differences between E. coli MUG and human thymine DNA glycosylase as well as that between the wild type MUG and the Asn-140 and Ser-23 mutants. This study underscores the role of the favorable binding interactions in modulating the specificity of DNA glycosylases.     

Intra-laboratory Comet Assay Sample Scoring Exercise for Determination of Formamidopyrimidine DNA Glycosylase Sites in Human Mononuclear Blood Cell DNA

Oxidative DNA damage detected by the comet assay as formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase (FPG) senstitive sites, almost as a rule is reported as comet assay score rather than numerical sites in the genome, probably because the latter requires X-ray calibration. We compared the ability of five experienced and five inexperienced comet assay investigators to detect a dose-response relationship in irradiated A549 lung epithelial cell culture samples (0, 10 Gy and three samples of 5 Gy), based on an arbitrary five class scoring system. The samples were scored on three different occasions, thus allowing determination of the variation in sample scoring. All investigators qualitatively distinguished between samples in a dose-dependent manner, albeit with large variation in the slope and intercept of dose-response curves. There was a tendency that investigators with experience in scoring A549 cells had more consistent results than experienced investigators who had only scored lymphocytes or inexperienced investigators. The inexperienced investigators improved their scoring ability during the three sessions. Subsequently we showed that the variation in baseline level of FPG modifications in mononuclear blood cells of five healthy humans was lower when investigators used their individual X-ray calibration curve as compared to a common calibration curve. In conclusion, this study showed that comet assay investigators score differently when using a five class scoring system, which indicates that more consistent estimations of FPG sites in the genome are obtained by use of investigators' individual X-ray calibrations.     

Thymine DNA Glycosylase Is a CRL4Cdt2 Substrate

The E3 ubiquitin ligase CRL4^Cdt2 targets proteins for destruction in S phase and after DNA damage by coupling ubiquitylation to DNA-bound proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Coupling to PCNA involves a PCNA-interacting peptide (PIP) degron motif in the substrate that recruits CRL4^Cdt2 while binding to PCNA. In vertebrates, CRL4^Cdt2 promotes degradation of proteins whose presence in S phase is deleterious, including Cdt1, Set8, and p21. Here, we show that CRL4^Cdt2 targets thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG), a base excision repair enzyme that is involved in DNA demethylation. TDG contains a conserved and nearly perfect match to the PIP degron consensus. TDG is ubiquitylated and destroyed in a PCNA-, Cdt2-, and PIP degron-dependent manner during DNA repair in Xenopus egg extract. The protein can also be destroyed during DNA replication in this system. During Xenopus development, TDG first accumulates during gastrulation, and its expression is down-regulated by CRL4^Cdt2. Our results expand the group of vertebrate CRL4^Cdt2 substrates to include a bona fide DNA repair enzyme.     

Isolating Contributions from Intersegmental Transfer to DNA Searching by Alkyladenine DNA Glycosylase

Large genomes pose a challenge to DNA repair pathways because rare sites of damage must be efficiently located from among a vast excess of undamaged sites. Human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG) employs nonspecific DNA binding interactions and facilitated diffusion to conduct a highly redundant search of adjacent sites. This ensures that every site is searched, but could be a detriment if the protein is trapped in a local segment of DNA. Intersegmental transfer between DNA segments that are transiently in close proximity provides an elegant solution that balances global and local searching processes. It has been difficult to detect intersegmental transfer experimentally; therefore, we developed biochemical assays that allowed us to observe and measure the rates of intersegmental transfer by AAG. AAG has a flexible amino terminus that tunes its affinity for nonspecific DNA, but we find that it is not required for intersegmental transfer. As AAG has only a single DNA binding site, this argues against the bridging model for intersegmental transfer. The rates of intersegmental transfer are strongly dependent on the salt concentration, supporting a jumping mechanism that involves microscopic dissociation and capture by a proximal DNA site. As many DNA-binding proteins have only a single binding site, jumping may be a common mechanism for intersegmental transfer.     

Structural Basis for Avoidance of Promutagenic DNA Repair by MutY Adenine DNA Glycosylase

The highly mutagenic A:oxoG (8-oxoguanine) base pair in DNA most frequently arises by aberrant replication of the primary oxidative lesion C:oxoG. This lesion is particularly insidious because neither of its constituent nucleobases faithfully transmit genetic information from the original C:G base pair. Repair of A:oxoG is initiated by adenine DNA glycosylase, which catalyzes hydrolytic cleavage of the aberrant A nucleobase from the DNA backbone. These enzymes, MutY in bacteria and MUTYH in humans, scrupulously avoid processing of C:oxoG because cleavage of the C residue in C:oxoG would actually promote mutagenic conversion to A:oxoG. Here we analyze the structural basis for rejection of C:oxoG by MutY, using a synthetic crystallography approach to capture the enzyme in the process of inspecting the C:oxoG anti-substrate, with which it ordinarily binds only fleetingly. We find that MutY uses two distinct strategies to avoid presentation of C to the enzyme active site. Firstly, MutY possesses an exo-site that serves as a decoy for C, and secondly, repulsive forces with a key active site residue prevent stable insertion of C into the nucleobase recognition pocket within the enzyme active site.     

Conformational Dynamics of Damage Processing by Human DNA Glycosylase NEIL1

Endonuclease VIII-like protein 1 (NEIL1) is a DNA repair enzyme found in higher eukaryotes, including humans. It belongs to the helix–two turn–helix (H2TH) structural superfamily together with Escherichia coli formamidopyrimidine–DNA glycosylase (Fpg) and endonuclease VIII (Nei), and removes a variety of oxidized purine and pyrimidine bases from DNA. Structural, modeling and kinetic studies have established that the bacterial H2TH superfamily enzymes proceed through several conformational intermediates while recognizing and removing their cognate lesions. Here we apply stopped-flow kinetics with detection of intrinsic Trp fluorescence and Förster resonance energy transfer fluorescence to follow the conformational dynamics of human NEIL1 and DNA when the enzyme interacts with undamaged DNA, or DNA containing cleavable or non-cleavable abasic sites, or dihydrouracil lesions. NEIL1 processed a natural abasic site and a damaged base in DNA equally well but showed an additional fluorescently discernible step when DHU was present, likely reflecting additional rearrangements during base eversion into the enzyme's active site. With undamaged DNA and DNA containing a non-cleavable abasic site analog, (3-hydroxytetrahydrofuran-2-yl)methyl phosphate, NEIL1 was diverted to a non-productive DNA conformation early in the reaction. Our results support the view of NEIL1 as an enzyme that actively destabilizes damaged DNA and uses multiple checkpoints along the reaction coordinate to drive substrate lesions into the active site while rejecting normal bases and non-substrate lesions.     

Aag DNA Glycosylase Promotes Alkylation-Induced Tissue Damage Mediated by Parp1

Alkylating agents comprise a major class of front-line cancer chemotherapeutic compounds, and while these agents effectively kill tumor cells, they also damage healthy tissues. Although base excision repair (BER) is essential in repairing DNA alkylation damage, under certain conditions, initiation of BER can be detrimental. Here we illustrate that the alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG) mediates alkylation-induced tissue damage and whole-animal lethality following exposure to alkylating agents. Aag-dependent tissue damage, as observed in cerebellar granule cells, splenocytes, thymocytes, bone marrow cells, pancreatic β-cells, and retinal photoreceptor cells, was detected in wild-type mice, exacerbated in Aag transgenic mice, and completely suppressed in Aag ^−/− mice. Additional genetic experiments dissected the effects of modulating both BER and Parp1 on alkylation sensitivity in mice and determined that Aag acts upstream of Parp1 in alkylation-induced tissue damage; in fact, cytotoxicity in WT and Aag transgenic mice was abrogated in the absence of Parp1. These results provide in vivo evidence that Aag-initiated BER may play a critical role in determining the side-effects of alkylating agent chemotherapies and that Parp1 plays a crucial role in Aag-mediated tissue damage.