Linking uracil base excision repair and 5-fluorouracil toxicity in yeast

Chemotherapeutic drugs inhibit ribosome biogenesis at various levels

Drugs for cancer therapy belong to different categories of chemical substances. The cellular targets for the therapeutic efficacy are often not unambiguously identified. Here, we describe the process of ribosome biogenesis as a target of a large variety of chemotherapeutic drugs. We determined the inhibitory concentration of 36 chemotherapeutic drugs for transcription and processing of ribosomal RNA by in vivo labeling experiments. Inhibitory drug concentrations were correlated to the loss of nucleolar integrity. The synergism of drugs inhibiting ribosomal RNA synthesis at different levels was studied. Drugs inhibited ribosomal RNA synthesis either at the level of (i) rRNA transcription (e.g. oxaliplatin, doxorubicin, mitoxantrone, methotrexate), (ii) early rRNA processing (e.g. camptothecin, flavopiridol, roscovitine), or (iii) late rRNA processing (e.g. 5-fluorouracil, MG-132, homoharringtonine). Blockage of rRNA transcription or early rRNA processing steps caused nucleolar disintegration, whereas blockage of late rRNA processing steps left the nucleolus intact. Flavopiridol and 5-fluorouracil showed a strong synergism for inhibition of rRNA processing. We conclude that inhibition of ribosome biogenesis by chemotherapeutic drugs potentially may contribute to the efficacy of therapeutic regimens.

Arabidopsis uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG) is required for base excision repair of uracil and increases plant sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil

Uracil in DNA arises by misincorporation of dUMP during replication and by hydrolytic deamination of cytosine. This common lesion is actively removed through a base excision repair (BER) pathway initiated by a uracil DNA glycosylase (UDG) activity that excises the damage as a free base. UDGs are classified into different families differentially distributed across eubacteria, archaea, yeast, and animals, but remain to be unambiguously identified in plants. We report here the molecular characterization of AtUNG (Arabidopsis thaliana uracil DNA glycosylase), a plant member of the Family-1 of UDGs typified by Escherichia coli Ung. AtUNG exhibits the narrow substrate specificity and single-stranded DNA preference that are characteristic of Ung homologues. Cell extracts from atung(-/-) mutants are devoid of UDG activity, and lack the capacity to initiate BER on uracil residues. AtUNG-deficient plants do not display any apparent phenotype, but show increased resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), a cytostatic drug that favors dUMP misincorporation into DNA. The resistance of atung(-/-) mutants to 5-FU is accompanied by the accumulation of uracil residues in DNA. These results suggest that AtUNG excises uracil in vivo but generates toxic AP sites when processing abundant U:A pairs in dTTP-depleted cells. Altogether, our findings point to AtUNG as the major UDG activity in Arabidopsis.

Reciprocal regulation of microRNA-1 and insulin-like growth factor-1 signal transduction cascade in cardiac and skeletal muscle in physiological and pathological conditions

BACKGROUND

MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) are small conserved RNA molecules of 22 nucleotides that negatively modulate gene expression primarily through base paring to the 3' untranslated region of target messenger RNAs. The muscle-specific miR-1 has been implicated in cardiac hypertrophy, heart development, cardiac stem cell differentiation, and arrhythmias through targeting of regulatory proteins. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms through which miR-1 intervenes in regulation of muscle cell growth and differentiation.

METHODS AND RESULTS

On the basis of bioinformatics tools, biochemical assays, and in vivo models, we demonstrate that (1) insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and IGF-1 receptor are targets of miR-1; (2) miR-1 and IGF-1 protein levels are correlated inversely in models of cardiac hypertrophy and failure as well as in the C2C12 skeletal muscle cell model of differentiation; (3) the activation state of the IGF-1 signal transduction cascade reciprocally regulates miR-1 expression through the Foxo3a transcription factor; and (4) miR-1 expression correlates inversely with cardiac mass and thickness in myocardial biopsies of acromegalic patients, in which IGF-1 is overproduced after aberrant synthesis of growth hormone.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results reveal a critical role of miR-1 in mediating the effects of the IGF-1 pathway and demonstrate a feedback loop between miR-1 expression and the IGF-1 signal transduction cascade.

MicroRNA-133a protects against myocardial fibrosis and modulates electrical repolarization without affecting hypertrophy in pressure-overloaded adult hearts

RATIONALE

MicroRNA (miR)-133a regulates cardiac and skeletal muscle differentiation and plays an important role in cardiac development. Because miR-133a levels decrease during reactive cardiac hypertrophy, some have considered that restoring miR-133a levels could suppress hypertrophic remodeling.

OBJECTIVE

To prevent the "normal" downregulation of miR-133a induced by an acute hypertrophic stimulus in the adult heart.

METHODS AND RESULTS

miR-133a is downregulated in transverse aortic constriction (TAC) and isoproterenol-induced hypertrophy, but not in 2 genetic hypertrophy models. Using MYH6 promoter-directed expression of a miR-133a genomic precursor, increased cardiomyocyte miR-133a had no effect on postnatal cardiac development assessed by measures of structure, function, and mRNA profile. However, increased miR-133a levels increased QT intervals in surface electrocardiographic recordings and action potential durations in isolated ventricular myocytes, with a decrease in the fast component of the transient outward K+ current, I(to,f), at baseline. Transgenic expression of miR-133a prevented TAC-associated miR-133a downregulation and improved myocardial fibrosis and diastolic function without affecting the extent of hypertrophy. I(to,f) downregulation normally observed post-TAC was prevented in miR-133a transgenic mice, although action potential duration and QT intervals did not reflect this benefit. miR-133a transgenic hearts had no significant alterations of basal or post-TAC mRNA expression profiles, although decreased mRNA and protein levels were observed for the I(to,f) auxiliary KChIP2 subunit, which is not a predicted target.

CONCLUSIONS

These results reveal striking differences between in vitro and in vivo phenotypes of miR expression, and further suggest that mRNA signatures do not reliably predict either direct miR targets or major miR effects.

In-depth analysis of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus microRNA expression provides insights into the mammalian microRNA-processing machinery

We have used deep sequencing to analyze the pattern of viral microRNA (miRNA) expression observed in the B-cell line BC-3, which is latently infected with Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). We recovered 14.6 x 10(6) total miRNA cDNA reads, of which a remarkable 92% were of KSHV origin. We detected 11 KSHV miRNAs as well as all 11 predicted miRNA or passenger strands from the miRNA duplex intermediate. One previously reported KSHV miRNA, miR-K9, was found to be mutationally inactivated. This analysis revealed that the 5' ends of 10 of the 11 KSHV miRNAs were essentially invariant, with significantly more variation being observed at the 3' end, a result which is consistent with the proposal that the 5'-proximal region of miRNAs is critical for target mRNA recognition. However, one KSHV miRNA, miR-K10-3p, was detected in two isoforms differing by 1 nucleotide (nt) at the 5' end that were present at comparable levels, and these two related KSHV miRNAs are therefore likely to target at least partially distinct mRNA populations. Finally, we also report the first detection of miRNA offset RNAs (moRs) in vertebrate somatic cells. moRs, which derive from primary miRNA (pri-miRNA) sequences that immediately flank the mature miRNA and miRNA strands, were identified flanking one or both sides of nine of the KSHV miRNAs. These data provide new insights into the pattern of miRNA processing in mammalian cells and indicate that this process is highly conserved during animal evolution.

A global analysis of evolutionary conservation among known and predicted gammaherpesvirus microRNAs

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, noncoding RNAs which posttranscriptionally regulate gene expression. The current release of the miRNA registry lists 16 viruses which encode a total of 146 miRNA hairpins. Strikingly, 139 of these are encoded by members of the herpesvirus family, suggesting an important role for miRNAs in the herpesvirus life cycle. However, with the exception of 7 miRNA hairpins known to be shared by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and the closely related rhesus lymphocryptovirus (rLCV), the known herpesvirus miRNAs show little evidence of evolutionary conservation. We have performed a global analysis of miRNA conservation among gammaherpesviruses which is not limited to family members known to encode miRNAs but includes also those which have not been previously analyzed. For this purpose, we have performed a computational prediction of miRNA candidates of all fully sequenced gammaherpesvirus genomes, followed by sequence/structure alignments. Our results indicate that gammaherpesvirus miRNA conservation is limited to two pairs of viral genomes. One is the already-known case of EBV and rLCV. These viruses, however, share significantly more miRNAs than previously thought, as we identified and experimentally verified 10 novel conserved as well as 7 novel nonconserved rLCV pre-miRNA hairpins. The second case consists of rhesus rhadinovirus (RRV), which is predicted to share at least 9 pre-miRNAs with the closely related Japanese macaque herpesvirus (JMHV). Although several other gammaherpesviruses are predicted to encode large numbers of clustered miRNAs at conserved genomic loci, no further examples of evolutionarily conserved miRNA sequences were found.

Identification of viral microRNAs expressed in human sacral ganglia latently infected with herpes simplex virus 2

Deep sequencing of small RNAs isolated from human sacral ganglia latently infected with herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) was used to identify HSV-2 microRNAs (miRNAs) expressed during latent infection. This effort resulted in the identification of five distinct HSV-2 miRNA species, two of which, miR-H3/miR-I and miR-H4/miR-II, have been previously reported. Three novel HSV-2 miRNAs were also identified, and two of these, miR-H7 and miR-H9, are derived from the latency-associated transcript (LAT) and are located antisense to the viral transcript encoding transactivator ICP0. A third novel HSV-2 miRNA, miR-H10, is encoded within the unique long (U(L)) region of the genome, 3' to the U(L)15 open reading frame, and is presumably excised from a novel, latent HSV-2 transcript distinct from LAT.

Reticuloendotheliosis virus strain T induces miR-155, which targets JARID2 and promotes cell survival

The oncogenic microRNA miR-155 is upregulated by several oncogenic viruses. The precursor of miR-155, termed bic, was first observed to cooperate with myc in chicken B-cell lymphomas induced by avian leukosis proviral integrations. We identified another oncogenic retrovirus, reticuloendotheliosis virus strain T (REV-T), that upregulates miR-155 in chicken embryo fibroblasts. We also observed very high levels of miR-155 in REV-T-induced B-cell lymphomas. To study the role of miR-155 in these tumors, we identified JARID2/Jumonji, a cell cycle regulator and part of a histone methyltransferase complex, as a target of miR-155. The overexpression of miR-155 decreased levels of endogenous JARID2 mRNA. We confirmed that miR-155 directly targets both human and chicken JARID2 by assaying the repression of reporters containing the JARID2 3'-untranslated regions. Further, the overexpression of a sponge complementary to miR-155 in a tumor cell line increased endogenous JARID2 mRNA levels. The overexpression of JARID2 in chicken fibroblasts led to decreased cell numbers and an increase in apoptotic cells. The overexpression of miR-155 rescued cells undergoing cytopathic effect caused by infection with subgroup B avian retroviruses. Therefore, we propose that miR-155 has a prosurvival function that is mediated through the downregulation of targets including JARID2.

MicroRNAs in Cardiovascular Biology and Heart Disease

MicroRNAs play important roles in many cellular and biological functions via the regulation of mRNA target translation. In the cardiovascular field, microRNAs are now acknowledged as fundamental in regulating the expression of genes that governs physiological and pathological myocardial adaptation to stress. Here, we review recent progress in the understanding of microRNA functions and their involvement in heart disease.

MicroRNA-125b promotes neuronal differentiation in human cells by repressing multiple targets

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level. Research on miRNAs has highlighted their importance in neural development, but the specific functions of neurally enriched miRNAs remain poorly understood. We report here the expression profile of miRNAs during neuronal differentiation in the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y. Six miRNAs were significantly upregulated during differentiation induced by all-trans-retinoic acid and brain-derived neurotrophic factor. We demonstrated that the ectopic expression of either miR-124a or miR-125b increases the percentage of differentiated SH-SY5Y cells with neurite outgrowth. Subsequently, we focused our functional analysis on miR-125b and demonstrated the important role of this miRNA in both the spontaneous and induced differentiations of SH-SH5Y cells. miR-125b is also upregulated during the differentiation of human neural progenitor ReNcell VM cells, and miR-125b ectopic expression significantly promotes the neurite outgrowth of these cells. To identify the targets of miR-125b regulation, we profiled the global changes in gene expression following miR-125b ectopic expression in SH-SY5Y cells. miR-125b represses 164 genes that contain the seed match sequence of the miRNA and/or that are predicted to be direct targets of miR-125b by conventional methods. Pathway analysis suggests that a subset of miR-125b-repressed targets antagonizes neuronal genes in several neurogenic pathways, thereby mediating the positive effect of miR-125b on neuronal differentiation. We have further validated the binding of miR-125b to the miRNA response elements of 10 selected mRNA targets. Together, we report here for the first time the important role of miR-125b in human neuronal differentiation.

5-Fluorouracil and its active metabolite FdUMP cause DNA damage in human SW620 colon adenocarcinoma cell line

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is an antineoplasic drug widely used to treat cancer. Its cytotoxic effect has been principally ascribed to the misincorporation of fluoronucleotides into DNA and RNA during their synthesis, and the inhibition of thymidylate synthase (TS) by FdUMP (one of the 5-FU active metabolites), which leads to nucleotide pool imbalance. In the present study, we compared the ability of 5-FU and FdUMP to induce apoptosis and to influence the cell cycle progression in human colon SW620 adenocarcinoma cells in regards to their genotoxic and clastogenic activities. Our study demonstrates that 5-FU induces SSB, DSB and apoptosis earlier than FdUMP. Interestingly, while both drugs are able to induce apoptosis, their effect on the cell cycle progression differed. Indeed, 5-FU induces an arrest in G1/S while FdUMP causes an arrest in G2/M. Independently of the temporal difference in strand breaks and apoptosis induction, as well as the differential cell cycle modulation, both drugs presented similar clastogenic effects. The different pattern of cell cycle arrest suggests that the two drugs induce different types of primary DNA lesions that could lead to the activation of different checkpoints and recruit different DNA repair pathways.

Impairment of APE1 function enhances cellular sensitivity to clinically relevant alkylators and antimetabolites

Base excision repair (BER) is the major pathway for removing mutagenic and cytotoxic oxidative and alkylation DNA modifications. Using a catalytically inactive, dominant negative protein form of human APE1, termed ED, which binds with high affinity to substrate DNA and blocks subsequent repair steps, we assessed the role of BER in mediating cellular resistance to clinically relevant alkylating drugs and antimetabolites. Colony formation assays revealed that ED expression enhanced cellular sensitivity to melphalan not at all; to decarbazine, thiotepa, busulfan and carmustine moderately (1.2- to 2.4-fold); and to streptozotocin and temozolomide significantly (2.0- to 5.3-fold). The effectiveness of ED to promote enhanced cytotoxicity generally correlated with the agent's (a) monofunctional nature, (b) capacity to induce N(7)-guanine and N(3)-adenine modifications, and (c) inability to generate O(6)-guanine adducts or DNA cross-links. ED also enhanced the cell killing potency of the antimetabolite troxacitabine, apparently by blocking the processing of DNA strand breaks, yet had no effect on the cytotoxicity of gemcitabine, results that agree well with the known efficiency of APE1 to excise these nucleoside analogues from DNA. Most impressively, ED expression produced an approximately 5- and 25-fold augmentation of the cell killing effect of 5-fluorouracil and 5-fluorodeoxyuridine, respectively, implicating BER in the cellular response to such antimetabolites; the increased 5-fluorouracil sensitivity was associated with an accumulation of abasic sites and active caspase-positive staining. Our data suggest that APE1, and BER more broadly, is a potential target for inactivation in anticancer treatment paradigms that involve select alkylating agents or antimetabolites.

Impact of linker strain and flexibility in the design of a fragment-based inhibitor

The linking together of molecular fragments that bind to adjacent sites on an enzyme can lead to high affinity inhibitors. Ideally, this strategy would employ linkers that do not perturb the optimal binding geometries of the fragments and do not have excessive conformational flexibility that would increase the entropic penalty of binding. In reality, these aims are seldom realized due to limitations in linker chemistry. Here we systematically explore the energetic and structural effects of rigid and flexible linkers on the binding of a fragment-based inhibitor of human uracil DNA glycosylase. Analysis of the free energies of binding in combination with co-crystal structures shows that the flexibility and strain of a given linker can have a significant impact on binding affinity even when the binding fragments are optimally positioned. Such effects are not apparent from inspection of structures and underscore the importance of linker optimization in fragment-based drug discovery efforts.

Ung1p-mediated uracil-base excision repair in mitochondria is responsible for the petite formation in thymidylate deficient yeast

The budding yeast CDC21 gene, which encodes thymidylate synthase, is crucial in the thymidylate biosynthetic pathway. Early studies revealed that high frequency of petites were formed in heat-sensitive cdc21 mutants grown at the permissive temperature. However, the molecular mechanism involved in such petite formation is largely unknown. Here we used a yeast cdc21-1 mutant to demonstrate that the mutant cells accumulated dUMP in the mitochondrial genome. When UNG1 (encoding uracil-DNA glycosylase) was deleted from cdc21-1, we found that the ung1Delta cdc21-1 double mutant reduced frequency of petite formation to the level found in wild-type cells. We propose that the initiation of Ung1p-mediated base excision repair in the uracil-laden mitochondrial genome in a cdc21-1 mutant is responsible for the mitochondrial petite mutations.

Participation of DNA repair in the response to 5-fluorouracil

The anti-metabolite 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is employed clinically to manage solid tumors including colorectal and breast cancer. Intracellular metabolites of 5-FU can exert cytotoxic effects via inhibition of thymidylate synthetase, or through incorporation into RNA and DNA, events that ultimately activate apoptosis. In this review, we cover the current data implicating DNA repair processes in cellular responsiveness to 5-FU treatment. Evidence points to roles for base excision repair (BER) and mismatch repair (MMR). However, mechanistic details remain unexplained, and other pathways have not been exhaustively interrogated. Homologous recombination is of particular interest, because it resolves unrepaired DNA intermediates not properly dealt with by BER or MMR. Furthermore, crosstalk among DNA repair pathways and S-phase checkpoint signaling has not been examined. Ongoing efforts aim to design approaches and reagents that (i) approximate repair capacity and (ii) mediate strategic regulation of DNA repair in order to improve the efficacy of current anticancer treatments.

Reciprocal regulation of myocardial microRNAs and messenger RNA in human cardiomyopathy and reversal of the microRNA signature by biomechanical support

BACKGROUND

Much has been learned about transcriptional control of cardiac gene expression in clinical and experimental congestive heart failure (CHF), but less is known about dynamic regulation of microRNAs (miRs) in CHF and during CHF treatment. We performed comprehensive microarray profiling of miRs and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in myocardial specimens from human CHF with (n=10) or without (n=17) biomechanical support from left ventricular assist devices in comparison to nonfailing hearts (n=11).

METHODS AND RESULTS

Twenty-eight miRs were upregulated >2.0-fold (P<0.001) in CHF, with nearly complete normalization of the heart failure miR signature by left ventricular assist device treatment. In contrast, of 444 mRNAs that were altered by >1.3-fold in failing hearts, only 29 mRNAs normalized by as much as 25% in post-left ventricular assist device hearts. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering of upregulated miRs and mRNAs with nearest centroid analysis and leave-1-out cross-validation revealed that combining the miR and mRNA signatures increased the ability of RNA profiling to serve as a clinical biomarker of diagnostic group and functional class.

CONCLUSIONS

These results show that miRs are more sensitive than mRNAs to the acute functional status of end-stage heart failure, consistent with important functions for regulated miRs in the myocardial response to stress. Combined miR and mRNA profiling may have superior potential as a diagnostic and prognostic test in end-stage cardiomyopathy.

Generation, biological consequences and repair mechanisms of cytosine deamination in DNA

Base moieties in DNA are spontaneously threatened by naturally occurring chemical reactions such as deamination, hydrolysis and oxidation. These DNA modifications have been considered to be major causes of cell death, mutations and cancer induction in organisms. Organisms have developed the DNA base excision repair pathway as a defense mechanism to protect them from these threats. DNA glycosylases, the key enzyme in the base excision repair pathway, are highly conserved in evolution. Uracil constantly occurs in DNA. Uracil in DNA arises by spontaneous deamination of cytosine to generate pro-mutagenic U:G mispairs. Uracil in DNA is also produced by the incorporation of dUMP during DNA replication. Uracil-DNA glycosylase (UNG) acts as a major repair enzyme that protects DNA from the deleterious consequences of uracil. The first UNG activity was discovered in E. coli in 1974. This was also the first discovery of base excision repair. The sequence encoded by the ung gene demonstrates that the E. coli UNG is highly conserved in viruses, bacteria, archaea, yeast, mice and humans. In this review, we will focus on central and recent findings on the generation, biological consequences and repair mechanisms of uracil in DNA and on the biological significance of uracil-DNA glycosylase.

The emerging role of microRNAs in cardiac remodeling and heart failure

Recent studies have suggested a potentially important role for a family of tiny regulatory RNAs, known as microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs), in the control of diverse aspects of cardiac function in health and disease. Although the field of miRNA biology is relatively new, there is emerging evidence that miRNAs may play an important role in the pathogenesis of heart failure through their ability to regulate the expression levels of genes that govern the process of adaptive and maladaptive cardiac remodeling. Here, we review the biology of miRNAs in relation to their role in modulating various aspects of the process of cardiac remodeling, as well as discuss the potential application of miRNA biology to the field of heart failure.

MicroRNAome of Splenic Macrophages in Hypersplenism due to Portal Hypertension in Hepatitis B Virus-Related Cirrhosis

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a recently discovered class of post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression with critical functions in health and disease. Their role in the pathogenesis of hypersplenism, however, is completely unknown. To determine whether miRNA expression is altered in splenic macrophages associated with hypersplenism due to portal hypertension in hepatitis-B-virus (HBV)-related cirrhosis, we analyzed the entire miRNAome in macrophages from normal and portal hypertensive spleen samples by microarray and Real-Time PCR. In this study, we identified 99 miRNA differences in expression in splenic macrophages associated with hypersplenism due to portal hypertension in HBV-related cirrhosis. Among the miRNAs identified in this study, hsa-miR-615–3p was significantly up-regulated in hypersplenism. Dynamic changes in miRNA expression occurred during the pathogenesis of portal hypertension-induced hypersplenism in HBV-related cirrhosis. The miRNAs then are novel regulatory RNAs in hypersplenism in patients with HBV-related cirrhosis.

RNA-based 5-fluorouracil toxicity requires the pseudouridylation activity of Cbf5p

The chemotherapeutic drug 5-fluorouracil (5FU) disrupts DNA synthesis by inhibiting the enzymatic conversion of dUMP to dTMP. However, mounting evidence indicates that 5FU has important effects on RNA metabolism that contribute significantly to the toxicity of the drug. Strains with mutations in nuclear RNA-processing exosome components, including Rrp6p, exhibit strong 5FU hypersensitivity. Studies also suggest that 5FU-containing RNA can inhibit pseudouridylation, the most abundant post-transcriptional modification of noncoding RNA. We examined the effect of modulating the expression and activity of the essential yeast rRNA pseudouridylase Cbf5p on the 5FU hypersensitivity of an rrp6-delta mutant strain. Depletion of Cbf5p suppressed the 5FU hypersensitivity of an rrp6-delta strain, while high-copy expression enhanced sensitivity to the drug. A mutation in the catalytic site of Cbf5p also suppressed the 5FU hypersensitivity in the rrp6-Delta mutant, suggesting that RNA-based 5FU toxicity requires the pseudouridylation activity of Cbf5p. High-copy expression of box H/ACA snoRNAs also suppressed the 5FU hypersensitivity of an rrp6-delta strain, suggesting that sequestration of Cbf5p to a particular guide RNA reduces Cbf5p-dependent 5FU toxicity. On the basis of these results and previous reports that certain pseudouridylases form stable adducts with 5FU-containing RNA, we suggest that Cbf5p binds tightly to substrates containing 5FU, causing their degradation by the TRAMP/exosome-mediated RNA surveillance pathway.

MicroRNA-155 is regulated by the transforming growth factor beta/Smad pathway and contributes to epithelial cell plasticity by targeting RhoA

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) signaling facilitates metastasis in advanced malignancy. While a number of protein-encoding genes are known to be involved in this process, information on the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in TGF-beta-induced cell migration and invasion is still limited. By hybridizing a 515-miRNA oligonucleotide-based microarray library, a total of 28 miRNAs were found to be significantly deregulated in TGF-beta-treated normal murine mammary gland (NMuMG) epithelial cells but not Smad4 knockdown NMuMG cells. Among upregulated miRNAs, miR-155 was the most significantly elevated miRNA. TGF-beta induces miR-155 expression and promoter activity through Smad4. The knockdown of miR-155 suppressed TGF-beta-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and tight junction dissolution, as well as cell migration and invasion. Further, the ectopic expression of miR-155 reduced RhoA protein and disrupted tight junction formation. Reintroducing RhoA cDNA without the 3' untranslated region largely reversed the phenotype induced by miR-155 and TGF-beta. In addition, elevated levels of miR-155 were frequently detected in invasive breast cancer tissues. These data suggest that miR-155 may play an important role in TGF-beta-induced EMT and cell migration and invasion by targeting RhoA and indicate that it is a potential therapeutic target for breast cancer intervention.

MicroRNA 21 promotes glioma invasion by targeting matrix metalloproteinase regulators

Substantial data indicate that microRNA 21 (miR-21) is significantly elevated in glioblastoma (GBM) and in many other tumors of various origins. This microRNA has been implicated in various aspects of carcinogenesis, including cellular proliferation, apoptosis, and migration. We demonstrate that miR-21 regulates multiple genes associated with glioma cell apoptosis, migration, and invasiveness, including the RECK and TIMP3 genes, which are suppressors of malignancy and inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Specific inhibition of miR-21 with antisense oligonucleotides leads to elevated levels of RECK and TIMP3 and therefore reduces MMP activities in vitro and in a human model of gliomas in nude mice. Moreover, downregulation of miR-21 in glioma cells leads to decreases of their migratory and invasion abilities. Our data suggest that miR-21 contributes to glioma malignancy by downregulation of MMP inhibitors, which leads to activation of MMPs, thus promoting invasiveness of cancer cells. Our results also indicate that inhibition of a single oncomir, like miR-21, with specific antisense molecules can provide a novel therapeutic approach for "physiological" modulation of multiple proteins whose expression is deregulated in cancer.

An insect virus-encoded microRNA regulates viral replication

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small ( approximately 22 nucleotides) noncoding RNAs which play an essential role in gene regulation and affect a wide range of processes, including development, differentiation, and oncogenesis. Here we report the identification of the first miRNA from an insect virus, derived from the major capsid protein (MCP) gene in Heliothis virescens ascovirus (HvAV) (HvAV-miR-1). Although MCP was abundantly expressed at all time points 24 h after infection, HvAV-miR-1 expression was strictly regulated and specifically detected from 96 h postinfection. HvAV-miR-1 expression coincided with a marked reduction of the expression of HvAV DNA polymerase I, which is a predicted target. Ectopic expression of full-length and truncated versions of MCP retaining the miRNA sequence significantly reduced DNA polymerase I transcript levels and inhibited viral replication. Our results indicate that HvAV-miR-1 directs transcriptional degradation of DNA polymerase I and regulates HvAV replication. These findings are congruent with recent reports that miR-BART-2 regulates Epstein-Barr virus DNA polymerase expression and suggest that virus-encoded miRNA regulation of virus replication may be a general phenomenon.

Human cytomegalovirus infection alters the expression of cellular microRNA species that affect its replication

The human genome encodes over 500 microRNAs (miRNAs), small RNAs (19 to 26 nucleotides [nt]) that regulate the expressions of diverse cellular genes. Many cellular processes are altered through a variety of mechanisms by human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. We asked whether HCMV infection leads to changes in the expression of cellular miRNAs and whether HCMV-regulated miRNAs are important for HCMV replication. Levels of most miRNAs did not change markedly during infection, but some were positively or negatively regulated. Patterns of miRNA expression were linked to the time course of infection. Some similarly reregulated miRNAs share identical or similar seed sequences, suggesting coordinated regulation of miRNA species that have shared targets. miRNAs miR-100 and miR-101 were chosen for further analyses based on their reproducible changes in expression after infection and on the basis of having predicted targets in the 3' untranslated regions (3'-UTR) of genes encoding components of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, which is important during HCMV infection. Reporter genes that contain the 3'-UTR of mTOR (predicted targets for miR-100 and miR-101) or raptor (a component of the mTOR pathway; predicted site for miR-100) were constructed. Mimics of miR-100 and miR-101 inhibited expression from the mTOR construct, while only miR-100 inhibited the raptor construct. Together, miR-100 and miR-101 reduced mTOR protein levels. While the miR-100 and miR-101 mimics individually modestly inhibited production of infectious progeny, much greater inhibition was achieved with a combination of both (33-fold). Our key finding is that HCMV selectively manipulates the expression of some cellular miRNAs to help its own replication.

Uracil in DNA: consequences for carcinogenesis and chemotherapy

The synthesis of thymidylate (TMP) occupies a convergence of two critical metabolic pathways: folate metabolism and pyrimidine biosynthesis. Thymidylate is formed from deoxyuridylate (dUMP) using N(5),N(10)-methylene tetrahydrofolate. The metabolic relationship between dUMP, TMP, and folate has been the subject of cancer research from prevention to chemotherapy. Thymidylate stress is induced by nutritional deficiency of folic acid, defects in folate metabolism, and by antifolate and fluoropyrimidine chemotherapeutics. Both classes of chemotherapeutics remain mainstay treatments against solid tumors. Because of the close relationship between dUMP and TMP, thymidylate stress is associated with increased incorporation of uracil into DNA. Genomic uracil is removed by uracil DNA glycosylases of base excision repair (BER). Unfortunately, BER is apparently problematic during thymidylate stress. Because BER requires a DNA resynthesis step, elevated dUTP causes reintroduction of genomic uracil. BER strand break intermediates are clastogenic if not repaired. Thus, BER during thymidylate stress appears to cause genome instability, yet might also contribute to the mechanism of action for antifolates and fluoropyrimidines. However, the precise roles of BER and its components during thymidylate stress remain unclear. In particular, links between BER and downstream events remain poorly defined, including damage signaling pathways and homologous recombination (HR). Evidence is growing that HR responds to persistent BER strand break intermediates and DNA damage signaling pathways mediate cross talk between BER and HR. Examination of crosstalk among BER, HR, and damage signaling may shed light on decades of investigation and provide insight for development of novel chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic approaches.

Muscling through the microRNA world

microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of highly conserved small non-coding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. The emerging field of miRNA biology has begun to unravel roles for these regulatory molecules in a range of biological functions, including cardiac and skeletal muscle development, as well as in muscle-related disease processes. In this paper, we review the role of miRNAs in muscle biology. Recent genetic studies have demonstrated that miRNAs are required for both proper muscle development and function, with crucial roles for miRNAs being identified in regulating muscle cell proliferation and differentiation. Furthermore, dysregulated expression of miRNAs has been correlated to certain muscle-related diseases, including cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac arrhythmias, and muscular dystrophy.

Evidence for the involvement of miRNA in redox regulated angiogenic response of human microvascular endothelial cells

OBJECTIVE

A Dicer knockdown approach was used to test the significance of miRNA in regulating the redox state and angiogenic response of human microvascular endothelial cells (HMECs).

METHODS AND RESULTS

Lowering of miRNA content by Dicer knockdown induced vascular endothelial growth factor expression but diminished the angiogenic response of HMECs as determined by cell migration and Matrigel tube formation. Such impairment of angiogenic response in the Matrigel was rescued by exogenous low micromolar H2O2. Dicer knockdown HMECs demonstrated lower inducible production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) when activated with either phorbol ester, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, or vascular endothelial growth factor. Limiting the production of ROS by antioxidant treatment or NADPH oxidase knockdown approaches impaired angiogenic responses. Experiments to identify how ROS production is limited by Dicer knockdown identified lower expression of p47phox protein in these cells. This lowering of cellular miRNA content induced expression of the transcription factor HBP1, a suppressor transcription factor that negatively regulates p47phox expression. Knockdown of HBP1 restored the angiogenic response of miRNA-deficient HMECs.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides the first evidence that redox signaling in cells is subject to regulation by miRNA. Specifically, p47phox of the NADPH oxidase complex has been identified as one target that regulates the angiogenic properties of endothelial cells.

Mechanisms of base selection by the Escherichia coli mispaired uracil glycosylase

The repair of the multitude of single-base lesions formed daily in cells of all living organisms is accomplished primarily by the base excision repair pathway that initiates repair through a series of lesion-selective glycosylases. In this article, single-turnover kinetics have been measured on a series of oligonucleotide substrates containing both uracil and purine analogs for the Escherichia coli mispaired uracil glycosylase (MUG). The relative rates of glycosylase cleavage have been correlated with the free energy of helix formation and with the size and electronic inductive properties of a series of uracil 5-substituents. Data are presented that MUG can exploit the reduced thermodynamic stability of mispairs to distinguish U:A from U:G pairs. Discrimination against the removal of thymine results primarily from the electron-donating property of the thymine 5-methyl substituent, whereas the size of the methyl group relative to a hydrogen atom is a secondary factor. A series of parameters have been obtained that allow prediction of relative MUG cleavage rates that correlate well with observed relative rates that vary over 5 orders of magnitude for the series of base analogs examined. We propose that these parameters may be common among DNA glycosylases; however, specific glycosylases may focus more or less on each of the parameters identified. The presence of a series of glycosylases that focus on different lesion properties, all coexisting within the same cell, would provide a robust and partially redundant repair system necessary for the maintenance of the genome.

Drug-induced apoptosis in yeast

In order to alter the impact of diseases on human society, drug development has been one of the most invested research fields. Nowadays, cancer and infectious diseases are leading targets for the design of effective drugs, in which the primary mechanism of action relies on the modulation of programmed cell death (PCD). Due to the high degree of conservation of basic cellular processes between yeast and higher eukaryotes, and to the existence of an ancestral PCD machinery in yeast, yeasts are an attractive tool for the study of affected pathways that give insights into the mode of action of both antitumour and antifungal drugs. Therefore, we covered some of the leading reports on drug-induced apoptosis in yeast, revealing that in common with mammalian cells, antitumour drugs induce apoptosis through reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and altered mitochondrial functions. The evidence presented suggests that yeasts may be a powerful model for the screening/development of PCD-directed drugs, overcoming the problem of cellular specificity in the design of antitumour drugs, but also enabling the design of efficient antifungal drugs, targeted to fungal-specific apoptotic regulators that do not have major consequences for human cells.

Emerging role of microRNAs in cardiovascular biology

The heart is among the most conserved organs of the body and is susceptible to defects more than any other organ. Heart malformations, in fact, occur in roughly 1% of newborns. Moreover, cardiovascular disease arising during adult life is among the main causes of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. It is not surprising, therefore, that much effort is being channeled into understanding the development, physiology, and pathology of the cardiovascular system. MicroRNAs, a newly discovered class of small ribonucleotide-based regulators of gene expression, are being implicated in an increasing number of biological processes, and the study of their role in cardiovascular biology is just beginning. Here, we briefly overview microRNAs in general and report on the recent findings regarding their importance for the heart and vasculature, in particular. The new insights that are being gained will permit not only a greater understanding of cardiovascular pathologies but also, hopefully, the development of novel therapeutic strategies.

Evidence for distinct DNA- and RNA-based mechanisms of 5-fluorouracil cytotoxicity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

5-Fluorouracil (5FU) is an effective chemotherapeutic drug developed as an inhibitor of thymidylate synthetase (TS). Inhibition of TS leads to 'thymine-less death', a condition resulting from depletion of dTTP pools and misincorporation of dUTP into newly synthesized or repaired DNA. 5FU is also incorporated into RNA and a growing body of evidence suggests that RNA-based effects play a significant role in its cytotoxicity. Indeed, recent experiments in yeast showed that defects in the nuclear RNA exosome subunit Rrp6p cause hypersensitivity to 5FU. The present study asked whether the 5FU hypersensitivity of an rrp6-Delta yeast strain reflects the DNA- or RNA-based effects of 5FU. Genetic analyses suggest that while a DNA repair mutation, apn1-Delta, causes sensitivity to 5FU-induced DNA damage, an rrp6-Delta mutation causes hypersensitivity, due to the RNA-based effects of 5FU. Analysis of a strain with normal DNA and RNA metabolism grown in the presence of 5FU shows that UMP suppresses the 5FU-induced defect more than dTMP, suggesting that the RNA-based toxicity of 5FU predominates in these cells. These findings underscore the importance of understanding the RNA-based mechanism of 5FU cytotoxicity and highlight the use of yeast as a model system for elucidating its details.

Synthesis of FUDP-N-acetylglucosamine and FUDP-glucose in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells treated with 5-fluorouracil

Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells (strain W303-1A) treated with 5-fluorouracil and grown in 2% (fermentative conditions) or in 0.1% glucose (oxidative conditions) accumulated two types of 5-fluoro-UDP-sugars (FUDP-sugars): FUDP-N-acetylglucosamine and FUDP-glucose. No difference was observed in both conditions of culture. The viability of yeast cells on treatment with 5-fluorouracil was also followed. Both FUDP-sugars were partially purified by column chromatography (on Hypersil ODS and Mono Q columns) and characterized by: (i) treatment with alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1), snake venom phosphodiesterase (EC 3.1.4.1) and UDP-glucose dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.22); (ii) UV spectra; and (iii) matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass analysis and 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. The syntheses of both FUDP-sugars were inversely related to the concentration of uracil and directly related to the concentration of 5-fluorouracil in the culture medium. The strain W303-1A, requiring uracil for growth, was useful as a tool to analyze the effect of 5-fluorouracil on nucleotide metabolism.

Uracil incorporation into genomic DNA does not predict toxicity caused by chemotherapeutic inhibition of thymidylate synthase

Thymidylate synthase (TS) is an important target of several chemotherapeutic agents, including 5-FU and raltitrexed (Tomudex). During TS inhibition, TTP levels decrease with a subsequent increase in dUTP. Uracil incorporated into the genome is removed by base excision repair (BER). Thus, BER initiated by uracil DNA glycosylase (UDG) activity has been hypothesized to influence the toxicity induced by TS inhibitors. In this study we created a human cell line expressing the Ugi protein inhibitor of UNG family of UDGs, which reduces cellular UDG activity by at least 45-fold. Genomic uracil incorporation was directly measured by mass spectrometry following treatment with TS inhibitors. Genomic uracil levels were increased over 4-fold following TS inhibition in the Ugi-expressing cells, but did not detectably increase in UNG proficient cells. Despite the difference in genomic uracil levels, there was no difference in toxicity between the UNG proficient and UNG-inhibited cells to folate or nucleotide-based inhibitors of TS. Cell cycle analysis showed that UNG proficient and UNG-inhibited cells arrested in early S-phase and resumed replication progression during recovery from RTX treatment almost identically. The induction of gamma-H2AX was measured following TS inhibition as a measure of whether uracil excision promoted DNA double strand break formation during S-phase arrest. Although gamma-H2AX was detectable following TS inhibition, there was no difference between UNG proficient and UNG-inhibited cells. We therefore conclude that uracil excision initiated by UNG does not adequately explain the toxicity caused by TS inhibition in this model.

Enzymatic capture of an extrahelical thymine in the search for uracil in DNA

The enzyme uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG) excises unwanted uracil bases in the genome using an extrahelical base recognition mechanism. Efficient removal of uracil is essential for prevention of C-to-T transition mutations arising from cytosine deamination, cytotoxic U*A pairs arising from incorporation of dUTP in DNA, and for increasing immunoglobulin gene diversity during the acquired immune response. A central event in all of these UNG-mediated processes is the singling out of rare U*A or U*G base pairs in a background of approximately 10(9) T*A or C*G base pairs in the human genome. Here we establish for the human and Escherichia coli enzymes that discrimination of thymine and uracil is initiated by thermally induced opening of T*A and U*A base pairs and not by active participation of the enzyme. Thus, base-pair dynamics has a critical role in the genome-wide search for uracil, and may be involved in initial damage recognition by other DNA repair glycosylases.

MicroRNAs in the human heart: a clue to fetal gene reprogramming in heart failure

BACKGROUND

Chronic heart failure is characterized by left ventricular remodeling and reactivation of a fetal gene program; the underlying mechanisms are only partly understood. Here we provide evidence that cardiac microRNAs, recently discovered key regulators of gene expression, contribute to the transcriptional changes observed in heart failure.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Cardiac transcriptome analyses revealed striking similarities between fetal and failing human heart tissue. Using microRNA arrays, we discovered profound alterations of microRNA expression in failing hearts. These changes closely mimicked the microRNA expression pattern observed in fetal cardiac tissue. Bioinformatic analysis demonstrated a striking concordance between regulated messenger RNA expression in heart failure and the presence of microRNA binding sites in the respective 3' untranslated regions. Messenger RNAs upregulated in the failing heart contained preferentially binding sites for downregulated microRNAs and vice versa. Mechanistically, transfection of cardiomyocytes with a set of fetal microRNAs induced cellular hypertrophy as well as changes in gene expression comparable to the failing heart.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data support a novel mode of regulation for the transcriptional changes in cardiac failure. Reactivation of a fetal microRNA program substantially contributes to alterations of gene expression in the failing human heart.

Marek's disease virus type 2 (MDV-2)-encoded microRNAs show no sequence conservation with those encoded by MDV-1

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are increasingly being recognized as major regulators of gene expression in many organisms, including viruses. Among viruses, members of the family Herpesviridae account for the majority of the currently known virus-encoded miRNAs. The highly oncogenic Marek's disease virus type 1 (MDV-1), an avian herpesvirus, has recently been shown to encode eight miRNAs clustered in the MEQ and LAT regions of the viral genome. The genus Mardivirus, to which MDV-1 belongs, also includes the nononcogenic but antigenically related MDV-2. As MDV-1 and MDV-2 are evolutionarily very close, we sought to determine if MDV-2 also encodes miRNAs. For this, we cloned, sequenced, and analyzed a library of small RNAs from the lymphoblastoid cell line MSB-1, previously shown to be coinfected with both MDV-1 and MDV-2. Among the 5,099 small RNA sequences determined from the library, we identified 17 novel MDV-2-specific miRNAs. Out of these, 16 were clustered in a 4.2-kb long repeat region that encodes R-LORF2 to R-LORF5. The single miRNA outside the cluster was located in the short repeat region, within the C-terminal region of the ICP4 homolog. The expression of these miRNAs in MSB-1 cells and infected chicken embryo fibroblasts was further confirmed by Northern blotting analysis. The identification of miRNA clusters within the repeat regions of MDV-2 demonstrates conservation of the relative genomic positions of miRNA clusters in MDV-1 and MDV-2, despite the lack of sequence homology among the miRNAs of the two viruses. The identification of these novel miRNAs adds to the growing list of virus-encoded miRNAs.

5-Fluorouracil incorporated into DNA is excised by the Smug1 DNA glycosylase to reduce drug cytotoxicity

5-Fluorouracil (FU) has been widely used for more than four decades in the treatment of a range of common cancers. The fluorine-substituted uracil analogue is converted to several active metabolites but the mechanism of cytotoxicity has remained unclear. In a widely cited but unsubstantiated model, FU is thought to kill cells via the inhibition of thymidylate synthase and increased use of dUTP in place of TTP during DNA replication, with subsequent excision of high levels of uracil causing the fragmentation of newly synthesized DNA. Using gene-targeted cell lines defective in one or both of the two mammalian uracil-DNA glycosylase repair enzymes, we were able to test this model of FU cytotoxicity. Here, we show that incorporation of FU itself into DNA has been previously underestimated and is a predominant cause of cytotoxicity. FU readily becomes incorporated into the DNA of drug-treated cells, and accumulation of FU in the genome, rather than uracil excision, is correlated with FU cytotoxicity in mammalian cells. Furthermore, the Smug1, but not the Ung, uracil-DNA glycosylase excises FU from DNA and protects against cell killing. The data provides a clearer understanding of the action of FU, suggesting predictive biomarkers of drug response and a mechanism for acquired resistance in tumors.

Transcripts targeted by the microRNA-16 family cooperatively regulate cell cycle progression

microRNAs (miRNAs) are abundant, approximately 21-nucleotide, noncoding regulatory RNAs. Each miRNA may regulate hundreds of mRNA targets, but the identities of these targets and the processes they regulate are poorly understood. Here we have explored the use of microarray profiling and functional screening to identify targets and biological processes triggered by the transfection of human cells with miRNAs. We demonstrate that a family of miRNAs sharing sequence identity with miRNA-16 (miR-16) negatively regulates cellular growth and cell cycle progression. miR-16-down-regulated transcripts were enriched with genes whose silencing by small interfering RNAs causes an accumulation of cells in G(0)/G(1). Simultaneous silencing of these genes was more effective at blocking cell cycle progression than disruption of the individual genes. Thus, miR-16 coordinately regulates targets that may act in concert to control cell cycle progression.

MicroRNAs play an essential role in the development of cardiac hypertrophy

MicroRNAs are naturally existing, small, noncoding RNA molecules that downregulate posttranscriptional gene expression. Their expression pattern and function in the heart remain unknown. Here we report an array of microRNAs that are differentially and temporally regulated during cardiac hypertrophy. Significantly, the muscle-specific microRNA-1 (miR-1) was singularly downregulated as early as day 1 (0.56+/-0.036), persisting through day 7 (0.29+/-0.14), after aortic constriction-induced hypertrophy in a mouse model. Overexpression experiments showed that miR-1 inhibited its in silico-predicted, growth-related targets, including Ras GTPase-activating protein (RasGAP), cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (Cdk9), fibronectin, and Ras homolog enriched in brain (Rheb), in addition to protein synthesis and cell size. Thus, we propose that microRNAs play an essential regulatory role in the development of cardiac hypertrophy, wherein downregulation of miR-1 is necessary for the relief of growth-related target genes from its repressive influence and induction of hypertrophy.

Mimicking damaged DNA with a small molecule inhibitor of human UNG2

Human nuclear uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG2) is a cellular DNA repair enzyme that is essential for a number of diverse biological phenomena ranging from antibody diversification to B-cell lymphomas and type-1 human immunodeficiency virus infectivity. During each of these processes, UNG2 recognizes uracilated DNA and excises the uracil base by flipping it into the enzyme active site. We have taken advantage of the extrahelical uracil recognition mechanism to build large small-molecule libraries in which uracil is tethered via flexible alkane linkers to a collection of secondary binding elements. This high-throughput synthesis and screening approach produced two novel uracil-tethered inhibitors of UNG2, the best of which was crystallized with the enzyme. Remarkably, this inhibitor mimics the crucial hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions previously observed in UNG2 complexes with damaged uracilated DNA. Thus, the environment of the binding site selects for library ligands that share these DNA features. This is a general approach to rapid discovery of inhibitors of enzymes that recognize extrahelical damaged bases.

Synthesis and high-throughput evaluation of triskelion uracil libraries for inhibition of human dUTPase and UNG2

Human nuclear uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG2) and deoxyuridine triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase (dUTPase) are the primary enzymes that prevent the incorporation and accumulation of deoxyuridine in genomic DNA. These enzymes are desirable targets for small molecule inhibitors given their roles in a wide range of biological processes ranging from chromosomal rearrangements that lead to cancer, viral DNA replication, and the formation of toxic DNA strand breaks during anticancer drug therapy. To accelerate the discovery of such inhibitors, we have developed a high-throughput approach for directed library synthesis and screening. In this efficient technology, a uracil-aldehyde ligand is covalently tethered to one position of a trivalent alkyloxyamine linker via an oxime linkage, and then the vacant linker positions are derivatized with a library of aldehydes. The resulting triskelion oximes were directly screened for inhibitory activity and the most potent of these showed micromolar binding affinities to UNG2 and dUTPase.