Standard role for a conserved aspartate or more direct involvement in deglycosylation? An ONIOM and MD investigation of adenine-DNA glycosylase

Eliminating Imaginary Vibrational Frequencies in Quantum-Chemical Cluster Models of Enzymatic Active Sites

In constructing finite models of enzyme active sites for quantum-chemical calculations, atoms at the periphery of the model must be constrained to prevent unphysical rearrangements during geometry relaxation. A simple fixed-atom or "coordinate-lock" approach is commonly employed but leads to undesirable artifacts in the form of small imaginary frequencies. These preclude evaluation of finite-temperature free-energy corrections, limiting thermochemical calculations to enthalpies only. Full-dimensional vibrational frequency calculations are possible by replacing the fixed-atom constraints with harmonic confining potentials. Here, we compare that approach to an alternative strategy in which fixed-atom contributions to the Hessian are simply omitted. While the latter strategy does eliminate imaginary frequencies, it tends to underestimate both the zero-point energy and the vibrational entropy while introducing artificial rigidity. Harmonic confining potentials eliminate imaginary frequencies and provide a flexible means to construct active-site models that can be used in unconstrained geometry relaxations, affording better convergence of reaction energies and barrier heights with respect to the model size, as compared to models with fixed-atom constraints.

Preorganized Internal Electric Field Promotes a Double-Displacement Mechanism for the Adenine Excision Reaction by Adenine DNA Glycosylase

Adenine DNA glycosylase (MutY) is a monofunctional glycosylase, removing adenines (A) misinserted opposite 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (OG), a common product of oxidative damage to DNA. Through multiscale calculations, we decipher a detailed adenine excision mechanism of MutY that is consistent with all available experimental data, involving an initial protonation step and two nucleophilic displacement steps. During the first displacement step, N-glycosidic bond cleavage is accompanied by the attack of the carboxylate group of residue Asp144 at the anomeric carbon (C1'), forming a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate to stabilize the fleeting oxocarbenium ion. After departure of the excised base, water nucleophiles can be recruited to displace Asp144, completing the catalytic cycle with retention of stereochemistry at the C1' position. The two displacement reactions are found to mostly involve the movement of the oxocarbenium ion, occurring with large charge reorganization and thus sensitive to the internal electric field (IEF) exerted by the polar protein environment. Intriguingly, we find that the negatively charged carboxylate group is a good nucleophile for the oxocarbenium ion, yet an unactivated water molecule is not, and that the electric field catalysis strategy is used by the enzyme to enable its unique double-displacement reaction mechanism. A strong IEF, pointing toward 5' direction of the substrate sugar ring, greatly facilitates the second displacement reaction at the expense of elevating the barrier of the first one, thereby allowing both reactions to occur. These findings not only increase our understanding of the strategies used by DNA glycosylases to repair DNA lesions, but also have important implications for how internal/external electric field can be applied to modulate chemical reactions.

Distinctive Formation of a DNA-Protein Cross-Link during the Repair of DNA Oxidative Damage: Insights into Human Disease from MD Simulations and QM/MM Calculations

Reactive oxygen species damage DNA and result in health issues. The major damage product, 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8oG), is repaired by human adenine DNA glycosylase homologue (MUTYH). Although MUTYH misfunction is associated with a genetic disorder called MUTYH-associated polyposis (MAP) and MUTYH is a potential target for cancer drugs, the catalytic mechanism required to develop disease treatments is debated in the literature. This study uses molecular dynamics simulations and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics techniques initiated from DNA-protein complexes that represent different stages of the repair pathway to map the catalytic mechanism of the wild-type MUTYH bacterial homologue (MutY). This multipronged computational approach characterizes a DNA-protein cross-linking mechanism that is consistent with all previous experimental data and is a distinct pathway across the broad class of monofunctional glycosylase repair enzymes. In addition to clarifying how the cross-link is formed, accommodated by the enzyme, and hydrolyzed for product release, our calculations rationalize why cross-link formation is favored over immediate glycosidic bond hydrolysis, the accepted mechanism for all other monofunctional DNA glycosylases to date. Calculations on the Y126F mutant MutY highlight critical roles for active site residues throughout the reaction, while investigation of the N146S mutant rationalizes the connection between the analogous N224S MUTYH mutation and MAP. In addition to furthering our knowledge of the chemistry associated with a devastating disorder, the structural information gained about the distinctive MutY mechanism compared to other repair enzymes represents an important step for the development of specific and potent small-molecule inhibitors as cancer therapeutics.

Mechanistic Investigation of Lysine-Targeted Covalent Inhibition of PI3Kδ via ONIOM QM:QM Computations

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) enzymes are important drug targets, especially in oncology, and several inhibitors are currently under investigation in clinical trials for the treatment of lymphocytic leukemia, follicular lymphoma, breast, thyroid, colorectal, and lung cancer. Targeted covalent inhibitors hold significant promise for drug discovery research especially for kinases. Targeting the lysine residues attracts attention as a new strategy in designing targeted covalent inhibitors, since the lysine residue provides several advantages over the traditional cysteine residue. Recently, new highly selective covalent inhibitors of PI3Kδ with activated ester warheads, targeting the conserved Lys779 residue, were reported. Based on the observed kinetics, a covalent inhibition mechanism was proposed, but the atomistic details of the reaction are still not understood. Therefore, in the present work, we have conducted quantum chemical ONIOM M06-2X/6-31+G(d,p):PM6 calculations on the active site cluster structure of PI3Kδ to elucidate the microscopic details of the mechanism of the aminolysis reaction between Lys779 and the ester inhibitors. Our calculations clearly discriminate the noncovalent methyl ester inhibitor and the covalent inhibitors with activated phenolic esters. For the representative p-NO₂, p-F, p-H, and p-OCH₃ phenolic esters, the Gibbs free energy profiles of alternative mechanistic paths through either Asp782 or Asp911 demonstrate the modulatory role of active site aspartate residues. The most plausible path alters depending on the electron-withdrawing/donating nature of the p-substituted phenolate leaving group. Inhibitors with sufficiently strong electron-withdrawing group prefer direct dissociation of the leaving group from the tetrahedral zwitterion intermediate, while the ones with electron-donating group favor the formation of a neutral tetrahedral intermediate prior to the dissociation. The relative Gibbs free energy barriers of p-NO₂ < p-F < p-H < p-OCH₃ substituted phenyl esters display the same qualitative trend as the experimentally measured k_inact/K_I values. Our results provide in depth insight into the mechanism, which can pave the way for optimizing the inhibitor efficiency.

DNA glycosylases for 8-oxoguanine repair in Staphylococcus aureus

GO system is part of base excision DNA repair and is required for the correct repair of 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG), one of the most abundant oxidative lesions. Due to the ability of 8-oxoG to mispair with A, this base is highly mutagenic, and its repair requires two enzymes: Fpg that removes 8-oxoG from 8-oxoG:C pairs, and MutY that excises the normal A from 8-oxoG:A mispairs. Here we characterize the properties of putative GO system DNA glycosylases from Staphylococcus aureus, an important human opportunistic pathogen that causes hospital infections and presents a serious health concern due to quick spread of antibiotic-resistant strains. In addition to Fpg and MutY from the reference NCTC 8325 strain (SauFpg1 and SauMutY), we have also studied an Fpg homolog from a multidrug-resistant C0673 isolate (SauFpg2), which is different from SauFpg1 in its sequence. Both SauFpg enzymes showed the highest activity at pH 7.0-9.0 and NaCl concentrations 25-75 mM (SauFpg1) or 50-100 mM (SauFpg2), whereas SauMutY was active at a broad pH range and had a salt optimum at ∼75 mM NaCl. Both SauFpg1 and SauFpg2 bound and cleaved duplexes containing 8-oxoG, 5-hydroxyuracil, 5,6-dihydrouracil or apurinic/apyrimidinic site paired with C, T, or G, but not with A. For SauFpg1 and SauFpg2, 8-oxoG was the best substrate tested, and 5,6-dihydrouracil was the worst one. SauMutY efficiently excised adenine from duplex substrates containing A:8-oxoG or A:G pairs. SauFpg enzymes were readily trapped on DNA by NaBH₄ treatment, indicating formation of a Schiff base reaction intermediate. Surprisingly, SauMutY was also trapped significantly better than its E. coli homolog. All three S. aureus GO glycosylases drastically reduced spontaneous mutagenesis when expressed in an fpg mutY E. coli double mutant. Overall, we conclude that S. aureus possesses an active GO system, which could possibly be targeted for sensitization of this pathogen to oxidative stress.

DFT Study on the Deglycosylation of Methylated, Oxidized, and Canonical Pyrimidine Nucleosides in Water: Implications for Epigenetic Regulation and DNA Repair

Density functional theory (B3LYP) was used to characterize the kinetics and thermodynamics of the (nonenzymatic) deglycosylation in water for a variety of 2'-deoxycytidine (dC) and 2'-deoxyuridine (dU) nucleoside derivatives that differ in methylation and subsequent oxidation of the C5 substituent. A range of computational models are considered that combine implicit and explicit solvation of the nucleophile and nucleobase. Regardless of the model implemented, our calculations reveal that the glycosidic bond in dC is inherently more stable than that in dU. Furthermore, C5 methylation of either pyrimidine and subsequent oxidation of the methyl group yield overall small changes to the Gibbs reaction energy profiles and thereby preserve lower deglycosylation barriers for the dC compared to those for the dU nucleoside derivatives. However, hydrolytic deglycosylation becomes significantly more energetically favorable when 5-methyl-dC (5m-dC) undergoes two or three rounds of oxidation, with the Gibbs energy barrier decreasing and the reaction becoming more exergonic by up to 40 kJ/mol. In fact, two or three oxidation reactions from 5m-dC result in a deglycosylation barrier similar to that for dU, as well as those for the associated C5-methylated (2'-deoxythymidine) and oxidized (5-hydroxymethyl-dU) derivatives. These predicted trends in the inherent deglycosylation energetics in water directly correlate with the previously reported activity of thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG), which cleaves the glycosidic bond in select dC nucleosides as part of epigenetic regulation and in dU variants as part of DNA repair. Thus, our data suggests that fundamental differences in the intrinsic reactivity of the pyrimidine nucleosides help regulate the function of human enzymes that maintain cellular integrity.

QM/MM Study of the Reaction Catalyzed by Alkyladenine DNA Glycosylase: Examination of the Substrate Specificity of a DNA Repair Enzyme

Human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG) functions as part of the base excision repair pathway to excise structurally diverse oxidized and alkylated DNA purines. Specifically, AAG uses a water molecule activated by a general base and a nonspecific active site lined with aromatic residues to cleave the N-glycosidic bond. Despite broad substrate specificity, AAG does not target the natural purines (adenine (A) and guanine (G)). Using the ONIOM(QM:MM) methodology, we provide fundamental atomic level details of AAG bound to DNA-containing a neutral substrate (hypoxanthine (Hx)), a nonsubstrate (G), or a cationic substrate (7-methylguanine (7MeG)) and probe changes in the reaction pathway that occur when AAG targets different nucleotides. We reveal that subtle differences in protein-DNA contacts upon binding different substrates within the flexible AAG active site can significantly affect the deglycosylation reaction. Notably, we predict that AAG excises Hx in a concerted mechanism that is facilitated through correct alignment of the (E125) general base due to hydrogen bonding with a neighboring aromatic amino acid (Y127). Hx departure is further stabilized by π-π interactions with aromatic amino acids and hydrogen bonds with active site water. Despite possessing a similar structure to Hx, G is not excised since the additional exocyclic amino group leads to misalignment of the general base due to disruption of the key E125-Y127 hydrogen bond, the catalytically unfavorable placement of water within the active site, and weakened π-contacts between aromatic amino acids and the nucleobase. In contrast, cationic 7MeG does not occupy the same position within the AAG active site as G due to steric clashes with the additional N7 methyl group, which results in the correct alignment of the general base and permits nucleobase excision as observed for neutral Hx. Overall, our structural data rationalizes the observed substrate specificity of AAG and contributes to our fundamental understanding of enzymes with flexible active sites and broad substrate specificities.

Repair of 8-oxoG:A mismatches by the MUTYH glycosylase: Mechanism, metals and medicine

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) may infringe on the passing of pristine genetic information by inducing DNA inter- and intra-strand crosslinks, protein-DNA crosslinks, and chemical alterations to the sugar or base moieties of DNA. 8-Oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG) is one of the most prevalent DNA lesions formed by RONS and is repaired through the base excision repair (BER) pathway involving the DNA repair glycosylases OGG1 and MUTYH in eukaryotes. MUTYH removes adenine (A) from 8-oxoG:A mispairs, thus mitigating the potential of G:C to T:A transversion mutations from occurring in the genome. The paramount role of MUTYH in guarding the genome is well established in the etiology of a colorectal cancer predisposition syndrome involving variants of MUTYH, referred to as MUTYH-associated polyposis (MAP). In this review, we highlight recent advances in understanding how MUTYH structure and related function participate in the manifestation of human disease such as MAP. Here we focus on the importance of MUTYH's metal cofactor sites, including a recently discovered "Zinc linchpin" motif, as well as updates to the catalytic mechanism. Finally, we touch on the insight gleaned from studies with MAP-associated MUTYH variants and recent advances in understanding the multifaceted roles of MUTYH in the cell, both in the prevention of mutagenesis and tumorigenesis.

Cadmium(II) inhibition of human uracil-DNA glycosylase by catalytic water supplantation

Toxic metals are known to inhibit DNA repair but the underlying mechanisms of inhibition are still not fully understood. DNA repair enzymes such as human uracil-DNA glycosylase (hUNG) perform the initial step in the base excision repair (BER) pathway. In this work, we showed that cadmium [Cd(II)], a known human carcinogen, inhibited all activity of hUNG at 100 μM. Computational analyses based on 2 μs equilibrium, 1.6 μs steered molecular dynamics (SMD), and QM/MM MD determined that Cd(II) ions entered the enzyme active site and formed close contacts with both D145 and H148, effectively replacing the catalytic water normally found in this position. Geometry refinement by density functional theory (DFT) calculations showed that Cd(II) formed a tetrahedral structure with D145, P146, H148, and one water molecule. This work for the first time reports Cd(II) inhibition of hUNG which was due to replacement of the catalytic water by binding the active site D145 and H148 residues. Comparison of the proposed metal binding site to existing structural data showed that D145:H148 followed a general metal binding motif favored by Cd(II). The identified motif offered structural insights into metal inhibition of other DNA repair enzymes and glycosylases.

Evaluating the Substrate Selectivity of Alkyladenine DNA Glycosylase: The Synergistic Interplay of Active Site Flexibility and Water Reorganization

Human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG) functions as part of the base excision repair (BER) pathway by cleaving the N-glycosidic bond that connects nucleobases to the sugar-phosphate backbone in DNA. AAG targets a range of structurally diverse purine lesions using nonspecific DNA-protein π-π interactions. Nevertheless, the enzyme discriminates against the natural purines and is inhibited by pyrimidine lesions. This study uses molecular dynamics simulations and seven different neutral or charged substrates, inhibitors, or canonical purines to probe how the bound nucleotide affects the conformation of the AAG active site, and the role of active site residues in dictating substrate selectivity. The neutral substrates form a common DNA-protein hydrogen bond, which results in a consistent active site conformation that maximizes π-π interactions between the aromatic residues and the nucleobase required for catalysis. Nevertheless, subtle differences in DNA-enzyme contacts for different neutral substrates explain observed differential catalytic efficiencies. In contrast, the exocyclic amino groups of the natural purines clash with active site residues, which leads to catalytically incompetent DNA-enzyme complexes due to significant reorganization of active site water. Specifically, water resides between the A nucleobase and the active site aromatic amino acids required for catalysis, while a shift in the position of the general base (E125) repositions (potentially nucleophilic) water away from G. Despite sharing common amino groups, the methyl substituents in cationic purine lesions (3MeA and 7MeG) exhibit repulsion with active site residues, which repositions the damaged bases in the active site in a manner that promotes their excision. Overall, we provide a structural explanation for the diverse yet discriminatory substrate selectivity of AAG and rationalize key kinetic data available for the enzyme. Specifically, our results highlight the complex interplay of many different DNA-protein interactions used by AAG to facilitate BER, as well as the crucial role of the general base and water (nucleophile) positioning. The insights gained from our work will aid the understanding of the function of other enzymes that use flexible active sites to exhibit diverse substrate specificity.

Structure and stereochemistry of the base excision repair glycosylase MutY reveal a mechanism similar to retaining glycosidases

MutY adenine glycosylases prevent DNA mutations by excising adenine from promutagenic 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (OG):A mismatches. Here, we describe structural features of the MutY active site bound to an azaribose transition state analog which indicate a catalytic role for Tyr126 and approach of the water nucleophile on the same side as the departing adenine base. The idea that Tyr126 participates in catalysis, recently predicted by modeling calculations, is strongly supported by mutagenesis and by seeing close contact between the hydroxyl group of this residue and the azaribose moiety of the transition state analog. NMR analysis of MutY methanolysis products corroborates a mechanism for adenine removal with retention of stereochemistry. Based on these results, we propose a revised mechanism for MutY that involves two nucleophilic displacement steps akin to the mechanisms accepted for 'retaining' O-glycosidases. This new-for-MutY yet familiar mechanism may also be operative in related base excision repair glycosylases and provides a critical framework for analysis of human MutY (MUTYH) variants associated with inherited colorectal cancer.