The catalytic power of uracil DNA glycosylase in the opening of thymine base pairs

Dynamics of 8-Oxoguanine in DNA: Decisive Effects of Base Pairing and Nucleotide Context

8-Oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (oxoG), an abundant DNA lesion, can mispair with adenine and induce mutations. To prevent this, cells possess DNA repair glycosylases that excise either oxoG from oxoG:C pairs (bacterial Fpg, human OGG1) or A from oxoG:A mispairs (bacterial MutY, human MUTYH). Early lesion recognition steps remain murky and may include enforced base pair opening or capture of a spontaneously opened pair. We adapted the CLEANEX-PM NMR protocol to detect DNA imino proton exchange and analyzed the dynamics of oxoG:C, oxoG:A, and their undamaged counterparts in nucleotide contexts with different stacking energy. Even in a poorly stacking context, the oxoG:C pair did not open easier than G:C, arguing against extrahelical base capture by Fpg/OGG1. On the contrary, oxoG opposite A significantly populated the extrahelical state, which may assist recognition by MutY/MUTYH.

All-or-None Selectivity in Probing Polarity-Determined Trinucleotide Repeat Foldings with a Parity Resolution by a Beyond-Size-Matching Ligand

Abnormal amplification of trinucleotide repeats (TNRs) is associated with neurodegenerative diseases by forming a particular hairpin bulge. It is well known that the polarity and parity of TNRs can regulate the formed hairpin structures. Therefore, there is a great challenge to efficiently discriminate the hairpin structures of TNRs with substantial selectivity. Herein, we developed a fluorescent ligand of pseudohypericin (Pse) with a beyond-size-matching (BSM) geometry to selectively sense hairpin structures of GTC and CTG TNRs. The GTC hairpin structures can bind with Pse dominantly at extreme T-T mismatches by the virtue of their most extrahelical conformations, while there is no binding event to occur with the polarity-inverted counterpart CTG hairpin structures because of the limited space provided by their intrahelical T-T mismatches. In addition, this all-or-none response with the polarity-dependent folding (PoDF) is independent of the length of these TNRs. Interestingly, the parity-dependent folding (PaDF) of GTC hairpin structures can also be resolved. Besides pure TNRs, the competency of this BSM ligand to sense the PoDF and PaDF effects was also generalized to DNAs with TNRs occurring at loop and stem end regions. To our knowledge, this is the first experimental observation with the state-of-the-art performance over the fluorescence measurement of PoDF and PaDF in TNRs. Our work provides an expedient way to elucidate the TNR folding by designing ligands having BSM features.

Energy Landscapes for Base-Flipping in a Model DNA Duplex

We explore the process of base-flipping for four central bases, adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine, in a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) duplex using the energy landscape perspective. NMR imino-proton exchange and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy studies have been used in previous experiments to obtain lifetimes for bases in paired and extrahelical states. However, the difference of almost 4 orders of magnitude in the base-flipping rates obtained by the two methods implies that they are exploring different pathways and possibly different open states. Our results support the previous suggestion that minor groove opening may be favored by distortions in the DNA backbone and reveal links between sequence effects and the direction of opening, i.e., whether the base flips toward the major or the minor groove side. In particular, base flipping along the minor groove pathway was found to align toward the 5′ side of the backbone. We find that bases align toward the 3′ side of the backbone when flipping along the major groove pathway. However, in some cases for cytosine and thymine, the base flipping along the major groove pathway also aligns toward the 5′ side. The sequence effect may be caused by the polar interactions between the flipping-base and its neighboring bases on either of the strands. For guanine flipping toward the minor groove side, we find that the equilibrium constant for opening is large compared to flipping via the major groove. We find that the estimated rates of base opening, and hence the lifetimes of the closed state, obtained for thymine flipping through small and large angles along the major groove differ by 6 orders of magnitude, whereas for thymine flipping through small angles along the minor groove and large angles along the major groove, the rates differ by 3 orders of magnitude.

Enhanced spontaneous DNA twisting/bending fluctuations unveiled by fluorescence lifetime distributions promote mismatch recognition by the Rad4 nucleotide excision repair complex

Rad4/XPC recognizes diverse DNA lesions including ultraviolet-photolesions and carcinogen-DNA adducts, initiating nucleotide excision repair. Studies have suggested that Rad4/XPC senses lesion-induced helix-destabilization to flip out nucleotides from damaged DNA sites. However, characterizing how DNA deformability and/or distortions impact recognition has been challenging. Here, using fluorescence lifetime measurements empowered by a maximum entropy algorithm, we mapped the conformational heterogeneities of artificially destabilized mismatched DNA substrates of varying Rad4-binding specificities. The conformational distributions, as probed by FRET between a cytosine-analog pair exquisitely sensitive to DNA twisting/bending, reveal a direct connection between intrinsic DNA deformability and Rad4 recognition. High-specificity CCC/CCC mismatch, free in solution, sampled a strikingly broad range of conformations from B-DNA-like to highly distorted conformations that resembled those observed with Rad4 bound; the extent of these distortions increased with bound Rad4 and with temperature. Conversely, the non-specific TAT/TAT mismatch had a homogeneous, B-DNA-like conformation. Molecular dynamics simulations also revealed a wide distribution of conformations for CCC/CCC, complementing experimental findings. We propose that intrinsic deformability promotes Rad4 damage recognition, perhaps by stalling a diffusing protein and/or facilitating ‘conformational capture’ of pre-distorted damaged sites. Surprisingly, even mismatched DNA specifically bound to Rad4 remains highly dynamic, a feature that may reflect the versatility of Rad4/XPC to recognize many structurally dissimilar lesions.

Base-pair Opening Dynamics of Nucleic Acids in Relation to Their Biological Function

Base-pair opening is a conformational transition that is required for proper biological function of nucleic acids. Hydrogen exchange, observed by NMR spectroscopic experiments, is a widely used method to study the thermodynamics and kinetics of base-pair opening in nucleic acids. The hydrogen exchange data of imino protons are analyzed based on a two-state (open/closed) model for the base-pair, where hydrogen exchange only occurs from the open state. In this review, we discuss examples of how hydrogen exchange data provide insight into several interesting biological processes involving functional interactions of nucleic acids: i) selective recognition of DNA by proteins; ii) regulation of RNA cleavage by site-specific mutations; iii) intermolecular interaction of proteins with their target DNA or RNA; iv) formation of PNA:DNA hybrid duplexes.

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This review systematically summarizes hydrogen exchange theory for base-paired imino protons of nucleic acids.

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Base-pair opening kinetics explain how the DNA can be selectively recognized by its target proteins.

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Base-pair opening kinetics explain the mechanisms by which site-specific mutations regulate RNA cleavage.

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Hydrogen exchange studies can elucidate the intermolecular interaction of proteins with their target DNA or RNA.

Energetics of base flipping at a DNA mismatch site confined at the latch constriction of α-hemolysin

Unique, two-state modulating current signatures are observed when a cytosine-cytosine mismatch pair is confined at the 2.4 nm latch constriction of the α-hemolysin (αHL) nanopore. We have previously speculated that the modulation is due to base flipping at the mismatch site. Base flipping is a biologically significant mechanism in which a single base is rotated out of the DNA helical stack by 180°. It is the mechanism by which enzymes are able to access bases for repair operations without disturbing the global structure of the helix. Here, temperature dependent ion channel recordings of individual double-stranded DNA duplexes inside αHL are used to derive thermodynamic (ΔH, ΔS) and kinetic (E_A) parameters for base flipping of a cytosine at an unstable cytosine-cytosine mismatch site. The measured activation energy for flipping a cytosine located at the latch of αHL out of the helix (18 ± 1 kcal mol^-1) is comparable to that previously reported for base flipping at mismatch sites from NMR measurements and potential mean force calculations. We propose that the αHL nanopore is a useful tool for measuring conformational changes in dsDNA at the single molecule level.

Uncovering universal rules governing the selectivity of the archetypal DNA glycosylase TDG

Thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) is a pivotal enzyme with dual roles in both genome maintenance and epigenetic regulation. TDG is involved in cytosine demethylation at CpG sites in DNA. Here we have used molecular modeling to delineate the lesion search and DNA base interrogation mechanisms of TDG. First, we examined the capacity of TDG to interrogate not only DNA substrates with 5-carboxyl cytosine modifications but also G:T mismatches and nonmismatched (A:T) base pairs using classical and accelerated molecular dynamics. To determine the kinetics, we constructed Markov state models. Base interrogation was found to be highly stochastic and proceeded through insertion of an arginine-containing loop into the DNA minor groove to transiently disrupt Watson-Crick pairing. Next, we employed chain-of-replicas path-sampling methodologies to compute minimum free energy paths for TDG base extrusion. We identified the key intermediates imparting selectivity and determined effective free energy profiles for the lesion search and base extrusion into the TDG active site. Our results show that DNA sculpting, dynamic glycosylase interactions, and stabilizing contacts collectively provide a powerful mechanism for the detection and discrimination of modified bases and epigenetic marks in DNA.

Search for DNA damage by human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase involves early intercalation by an aromatic residue

DNA repair enzymes recognize and remove damaged bases that are embedded in the duplex. To gain access, most enzymes use nucleotide flipping, whereby the target nucleotide is rotated 180° into the active site. In human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG), the enzyme that initiates base excision repair of alkylated bases, the flipped-out nucleotide is stabilized by intercalation of the side chain of tyrosine 162 that replaces the lesion nucleobase. Previous kinetic studies provided evidence for the formation of a transient complex that precedes the stable flipped-out complex, but it is not clear how this complex differs from nonspecific complexes. We used site-directed mutagenesis and transient-kinetic approaches to investigate the timing of Tyr162 intercalation for AAG. The tryptophan substitution (Y162W) appeared to be conservative, because the mutant protein retained a highly favorable equilibrium constant for flipping the 1,N6-ethenoadenine (ϵA) lesion, and the rate of N-glycosidic bond cleavage was identical to that of the wild-type enzyme. We assigned the tryptophan fluorescence signal from Y162W by removing two native tryptophan residues (W270A/W284A). Stopped-flow experiments then demonstrated that the change in tryptophan fluorescence of the Y162W mutant is extremely rapid upon binding to either damaged or undamaged DNA, much faster than the lesion-recognition and nucleotide flipping steps that were independently determined by monitoring the ϵA fluorescence. These observations suggest that intercalation by this aromatic residue is one of the earliest steps in the search for DNA damage and that this interaction is important for the progression of AAG from nonspecific searching to specific-recognition complexes.

Twist-open mechanism of DNA damage recognition by the Rad4/XPC nucleotide excision repair complex

DNA damage repair starts with the recognition of damaged sites from predominantly normal DNA. In eukaryotes, diverse DNA lesions from environmental sources are recognized by the xeroderma pigmentosum C (XPC) nucleotide excision repair complex. Studies of Rad4 (radiation-sensitive 4; yeast XPC ortholog) showed that Rad4 "opens" up damaged DNA by inserting a β-hairpin into the duplex and flipping out two damage-containing nucleotide pairs. However, this DNA lesion "opening" is slow (˜5-10 ms) compared with typical submillisecond residence times per base pair site reported for various DNA-binding proteins during 1D diffusion on DNA. To address the mystery as to how Rad4 pauses to recognize lesions during diffusional search, we examine conformational dynamics along the lesion recognition trajectory using temperature-jump spectroscopy. Besides identifying the ˜10-ms step as the rate-limiting bottleneck towards opening specific DNA site, we uncover an earlier ˜100- to 500-μs step that we assign to nonspecific deformation (unwinding/"twisting") of DNA by Rad4. The β-hairpin is not required to unwind or to overcome the bottleneck but is essential for full nucleotide-flipping. We propose that Rad4 recognizes lesions in a step-wise "twist-open" mechanism, in which preliminary twisting represents Rad4 interconverting between search and interrogation modes. Through such conformational switches compatible with rapid diffusion on DNA, Rad4 may stall preferentially at a lesion site, offering time to open DNA. This study represents the first direct observation, to our knowledge, of dynamical DNA distortions during search/interrogation beyond base pair breathing. Submillisecond interrogation with preferential stalling at cognate sites may be common to various DNA-binding proteins.

Base Flipping within the α-Hemolysin Latch Allows Single-Molecule Identification of Mismatches in DNA

A method for identifying and differentiating DNA duplexes containing the mismatched base pairs CC and CA at single molecule resolution with the protein pore α-hemolysin (αHL) is presented. Unique modulating current signatures are observed for duplexes containing the CC and CA mismatches when the mismatch site in the duplex is situated in proximity to the latch constriction of αHL during DNA residence inside the pore. The frequency and current amplitude of the modulation states are dependent on the mismatch type (CC or CA) permitting easy discrimination of these mismatches from one another, and from a fully complementary duplex that exhibits no modulation. We attribute the modulating current signatures to base flipping and subsequent interaction with positively charged lysine residues at the latch constriction of αHL. Our hypothesis is supported by the extended residence times of DNA duplexes within the pore when a mismatch is in proximity to the latch constriction, and by the loss of the two-state current signature in low pH buffers (<6.3), where the protonation of one of the cytosine bases increases the stability of the intrahelical state.

Lesion search and recognition by thymine DNA glycosylase revealed by single molecule imaging

The ability of DNA glycosylases to rapidly and efficiently detect lesions among a vast excess of nondamaged DNA bases is vitally important in base excision repair (BER). Here, we use single molecule imaging by atomic force microscopy (AFM) supported by a 2-aminopurine fluorescence base flipping assay to study damage search by human thymine DNA glycosylase (hTDG), which initiates BER of mutagenic and cytotoxic G:T and G:U mispairs in DNA. Our data reveal an equilibrium between two conformational states of hTDG–DNA complexes, assigned as search complex (SC) and interrogation complex (IC), both at target lesions and undamaged DNA sites. Notably, for both hTDG and a second glycosylase, hOGG1, which recognizes structurally different 8-oxoguanine lesions, the conformation of the DNA in the SC mirrors innate structural properties of their respective target sites. In the IC, the DNA is sharply bent, as seen in crystal structures of hTDG lesion recognition complexes, which likely supports the base flipping required for lesion identification. Our results support a potentially general concept of sculpting of glycosylases to their targets, allowing them to exploit the energetic cost of DNA bending for initial lesion sensing, coupled with continuous (extrahelical) base interrogation during lesion search by DNA glycosylases.

Computational rationale for the selective inhibition of the herpes simplex virus type 1 uracil-DNA glycosylase enzyme

The herpes simplex virus uracil-DNA glycosylase (hsvUNG) enzyme is responsible for the reactivation of the virus from latency and efficient viral replication in nerve tissue. The lack of uracil-DNA glycosylase enzyme in human neurons and the continuous deamination of cytosine create an environment where the presence of viral uracil-DNA glycosylase is a necessity for the proliferation of the virus. A series of 6-(4-alkylanilino)-uracil inhibitors has been developed that selectively and strongly binds to the hsvUNG enzyme while weakly binding to human uracil-DNA glycosylase (hUNG). Here, by using a combination of sequence and structural comparisons between the two enzymes along with free energy of binding computations and principal component analysis of the ligands, we investigate and rationalize the inhibitory effect of the 6-(4-alkylanilino)-uracil series as a function of alkyl chain length on the hsvUNG. The results of these computations corroborate the experimental finding that the inhibitor with an octyl aliphatic chain selectively binds hsvUNG best. More importantly we find that 6-(4-octylanilino)-uracil's selective inhibition of hsvUNG over hUNG is due to the combination of the solution preconfigured bent conformation of that specific chain length and the position of HIS92 (absent in hUNG) just outside hsvUNG's hydrophobic gorge lying adjacent to its uracil binding pocket. The similarities between the uracil binding pockets in hsvUNG and hUNG obfuscate an understanding of the preferential inhibition of the virus enzyme. However, the differences in the enzymes' shallow hydrophobic grooves adjacent to the binding pockets, such as the gorge we identify here, rationalizes 6-(4-alkylanilino)-uracil with an octyl chain length as an excellent pharmacophore template for hsvUNG inhibitor design.

Electrostatic properties of complexes along a DNA glycosylase damage search pathway

Human uracil DNA glycosylase (hUNG) follows an extended reaction coordinate for locating rare uracil bases in genomic DNA. This process begins with diffusion-controlled engagement of undamaged DNA, followed by a damage search step in which the enzyme remains loosely associated with the DNA chain (translocation), and finally, a recognition step that allows the enzyme to efficiently bind and excise uracil when it is encountered. At each step along this coordinate, the enzyme must form DNA interactions that are highly specialized for either rapid damage searching or catalysis. Here we make extensive measurements of hUNG activity as a function of salt concentration to dissect the thermodynamic, kinetic, and electrostatic properties of key enzyme states along this reaction coordinate. We find that the interaction of hUNG with undamaged DNA is electrostatically driven at a physiological concentration of potassium ions (ΔGelect = -3.5 ± 0.5 kcal mol(-1)), with only a small nonelectrostatic contribution (ΔGnon = -2.0 ± 0.2 kcal mol(-1)). In contrast, the interaction with damaged DNA is dominated by the nonelectrostatic free energy term (ΔGnon = -7.2 ± 0.1 kcal mol(-1)), yet retains the nonspecific electrostatic contribution (ΔGelect = -2.3 ± 0.2 kcal mol(-1)). Stopped-flow kinetic experiments established that the salt sensitivity of damaged DNA binding originates from a reduction of kon, while koff is weakly dependent on salt. Similar findings were obtained from the salt dependences of the steady-state kinetic parameters, where the diffusion-controlled kcat/Km showed a salt dependence similar to kon, while kcat (limited by product release) was weakly dependent on salt. Finally, the salt dependence of translocation between two uracil sites separated by 20 bp in the same DNA chain was indistinguishable from that of kon. This result suggests that the transition-state for translocation over this spacing resembles that for DNA association from bulk solution and that hUNG escapes the DNA ion cloud during translocation. These findings provide key insights into how the ionic environment in cells influences the DNA damage search pathway.

Induced Polarization Influences the Fundamental Forces in DNA Base Flipping

Base flipping in DNA is an important process involved in genomic repair and epigenetic control of gene expression. The driving forces for these processes are not fully understood, especially in the context of the underlying dynamics of the DNA and solvent effects. We studied double-stranded DNA oligomers that have been previously characterized by imino proton exchange NMR using both additive and polarizable force fields. Our results highlight the importance of induced polarization on the base flipping process, yielding near-quantitative agreement with experimental measurements of the equilibrium between the base-paired and flipped states. Further, these simulations allow us to quantify for the first time the energetic implications of polarization on the flipping pathway. Free energy barriers to base flipping are reduced by changes in dipole moments of both the flipped bases that favor solvation of the bases in the open state and water molecules adjacent to the flipping 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.

Measuring chromatin interaction dynamics on the second time scale at single-copy genes

The chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay is widely used to capture interactions between chromatin and regulatory proteins, but it is unknown how stable most native interactions are. Although live-cell imaging suggests short-lived interactions at tandem gene arrays, current methods cannot measure rapid binding dynamics at single-copy genes. We show, by using a modified ChIP assay with subsecond temporal resolution, that the time dependence of formaldehyde cross-linking can be used to extract in vivo on and off rates for site-specific chromatin interactions varying over a ~100-fold dynamic range. By using the method, we show that a regulatory process can shift weakly bound TATA-binding protein to stable promoter interactions, thereby facilitating transcription complex formation. This assay provides an approach for systematic, quantitative analyses of chromatin binding dynamics in vivo.

Distal structural elements coordinate a conserved base flipping network

One of the most dramatic illustrations of enzymatic promotion of a high-energy intermediate is observed in DNA modification and repair enzymes where an individual base is rotated (flipped) 180° around the deoxyribose-phosphate backbone and into the active site. While the end states have been extensively characterized, experimental techniques have yet to yield a full description of the base flipping process and the role played by the enzyme. The C5 cytosine methyltransferase M.HhaI coordinates an ensemble of reciprocal DNA and enzyme rearrangements to efficiently flip the target cytosine from the DNA helix. We sought to understand the role of individual amino acids during base flipping. Our results demonstrate that M.HhaI initiates base flipping before closure of the catalytic loop and utilizes the conserved serine 85 in the catalytic loop to accelerate flipping and maintain distortion of the DNA backbone. Serine 87, which forms specific contacts within the DNA helix after base flipping, is not involved in the flipping process or in maintaining the catalytically competent complex. At the base of the catalytic loop, glycine 98 acts as a hinge to allow conformational dynamism of the loop and mutation to alanine inhibits stabilization of the closed loop. Our results illustrate how an enzyme utilizes numerous, distal residues in concert to transform substrate recognition into catalysis.

Direct DNA Lesion Reversal and Excision Repair in Escherichia coli

Cellular DNA is constantly challenged by various endogenous and exogenous genotoxic factors that inevitably lead to DNA damage: structural and chemical modifications of primary DNA sequence. These DNA lesions are either cytotoxic, because they block DNA replication and transcription, or mutagenic due to the miscoding nature of the DNA modifications, or both, and are believed to contribute to cell lethality and mutagenesis. Studies on DNA repair in Escherichia coli spearheaded formulation of principal strategies to counteract DNA damage and mutagenesis, such as: direct lesion reversal, DNA excision repair, mismatch and recombinational repair and genotoxic stress signalling pathways. These DNA repair pathways are universal among cellular organisms. Mechanistic principles used for each repair strategies are fundamentally different. Direct lesion reversal removes DNA damage without need for excision and de novo DNA synthesis, whereas DNA excision repair that includes pathways such as base excision, nucleotide excision, alternative excision and mismatch repair, proceeds through phosphodiester bond breakage, de novo DNA synthesis and ligation. Cell signalling systems, such as adaptive and oxidative stress responses, although not DNA repair pathways per se, are nevertheless essential to counteract DNA damage and mutagenesis. The present review focuses on the nature of DNA damage, direct lesion reversal, DNA excision repair pathways and adaptive and oxidative stress responses in E. coli.

Combining H/D exchange mass spectroscopy and computational docking reveals extended DNA-binding surface on uracil-DNA glycosylase

X-ray crystallography provides excellent structural data on protein-DNA interfaces, but crystallographic complexes typically contain only small fragments of large DNA molecules. We present a new approach that can use longer DNA substrates and reveal new protein-DNA interactions even in extensively studied systems. Our approach combines rigid-body computational docking with hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (DXMS). DXMS identifies solvent-exposed protein surfaces; docking is used to create a 3-dimensional model of the protein-DNA interaction. We investigated the enzyme uracil-DNA glycosylase (UNG), which detects and cleaves uracil from DNA. UNG was incubated with a 30 bp DNA fragment containing a single uracil, giving the complex with the abasic DNA product. Compared with free UNG, the UNG-DNA complex showed increased solvent protection at the UNG active site and at two regions outside the active site: residues 210-220 and 251-264. Computational docking also identified these two DNA-binding surfaces, but neither shows DNA contact in UNG-DNA crystallographic structures. Our results can be explained by separation of the two DNA strands on one side of the active site. These non-sequence-specific DNA-binding surfaces may aid local uracil search, contribute to binding the abasic DNA product and help present the DNA product to APE-1, the next enzyme on the DNA-repair pathway.

Dynamics of uracil and 5-fluorouracil in DNA

The prodrug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), after activation into 5-F-dUMP, is an extensively used anticancer agent that inhibits thymidylate synthase and leads to increases in dUTP and 5-F-dUTP levels in cells. One mechanism for 5-FU action involves DNA polymerase mediated incorporation of dUTP and 5-F-dUTP into genomic DNA leading to U/A, 5-FU/A, or 5-FU/G base pairs. These uracil-containing lesions are recognized and excised by several human uracil excision repair glycosylases (hUNG2, hSMUG2, and hTDG) leading to toxic abasic sites in DNA that may precipitate cell death. Each of these enzymes uses an extrahelical base recognition mechanism, and previous studies with UNG have shown that extrahelical recognition is facilitated by destabilized base pairs possessing kinetically enhanced base pair opening rates. Thus, the dynamic properties of base pairs containing 5-FU and U are an important unknown in understanding the role of these enzymes in damage recognition and prodrug activation. The pH dependence of the (19)F NMR chemical shift of 5-FU imbedded in a model trinucleotide was used to obtain a pK(a) = 8.1 for its imino proton (10 °C). This is about 1.5 units lower than the imino protons of uracil or thymine and indicates that at neutral pH 5-FU exists significantly as an ionized tautomer that can mispair with guanine during DNA replication. NMR imino proton exchange measurements show that U/A and 5-FU/A base pairs open with rate constants (k(op)) that are 6- and 13-fold faster than a T/A base pair in the same sequence context. In contrast, these same base pairs have apparent opening equilibrium constants (αK(op)) that differ by less than a factor of 2, indicating that the closing rates (k(cl)) are enhanced by nearly equal amounts as k(op). These dynamic measurements are consistent with the previously proposed kinetic trapping model for extrahelical recognition by UNG. In this model, the enhanced intrinsic opening rates of destabilized base pairs allow the bound glycosylase to sample dynamic extrahelical excursions of thymidine and uracil bases as the first step in recognition.

On the molecular basis of uracil recognition in DNA: comparative study of T-A versus U-A structure, dynamics and open base pair kinetics

Uracil (U) can be found in DNA as a mismatch paired either to adenine (A) or to guanine (G). Removal of U from DNA is performed by a class of enzymes known as uracil–DNA–glycosylases (UDG). Recent studies suggest that recognition of U–A and U–G mismatches by UDG takes place via an extra-helical mechanism. In this work, we use molecular dynamics simulations to analyze the structure, dynamics and open base pair kinetics of U–A base pairs relative to their natural T–A counterpart in 12 dodecamers. Our results show that the presence of U does not alter the local conformation of B-DNA. Breathing dynamics and base pair closing kinetics are only weakly dependent on the presence of U versus T, with open T–A and U–A pairs lifetimes in the nanosecond timescale. Additionally, we observed spontaneous base flipping in U–A pairs. We analyze the structure and dynamics for this event and compare the results to available crystallographic data of open base pair conformations. Our results are in agreement with both structural and kinetic data derived from NMR imino proton exchange measurements, providing the first detailed description at the molecular level of elusive events such as spontaneous base pair opening and flipping in mismatched U–A sequences in DNA. Based on these results, we propose that base pair flipping can occur spontaneously at room temperature via a 3-step mechanism with an open base pair intermediate. Implications for the molecular basis of U recognition by UDG are discussed.

Detection of damaged DNA bases by DNA glycosylase enzymes

A fundamental and shared process in all forms of life is the use of DNA glycosylase enzymes to excise rare damaged bases from genomic DNA. Without such enzymes, the highly ordered primary sequences of genes would rapidly deteriorate. Recent structural and biophysical studies are beginning to reveal a fascinating multistep mechanism for damaged base detection that begins with short-range sliding of the glycosylase along the DNA chain in a distinct conformation we call the search complex (SC). Sliding is frequently punctuated by the formation of a transient "interrogation" complex (IC) where the enzyme extrahelically inspects both normal and damaged bases in an exosite pocket that is distant from the active site. When normal bases are presented in the exosite, the IC rapidly collapses back to the SC, while a damaged base will efficiently partition forward into the active site to form the catalytically competent excision complex (EC). Here we review the unique problems associated with enzymatic detection of rare damaged DNA bases in the genome and emphasize how each complex must have specific dynamic properties that are tuned to optimize the rate and efficiency of damage site location.

Uracil and thymine reactivity in the gas phase: the S(N)2 reaction and implications for electron delocalization in leaving groups

The gas-phase substitution reactions of methyl chloride and 1,3-dimethyluracil (at the N1-CH(3)) are examined computationally and experimentally. It is found that, although hydrochloric acid and 3-methyluracil are similar in acidity, the leaving group abilities of chloride and N1-deprotonated 3-methyluracil are not: chloride is a slightly better leaving group. The reason for this difference is most likely related to the electron delocalization in the N1-deprotonated 3-methyluracil anion, which we explore further herein. The leaving group ability of the N1-deprotonated 3-methyluracil anion relative to the N1-deprotonated 3-methylthymine anion is also examined in the context of an enzymatic reaction that cleaves uracil but not thymine from DNA.

Uracil-DNA glycosylase: Structural, thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of lesion search and recognition

Uracil appears in DNA as a result of cytosine deamination and by incorporation from the dUTP pool. As potentially mutagenic and deleterious for cell regulation, uracil must be removed from DNA. The major pathway of its repair is initiated by uracil-DNA glycosylases (UNG), ubiquitously found enzymes that hydrolyze the N-glycosidic bond of deoxyuridine in DNA. This review describes the current understanding of the mechanism of uracil search and recognition by UNG. The structure of UNG proteins from several species has been solved, revealing a specific uracil-binding pocket located in a DNA-binding groove. DNA in the complex with UNG is highly distorted to allow the extrahelical recognition of uracil. Thermodynamic studies suggest that UNG binds with appreciable affinity to any DNA, mainly due to the interactions with the charged backbone. The increase in the affinity for damaged DNA is insufficient to account for the exquisite specificity of UNG for uracil. This specificity is likely to result from multistep lesion recognition process, in which normal bases are rejected at one or several pre-excision stages of enzyme-substrate complex isomerization, and only uracil can proceed to enter the active site in a catalytically competent conformation. Search for the lesion by UNG involves random sliding along DNA alternating with dissociation-association events and partial eversion of undamaged bases for initial sampling.

NMR spectroscopic elucidation of the B-Z transition of a DNA double helix induced by the Z alpha domain of human ADAR1

The human RNA editing enzyme ADAR1 (double-stranded RNA deaminase I) deaminates adenine in pre-mRNA to yield inosine, which codes as guanine. ADAR1 has two left-handed Z-DNA binding domains, Z alpha and Z beta, at its NH(2)-terminus and preferentially binds Z-DNA, rather than B-DNA, with high binding affinity. The cocrystal structure of Z alpha(ADAR1) complexed to Z-DNA showed that one monomeric Z alpha(ADAR1) domain binds to one strand of double-stranded DNA and a second Z alpha(ADAR1) monomer binds to the opposite strand with 2-fold symmetry with respect to DNA helical axis. It remains unclear how Z alpha(ADAR1) protein specifically recognizes Z-DNA sequence in a sea of B-DNA to produce the stable Z alpha(ADAR1)-Z-DNA complex during the B-Z transition induced by Z alpha(ADAR1). In order to characterize the molecular recognition of Z-DNA by Z alpha(ADAR1), we performed circular dichroism (CD) and NMR experiments with complexes of Zalpha(ADAR1) bound to d(CGCGCG)(2) (referred to as CG6) produced at a variety of protein-to-DNA molar ratios. From this study, we identified the intermediate states of the CG6-Z alpha(ADAR1) complex and calculated their relative populations as a function of the Z alpha(ADAR1) concentration. These findings support an active B-Z transition mechanism in which the Z alpha(ADAR1) protein first binds to B-DNA and then converts it to left-handed Z-DNA, a conformation that is then stabilized by the additional binding of a second Z alpha(ADAR1) molecule.

DNA base repair--recognition and initiation of catalysis

Endogenous DNA damage induced by hydrolysis, reactive oxygen species and alkylation modifies DNA bases and the structure of the DNA duplex. Numerous mechanisms have evolved to protect cells from these deleterious effects. Base excision repair is the major pathway for removing base lesions. However, several mechanisms of direct base damage reversal, involving enzymes such as transferases, photolyases and oxidative demethylases, are specialized to remove certain types of photoproducts and alkylated bases. Mismatch excision repair corrects for misincorporation of bases by replicative DNA polymerases. The determination of the 3D structure and visualization of DNA repair proteins and their interactions with damaged DNA have considerably aided our understanding of the molecular basis for DNA base lesion repair and genome stability. Here, we review the structural biochemistry of base lesion recognition and initiation of one-step direct reversal (DR) of damage as well as the multistep pathways of base excision repair (BER), nucleotide incision repair (NIR) and mismatch repair (MMR).

Nontarget DNA binding shapes the dynamic landscape for enzymatic recognition of DNA damage

The DNA repair enzyme human uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG) scans short stretches of genomic DNA and captures rare uracil bases as they transiently emerge from the DNA duplex via spontaneous base pair breathing motions. The process of DNA scanning requires that the enzyme transiently loosen its grip on DNA to allow stochastic movement along the DNA contour, while engaging extrahelical bases requires motions on a more rapid timescale. Here, we use NMR dynamic measurements to show that free UNG has no intrinsic dynamic properties in the millisecond to microsecond and subnanosecond time regimes, and that the act of binding to nontarget DNA reshapes the dynamic landscape to allow productive millisecond motions for scanning and damage recognition. These results suggest that DNA structure and the spontaneous dynamics of base pairs may drive the evolution of a protein sequence that is tuned to respond to this dynamic regime.

How PspGI, catalytic domain of EcoRII and Ecl18kI acquire specificities for different DNA targets

Restriction endonucleases Ecl18kI and PspGI/catalytic domain of EcoRII recognize CCNGG and CCWGG sequences (W stands for A or T), respectively. The enzymes are structurally similar, interact identically with the palindromic CC:GG parts of their recognition sequences and flip the nucleotides at their centers. Specificity for the central nucleotides could be influenced by the strength/stability of the base pair to be disrupted and/or by direct interactions of the enzymes with the flipped bases. Here, we address the importance of these contributions. We demonstrate that wt Ecl18kI cleaves oligoduplexes containing canonical, mismatched and abasic sites in the central position of its target sequence CCNGG with equal efficiencies. In contrast, substitutions in the binding pocket for the extrahelical base alter the Ecl18kI preference for the target site: the W61Y mutant prefers only certain mismatched substrates, and the W61A variant cuts exclusively at abasic sites, suggesting that pocket interactions play a major role in base discrimination. PspGI and catalytic domain of EcoRII probe the stability of the central base pair and the identity of the flipped bases in the pockets. This ‘double check’ mechanism explains their extraordinary specificity for an A/T pair in the flipping position.

Uracil DNA glycosylase uses DNA hopping and short-range sliding to trap extrahelical uracils

The astonishingly efficient location and excision of damaged DNA bases by DNA repair glycosylases is an especially intriguing problem in biology. One example is the enzyme uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG), which captures and excises rare extrahelical uracil bases that have emerged from the DNA base stack by spontaneous base pair breathing motions. Here, we explore the efficiency and mechanism by which UNG executes intramolecular transfer and excision of two uracil sites embedded on the same or opposite DNA strands at increasing site spacings. The efficiency of intramolecular site transfer decreased from 41 to 0% as the base pair spacing between uracil sites on the same DNA strand increased from 20 to 800 bp. The mechanism of transfer is dominated by DNA hopping between landing sites of approximately 10 bp size, over which rapid 1D scanning likely occurs. Consistent with DNA hopping, site transfer at 20- and 56-bp spacings was unaffected by whether the uracils were placed on the same or opposite strands. Thus, UNG uses hopping and 3D diffusion through bulk solution as the principal pathways for efficient patrolling of long genomic DNA sequences for damage. Short-range sliding over the range of a helical turn allows for redundant inspection of very local DNA sequences and trapping of spontaneously emerging extrahelical uracils.

Extrahelical damaged base recognition by DNA glycosylase enzymes

The efficient enzymatic detection of damaged bases concealed in the DNA double helix is an essential step during DNA repair in all cells. Emergent structural and mechanistic approaches have provided glimpses into this enigmatic molecular recognition event in several systems. A ubiquitous feature of these essential reactions is the binding of the damaged base in an extrahelical binding mode. The reaction pathway by which this remarkable extrahelical state is achieved is of great interest and even more debate.

Electrostatic interactions play an essential role in DNA repair and cold-adaptation of uracil DNA glycosylase

Life has adapted to most environments on earth, including low and high temperature niches. The increased catalytic efficiency and thermoliability observed for enzymes from organisms living in constantly cold regions when compared to their mesophilic and thermophilic cousins are poorly understood at the molecular level. Uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG) from cod (cUNG) catalyzes removal of uracil from DNA with an increased k(cat) and reduced K(m) relative to its warm-active human (hUNG) counterpart. Specific issues related to DNA repair and substrate binding/recognition (K(m)) are here investigated by continuum electrostatics calculations, MD simulations and free energy calculations. Continuum electrostatic calculations reveal that cUNG has surface potentials that are more complementary to the DNA potential at and around the catalytic site when compared to hUNG, indicating improved substrate binding. Comparative MD simulations combined with free energy calculations using the molecular mechanics-Poisson Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) method show that large opposing energies are involved when forming the enzyme-substrate complexes. Furthermore, the binding free energies obtained reveal that the Michaelis-Menten complex is more stable for cUNG, primarily due to enhanced electrostatic properties, suggesting that energetic fine-tuning of electrostatics can be utilized for enzymatic temperature adaptation. Energy decomposition pinpoints the residual determinants responsible for this adaptation.

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.