MutS sliding clamps on an uncertain track to DNA mismatch repair

Bending of Canonical and G/T Mismatched DNAs

Mismatched base pairs alter the flexibility and intrinsic curvature of DNA. The role of such DNA features is not fully understood in the mismatch repair pathway. MutS/DNA complexes exhibit DNA bending, PHE intercalation, and changes of base-pair parameters near the mismatch. Recently, we have shown that base-pair opening in the absence of MutS can discriminate mismatches from canonical base pairs better than DNA bending. However, DNA bending in the absence of MutS was found to be rather challenging to describe correctly. Here, we present a computational study on the DNA bending of canonical and G/T mismatched DNAs. Five types of geometric parameters covering template-based bending toward the experimental DNA structure, global, and local geometry parameters were employed in biased molecular dynamics in the absence of MutS. None of these parameters showed higher discrimination than the base-pair opening. Only roll could induce a sharply localized bending of DNA as observed in the experimental MutS/DNA structure. Further, we demonstrated that the intercalation of benzene mimicking PHE decreases the energetic cost of DNA bending without any effect on mismatch discrimination.

Prerecognition Diffusion Mechanism of Human DNA Mismatch Repair Proteins along DNA: Msh2-Msh3 versus Msh2-Msh6

DNA mismatch repair (MMR) is an important postreplication process that eliminates mispaired or unpaired nucleotides to ensure genomic replication fidelity. In humans, Msh2-Msh6 and Msh2-Msh3 are the two mismatch repair initiation factors that recognize DNA lesions. While X-ray crystal structures exist for these proteins in complex with DNA lesions, little is known about their structures during the initial search along nonspecific double-stranded DNA, because they are short-lived and difficult to determine experimentally. In this study, various computational approaches were used to sidestep these difficulties. All-atom and coarse-grained simulations based on the crystal structures of Msh2-Msh3 and Msh2-Msh6 showed no translation along the DNA, suggesting that the initial search conformation differs from the lesion-bound crystal structure. We modeled probable search-mode structures of MSH proteins and showed, using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, that they can perform rotation-coupled diffusion on DNA, which is a suitable and efficient search mechanism for their function and one predicted earlier by fluorescence resonance energy transfer and fluorescence microscopy studies. This search mechanism is implemented by electrostatic interactions among the mismatch-binding domain (MBD), the clamp domains, and the DNA backbone. During simulations, their diffusion rate did not change significantly with an increasing salt concentration, which is consistent with observations from experimental studies. When the gap between their DNA-binding clamps was increased, Msh2-Msh3 diffused mostly via the clamp domains while Msh2-Msh6 still diffused using the MBD, reproducing the experimentally measured lower diffusion coefficient of Msh2-Msh6. Interestingly, Msh2-Msh3 was capable of dissociating from the DNA, whereas Msh2-Msh6 always diffused on the DNA duplex. This is consistent with the experimental observation that Msh2-Msh3, unlike Msh2-Msh6, can overcome obstacles such as nucleosomes. Our models provide a molecular picture of the different mismatch search mechanisms undertaken by Msh2-Msh6 and Msh2-Msh3, despite the similarity of their structures.