1
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Yin L, Shi K, Aihara H. Structural basis of sequence-specific cytosine deamination by double-stranded DNA deaminase toxin DddA. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2023; 30:1153-1159. [PMID: 37460895 PMCID: PMC10442228 DOI: 10.1038/s41594-023-01034-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
The interbacterial deaminase toxin DddA catalyzes cytosine-to-uracil conversion in double-stranded (ds) DNA and enables CRISPR-free mitochondrial base editing, but the molecular mechanisms underlying its unique substrate selectivity have remained elusive. Here, we report crystal structures of DddA bound to a dsDNA substrate containing the 5'-TC target motif. These structures show that DddA binds to the minor groove of a sharply bent dsDNA and engages the target cytosine extruded from the double helix. DddA Phe1375 intercalates in dsDNA and displaces the 5' (-1) thymine, which in turn replaces the target (0) cytosine and forms a noncanonical T-G base pair with the juxtaposed guanine. This tandem displacement mechanism allows DddA to locate a target cytosine without flipping it into the active site. Biochemical experiments demonstrate that DNA base mismatches enhance the DddA deaminase activity and relax its sequence selectivity. On the basis of the structural information, we further identified DddA mutants that exhibit attenuated activity or altered substrate preference. Our studies may help design new tools useful in genome editing or other applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lulu Yin
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Institute for Molecular Virology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Ke Shi
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Institute for Molecular Virology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Hideki Aihara
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
- Institute for Molecular Virology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
- Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
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2
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Wang L, Song K, Yu J, Da LT. Computational investigations on target-site searching and recognition mechanisms by thymine DNA glycosylase during DNA repair process. Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai) 2022; 54:796-806. [PMID: 35593467 PMCID: PMC9828053 DOI: 10.3724/abbs.2022050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA glycosylase, as one member of DNA repair machineries, plays an essential role in correcting mismatched/damaged DNA nucleotides by cleaving the N-glycosidic bond between the sugar and target nucleobase through the base excision repair (BER) pathways. Efficient corrections of these DNA lesions are critical for maintaining genome integrity and preventing premature aging and cancers. The target-site searching/recognition mechanisms and the subsequent conformational dynamics of DNA glycosylase, however, remain challenging to be characterized using experimental techniques. In this review, we summarize our recent studies of sequential structural changes of thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) during the DNA repair process, achieved mostly by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Computational simulations allow us to reveal atomic-level structural dynamics of TDG as it approaches the target-site, and pinpoint the key structural elements responsible for regulating the translocation of TDG along DNA. Subsequently, upon locating the lesions, TDG adopts a base-flipping mechanism to extrude the mispaired nucleobase into the enzyme active-site. The constructed kinetic network model elucidates six metastable states during the base-extrusion process and suggests an active role of TDG in flipping the intrahelical nucleobase. Finally, the molecular mechanism of product release dynamics after catalysis is also summarized. Taken together, we highlight to what extent the computational simulations advance our knowledge and understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying the conformational dynamics of TDG, as well as the limitations of current theoretical work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingyan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine (Ministry of Education)Shanghai Center for Systems BiomedicineShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200240China
| | - Kaiyuan Song
- Key Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine (Ministry of Education)Shanghai Center for Systems BiomedicineShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200240China
| | - Jin Yu
- Department of Physics and AstronomyDepartment of ChemistryNSF-Simons Center for Multiscale Cell Fate ResearchUniversity of CaliforniaIrvineCA92697USA
| | - Lin-Tai Da
- Key Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine (Ministry of Education)Shanghai Center for Systems BiomedicineShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200240China,Correspondence address. Tel: +86-21-34207348; E-mail:
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3
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Votaw KA, McCullagh M. Characterization of the Search Complex and Recognition Mechanism of the AlkD-DNA Glycosylase. J Phys Chem B 2018; 123:95-105. [PMID: 30525620 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b09555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
DNA damage is a routine problem for cells, and pathways such as base excision repair have evolved to protect the genome by using DNA glycosylases to first recognize and excise lesions. The search mechanism of these enzymes is of particular interest due to the seemingly intractable problem of probing the billions of base pairs in the genome for potential damage. It has been hypothesized that glycosylases form multiple protein-DNA conformational states to efficiently search and recognize DNA lesions, ultimately only flipping out the damaged substrate into the active site. A unique DNA glycosylase, the Bacillus cereus AlkD enzyme, has been shown to excise damaged DNA without flipping the nucleobase into a protein binding pocket following lesion recognition. Here, we use microsecond-scale all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to characterize the AlkD recognition mechanism, putting it in perspective with other DNA glycosylases. We first identify and describe two distinct enzyme-DNA conformations of AlkD: the search complex (SC) and excision complex (EC). The SC is distinguished by the linearity of DNA, changes in four helical parameters in the vicinity of the lesion, and changes in distance between active site residues and the DNA. Free DNA simulations are used to demonstrate that the DNA structural deviations and increased active site interactions present in the EC are initiated by the recognition of a methylation-induced signal in the rises both 5' to the methylation and opposing this base. Our results support the hypothesis that subtle geometric distortions in DNA are recognized by AlkD and are consequently probed to initiate concerted protein and DNA conformational changes which prime excise without additional intermediate states. This mechanism is shown to be consistent among the three methylated DNA sequences that have been crystallized bound to AlkD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin A Votaw
- Department of Chemistry , Colorado State University , Fort Collins , Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Martin McCullagh
- Department of Chemistry , Colorado State University , Fort Collins , Colorado 80523, United States
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4
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Taylor EL, Kesavan PM, Wolfe AE, O'Brien PJ. Distinguishing Specific and Nonspecific Complexes of Alkyladenine DNA Glycosylase. Biochemistry 2018; 57:4440-4454. [PMID: 29940097 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.8b00531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG) recognizes many alkylated and deaminated purine lesions and excises them to initiate the base excision DNA repair pathway. AAG employs facilitated diffusion to rapidly scan nonspecific sites and locate rare sites of damage. Nonspecific DNA binding interactions are critical to the efficiency of this search for damage, but little is known about the binding footprint or the affinity of AAG for nonspecific sites. We used biochemical and biophysical approaches to characterize the binding of AAG to both undamaged and damaged DNA. Although fluorescence anisotropy is routinely used to study DNA binding, we found unexpected complexities in the data for binding of AAG to DNA. Systematic comparison of different fluorescent labels and different lengths of DNA allowed binding models to be distinguished and demonstrated that AAG can bind with high affinity and high density to nonspecific DNA. Fluorescein-labeled DNA gave the most complex behavior but also showed the greatest potential to distinguish specific and nonspecific binding modes. We suggest a unified model that is expected to apply to many DNA binding proteins that exhibit affinity for nonspecific DNA. Although AAG strongly prefers to excise lesions from duplex DNA, nonspecific binding is comparable for single- and double-stranded nonspecific sites. The electrostatically driven binding of AAG to small DNA sites (∼5 nucleotides of single-stranded and ∼6 base pairs of duplex) facilitates the search for DNA damage in chromosomal DNA, which is bound by nucleosomes and other proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin L Taylor
- Department of Biological Chemistry , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan 48109 , United States
| | - Preethi M Kesavan
- Department of Biological Chemistry , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan 48109 , United States
| | - Abigail E Wolfe
- Department of Biological Chemistry , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan 48109 , United States
| | - Patrick J O'Brien
- Department of Biological Chemistry , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan 48109 , United States
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5
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Hendershot JM, O'Brien PJ. Search for DNA damage by human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase involves early intercalation by an aromatic residue. J Biol Chem 2017; 292:16070-16080. [PMID: 28747435 PMCID: PMC5625039 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m117.782813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2017] [Revised: 07/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenna M Hendershot
- From the Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0600
| | - Patrick J O'Brien
- From the Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0600
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6
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Hendershot JM, O'Brien PJ. Transient Kinetic Methods for Mechanistic Characterization of DNA Binding and Nucleotide Flipping. Methods Enzymol 2017; 592:377-415. [PMID: 28668128 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2017.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Enzymes that modify nucleobases in double-stranded genomic DNA, either as part of a DNA repair pathway or as an epigenetic modifying pathway, adopt a multistep pathway to locate target sites and reconfigure the DNA to gain access. Work on several different enzymes has shown that in almost all cases base flipping, also known as nucleotide flipping, is a key feature of specific site recognition. In this chapter, we discuss some of the strategies that can be used to perform a kinetic characterization for DNA binding and nucleotide flipping. The resulting kinetic and thermodynamic framework provides a platform for understanding substrate specificity, mechanisms of inhibition, and the roles of important amino acids. We use a human DNA repair glycosylase called alkyladenine DNA glycosylase as a case study, because this is one of the best-characterized nucleotide-flipping enzymes. However, the approaches that are described can be readily adapted to study other enzymes, and future studies are needed to understand the mechanism of substrate recognition in each individual case. As more enzymes are characterized, we can hope to uncover which features of DNA searching and nucleotide flipping are fundamental features shared by many different families of DNA modifying enzymes, and which features are specific to a particular enzyme. Such an understanding provides reasonable models for less characterized enzymes that are important for epigenetic DNA modification and DNA repair pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Patrick J O'Brien
- University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
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7
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Abstract
Human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG) initiates base excision repair (BER) to guard against mutations by excising alkylated and deaminated purines. Counterintuitively, increased expression of AAG has been implicated in increased rates of spontaneous mutation in microsatellite repeats. This microsatellite mutator phenotype is consistent with a model in which AAG excises bulged (unpaired) bases, altering repeat length. To directly test the role of base excision in AAG-induced mutagenesis, we conducted mutation accumulation experiments in yeast overexpressing different variants of AAG and detected mutations via high-depth genome resequencing. We also developed a new software tool, hp_caller, to perform accurate genotyping at homopolymeric repeat loci. Overexpression of wild-type AAG elevated indel mutations in homopolymeric sequences distributed throughout the genome. However, catalytically inactive variants (E125Q/E125A) caused equal or greater increases in frameshift mutations. These results disprove the hypothesis that base excision is the key step in mutagenesis by overexpressed wild-type AAG. Instead, our results provide additional support for the previously published model wherein overexpressed AAG interferes with the mismatch repair (MMR) pathway. In addition to the above results, we observed a dramatic mutator phenotype for N169S AAG, which has increased rates of excision of undamaged purines. This mutant caused a 10-fold increase in point mutations at G:C base pairs and a 50-fold increase in frameshifts in A:T homopolymers. These results demonstrate that it is necessary to consider the relative activities and abundance of many DNA replication and repair proteins when considering mutator phenotypes, as they are relevant to the development of cancer and its resistance to treatment.
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8
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Davis MC, Kesthely CA, Franklin EA, MacLellan SR. The essential activities of the bacterial sigma factor. Can J Microbiol 2016; 63:89-99. [PMID: 28117604 DOI: 10.1139/cjm-2016-0576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Transcription is the first and most heavily regulated step in gene expression. Sigma (σ) factors are general transcription factors that reversibly bind RNA polymerase (RNAP) and mediate transcription of all genes in bacteria. σ Factors play 3 major roles in the RNA synthesis initiation process: they (i) target RNAP holoenzyme to specific promoters, (ii) melt a region of double-stranded promoter DNA and stabilize it as a single-stranded open complex, and (iii) interact with other DNA-binding transcription factors to contribute complexity to gene expression regulation schemes. Recent structural studies have demonstrated that when σ factors bind promoter DNA, they capture 1 or more nucleotides that are flipped out of the helical DNA stack and this stabilizes the promoter open-complex intermediate that is required for the initiation of RNA synthesis. This review describes the structure and function of the σ70 family of σ proteins and the essential roles they play in the transcription process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria C Davis
- Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, Canada.,Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, Canada
| | - Christopher A Kesthely
- Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, Canada.,Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, Canada
| | - Emily A Franklin
- Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, Canada.,Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, Canada
| | - Shawn R MacLellan
- Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, Canada.,Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, Canada
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9
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Parsons ZD, Bland JM, Mullins EA, Eichman BF. A Catalytic Role for C-H/π Interactions in Base Excision Repair by Bacillus cereus DNA Glycosylase AlkD. J Am Chem Soc 2016; 138:11485-8. [PMID: 27571247 PMCID: PMC5034759 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b07399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
DNA glycosylases protect genomic integrity by locating and excising aberrant nucleobases. Substrate recognition and excision usually take place in an extrahelical conformation, which is often stabilized by π-stacking interactions between the lesion nucleobase and aromatic side chains in the glycosylase active site. Bacillus cereus AlkD is the only DNA glycosylase known to catalyze base excision without extruding the damaged nucleotide from the DNA helix. Instead of contacting the nucleobase itself, the AlkD active site interacts with the lesion deoxyribose through a series of C-H/π interactions. These interactions are ubiquitous in protein structures, but evidence for their catalytic significance in enzymology is lacking. Here, we show that the C-H/π interactions between AlkD and the lesion deoxyribose participate in catalysis of glycosidic bond cleavage. This is the first demonstration of a catalytic role for C-H/π interactions as intermolecular forces important to DNA repair.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary D. Parsons
- Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA
| | - Joshua M. Bland
- Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA
| | - Elwood A. Mullins
- Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA
| | - Brandt F. Eichman
- Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA
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10
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Kuznetsov NA, Kiryutin AS, Kuznetsova AA, Panov MS, Barsukova MO, Yurkovskaya AV, Fedorova OS. The formation of catalytically competent enzyme-substrate complex is not a bottleneck in lesion excision by human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2016; 35:950-967. [PMID: 27025273 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2016.1171800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG) protects DNA from alkylated and deaminated purine lesions. AAG flips out the damaged nucleotide from the double helix of DNA and catalyzes the hydrolysis of the N-glycosidic bond to release the damaged base. To understand better, how the step of nucleotide eversion influences the overall catalytic process, we performed a pre-steady-state kinetic analysis of AAG interaction with specific DNA-substrates, 13-base pair duplexes containing in the 7th position 1-N6-ethenoadenine (εA), hypoxanthine (Hx), and the stable product analogue tetrahydrofuran (F). The combination of the fluorescence of tryptophan, 2-aminopurine, and 1-N6-ethenoadenine was used to record conformational changes of the enzyme and DNA during the processes of DNA lesion recognition, damaged base eversion, excision of the N-glycosidic bond, and product release. The thermal stability of the duplexes characterized by the temperature of melting, Tm, and the rates of spontaneous opening of individual nucleotide base pairs were determined by NMR spectroscopy. The data show that the relative thermal stability of duplexes containing a particular base pair in position 7, (Tm(F/T) < Tm(εA/T) < Tm(Hx/T) < Tm(A/T)) correlates with the rate of reversible spontaneous opening of the base pair. However, in contrast to that, the catalytic lesion excision rate is two orders of magnitude higher for Hx-containing substrates than for substrates containing εA, proving that catalytic activity is not correlated with the stability of the damaged base pair. Our study reveals that the formation of the catalytically competent enzyme-substrate complex is not the bottleneck controlling the catalytic activity of AAG.
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Affiliation(s)
- N A Kuznetsov
- a Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine , Lavrentyev Ave. 8, Novosibirsk 630090 , Russia.,c Department of Natural Sciences , Novosibirsk State University , Pirogova St. 2, Novosibirsk 630090 , Russia
| | - A S Kiryutin
- b International Tomography Center SB RAS, Institutskaya 3a , Novosibirsk 630090 , Russia.,c Department of Natural Sciences , Novosibirsk State University , Pirogova St. 2, Novosibirsk 630090 , Russia
| | - A A Kuznetsova
- a Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine , Lavrentyev Ave. 8, Novosibirsk 630090 , Russia
| | - M S Panov
- b International Tomography Center SB RAS, Institutskaya 3a , Novosibirsk 630090 , Russia.,c Department of Natural Sciences , Novosibirsk State University , Pirogova St. 2, Novosibirsk 630090 , Russia
| | - M O Barsukova
- c Department of Natural Sciences , Novosibirsk State University , Pirogova St. 2, Novosibirsk 630090 , Russia
| | - A V Yurkovskaya
- b International Tomography Center SB RAS, Institutskaya 3a , Novosibirsk 630090 , Russia.,c Department of Natural Sciences , Novosibirsk State University , Pirogova St. 2, Novosibirsk 630090 , Russia
| | - O S Fedorova
- a Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine , Lavrentyev Ave. 8, Novosibirsk 630090 , Russia
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11
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Zhang Y, O’Brien PJ. Repair of Alkylation Damage in Eukaryotic Chromatin Depends on Searching Ability of Alkyladenine DNA Glycosylase. ACS Chem Biol 2015; 10:2606-15. [PMID: 26317160 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.5b00409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG) initiates the base excision repair pathway by excising alkylated and deaminated purine lesions. In vitro biochemical experiments demonstrate that AAG uses facilitated diffusion to efficiently search DNA to find rare sites of damage and suggest that electrostatic interactions are critical to the searching process. However, it remains an open question whether DNA searching limits the rate of DNA repair in vivo. We constructed AAG mutants with altered searching ability and measured their ability to protect yeast from alkylation damage in order to address this question. Each of the conserved arginine and lysine residues that are near the DNA binding interface were mutated, and the functional impacts were evaluated using kinetic and thermodynamic analysis. These mutations do not perturb catalysis of N-glycosidic bond cleavage, but they decrease the ability to capture rare lesion sites. Nonspecific and specific DNA binding properties are closely correlated, suggesting that the electrostatic interactions observed in the specific recognition complex are similarly important for DNA searching complexes. The ability of the mutant proteins to complement repair-deficient yeast cells is positively correlated with the ability of the proteins to search DNA in vitro, suggesting that cellular resistance to DNA alkylation is governed by the ability to find and efficiently capture cytotoxic lesions. It appears that chromosomal access is not restricted and toxic sites of alkylation damage are readily accessible to a searching protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaru Zhang
- Chemical
Biology Program, University of Michigan, 210 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2216, United States
| | - Patrick J. O’Brien
- Chemical
Biology Program, University of Michigan, 210 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2216, United States
- Department
of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical School, 1150
W. Medical Center Dr., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0600, United States
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12
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Mullins EA, Shi R, Parsons ZD, Yuen PK, David SS, Igarashi Y, Eichman BF. The DNA glycosylase AlkD uses a non-base-flipping mechanism to excise bulky lesions. Nature 2015; 527:254-8. [PMID: 26524531 DOI: 10.1038/nature15728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2015] [Accepted: 09/18/2015] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Threats to genomic integrity arising from DNA damage are mitigated by DNA glycosylases, which initiate the base excision repair pathway by locating and excising aberrant nucleobases. How these enzymes find small modifications within the genome is a current area of intensive research. A hallmark of these and other DNA repair enzymes is their use of base flipping to sequester modified nucleotides from the DNA helix and into an active site pocket. Consequently, base flipping is generally regarded as an essential aspect of lesion recognition and a necessary precursor to base excision. Here we present the first, to our knowledge, DNA glycosylase mechanism that does not require base flipping for either binding or catalysis. Using the DNA glycosylase AlkD from Bacillus cereus, we crystallographically monitored excision of an alkylpurine substrate as a function of time, and reconstructed the steps along the reaction coordinate through structures representing substrate, intermediate and product complexes. Instead of directly interacting with the damaged nucleobase, AlkD recognizes aberrant base pairs through interactions with the phosphoribose backbone, while the lesion remains stacked in the DNA duplex. Quantum mechanical calculations revealed that these contacts include catalytic charge-dipole and CH-π interactions that preferentially stabilize the transition state. We show in vitro and in vivo how this unique means of recognition and catalysis enables AlkD to repair large adducts formed by yatakemycin, a member of the duocarmycin family of antimicrobial natural products exploited in bacterial warfare and chemotherapeutic trials. Bulky adducts of this or any type are not excised by DNA glycosylases that use a traditional base-flipping mechanism. Hence, these findings represent a new model for DNA repair and provide insights into catalysis of base excision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elwood A Mullins
- Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA
| | - Rongxin Shi
- Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA
| | - Zachary D Parsons
- Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA
| | - Philip K Yuen
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA
| | - Sheila S David
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA
| | - Yasuhiro Igarashi
- Biotechnology Research Center, Toyama Prefectural University, 5180 Kurokawa, Imizu, Toyama 939-0398, Japan
| | - Brandt F Eichman
- Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA
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13
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Buechner CN, Maiti A, Drohat AC, Tessmer I. Lesion search and recognition by thymine DNA glycosylase revealed by single molecule imaging. Nucleic Acids Res 2015; 43:2716-29. [PMID: 25712093 PMCID: PMC4357730 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkv139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia N Buechner
- Rudolf Virchow Center for Experimental Biomedicine, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Atanu Maiti
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Greenebaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Alexander C Drohat
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Greenebaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Ingrid Tessmer
- Rudolf Virchow Center for Experimental Biomedicine, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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14
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Taylor EL, O'Brien PJ. Kinetic mechanism for the flipping and excision of 1,N(6)-ethenoadenine by AlkA. Biochemistry 2015; 54:898-908. [PMID: 25537480 PMCID: PMC4310629 DOI: 10.1021/bi501356x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
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Escherichia coli 3-methyladenine DNA glycosylase
II (AlkA), an adaptive response glycosylase with a broad substrate
range, initiates base excision repair by flipping a lesion out of
the DNA duplex and hydrolyzing the N-glycosidic bond. We used transient
and steady state kinetics to determine the minimal mechanism for recognition
and excision of 1,N6-ethenoadenine (εA)
by AlkA. The natural fluorescence of this endogenously produced lesion
allowed us to directly monitor the nucleotide flipping step. We found
that AlkA rapidly and reversibly binds and flips out εA prior
to N-glycosidic bond hydrolysis, which is the rate-limiting step of
the reaction. The binding affinity of AlkA for the εA-DNA lesion
is only 40-fold tighter than for a nonspecific site and 20-fold weaker
than for the abasic DNA site. The mechanism of AlkA-catalyzed excision
of εA was compared to that of the human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase
(AAG), an independently evolved glycosylase that recognizes many of
the same substrates. AlkA and AAG both catalyze N-glycosidic bond
hydrolysis to release εA, and their overall rates of reaction
are within 2-fold of each other. Nevertheless, we find dramatic differences
in the kinetics and thermodynamics for binding to εA-DNA. AlkA
catalyzes nucleotide flipping an order of magnitude faster than AAG;
however, the equilibrium for flipping is almost 3 orders of magnitude
more favorable for AAG than for AlkA. These results illustrate how
enzymes that perform the same chemistry can use different substrate
recognition strategies to effectively repair DNA damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin L Taylor
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
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