Carmelo J. Rizzo

Chemistry and Biology of DNA Containing 1,N2-Deoxyguanosine Adducts of the α,β-Unsaturated Aldehydes Acrolein, Crotonaldehyde, and 4-Hydroxynonenal

The α,β-unsaturated aldehydes (enals) acrolein, crotonaldehyde, and trans-4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) are products of endogenous lipid peroxidation, arising as a consequence of oxidative stress. The addition of enals to dG involves Michael addition of the N2-amine to give N2-(3-oxopropyl)-dG adducts, followed by reversible cyclization of N1 with the aldehyde, yielding 1,N2-dG exocyclic products. The 1,N2-dG exocyclic adducts from acrolein, crotonaldehyde, and 4-HNE exist in human and rodent DNA. The enal-induced 1,N2-dG lesions are repaired by the nucleotide excision repair pathway in both Escherichia coli and mammalian cells. Oligodeoxynucleotides containing structurally defined 1,N2-dG adducts of acrolein, crotonaldehyde, and 4-HNE were synthesized via a postsynthetic modification strategy. Site-specific mutagenesis of enal adducts has been carried out in E. coli and various mammalian cells. In all cases, the predominant mutations observed are G→T transversions, but these adducts are not strongly miscoding. When placed into duplex DNA opposite dC, the 1,N2-dG exocyclic lesions undergo ring opening to the corresponding N2-(3-oxopropyl)-dG derivatives. Significantly, this places a reactive aldehyde in the minor groove of DNA, and the adducted base possesses a modestly perturbed Watson−Crick face. Replication bypass studies in vitro indicate that DNA synthesis past the ring-opened lesions can be catalyzed by pol η, pol ι, and pol κ. It also can be accomplished by a combination of Rev1 and pol ζ acting sequentially. However, efficient nucleotide insertion opposite the 1,N2-dG ring-closed adducts can be carried out only by pol ι and Rev1, two DNA polymerases that do not rely on the Watson−Crick pairing to recognize the template base. The N2-(3-oxopropyl)-dG adducts can undergo further chemistry, forming interstrand DNA cross-links in the 5′-CpG-3′ sequence, intrastrand DNA cross-links, or DNA−protein conjugates. NMR and mass spectrometric analyses indicate that the DNA interstand cross-links contain a mixture of carbinolamine and Schiff base, with the carbinolamine forms of the linkages predominating in duplex DNA. The reduced derivatives of the enal-mediated N2-dG:N2-dG interstrand cross-links can be processed in mammalian cells by a mechanism not requiring homologous recombination. Mutations are rarely generated during processing of these cross-links. In contrast, the reduced acrolein-mediated N2-dG peptide conjugates can be more mutagenic than the corresponding monoadduct. DNA polymerases of the DinB family, pol IV in E. coli and pol κ in human, are implicated in error-free bypass of model acrolein-mediated N2-dG secondary adducts, the interstrand cross-links, and the peptide conjugates.

The mouse ortholog of NEIL3 is a functional DNA glycosylase in vitro and in vivo

To protect cells from oxidative DNA damage and mutagenesis, organisms possess multiple glycosylases to recognize the damaged bases and to initiate the Base Excision Repair pathway. Three DNA glycosylases have been identified in mammals that are homologous to the Escherichia coli Fpg and Nei proteins, Neil1, Neil2, and Neil3. Neil1 and Neil2 in human and mouse have been well characterized while the properties of the Neil3 protein remain to be elucidated. In this study, we report the characterization of Mus musculus (house mouse) Neil3 (MmuNeil3) as an active DNA glycosylase both in vitro and in vivo. In duplex DNA, MmuNeil3 recognizes the oxidized purines, spiroiminodihydantoin (Sp), guanidinohydantoin (Gh), 2,6-diamino-4-hydroxy-5-formamidopyrimidine (FapyG) and 4,6-diamino- 5-formamidopyrimidine (FapyA), but not 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG). Interestingly, MmuNeil3 prefers lesions in single-stranded DNA and in bubble structures. In contrast to other members of the family that use the N-terminal proline as the nucleophile, MmuNeil3 forms a Schiff base intermediate via its N-terminal valine. We expressed the glycosylase domain of MmuNeil3 (MmuNeil3Δ324) in an Escherichia coli triple mutant lacking Fpg, Nei, and MutY glycosylase activities and showed that MmuNeil3 greatly reduced both the spontaneous mutation frequency and the level of FapyG in the DNA, suggesting that Neil3 plays a role in repairing FapyG in vivo.

DNA Adduct Bypass Polymerization by Sulfolobus Solfataricus DNA Polymerase Dpo4: Analysis and Crystal Structures of Multiple Base Pair Substitution and Frameshift Products with the Adduct 1,N2-Ethenoguanine.

1,N2-Etheno(ϵ)guanine is a mutagenic DNA lesion derived from lipid oxidation products and also from some chemical carcinogens. Gel electrophoretic analysis of the products of primer extension by Sulfolobus solfataricus P2 DNA polymerase IV (Dpo4) indicated preferential incorporation of A opposite 3′-(1,N2-ϵ-G)TACT-5′, among the four dNTPs tested individually. With the template 3′-(1,N2-ϵ-G)CACT-5′, both G and A were incorporated. When primer extension was done in the presence of a mixture of all four dNTPs, high pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the products indicated that (opposite 3′-(1,N2-ϵ-G)CACT-5′) the major product was 5′-GTGA-3′ and the minor product was 5′-AGTGA-3′. With the template 3′-(1,N2-ϵ-G)TACT-5′, the following four products were identified by high pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry: 5′-AATGA-3′, 5′-ATTGA-3′, 5′-ATGA-3′, and 5′-TGA-3′. An x-ray crystal structure of Dpo4 was solved (2.1 Å) with a primer-template and A placed in the primer to be opposite the 1,N2-ϵ-G in the template 3′-(1,N2-ϵ-G)TACT 5′. The added A in the primer was paired across the template T with classic Watson-Crick geometry. Similar structures were observed in a ternary Dpo4-DNA-dATP complex and a ternary Dpo4-DNA-ddATP complex, with d(d)ATP opposite the template T. A similar structure was observed with a ddGTP adjacent to the primer and opposite the C next to 1,N2-ϵ-G in 3′-(1,N2-ϵ-G)CACT-5′. We concluded that Dpo4 uses several mechanisms, including A incorporation opposite 1,N2-ϵ-G and also a variation of dNTP-stabilized misalignment, to generate both base pair and frameshift mutations.

Role for DNA Polymerase κ in the Processing of N2-N2-Guanine Interstrand Cross-links

Although there exists compelling genetic evidence for a homologous recombination-independent pathway for repair of interstrand cross-links (ICLs) involving translesion synthesis (TLS), biochemical support for this model is lacking. To identify DNA polymerases that may function in TLS past ICLs, oligodeoxynucleotides were synthesized containing site-specific ICLs in which the linkage was between N2-guanines, similar to cross-links formed by mitomycin C and enals. Here, data are presented that mammalian cell replication of DNAs containing these lesions was ∼97% accurate. Using a series of oligodeoxynucleotides that mimic potential intermediates in ICL repair, we demonstrate that human polymerase (pol) κ not only catalyzed accurate incorporation opposite the cross-linked guanine but also replicated beyond the lesion, thus providing the first biochemical evidence for TLS past an ICL. The efficiency of TLS was greatly enhanced by truncation of both the 5 ′ and 3 ′ ends of the nontemplating strand. Further analyses showed that although yeast Rev1 could incorporate a dCTP opposite the cross-linked guanine, no evidence was found for TLS by pol ζ or a pol ζ/Rev1 combination. Because pol κ was able to bypass these ICLs, biological evidence for a role for pol κ in tolerating the N2-N2-guanine ICLs was sought; both cell survival and chromosomal stability were adversely affected in pol κ-depleted cells following mitomycin C exposure. Thus, biochemical data and cellular studies both suggest a role for pol κ in the processing of N2-N2-guanine ICLs.

Checkpoint Signaling from a Single DNA Interstrand Crosslink

DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICLs) are the most toxic lesions induced by chemotherapeutic agents such as mitomycin C and cisplatin. By covalently linking both DNA strands, ICLs prevent DNA melting, transcription, and replication. Studies on ICL signaling and repair have been limited, because these drugs generate additional DNA lesions that trigger checkpoint signaling. Here, we monitor sensing, signaling from, and repairing of a single site-specific ICL in cell-free extract derived from Xenopus eggs and in mammalian cells. Notably, we demonstrate that ICLs trigger a checkpoint response independently of origin-initiated DNA replication and uncoupling of DNA polymerase and DNA helicase. The Fanconi anemia pathway acts upstream of RPA-ATR-Chk1 to generate the ICL signal. The system also repairs ICLs in a reaction that involves extensive, error-free DNA synthesis. Repair occurs by both origin-dependent and origin-independent mechanisms. Our data suggest that cell sensitivity to crosslinking agents results from both checkpoint and DNA repair defects.

A Single Chiroptical Spectroscopic Method May Not Be Able To Establish the Absolute Configurations of Diastereomers: Dimethylesters of Hibiscus and Garcinia Acids

Electronic circular dichroism (ECD), optical rotatory dispersion (ORD), and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of hibiscus acid dimethyl ester have been measured and analyzed in combination with quantum chemical calculations of corresponding spectra. These results, along with those reported previously for garcinia acid dimethyl ester, reveal that none of these three (ECD, ORD, or VCD) spectroscopic methods, in isolation, can unequivocally establish the absolute configurations of diastereomers. This deficiency is eliminated when a combined spectral analysis of either ECD and VCD or ORD and VCD methods is used. It is also found that the ambiguities in the assignment of absolute configurations of diastereomers may also be overcome when unpolarized vibrational absorption is included in the spectral analysis.

Replication Bypass of the Acrolein-Mediated Deoxyguanine DNA- Peptide Cross-links by DNA polymerases of the DinB Family

DNA-protein cross-links (adducts) are formed in cellular DNA under a variety of conditions, particularly following exposure to an alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehyde, acrolein. DNA-protein cross-links are subject to repair or damage-tolerance processes. These adducts serve as substrates for proteolytic degradation, yielding DNA-peptide lesions that have been shown to be actively repaired by the nucleotide excision repair complex. Alternatively, DNA-peptide cross-links can be subjected to replication bypass. We present new evidence about the capabilities of DNA polymerases to synthesize DNA past such cross-links. DNAs were constructed with site-specific cross-links, in which either a tetrapeptide or a dodecylpeptide was covalently attached at the N (2) position of guanine via an acrolein adduct, and replication bypass assays were carried out with members of the DinB family of polymerases, human polymerase (pol) kappa, Escherichia coli pol IV, and various E. coli polymerases that do not belong to the DinB family. Pol kappa was able to catalyze both the incorporation and the extension steps with an efficiency that was qualitatively indistinguishable from control (undamaged) substrates. Fidelity was comparable on all of these substrates, suggesting that pol kappa would have a role in the low mutation frequency associated with replication of these adducts in mammalian cells. When the E. coli orthologue of pol kappa, damage-inducible DNA polymerase, pol IV, was analyzed on the same substrates, pause sites were detected opposite and three nucleotides beyond the site of the lesion, with incorporation opposite the lesion being accurate. In contrast, neither E. coli replicative polymerase, pol III, nor E. coli damage-inducible polymerases, pol II and pol V, could efficiently incorporate a nucleotide opposite the DNA-peptide cross-links. Consistent with a role for pol IV in tolerance of these lesions, the replication efficiency of DNAs containing DNA-peptide cross-links was greatly reduced in pol IV-deficient cells. Collectively, these data indicate an important role for the DinB family of polymerases in tolerance mechanisms of N (2)-guanine-linked DNA-peptide cross-links.

Versatility of Y-family Sulfolobus solfataricus DNA polymerase Dpo4 in translesion synthesis past bulky N2-alkylguanine adducts.

In contrast to replicative DNA polymerases, Sulfolobus solfataricus Dpo4 showed a limited decrease in catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) for insertion of dCTP opposite a series of N2-alkylguanine templates of increasing size from (methyl (Me) to (9-anthracenyl)-Me (Anth)). Fidelity was maintained with increasing size up to (2-naphthyl)-Me (Naph). The catalytic efficiency increased slightly going from the N2-NaphG to the N2-AnthG substrate, at the cost of fidelity. Pre-steady-state kinetic bursts were observed for dCTP incorporation throughout the series (N2-MeG to N2-AnthG), with a decrease in the burst amplitude and kpol, the rate of single-turnover incorporation. The pre-steady-state kinetic courses with G and all of the six N2-alkyl G adducts could be fit to a general DNA polymerase scheme to which was added an inactive complex in equilibrium with the active ternary Dpo4·DNA·dNTP complex, and only the rates of equilibrium with the inactive complex and phosphodiester bond formation were altered. Two crystal structures of Dpo4 with a template N2-NaphG (in a post-insertion register opposite a 3′-terminal C in the primer) were solved. One showed N2-NaphG in a syn conformation, with the naphthyl group located between the template and the Dpo4 “little finger” domain. The Hoogsteen face was within hydrogen bonding distance of the N4 atoms of the cytosine opposite N2-NaphG and the cytosine at the –2 position. The second structure showed N2-Naph G in an anti conformation with the primer terminus largely disordered. Collectively these results explain the versatility of Dpo4 in bypassing bulky G lesions.

Novel Enzymatic Function of DNA Polymerase v in Translesion DNA Synthesis Past Major Groove DNA―Peptide and DNA―DNA Cross-Links

DNA polymerase ν (POLN or pol ν) is a newly discovered A family polymerase that generates a high error rate when incorporating nucleotides opposite dG; its translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) capability has only been demonstrated for high fidelity replication bypass of thymine glycol lesions. In the current investigation, we describe a novel TLS substrate specificity of pol ν, demonstrating that it is able to bypass exceptionally large DNA lesions whose linkages are through the DNA major groove. Specifically, pol ν catalyzed efficient and high fidelity TLS past peptides linked to N6-dA via a reduced Schiff base linkage with a γ-hydroxypropano-dA. Additionally, pol ν could bypass DNA interstrand cross-links with linkage between N6-dAs in complementary DNA strands. However, the chemically identical DNA−peptide and DNA interstrand cross-links completely blocked pol ν when they were located in the minor groove via a N2-dG linkage. Furthermore, we showed that pol ν incorporated a nucleotide opposite the 1,N6-etheno-dA (εdA) in an error-free manner and (+)-trans-anti-benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-dihydrodiol 9,10-epoxide-dA [(+)-BPDE-dA] in an error-prone manner, albeit with a greatly reduced capability. Collectively, these data suggest that although pol ν bypass capacity cannot be generalized to all major groove DNA adducts, this polymerase could be involved in TLS when genomic replication is blocked by extremely large major groove DNA lesions. In view of the recent observation that pol ν may have a role in cellular tolerance to DNA cross-linking agents, our findings provide biochemical evidence for the potential functioning of this polymerase in the bypass of some DNA−protein and DNA−DNA cross-links.

Selective Incision of the alpha-N-Methyl-Formamidopyrimidine Anomer by Escherichia coli Endonuclease IV.

Formamidopyrimidines (Fapy) lesions result from ring opening of the imidazole portion of purines. Fapy lesions can isomerize from the natural β-anomeric stereochemistry to the α-configuration. We have unambiguously demonstrated that the α-methyl-Fapy-dG (MeFapy-dG) lesion is a substrate for Escherichia coli Endonuclease IV (Endo IV). Treatment of a MeFapy-dG-containing 24 mer duplex with Endo IV resulted in 36–40% incision. The catalytic efficiency of the incision was comparable to that of α-dG in the same duplex sequence. The α- and β-MeFapy-dG anomers equilibrate to ~21 : 79 ratio over ~3 days. Related studies with a duplex containing the α-Fapy-dG lesion derived from aflatoxin B1 epoxide (α-AFB-Fapy-dG) showed only low levels of incision. It is hypothesized that the steric bulk of the aflatoxin moiety interferes with the binding of the substrate to Endo IV and the incision chemistry.