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I H Goldberg

Publications and source records attributed to I H Goldberg.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Probing the structure of long single-stranded DNA fragments with neocarzinostatin chromophore. Extension of the base-catalyzed bulge-specific reaction.

The base-catalyzed (bc) thiol-independent cleavage reaction of neocarzinostatin chromophore (NCS chrom) has been characterized with long single-stranded (ss) DNA in order to use this reaction as a selective probe for the tertiary structure of naturally occurring ss nucleic acids. The ss circular phi chi 174 phage and M13mp18 phage DNAs (approximately 5000 and 7500 bases, respectively) were shown to be bc NCS chrom reaction substrates, exhibiting the expected pH dependence. The ss DNA fragments (150-450 bases) were cleaved at six major sites; the lesions occurred at T-rich non-double-stranded sequences, as predicted from comparison with the minimal energy secondary structures. These sites exhibited the expected pH and drug: DNA ratio dependence shown to be required for this reaction. Optimization of the shortest sequence, which gave the highest cleavage yield, identified the minimal sequence requirements for the site (19-mer of the sequence 3'TACTGAGTCTCCTTTTGTA5', attacked residue in bold). Folding pattern analysis predicted that the oligonucleotide contained a two-base bulge at the cleavage site; this result was consistent with the observation that removing features which destabilize the bulged structure increased the cleavage yield. Furthermore, the derived 19-mer was shown to generate maximal amounts of the final drug product of the bc DNA cleavage reaction. Reaction of an RNA 339-mer containing the same sequence as one of the long ss DNA fragments showed it not to be a substrate for the bc reaction, while similar results were obtained for the RNA analog of shorter oligodeoxyribonucleotides identified in this and earlier studies. Through a combination of thermodynamic and kinetic assays, the observed difference in reactivity was shown to be the result of the low binding of the cleaving species to RNA.

Bacteriophage phi X 174

Double-stranded damage of DNA.RNA hybrids by neocarzinostatin chromophore: selective C-1' chemistry on the RNA strand.

Glutathione-activated neocarzinostatin chromophore generates bistranded lesions in the hybrid formed by yeast tRNA(phe) and DNA complementary to its 31-mer 3' terminus. To elucidate the chemistry of the RNA cleavage reaction and to show that the lesions are double-stranded (ds), a series of shorter oligoribonucleotides containing the target sequence r(AGAAUUC).(GAATTCT) (underlining indicates major attack site) was studied as substrates. In addition to cleavage at both U residues, major damage was produced in the form of an abasic site at the U residues. Evidence for abasic site formation on the RNA strand was obtained from sequencing-gel analysis and measurement of uracil base release. Initial evidence for the ds nature of the damage came from experiments in which 2'-O-methyluridine was substituted for uridine in the RNA at one or both of the target sites. The site containing the substitution was not a target for cleavage or abasic site formation, and the particular T residue, staggered two nucleotides in the 3' direction on the complementary DNA strand, was cleaved significantly less. These studies were valuable in identifying the DNA ds partner of the RNA attack site. Direct evidence for ds lesions came from analysis of the products from a hairpin oligonucleotide construct in which the RNA and DNA strands were linked by four T residues and contained an internal 32P label at the 3' end of the RNA strand. Substitution of deuterium for hydrogen at the C-1' position of the U residues led to a substantial isotope effect (k1H/k2H = 3) upon the formation of the RNA abasic lesion and the RNA cleavage products, providing conclusive evidence for selective 1' chemistry. On the other hand, cleavage at the T residues on the complementary DNA strand involved C-5' hydrogen abstraction, as was also true for the T residue in an oligodeoxynucleotide analogue of the RNA strand. Chemical mechanisms to account for the RNA cleavage and abasic site formation via C-1' hydrogen abstraction are proposed.

Antibiotics, Antineoplastic

A single binding mode of activated enediyne C1027 generates two types of double-strand DNA lesions: deuterium isotope-induced shuttling between adjacent nucleotide target sites.

It has been previously reported that the potent enediyne antitumor antibiotic C1027 chromophore produces in DNA restriction fragments double-strand lesions at the sequence GTTA1T/ATA2A3C (damage positions are numbered), involving A1 and A3 [Xu, Y.-j., Zhen, Y.-s., & Goldberg, I. H. (1994) Biochemistry 33, 5947-5954]. Using oligodeoxynucleotide substrates, an additional double-strand lesion has been found within this sequence to involve A1 and A2. The lesions, which include strand breaks and abasic sites, are due to hydrogen atom abstraction from C4' at A1 and from C5'at A3 or C1' at A2 by the diradical species of activated drug. Lesions at A2 or A3 are always part of double-strand lesions. The drug radical center involved in attack at A2 or A3 is readily quenched by solvent methanol so as to produce a single-strand lesion at A1. By using methanol containing carbon-bound deuterium, there is a substantial isotope effect on the quenching reaction, resulting in enhanced double-strand lesion formation. In the absence of methanol, almost all damage at A1 belongs to double-strand lesions. There is a considerable flexibility of the drug radical attacking A2 or A3, such that the presence of deuterium at C1' of A2 results in substantial shuttling of the attack to the C5' of the neighboring nucleotide A3. These data strongly suggest the presence of a single mode of binding of activated drug but one which permits the drug diradical center attacking A2 or A3 to have considerable leeway in target selection. Quantitative affinity cleavage binding analysis is consistent with this proposal.

Aminoglycosides

Bulge-specific cleavage in transactivation response region RNA and its DNA analogue by neocarzinostatin chromophore.

On the basis of the finding that in the absence of thiol the nonprotein chromophore of the antitumor drug neocarzinostatin (NCS-chrom) induces highly efficient site-specific cleavage at a single site on the 3' side of a bulge in single-stranded DNA involving entirely 5' chemistry [Kappen, L. S., & Goldberg, I. H. (1993) Science, 261, 1319-1321], transactivation response region (TAR) RNA (29-mer) and its DNA analogue which presumably contain bulge structures were tested as potential substrates for NCS-chrom. In TAR RNA NCS-chrom generates a distinct but weak band due to cleavage at U24 in the bulge. Cleavage at U24 has a pH dependence and time course similar to those for previously studied DNA bulges. This band is not produced in drug reactions containing glutathione, by the protein component of native NCS, or by inactivated NCS-chrom. Cleavage at U24, albeit weak, occurs in an RNA substrate made up of two linear RNA oligomers which presumably can form a bulge akin to that in TAR RNA. In the DNA analogue of TAR RNA, as well as in a DNA duplex made of two linear oligomers that can form a similar bulge, NCS-chrom causes strand cleavage at the T residues in the bulge and at the bases flanking the bulge. Cleavage at T25 in the bulge involves, in addition to 5' chemistry, 4' attack which results in a fragment with mobility characteristic of 3'-phosphoglycolate-ended fragments. Experiments using DNA substrate having deuterium selectively at the 4' or 5' positions of T25 confirm 4' attack and show kinetic shuttling between the two positions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Base Composition

Specific binding of the biradical analog of neocarzinostatin chromophore to bulged DNA: implications for thiol-independent cleavage.

The enediyne anticancer antibiotic neocarzinostatin chromophore generates a single, site-specific break at a bulge in DNA in a thiol-independent reaction, involving intramolecular drug activation under general base catalysis [Kappen, L. S., & Goldberg, I. H. (1993) Biochemistry 32, 13138-13145]. As part of an effort to elucidate the three-dimensional structure of the active complex formed between the labile drug and bulged DNA, we have studied the binding of stable drug products generated in the course of the cleavage reaction with oligodeoxynucleotides containing the bulged structure. By use of fluorescence quenching, we have found that one drug product, which is also formed in the absence of bulged DNA and most closely resembles the biradical intermediate in the cleavage reaction, specifically binds bulged DNA with a Kd in the low micromolar range and competitively inhibits the cleavage reaction. Other drug products, including one formed only in the presence of bulged DNA, fail to bind to the bulged DNA. Implications of these results for the proposed mechanism of bulge-specific cleavage and for the role of the DNA bulge in generating a unique drug product are discussed.

Base Sequence

Structural basis for the sequence-specific DNA strand cleavage by the enediyne neocarzinostatin chromophore. Structure of the post-activated chromophore-DNA complex.

Neocarzinostatin chromophore (NCS chrom) belongs to a family of highly potent enediyne antitumor antibiotics which bind to specific DNA sequences and cause single- and/or double-strand lesions. NCS chrom-DNA complexes have eluded structural studies since the native form of the drug is extremely labile in aqueous conditions. We report the three-dimensional structure of the stable glutathione post-activated NCS chrom (NCSi-glu)-DNA complex [NCSi-glu-d(GGAGCGC).d(GCGCTCC)] using NMR and distance geometry-molecular dynamics simulation methods. NCSi-glu interacts with the GCTC tetranucleotide on one strand and with the AGC trinucleotide on the other strand through the unique intercalation at the 5'-CT/5'-AG step and minor groove binding. The DNA-drug complex exhibits an extended, unwound V-shaped intercalation site and wider and shallower grooves than the free DNA duplex. The structure of the complex manifests specific van der Waals interactions and H-bond formation between the carbohydrate moiety and a specific DNA sugar/phosphate. Prominent among those are the contacts of the NCSi-glu residues with the functional groups in the minor groove that are characteristic of individual DNA bases. These results provide a structural model for understanding the sequence specificity of the single- and double-strand cleavage at the AGC and related sites by the enediyne NCS chrom.

Base Sequence

Binding and cleavage characteristics of the complexes formed between the neocarzinostatin chromophore and single site containing oligonucleotides.

It is shown by fluorescence spectroscopy that the post-activated form of neocarzinostatin chromophore (NCSi-glu) can form stable complexes with single-site oligonucleotides (SSOs) featuring sequences known to be involved in double stranded (AGC.GCT, AGT.ACT, AGA.TCT, ACA.TGT) or single stranded (AGG.CCT) cleavage (attacked residues in bold). Furthermore, the same SSOs form cleavage productive complexes with native neocarzinostatin chromophore (NCS chrom) over a similar concentration range. The productive complexes yield damage similar to that observed if the same sequence is part of a longer DNA piece. Previously identified double stranded site sequences ATT.AAT and TAT.ATA are shown to contain overlapping attack sites. Binding order preference derived from fluorescence quenching experiments for NCSi-glu is consistent with constants derived by quantitative cleavage affinity binding experiments with NCS chrom. This confirms the similarity in interactions between the NCSi-glu and NCS chrom and justifies the use of NCSi-glu as a stable analog of NCS chrom.

Antibiotics, Antineoplastic

NMR studies of the post-activated neocarzinostatin chromophore-DNA complex. Conformational changes induced in drug and DNA.

The glutathione post-activated neocarzinostatin chromophore (NCSi-glu)-DNA complex was studied in detail by 2-D NMR spectroscopy. The complex is a model for understanding the sequence specific cleavage of DNA by the native neocarzinostatin chromophore (NCS chrom), a highly potent enediyne antitumor agent. NMR spectral analysis is presented for the free NCSi-glu, the free DNA duplex and the NCSi-glu-DNA complex. In addition to the previously reported structural details of the complex (Gao, X.; Stassinopoulos, A.; Rice, J. S.; Goldberg, I. H. Biochemistry 1995, 34, 40), we demonstrate that the binding of NCSi-glu in minor groove results in a patch of negatively charged surface covering the otherwise relatively neutral minor groove. The formation of the complex is largely driven by hydrophobic forces and the solvation of the polar surface of the complex. Comparison of the conformations of NCSi-glu and DNA duplex in their free and bound form reveals an induced mutual fit of DNA and NCSi-glu upon complex formation. The reduced NCS chrom represents a DNA binding motif for sequence specific recognition of DNA via intercalation and minor groove interactions.

Antibiotics, Antineoplastic

Selective abstraction of 2H from C-1' of the C residue in AGC.ICT by the radical center at C-2 of activated neocarzinostatin chromophore: structure of the drug/DNA complex responsible for bistranded lesion formation.

Glutathione-activated neocarzinostatin chromophore (NCS-Chrom) generates bistranded lesions at AGC.GCT sequences in DNA, consisting of an abasic site at the C residue and a strand break at the T residue on the complementary strand, due to hydrogen atom abstraction from C-1' and C-5', respectively. Earlier work showed that 2H from C-5' of T was selectively abstracted by the radical center at C-6 of activated NCS-Chrom, supporting a proposed model of the active-drug/DNA complex. However, since under the conditions used breaks at the T exceeded their inclusion in bistranded lesions, it was not clear what fraction of the hydrogen transfer represented bistranded lesions. Since virtually all abasic sites at the C are part of a bistranded lesions, hydrogen transfer from C-1' of C into the drug should reflect only the bistranded reaction. Accordingly, a self-complementary oligodeoxynucleotide 5'-GCAGCICTGC-3' was synthesized in which the C contained 2H at the C-1' position. In order to eliminate an 2H isotope effect on the transfer and to increase the extent of the bistranded reaction, an I residue was substituted for the G opposite the C residue. Sequencing gel electrophoretic analysis revealed that under one-hit kinetics, 37% of the damage reaction was associated with abasic site (alkali-labile break) formation at the C residue and 48% with direct strand breaks at the T residue. Thus, 74% of the damage involved a bistranded lesion. 1H NMR spectroscopic analysis of the reacted chromophore showed that 2H had been selectively transferred into the C-2 position to the extent of approximately 22%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Base Sequence

Mismatch-induced switch of neocarzinostatin attack sites in the DNA minor groove.

Based on the finding that the wobble G.T mismatch 5' to the C of AGC.GCT results in switching of the attack chemistry by neocarzinostatin chromophore (NCS-Chrom) on the deoxyribose moiety of C from C-1' to C-4' [Kappen, L. S. & Goldberg, I. H. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89, 6706-6710], a series of mismatches has been explored for their effect on the chemistry of damage at the T of AGT.ACT in oligodeoxynucleotides, a site at which 4'-chemistry ordinarily occurs. Placement of a G.T mispair 5' to the T results in a marked increase in 4'-chemistry, as measured by the formation of breaks with 3'-phosphoglycolate ends and abasic sites due to 4'-hydroxylation. Strikingly, 4'-chemistry is induced at the T on the complementary strand, a site ordinarily restricted to 5'-chemistry. Substitution of dioxygen by the radiation sensitizer misonidazole exerts a pronounced effect on the partitioning of the 4'-chemistry in favor of the 3'-phosphoglycolate product. Both stable T.G and unstable T.C mismatches at the attack site itself are associated with marked inhibition of damage at this site. Whereas placement of the relatively stable G.A mismatch on the 5'-side of the T residue (AGT) results in substantial inhibition of damage at the T without shifting of chemistry, the same mismatch at the 3'-side of the attack site decreases damage only slightly but is associated with the appearance of significant 1'-chemistry. By contrast, no shift in chemistry is found with bleomycin, which attacks at C-4'.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Base Sequence

Neocarzinostatin acts as a sensitive probe of DNA microheterogeneity: switching of chemistry from C-1' to C-4' by a G.T mismatch 5' to the site of DNA damage.

The diradical form of thiol-activated neocarzinostatin chromophore resides in the minor groove of DNA, where it has access to hydrogen atoms at the C-5', C-1', and C-4' positions of deoxyribose on each strand. In a dodecamer oligodeoxyribonucleotide containing the sequence AGC.GCT, a bistranded lesion staggered two nucleotides in the 3' direction, is generated that consists primarily of an abasic site (2'-deoxyribonolactone) at the C due to 1' chemistry and a direct strand break at the T due to 5' chemistry. Sequencing-gel analysis reveals that 72% of the damage at the C results from 1' chemistry with minor lesions consisting of a strand break due to 5' chemistry (15%) and 4' chemistry (less than 2%) and an abasic site (4'-hydroxylation product) (12%) due to 4' chemistry. Replacement of the G.C base pair 5' to the C by a G.T wobble mismatch results in a remarkable switching of the chemistry of damage at the C from C-1' to C-4'. The 1' chemistry is almost eliminated and replaced by 4' chemistry, so that the latter accounts for 64% of the damage, mainly in the form of the 4'-hydroxylation product (abasic site) and a smaller amount of the DNA fragment with a phosphoglycolate at the 3' end (strand break). Substitution of the radiation sensitizer misonidazole for dioxygen markedly enhances partitioning of the 4' chemistry in favor of the glycolate-containing product. On the complementary strand the G.T mismatch results in an increase in 4' chemistry at the T residue, but 5' chemistry remains the main mechanism. When a G.A mismatch is inserted 5' to the C, there is a marked decrease in all damage at this site without detectable switching of chemistry. These results show that the diradical form of thiol-activated neocarzinostatin chromophore acts as sensitive probe of DNA microheterogeneity.

Base Composition

Influence of thiol structure on neocarzinostatin activation and expression of DNA damage.

Neocarzinostatin (NCS) is an enediyne antitumor antibiotic that cleaves DNA following a thiol-induced electronic rearrangement to a diradical form. Structure-function studies with 11 thiol-containing compounds were undertaken to clarify the role of the thiol in NCS-mediated DNA damage. The rates of activation of NCS in the presence of DNA with the various thiols approximated a Brønsted relation (beta = 0.43, r2 = 0.86), which suggests that the basicity/nucleophilicity of the thiol is important to NCS activation. However, an additional contribution to NCS activation may arise from the affinity of the thiol for DNA, since there is a correlation between the concentration of thiol producing maximal DNA damage, assessed by quantitating the topologic forms of plasmid pBR322 following treatment with NCS, and the apparent ability of the thiol to bind to DNA by hydrophobic or electrostatic interactions. The overall second-order rate constants for the activation of NCS were found to be inversely correlated with the thiol optima; a plot of the former versus the reciprocal of the optimal thiol concentration revealed a first-order rate constant of activation of 0.013 s-1 in the presence of DNA. This indicates that maximal DNA damage occurs when NCS is activated with a half-life of 52 s, a relatively slow rate of activation that suggests that NCS binds to DNA before undergoing activation by thiol. Finally, an analysis of strand breaks in pBR322 shows that thiols possessing a carboxylate moiety produce larger quantities of bistranded DNA lesions than their esterified or non-carboxylate-containing counterparts.

DNA Damage

Neocarzinostatin-mediated DNA damage in a model AGT.ACT site: mechanistic studies of thiol-sensitive partitioning of C4' DNA damage products.

Double-strand (DS) DNA damage caused by neocarzinostatin (NCS) has been studied in the trinucleotide AGT-ACT sequence in an AP-1 transcription factor binding site. There are strong similarities between bistranded lesions produced at AGT.ACT and AGC-GCT, including the fact that DS lesions outnumber SS lesions on the AGT and AGC strands, while SS exceed DS on the ACT and GCT strands. Structure-function studies revealed that a variety of different thiols produced bistranded lesions in this model by predominantly C4'-hydrogen atom abstraction (84-93%) at the T of AGT and C5'-hydrogen atom abstraction (87-91%) at the T of ACT. Single-strand (SS) lesions were found to represent a variable mixture of C4' and C5' chemistry. The C4'-hydroxylated abasic site occurred in both SS and DS lesions at both sites and accounted for most of the DS damage at AGT (60-83%); the remaining damage consisted of 3'-phosphoglycolate- and 3'-phosphate-ended fragments. The nature of the thiol was found to affect the partitioning of the breakdown products arising from C4' and, to a lesser extent, C5' hydrogen atom abstraction. Production of 3'-phosphoglycolate residues, restricted mainly to the T of AGT in bistranded lesions, correlated with the incidence of direct DS breaks in the AGT.ACT model and in plasmid DNA and appeared to be influenced by the reducing power of the thiol activator. Furthermore, hydrazine and sodium borohydride both inhibited the formation of glycolate, an effect that was exploited to determine the rate constant for 3'-phosphoglycolate formation: 0.06 min-1 at 0 degree C, pH 7.4. Under anaerobic conditions, the nitroaromatic radiation sensitizer misonidazole caused a large increase in glycolate production in both SS and DS lesions formed by NCS, which suggests that the formation of 3'-phosphoglycolate, like 3'-formylphosphate generated by C5' chemistry, involves an oxyradical intermediate. The pathways for DNA damage involving C4' and C5' hydrogen atom abstraction thus share many common features, several of which are consistent with a mechanism for the production of NCS-mediated bistranded lesions at AGT.ACT that involves a tetraoxide bridge joining the lesions on opposite strands of DNA.

Base Sequence

Selective abstraction of 2H from C-5' of thymidylate in an oligodeoxynucleotide by the radical center at C-6 of the diradical species of neocarzinostatin: chemical evidence for the structure of the activated drug-DNA complex.

Use has been made of the mechanism of DNA deoxyribose damage by the ene-diyne-containing chromophore of the antitumor antibiotic neocarzinostatin to provide chemical evidence for the structure of the activated drug-DNA complex. Radical centers at C-2 and C-6 of the diradical form of the glutathione-activated chromophore abstract hydrogen atoms from C-1' of the C residue and C-5' of the T residue in AGC.GCT to generate a bistranded lesion consisting of an abasic site at C and a strand break at T. This laboratory has proposed a molecular model for the drug-DNA interaction in which the naphthoate moiety of the chromophore intercalates between A.T and G.C, placing the diradical core in the minor groove, so that the radical centers at C-6 and C-2 are close to C-5' of T and C-1' of C, respectively. To determine which radical center abstracts one of the hydrogen atoms from C-5', the self-complementary oligodeoxynucleotide GCAGCGCTGC was synthesized with 2H at both 5' positions of the T residue and treated with glutathione-activated chromophore. Sequencing-gel electrophoresis showed that drug attack was limited to the T and C residues and that abstraction of 2H from C-5' exhibited a small isotope selection effect of 1.25. 1H NMR spectroscopic examination of the reacted chromophore, isolated by HPLC, indicated that 2H was selectively abstracted by C-6, providing experimental corroboration of the model and further elucidating the chemical mechanism. Since direct strand breakage at the T residue exceeds (44% more) abasic site formation at the C residue, other models of drug-DNA interaction leading to only single-strand breaks are also considered.

Base Sequence

Neocarzinostatin-induced hydrogen atom abstraction from C-4' and C-5' of the T residue at a d(GT) step in oligonucleotides: shuttling between deoxyribose attack sites based on isotope selection effects.

The thiol-activated neocarzinostatin chromophore cleaves duplex oligonucleotides containing the sequence-TGTTTGA-, producing 3'-phosphoglycolate and 3'-phosphate fragments at T, indicating the involvement of 4'- as well as 5'-chemistry at this residue. Substitution of deuterium for hydrogen at the C-4' position of the affected T leads to a kinetic isotope effect (kH/kD) of 4.0 on the formation of the glycolate-ended product, whereas deuterium at C-5' of the same T reveals kH/kD of 1.6 in the formation of the phosphate-ended product. The proportion of the products representing 4'- and 5'-chemistry can be shifted on the basis of isotope selection effects. A second product resulting from 4'-chemistry, the abasic site associated with 4'-hydroxylation, has been identified as an alkali-labile site, and as a pyridazine derivative formed after cleavage by hydrazine. A comparable isotope effect on its production (kH/kD = 3.7) relative to that of 3'-phosphoglycolate production is consistent with a common intermediate, a putative 4'-peroxy radical, in their formation. The formation of both products of 4'-chemistry is oxygen-dependent, and the internal partitioning between them (3'-phosphate or 3'-phosphoglycolate) is influenced by thiols. Moreover, the nitroaromatic radiation sensitizer misonidazole can substitute for dioxygen, yielding 3'-phosphoglycolate and alkali-labile 3'-phosphate ends, indicative of 4'-chemistry. In addition to the internal partitioning of 4'-chemistry, thiols also affect the overall extent of cleavage (4' plus 5') and the relative partitioning between both sites of attack (4' or 5').

Adenosine Triphosphate

Sequence-specific double-strand breakage of DNA by neocarzinostatin involves different chemical mechanisms within a staggered cleavage site.

Direct double-strand breaks in DNA have been implicated in cellular lethality of the antitumor antibiotic neocarzinostatin, but the mechanism of their formation has not been elucidated. Evidence is presented that neocarzinostatin causes sequence-specific direct double-strand breaks whose formation is strongly influenced by the activating thiol. Seven-fold more double-strand breaks result when glutathione rather than 2-mercaptoethanol is used to activate the drug to its putative diradical form, while the sequence specificity of cleavage remains the same. These data explain earlier inconsistencies in the ratios of double-strand to single-strand breaks obtained from in vitro and in vivo studies. Double-strand cleavage sites, occurring predominantly at GT steps, especially AGT.ACT, consist of trinucleotide sequences with a two-nucleotide 3'-stagger of the cleaved residues. The chemical structures of the cleavage sites suggest a model in which a neocarzinostatin-induced double-strand break results from abstraction of a C5' hydrogen atom from the T of ACT and the C4' hydrogen atom of the T of AGT by a single molecule of the diradical form of the drug. Single-strand breaks at these sites occur as separate events with attack at the C5' hydrogens. These findings permit the generalization that single-strand breaks produced by neocarzinostatin show a base preference but no clear sequence specificity, while bistranded lesions are sequence-specific in nature.

Antibiotics, Antineoplastic

Molecular models of neocarzinostatin damage of DNA: analysis of sequence dependence in 5'GAGCG:5'CGCTC.

Model building and molecular mechanics and dynamics calculations have been performed on a number of complexes of the post-activated form of the neocarzinostatin chromophore (NCS) with the B-DNA oligomer 5'GAGCG:5'CGCTC. Stable structures with the naphthoic acid moiety intercalated at all base pairs can be constructed. The observed bistranded lesions consisting of an abasic site at the Cyt residue in AGC and a direct break at the Thy residue on the complementary strand can be explained by assuming that NCS in the (R,R) form intercalates between the Ade2-Thy9/Gua3-Cyt8 base step with its 'diradical' core oriented towards the 3'-end of the (+) strand. Sites at C5', C4' and C1' in the minor groove are within a short enough distance from the two radical centers on NCS to permit hydrogen atom abstraction and the formation of the bistranded lesions. Strand cleavage at Thy9 may occur as a single lesion if NCS is intercalated into the Gua3-Cyt8/Cyt4-Gua7 base step with its active core towards the 3'-end of the (-) strand. The results are analyzed, and the utility and limitations of this type of model building are discussed.

Antibiotics, Antineoplastic

DNA microstructural requirements for neocarzinostatin chromophore-induced direct strand cleavage.

The microstructural requirements for optimal interaction of neocarzinostatin chromophore (NCS-C) with DNA have been investigated using a series of hexadeoxyribonucleotides with modified bases such as O6-methyl G (MeG), I, 5-methyl C (MeC), U, or 5-Bromo U (BrU) at specific sites in its preferred trinucleotide 5'GNaNb3':5'Na,Nb,C3' (Na = A, C, or T). Results show that MeG:C and G:MeC in place of G:C improve direct strand cleavage at the target Nb (Nb = T greater than A much greater than C greater than G), whereas MeC:G and C:MeG in place of Na:Nb, hinder cleavage. The optimal base target at Nb appears to be determined by its ability to form T:A type base pairing instead of C:G type. The observed differences in DNA strand cleavage patterns can be rationalized by induced changes in target site structure and are compatible with a model for NCS-C:DNA interaction in which the naphthoate moiety intercalates between 5'GNa3', and the activated tetrahydro-s-indacene, lying in the minor groove, abstracts a hydrogen atom from C-5' of Nb.

Antibiotics, Antineoplastic