PubMed · 1931447
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T A Connors. 1991. Alkylating agents.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1931447/
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We demonstrate that the catalytic subunit of the DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PKcs) is specifically, proteolytically cleaved in HL-60 cells treated with staurosporine (STS), a potent inducer of apoptosis. The proteolysis of DNA-PKcs correlated with or preceded apoptotic chromosomal DNA degradation. Cell-free extracts prepared from STS-treated HL-60 cells recapitulated the proteolysis of DNA-PKcs in an in vitro assay using purified DNA-PK as the substrate. Western blot analyses of the apoptotic cell extract showed that the 32-kDa precursor of CPP32 is expressed in HL-60 cells and processed following STS treatment. In addition, whereas the DNA-PKcs protease activity was not inhibitable by many conventional protease inhibitors, it was inhibitable by a highly selective peptide-derived inhibitor of CPP32. These data strongly suggest that CPP32, or a CPP32-like protease, is responsible for DNA-PKcs proteolysis. Finally, our results demonstrated that the cleavage of DNA-PKcs in vitro proceeded in the presence of Bcl-2, indicating that the function provided by Bcl-2 lies upstream the proteolysis of DNA-PKcs.
Adjacent binding sites for early growth response factor-1 (EGR1) and TATA box-binding protein (TBP) were identified on the herpes simplex virus latency promoter in previous work. The binding of EGR1 to the GC-rich region prevented TBP binding to the AT-rich region. With the simultaneous addition of both EGR1 and TBP, the intercalator nogalamycin prevented EGR1 complex formation, resulting in a dose-dependent increase of the TBP.DNA complex. The minor groove binder chromomycin A3 inhibited EGR1 complex formation but resulted in a smaller increase of the TBP complex. In contrast, an alkylating intercalator hedamycin strongly inhibited binding of both proteins. The ability of these GC-binding drugs to prevent EGR1.DNA complex formation was in the following order: hedamycin > nogalamycin > chromomycin A3, and the specificity was nogalamycin > chromomycin A3 > hedamycin. With transcription factor IIA (TFIIA) in the assay, TBP was able to bind the promoter whereas formation of the EGR1.DNA complex was reduced. An AT minor groove-binding drug, distamycin A, disrupted the TBP.TFIIA.DNA complex and restored the EGR1.DNA complex. We conclude that the binding motif and sequence preference of DNA-interactive drugs are manifested in their ability to inhibit the transcription factor-DNA complexes.
Human O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) repairs DNA by transferring alkyl (R-) adducts from O6-alkylguanine (6RG) in DNA to its own cysteine residue at codon 145 (formation of R-MGMT). We show here that R-MGMT in cell extracts, which is sensitive to protease V8 cleavage at the glutamic acid residues at codons 30 (E30) and 172 (E172), can be specifically immunoprecipitated with an MGMT monoclonal antibody, Mab.3C7. This Mab recognizes an epitope of human MGMT including the lysine 107 (K107) which is within the most basic region that is highly conserved among mammalian MGMTs. Surprisingly, the K107L mutant protein is repair-deficient and readily cleaved by protease V8 similar to R-MGMT. We propose that R-MGMT adopted an altered conformation which exposed the Mab.3C7 epitope and rendered that protein sensitive to protease V8 attack. This proposal could be explained by the disruption of a structural "salt-link" within the molecule based on the available structural and biochemical data. The specific binding of Mab.3C7 to R-MGMT has been compared with the protease V8 method in the detection of R-MGMT in extracts of cells treated with low dosages of methyliodide (SN2) and O6-benzylguanine. Their identical behaviors in producing protease V8 sensitive R-MGMT and Mab.3C7 immunoprecipitates suggest that probably methyl iodide (an ineffective agent in producing 6RG in DNA) can directly alkylate the active site of cellular MGMT similar to O6-benzylguanine. The effectiveness of MeI in producing R-MGMT, i.e., inactivation of cellular MGMT, indicates that this agent can increase the effectiveness of environmental and endogenously produced alkylating carcinogens in producing the mutagenic O6-alkylguanine residues in DNA in vivo.