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PubMed1994

Fenpropimorph affects uptake of uracil and cytosine in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Fenpropimorph was shown to inhibit the accumulation of the pyrimidine bases uracil and cytosine from the growth media in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Uracil prototrophs of S. cerevisiae were more resistant to the growth-inhibitory effects of fenpropimorph than were uracil auxotrophs. High concentrations of uracil rescued fenpropimorph-treated uracil auxotrophs, and cytosine, which is accumulated by a separate mechanism, could also support growth of treated uracil auxotrophs. Fenpropimorph caused a significant decrease in the uptake of radiolabeled uracil, which was not due to accumulation of ergosta-8,14-dienol (ignosterol) in the treated cultures. Radiolabeled cytosine uptake was unaffected by drug treatment in a wild-type strain but was inhibited in a sterol mutant, in which ergosterol was absent from the cell. The role of fenpropimorph in causing membrane dysfunction through a mechanism other than altered sterol metabolism is discussed.

Culture Media↗
PubMed2006

Uracil salvage pathway in Lactobacillus plantarum: Transcription and genetic studies.

The uracil salvage pathway in Lactobacillus plantarum was demonstrated to be dependent on the upp-pyrP gene cluster. PyrP was the only high-affinity uracil transporter since a pyrP mutant no longer incorporated low concentrations of radioactively labeled uracil and had increased resistance to the toxic uracil analogue 5-fluorouracil. The upp gene encoded a uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (UPRT) enzyme catalyzing the conversion of uracil and 5-phosphoribosyl-alpha-1-pyrophosphate to UMP and pyrophosphate. Analysis of mutants revealed that UPRT is a major cell supplier of UMP synthesized from uracil provided by preformed nucleic acid degradation. In a mutant selection study, seven independent upp mutants were isolated and all were found to excrete low amounts of pyrimidines to the growth medium. Pyrimidine-dependent transcription regulation of the biosynthetic pyrimidine pyrR1-B-C-Aa1-Ab1-D-F-E operon was impaired in the upp mutants. Despite the fact that upp and pyrP are positioned next to each other on the chromosome, they are not cotranscribed. Whereas pyrP is expressed as a monocistronic message, the upp gene is part of the lp_2376-glyA-upp operon. The lp_2376 gene encodes a putative protein that belongs to the conserved protein family of translation modulators such as Sua5, YciO, and YrdC. The glyA gene encodes a putative hydroxymethyltransferase involved in C1 unit charging of tetrahydrofolate, which is required in the biosynthesis of thymidylate, pantothenate, and purines. Unlike upp transcription, pyrP transcription is regulated by exogenous pyrimidine availability, most likely by the same mechanism of transcription attenuation as that of the pyr operon.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1982

Role of exonuclease III in the base excision repair of uracil-containing DNA.

Mutants of Escherichia coli K-12 deficient in both exonuclease III (the product of the xth gene) and deoxyuridine triphosphatase (the dut gene product) are inviable at high temperatures and undergo filamentation when grown at such temperatures. In dut mutants, the dUTP pool is known to be greatly enhanced, resulting in an increased substitution of uracil for thymine in DNA during replication. The subsequent removal of uracil from the DNA by uracil-DNA glycosylase produces apyrimidinic sites, at which exonuclease III is known to have an endonucleolytic activity. The lethality of dut xth mutants, therefore, indicates that exonuclease III is important for this base-excision pathway and suggests that unrepaired apyrimidinic sites are lethal. Two confirmatory findings were as follows. (i) dut xth mutants were viable if they also had a mutation in the uracil-DNA glycosylase (ung) gene; such mutants should not remove uracil from DNA and should not, therefore, generate apyrimidinic sites. (ii) In the majority of the temperature-resistant revertants isolated, viability had been restored by a mutation in the dCTP deaminase (dcd) gene; such mutations should decrease dUTP production and hence uracil misincorporation. The results indicate that, in dut mutants, exonuclease III is essential for the repair of uracil-containing DNA and of apyrimidinic sites.

DNA Repair↗
PubMed1988

Uracil-DNA glycosylase inhibitor of bacteriophage PBS2: cloning and effects of expression of the inhibitor gene in Escherichia coli.

The uracil-DNA glycosylase inhibitor gene of bacteriophage PBS2 was cloned, and the effects of this inhibitor on Escherichia coli cells that contain uracil-DNA glycosylase activity were determined. A PBS2 genomic library was constructed by inserting EcoRI restriction fragments of PBS2 DNA into a plasmid pUC19 vector. The library was used to transform wild-type (ung+) E. coli, and the presence of the functional inhibitor gene was determined by screening for colonies that supported growth of M13mp19 phage containing uracil-DNA. A clone was identified that carried a 4.1-kilobase EcoRI DNA insert in the vector plasmid. Extracts of cells transformed with this recombinant plasmid lacked detectable uracil-DNA glycosylase activity and contained a protein that inhibited the activity of purified E. coli uracil-DNA glycosylase in vitro. The uracil-DNA glycosylase inhibitor expressed in these E. coli was partially purified and characterized as a heat-stable protein with a native molecular weight of about 18,000. Hence, we conclude that the PBS2 uracil-DNA glycosylase inhibitor gene was cloned and that the gene product has properties similar to those from PBS2-infected Bacillus subtilis cells. Inhibitor gene expression in E. coli resulted in (i) a weak mutator phenotype, (ii) a growth rate similar to that of E. coli containing pUC19 alone, (iii) a sensitivity to the antifolate drug aminopterin similar to that of cells lacking the inhibitor gene, and (iv) an increased resistance to the lethal effects of 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine. These physiological properties are consistent with the phenotypes of other ung mutants.

Aminopterin↗
PubMed1983

Compartmentation of uracil in Euglena gracilis.

Compartmentation of uracil in the flagellate Euglena gracilis was studied by tracer-kinetic experiments. Lag times in the equilibration of exogenously given and intracellularly present uracil before linear labeling of catabolic and anabolic products was determined to estimate the size of its metabolically active pool. This pool operates in the incorporation and degradation of uracil. There were the same lag times in forming both final products when measured in parallel and when measured after preloading with pyrimidines, in different cell strains, and under various environmental conditions. The amount of the metabolically active uracil pool, estimated as 11 pmol/10(7) heterotrophically growing cells, decreased to almost zero during light-induced RNA synthesis and could be changed by preloading with uracil or thymine. Besides this metabolic pool, cells may contain large amounts of uracil in a membrane-enclosed storage compartment (up to 12 nmol/10(7) cells). This is metabolically inert, but may be mobilized by nitrogen-carbon starvation. The role of uracil compartmentation in this metabolically flexible organism is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

The uracil breath test in the assessment of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase activity: pharmacokinetic relationship between expired 13CO2 and plasma [2-13C]dihydrouracil.

PURPOSE: Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) deficiency is critical in the predisposition to 5-fluorouracil dose-related toxicity. We recently characterized the phenotypic [2-(13)C]uracil breath test (UraBT) with 96% specificity and 100% sensitivity for identification of DPD deficiency. In the present study, we characterize the relationships among UraBT-associated breath (13)CO(2) metabolite formation, plasma [2-(13)C]dihydrouracil formation, [2-(13)C]uracil clearance, and DPD activity. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: An aqueous solution of [2-(13)C]uracil (6 mg/kg) was orally administered to 23 healthy volunteers and 8 cancer patients. Subsequently, breath (13)CO(2) concentrations and plasma [2-(13)C]dihydrouracil and [2-(13)C]uracil concentrations were determined over 180 minutes using IR spectroscopy and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, respectively. Pharmacokinetic variables were determined using noncompartmental methods. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) DPD activity was measured using the DPD radioassay. RESULTS: The UraBT identified 19 subjects with normal activity, 11 subjects with partial DPD deficiency, and 1 subject with profound DPD deficiency with PBMC DPD activity within the corresponding previously established ranges. UraBT breath (13)CO(2) DOB(50) significantly correlated with PBMC DPD activity (r(p) = 0.78), plasma [2-(13)C]uracil area under the curve (r(p) = -0.73), [2-(13)C]dihydrouracil appearance rate (r(p) = 0.76), and proportion of [2-(13)C]uracil metabolized to [2-(13)C]dihydrouracil (r(p) = 0.77; all Ps < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: UraBT breath (13)CO(2) pharmacokinetics parallel plasma [2-(13)C]uracil and [2-(13)C]dihydrouracil pharmacokinetics and are an accurate measure of interindividual variation in DPD activity. These pharmacokinetic data further support the future use of the UraBT as a screening test to identify DPD deficiency before 5-fluorouracil-based therapy.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1990

Combinative improving effect of increased solubility and the use of absorption enhancers on the rectal absorption of uracil in beagle dogs.

An improvement of the rectal absorption of uracil was examined by the application of absorption enhancers in addition to the increased solubility of uracil. Uracil was ground with additives such as MgO, sodium 2,6-dihydroxybenzoate, human serum albumin or hydroxypropylmethylcellulose acetate succinate. Aqueous, oily and powdery formulations, which consisted of the ground mixtures, nicotinamide, urea and absorption enhancers such as polyoxyethylene (23) cetylether (BC-23) or sodium caprate, were prepared. Uracil solubility in the aqueous formulations was increased about 4-13 times that in the corresponding control formulations. When rectally administered to beagle dogs, marked increases in the plasma uracil level were observed in some of the cases of aqueous and oily formulations. In the powdery formulations and formulations containing macromolecular additives, however, absorption improvements was not observed. The results indicated that an improvement in the absorption of uracil was caused by the combinative improving effect of the increased uracil solubility and the promoting effect of absorption enhancers.

Absorption↗
PubMed1992

[Syntheses and central depressant activity in mice of uracil derivatives. Studies on development of new sedative-hypnotics. II].

Fifteen kinds of uracil derivatives, which were substituted with functional groups such as benzyl (Bn), methoxymethyl (MOM), n-propyl (Pr) or allyl (A) group at the N1 and/or N3 position of uracil, were synthesized. Sedative-hypnotic activity, pentobarbital (PB)-induced sleep prolongation and acute toxicity as indices of their pharmacological activities were evaluated using mice. Spontaneous activities of mice treated with N1-benzyluracil (N1-BnU, 7), N3-benzyluracil (N3-BnU, 8), N1,N3-dibenzyluracil (DBnU, 9), N1-benzyl-N3-allyluracil (BnAU, 14) and N1-allyl-N3-benzyluracil (ABnU, 15) were measured. Ten kinds of uracil derivatives showed hypnotic activity. ED50's values of ABnU (15) and N1-propyl-N3-benzyluracil (PrBnU, 13) were 155 and 172 mg/kg, i.p., respectively. Those effects were more potent than that of barbital (179 mg/kg, i.p.) Ten kinds of uracil derivatives tested significantly prolonged the PB-induced sleeping time. N3-BnU (8) increased the spontaneous activity of mice at a dose of 80 mg/kg, i.p., while ABnU (15) depressed the spontaneous activity at a dose of 160 mg/kg, i.p. The other compounds did not show any significant effect on the spontaneous activity of mice. LD50's values of ABnU (15), PrBnU (13) and N1-methoxy-methyl-N3-benzyluracil (MOMBnU, 11) were 199, 229 and 363 mg/kg, i.p., respectively. LD50's values of the other derivatives were more than 480 mg/kg, i.p. These results indicate that the benzyl group at the N3 position of uracil is important for exhibiting sedative-hypnotic activity of uracil derivatives, and that ABnU (15) has the most potent central depressant activity among the uracil derivatives tested.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Biosynthesis of the human base excision repair enzyme uracil-DNA glycosylase.

The biosynthesis of the human DNA repair enzyme uracil-DNA glycosylase has been characterized by the reaction of in vitro- and in vivo-produced protein with an anti-human placental uracil-DNA glycosylase monoclonal antibody. In vitro synthesis of the DNA repair enzyme was examined after the translation of human placental polyadenylated [poly(A)+] RNA by immunoprecipitation of the [35S]methionine-labeled translation products. As defined by sucrose density analysis, immunoprecipitable in vitro products were translated from 16S poly(A)+ RNA and 11S poly(A)+ RNA. While the products of the 11S poly(A)+ RNA were smaller than purified uracil-DNA glycosylase, the product of the 16 S poly(A)+ RNA had a molecular weight of 37,000, identical to the size previously observed for purified human placental uracil-DNA glycosylase. Immunoblot analysis of human placental cell extracts and of normal human fibroblast cell extracts demonstrated the recognition of one Mr 37,000 protein. Immunoprecipitation of [35S]methionine-labeled normal human cell extracts with the anti-glycosylase monoclonal antibody specifically detected only the Mr 37,000 uracil-DNA glycosylase protein. Pulse-chase analysis demonstrated that the 35S radioactivity in the Mr 37,000 uracil-DNA glycosylase decreased over a 5-h interval. These results show that immunoreactive human uracil-DNA glycosylase protein was synthesized at its enzymatically active molecular weight of 37,000 as the primary translation product of a 16S polyadenylated messenger RNA.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed1994

Endocytosis and degradation of the yeast uracil permease under adverse conditions.

Yeast uracil permease follows the secretory pathway to the plasma membrane and is phosphorylated on serine residues in a post-Golgi compartment. The protein was found to be rather stable in growing cells, but its turnover rate (half-life of about 7 h) was much faster than that of most yeast proteins. Several adverse conditions triggered the rapid degradation of uracil permease, and so a loss of uracil uptake. Turnover was rapid when yeast cells were starved of either nitrogen, phosphate, or carbon, and as they approached the stationary growth phase. Rapid permease degradation was also promoted by the inhibition of protein synthesis. The degradation of uracil permease in response to several stresses was strikingly slower in the two mutants, end3 and end4, that are deficient in the internalization step of receptor-mediated endocytosis. Thus, internalization is the first step in the permease degradative pathway. Uracil permease is degraded in the vacuole, since pep4 mutant cells lacking vacuolar protease activities accumulated large amounts of uracil permease, which was located within the vacuole by immunofluorescence. We have yet to determine whether adverse conditions enhance permease endocytosis and subsequent degradation or divert internalized uracil permease from a recycling to a degradative pathway.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2005

Physical and functional interaction of human nuclear uracil-DNA glycosylase with proliferating cell nuclear antigen.

Uracil residues arise in DNA by the misincorporation of dUMP in place of dTMP during DNA replication or by the deamination of cytosine in DNA. Uracil-DNA glycosylase initiates DNA base excision repair of uracil residues by catalyzing the hydrolysis of the N-glycosylic bond linking the uracil base to deoxyribose. In human cells, the nuclear form of uracil-DNA glycosylase (UNG2) contains a conserved PCNA-binding motif located at the N-terminus that has been implicated experimentally in binding PCNA. Here we use purified preparations of UNG2 and PCNA to demonstrate that UNG2 physically associates with PCNA. UNG2 co-eluted with PCNA during size exclusion chromatography and bound to a PCNA affinity column. Association of UNG2 with PCNA was abolished by the addition of 100 mM NaCl, and significantly decreased in the presence of 10 mM MgCl(2). The functional significance of the UNG2.PCNA association was demonstrated by UNG2 activity assays. Addition of PCNA (30-810 pmol) to standard uracil-DNA glycosylase reactions containing linear [uracil-(3)H]DNA stimulated UNG2 catalytic activity up to 2.6-fold. UNG2 activity was also stimulated by 7.5 mM MgCl(2). The stimulatory effect of PCNA was increased by the addition of MgCl(2); however, the dependence on PCNA concentration was the same, indicating that the effects of MgCl(2) and PCNA on UNG2 activity occurred by independent mechanisms. Loading of PCNA onto the DNA substrate was required for stimulation, as the activity of UNG2 on circular DNA substrates was not affected by the addition of PCNA. Addition of replication factor C and ATP to reactions containing 90 pmol of PCNA resulted in two-fold stimulation of UNG2 activity on circular DNA.

Catalysis↗
PubMed1996

Ubiquitination mediated by the Npi1p/Rsp5p ubiquitin-protein ligase is required for endocytosis of the yeast uracil permease.

Uracil uptake by Saccharomyces cerevisiae is mediated by the FUR4-encoded uracil permease. This permease undergoes endocytosis and subsequent degradation in cells subjected to adverse conditions. The data presented here show that uracil permease also undergoes basal turnover under normal growth conditions. Both basal and induced turnover depend on the essential Npi1p/Rsp5p ubiquitin-protein ligase. Epitope-tagged ubiquitin variants have been used to show that uracil permease is ubiquitinated in vivo. The ubiquitin-permease conjugates that are readily demonstrated in wild type cells were barely detectable in npi1 mutant cells, indicating that uracil permease may be a physiological substrate of the Npi1p ubiquitin ligase. The lack of ubiquitination of the permease in npi1 cells resulted in an increase in active, i.e. plasma membrane-located, permease, suggesting that there is a direct relationship between ubiquitination and removal of the permease from the plasma membrane. The accumulation of ubiquitin-permease conjugates in thermosensitive act1 mutant cells, deficient in the internalization step of endocytosis is consistent with this idea. On the other hand, the degradation of uracil permease does not require a functional proteasome since the permease was not stabilized in either pre1 pre2 or cim3 and cim5 mutant cells that have impaired catalytic (pre) or regulatory (cim) proteasome subunits. In contrast, both basal and stress-stimulated turnover rates were greatly reduced in pep4 mutant cells having defective vacuolar protease activities. We therefore propose that ubiquitination of uracil permease acts as a signal for endocytosis of the protein that is subsequently degraded in the vacuole.

Cysteine Endopeptidases↗
PubMed1978

Role of uracil-DNA glycosylase in the repair of deaminated cytosine residues of DNA in Escherichia coli.

Uracil-DNA glycosylase, which acts specifically on uracil-containing DNA, was purified 250-fold from an extract of Escherichia coli 1100. The enzyme releases free uracil from DNA, producing alkali-labile apyrimidinic sites in the DNA. The enzyme is active on both native and heat-denatured DNA of phage PBS1, which contains uracil in place of thymine. piX174 DNA which had been treated with bisulfite and then at alkaline pH was susceptible to the action of uracil-DNA glycosylase. Since DNA treated with bisulfite alone was less susceptible to the enzyme, it is likely that the enzyme recognizes deaminated cytosine, namely uracil, but not bisulfite adducts of uracil and cytosine in the treated DNA. DNA treated with nitrite or hydroxylamine was not attacked by the enzyme. Enzyme activity acting on bisulfite-treated DNA was absent from an extract of E. coli mutant BD10 (ung). The mutant exhibited higher sensitivity to bisulfite than did the wild-type strain and was unable to reactivate phage T1 pre-exposed to bisulfite and weak alkali.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1966

Death of Bacillus subtilis Auxotrophs Due to Deprivation of Thymine, Tryptophan, or Uracil.

Pritikin, William B. (University of California, Los Angeles), and W. R. Romig. Death of Bacillus subtilis auxotrophs due to deprivation of thymine, tryptophan, or uracil, J. Bacteriol. 92:291-296. 1966.-Auxotrophic mutants of Bacillus subtilis 168 that require either tryptophan, uracil, or thymine died rapidly when deprived of any of these compounds. Phage PBS1 was produced by infected B. subtilis 168 (thy try-2) deprived of thymine. Phage PBS1 was not produced by infected B. subtilis 168 (try-2) deprived of tryptophan or infected B. subtilis 168-15 (try-2 ura) deprived of uracil. B. subtilis 168 thy try-2 and 168-15 could be transduced by phage PBS1 after prolonged deprivation of tryptophan or uracil, respectively. When B. subtilis 168-15 was transduced to uracil independence by phage PBS1, the uracil-independent transductants became immune to uracil-less death within 10 min of exposure to phage, and began to multiply within 2 hr after exposure to phage at an incubation temperature of 46 C.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Diffusion Monte Carlo simulations on uracil-water using an anisotropic atom-atom potential model.

We have developed an anisotropic atom-atom intermolecular potential model for the interaction of uracil with water. The potential consists of a distributed multipole analysis (DMA) model for the electrostatic energy, and a 6-exp potential to represent the repulsion-dispersion term. The repulsion-dispersion potential parameters are adjusted to yield good agreement with accurate ab initio data on the minima and transition states of the uracil-water complex. We have used this potential in diffusion Monte Carlo simulations of uracil-water, uracil-(water)2 and uracil-(water)3. The uracil-water simulations show that the theoretically based potential gives a qualitatively different picture of uracil hydration than that provided by a standard isotropic atom-atom point charge model, which is shown to underestimate the delocalized motion of the water hydrogen atoms. Plots of the vibrational probability density of the hydrogen atoms show the delocalized motion of the water hydrogen atoms that are not involved in hydrogen bonding.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1991

Purification and properties of the uracil DNA glycosylase from Bloom's syndrome.

Bloom's syndrome uracil DNA glycosylase was highly purified from two non-transformed cell strains derived from individuals from different ethnic groups. Their properties were then compared to two different highly purified normal human uracil DNA glycosylases. A molecular mass of 37 kDa was observed for each of the four human enzymes as defined by gel-filtration column chromatography and by SDS-PAGE. Each of the 37 kDa proteins was identified as a uracil DNA glycosylase by electroelution from the SDS polyacrylamide gel, determination of glycosylase activity by in vitro biochemical assay and identification of the reaction product as free uracil by co-chromatography with authentic uracil. Bloom's syndrome enzymes differed substantially in their isoelectric point and were thermolabile as compared to the normal human enzymes. Bloom's syndrome enzymes displayed a different Km, Vmax and were strikingly insensitive to 5-fluorouracil and 5-bromouracil, pyrimidine analogues which drastically decreased the activity of the normal human enzymes. In particular, each Bloom's syndrome enzyme required 10-100-fold higher concentrations of each analogue to achieve comparable inhibition of enzyme activity. Potential mechanisms are considered through which an altered uracil DNA glycosylase characterizing this cancer-prone human genetic disorder may arise.

Black People↗
PubMed2003

Crystal structure of a family 4 uracil-DNA glycosylase from Thermus thermophilus HB8.

Uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG; EC 3.2.2.-) removes uracil from DNA to initiate DNA base excision repair. Since hydrolytic deamination of cytosine to uracil is one of the most frequent DNA-damaging events in all cells, UDG is an essential enzyme for maintaining the integrity of genomic information. For the first time, we report the crystal structure of a family 4 UDG from Thermus thermophilus HB8 (TthUDG) complexed with uracil, solved at 1.5 angstroms resolution. As opposed to UDG enzymes in its other families, TthUDG possesses a [4Fe-4S] cluster. This iron-sulfur cluster, which is distant from the active site, interacts with loop structures and has been suggested to be unessential to the activity but necessary for stabilizing the loop structures. In addition to the iron-sulfur cluster, salt-bridges and ion pairs on the molecular surface and the presence of proline on loops and turns is thought to contribute to the enzyme's thermostability. Despite very low levels of sequence identity with Escherichia coli and human UDGs (family 1) and E.coli G:T/U mismatch-specific DNA glycosylase (MUG) (family 2), the topology and order of secondary structures of TthUDG are similar to those of these distant relatives. Furthermore, the coordinates of the core structure formed by beta-strands are almost the same. Positive charge is distributed over the active-site groove, where TthUDG would bind DNA strands, as do UDG enzymes in other families. TthUDG recognizes uracil specifically in the same manner as does human UDG (family 1), rather than guanine in the complementary strand DNA, as does E.coli MUG (family 2). These results suggest that the mechanism by which family 4 UDGs remove uracils from DNA is similar to that of family 1 enzymes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2006

Genomic uracil and human disease.

Uracil is present in small amounts in DNA due to spontaneous deamination of cytosine and incorporation of dUMP during replication. While deamination generates mutagenic U:G mismatches, incorporated dUMP results in U:A pairs that are not directly mutagenic, but may be cytotoxic. In most cells, mutations resulting from uracil in DNA are prevented by error-free base excision repair. However, in B-cells uracil in DNA is also a physiological intermediate in acquired immunity. Here, activation-induced cytosine deaminase (AID) introduces template uracils that give GC to AT transition mutations in the Ig locus after replication. When uracil-DNA glycosylase (UNG2) removes uracil, error-prone translesion synthesis over the abasic site causes other mutations in the Ig locus. Together, these processes are central to somatic hypermutation (SHM) that increases immunoglobulin diversity. AID and UNG2 are also essential for generation of strand breaks that initiate class switch recombination (CSR). Patients lacking UNG2 display a hyper-IgM syndrome with recurrent infections, increased IgM, strongly decreased IgG, IgA and IgE and skewed SHM. UNG2 is also involved in innate immune response against retroviral infections. Ung(-/-) mice have a similar phenotype and develop B-cell lymphomas late in life. However, there is no evidence indicating that UNG deficiency causes lymphomas in humans.

Animals↗