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Response of phage T4 polynucleotide kinase toward dinucleotides containing apurinic sites: design of a 32P-postlabeling assay for apurinic sites in DNA.

We have examined the capacity of bacteriophage T4 polynucleotide kinase (EC 2.7.1.78) to phosphorylate the partially depurinated products of d-ApA, namely, d-SpA and d-ApS (where S represents an apurinic deoxyribose group). It was observed that the enzyme acted only on the latter isomer. Since molecules of this type (d-NpS) are the sole apurinic site containing products resulting from the combined digestion of lightly depurinated DNA by snake venom phosphodiesterase and calf alkaline phosphatase [Weinfeld, M., Liuzzi, M., & Paterson, M. C. (1989) Nucleic Acids Res. 17, 3735-3745], we were able to devise a postlabeling assay for these biologically important DNA lesions. The method offers several advantages, including (a) elimination of the need for prelabeled DNA, (b) high (femtomole range) sensitivity, and (c) nearest-neighbor analysis of bases 5' to apurinic/apyrimidinic sites. Using this assay, we obtained a value for the rate of depurination of form I pRSVneo plasmid DNA, incubated at pH 5.2 at 70 degrees C, of approximately 3.3 apurinic sites per plasmid molecule per hour. This value compares favorably with previously published data of others, acquired by alternative approaches. The rate of depurination of poly(dA), treated in a similar fashion, was found to be approximately 1 base per 10(3) nucleotides per hour.

Apurinic Acid↗

Sulfhydrylcellulose: a new medium for chromatography of mercurated polynucleotides.

We have synthesized a new medium, sulfhydrylcellulose, for affinity chromatography of mercurated polynucleotides. It is the product of reaction between aminoethylcellulose and N-acetylhomocysteine thiolactone. Sulfhydrylcellulose carries up to 90 mumol of SH groups/g and is inexpensive, easy to prepare, and stable. Because it binds mercurated RNA specifically and reversibly and exhibits no size discrimination, sulfhydrylcellulose should have wide applications.

Cellulose↗

T4 polynucleotide ligase catalyzed joining of short synthetic DNA duplexes at base-paired ends.

The self-complementary octanucleotide dT-A-G-T-A-C-T-A has been synthesized and its sequence confirmed by two-dimensional fingerprinting. Under conditions used for the T4 polynucleotide ligase reaction, this oligonucleotide forms a dimeric duplex which shows a Tm of 18 degrees C. The optimal rate of joining of the 32P-labeled duplex occurs between 12 and 15 degrees C. The rate is highly concentration dependent, as expected for a bimolecular process. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic analysis of this reaction shows the presence of products up to 120 nucleotides in length. In a denaturing gel, each product appears as a double band due to the presence of its 5'-adenylylated activated intermediate. Substrates larger than eight base pairs are utilized more rapidly than the eight base pair duplex, indicating that the T4 ligase has a higher affinity for longer substrates. The low level of nicked intermediates suggests that the joining of both strands requires two steps, the rates of which must be similar.

Base Sequence↗

Kinetics and specificity of T4 polynucleotide kinase.

The kinetics of T4 polynucleotide kinase has been investigated at pH 8.0 and 37 degrees. Double reciprocal plots of initial rates vs. substrate concentrations as well as product inhibition studies have indicated that the enzyme reacts according to the ordered sequential mechanism shown in eq 2 in the text for phosphorylation of a DNA molecule. Based on this mechanism the rate equation for the overall reaction was deduced and the various kinetic constants estimated. Hill plots indicated little or no interaction between active sites in the enzyme. The apparent Michaelis constants and V-max were determined at a fixed ATP concentration, 66 muM, for a number of different substrates varying in chain length, base composition, and nature of the sugar, and a wide variation was found. For the nucleoside 3'-monophosphates tested both the apparent Michaelis constant and V-max values were from approximately 2 to 5 times larger than for the corresponding oligonucleotide. The following orders were obtained with regard to apparent Michaelis constants and V-max for the nucleoside 3'-monophosphates investigated: Michaelis constant, rGP greater than rUp greater than rCp greater than rAp greater than dTp; V-max, rGp greater than rCp greater than rAp greater than dTp greater than rUp. Somewhat similar results were also obtained with the deoxyoligonucleotides tested.

Binding, Competitive↗

Effect of salts and polyamines on T4 polynucleotide kinase.

The activity of T4 polynucleotide kinase (EC 2.7.1.78) was found to be greatly stimulated by salts, such as NaCl and KCl, and polyamines such as spermine and spermidine. Up to a sixfold increase in initial rates was observed with a variety of different single-stranded DNAs and mono- and oligonucleotides. The optimal concentrations of salts were 0.125 M, corresponding to a total ionic strength of mu equals 0.19. For polyamines the optimal concentrations were found to be at approximately 2 mM. With low enzyme concentration and in the absence of activators complete phosphorylation was not achieved for a number of substrates. In the presence of salts or polyamines or high concentration of enzyme the phosphorylation proceeded to completion. Addition of salt led to an increase in both the apparent V-max and the Michaelis constant for the DNA substrate whereas the Michaelis constant of ATP remained unchanged. Polyamines had a similar influence on the kinetic constants for the DNA substrate whereas a decrease was found for the apparent Michaelis constant for ATP. The overall mechanism in the presence of activators was found to be sequential but probably of a rapid equilibrium random type. Of the inorganic anions tested both P-i and PP-i inhibited the enzyme in a competitive manner with both substrates.

Coliphages↗

A comparison of the binding to polynucleotides of complementary and noncomplementary oligonucleotides.

The binding of oligonucleotides to synthetic polynucleotides has been studied as a control for investigations of the binding of oligonucleotides to natural RNA molecules. Only combinations that involved A-U, G-C, and G-G pairs were found to be significantly stable under the experimental conditions used here. The stability of the oligomerpolymer pairing increased with the length of the region paired and with its G + C content. Further, some different sequence isomers of the same G + C content exhibited quite different binding constants. This variability is consistent with certain sequence differences in the double-strand stacking interactions stabilizing the oligomer-polymer association. Oligomer binding was also shown to depend upon the identity of the polymer residues neighboring the binding site, indicating the effect upon oligomer binding of small changes in the single-strand conformation of the binding site. These observations validate the criteria that allow one to decide if an observed association constant of an oligomer to an RNA molecule reflects a complete complementarity between the two or not. This improves the basis for using oligonucleotide binding constants to RNA of known sequences to map secondary structure.

Adenine Nucleotides↗

Physical properties of human polynucleotide kinase: hydrodynamic and spectroscopic studies.

Human polynucleotide kinase (hPNK) is a putative DNA repair enzyme in the base excision repair pathway required for processing and rejoining strand-break termini. This study represents the first systematic examination of the physical properties of this enzyme. The protein was produced in Escherichia coli as a His-tagged protein, and the purified recombinant protein exhibited both the kinase and the phosphatase activities. The predicted relative molecular mass (M(r)) of the 521 amino acid polypeptide encoded by the sequenced cDNA for PNK and the additional 21 amino acids of the His tag is 59,538. The M(r) determined by low-speed sedimentation equilibrium under nondenaturing conditions was 59,600 +/- 1000, indicating that the protein exists as a monomer, in contrast to T4 phage PNK, which exists as a homotetramer. The size and shape of hPNK in solution were determined by analytical ultracentrifugation studies. The protein was found to have an intrinsic sedimentation coefficient, s(0)(20,w), of 3.54 S and a Stokes radius, R(s), of 37.5 A. These hydrodynamic data, together with the M(r) of 59 600, suggest that hPNK is a moderately asymmetric protein with an axial ratio of 5.51. Analysis of the secondary structure of hPNK on the basis of circular dichroism spectra, which revealed the presence of two negative dichroic bands located at 218 and 209 nm, with ellipticity values of -7200 +/- 300 and -7800 +/- 300 deg x cm(2) x d(mol(-1), respectively, indicated the presence of approximately 50% beta-structure and 25% alpha-helix. Binding of ATP to the protein induced an increase in beta-structure and perturbed tryptophan, tyrosine, and phenylalanine signals observed by aromatic CD and UV difference spectroscopy.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Polysaccharide-polynucleotide complexes. Part 32. Structural analysis of the curdlan/poly(cytidylic acid) complex with semiempirical molecular orbital calculations.

Natural Curdlan adopts a right-handed 6(1) triple helix, in which the constituting glucan chains are underpinned with each other by the intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Curdlan can form a stoichiometric complex with polynucleotides [e.g., poly(cytidylic acid), poly(C)]. In this paper, we carried out the MOPAC (semiempirical molecular-orbital package) calculation to examine the molecular structure of the Curdlan/poly(C) complex. The calculation exhibited that two types of hydrogen bonds are formed between the Curdlan and the poly(C); the third nitrogen (N3) in cytosine forms a hydrogen bond with the second OH of one Curdlan chain, and the proton of N4 is interacting with the O2 of another Curdlan chain. In our model, the helix diameter of poly(C) is expanded from 11.0 to 15.3 A upon complexation. Despite such large conformational changes, the 6(1) helix structure of poly(C) was maintained even after the complexation. This fact is complementary to the experimental fact that the complexation does not change the band shape of the circular dichroism of poly(C). The chain length dependence of the reaction enthalpy indicated that the complexation becomes thermodynamically more favorable with the chain length increasing. This feature is also consistent with the experimental data.

Carbohydrate Conformation↗

Configurational statistics of polynucleotide chains. A single virtual bond treatment.

A simplified single virtual bond scheme has been developed for the calculation of mean-square unperturbed dimensions in polynucleotide chains. As a consequence of the structural rigidity of the sugar residues in the chain, it is possible to represent the six chemical bonds comprising the chain backbone repeating unit by a single virtual bond (connecting successive phosphorus atoms). The mutual orientation of a pair of adjoining virtual bonds is determined by the angles of rotation about the phosphodiester bonds adjoining intervening phosphorus atoms and is independent of the orientation of all other virtual bonds in the chain. Computed values of chain dimensions based on the single virtual bond scheme are comparable to those calculated previously using a two virtual bond model which permits rotational flexibility in the sugar moieties of the chain.

Binding Sites↗

1,N2-ethenodeoxyguanosine: properties and formation in chloroacetaldehyde-treated polynucleotides and DNA.

1,N2-Etheno-2'-deoxyguanosine (1,N2-epsilon dGuo), not previously reported as a product of chloroacetaldehyde (CAA) reaction, has been synthesized and characterized. Reaction of deoxyguanosine with CAA in dimethylformamide in the presence of K2CO3 led to preparation of pure 1,N2-epsilon dGuo with 55% yield. pKa values are 2.2 and 9.2. The anionic form of the compound exhibits weak but defined fluorescence; the intensity is similar to that of N2,3-etheno-2'-deoxyguanosine (N2,3-epsilon dGuo) at neutrality. The stability of the glycosyl bond of 1,N2-epsilon dGuo (t1/2 = 2.3 h at 37 degrees C, pH 1) is 10-fold greater than of unmodified deoxyguanosine and at least one thousand-fold greater than of isomeric N2,3-epsilon dGuo. Reaction of CAA with model polynucleotides indicates that hydrogen bonding of guanine residues in the double-stranded structures is, as expected, an important factor in the formation of 1,N2-ethenoguanine. In contrast, the formation of isomeric N2,3-ethenoguanine is relatively independent of whether the DNA is single- or double-stranded. In salmon sperm DNA, reacted with CAA at neutrality, the formation of 1,N2-ethenoguanine could be demonstrated. However, we find the efficiency of formation of this adduct in double-stranded DNA to be lower than that of all other etheno derivatives.

Acetaldehyde↗

Covalent DNA adducts formed by benzo[c]chrysene in mouse epidermis and by benzo[c]chrysene fjord-region diol epoxides reacted with DNA and polynucleotides.

The metabolic activation in mouse skin of benzo[c]chrysene (B[c]C), a weakly carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) present in coal tar and crude oil, was investigated. Male Parkes mice were treated topically with 0.5 mumol of B[c]C, and DNA was isolated from the treated areas of skin at various times after treatment and analyzed by 32P-postlabeling. Seven adduct spots were detected, at a maximum level of 0.89 fmol of adducts/microgram of DNA. Four B[c]C-DNA adducts persisted in skin for at least 3 weeks. Treatment of mice with 0.5 mumol of the optically pure putative proximate carcinogens (+)- and (-)-trans-benzo[c]chrysene-9,10-dihydrodiols [(+)- and (-)-B[c]C-diols] led to the formation of adducts which comigrated on TLC and HPLC with some of those formed in B[c]C-treated mice. The major adduct formed in mouse skin treated with B[c]C coeluted on TLC and HPLC with an adduct formed in mouse skin treated with (-)-B[c]C-diol. These results suggested that the detected adducts were formed by the fjord-region B[c]C-9,10-dihydrodiol 11,12-epoxides (B[c]CDEs). To test this, the four optically pure synthetic B[c]CDEs were reacted in vitro with DNA and with synthetic polynucleotides and these samples were 32P-postlabeled. Cochromatography, both on TLC and HPLC, of in vitro and in vivo adducts indicated that B[c]C is activated in mouse skin through formation of the (-)-anti- and (+)-syn-B[c]CDE with 9R,10S,11S,12R- and 9S,10R,11S,12R- absolute configuration, respectively, both of which formed two DNA adducts in vivo. However, the major adduct present in the B[c]C-treated skin DNA was not a fjord-region B[c]CDE adduct but was possibly derived from a bay region B[c]CDE at the 1,2,3,4-position. The extent of DNA adduct formation by B[c]C in mouse skin DNA was lower than that of moderately carcinogenic PAHs previously studied by this method, suggesting a correlation between extent of DNA adduct formation and carcinogenic potential.

Animals↗

In vitro evolution of new ribozymes with polynucleotide kinase activity.

We have isolated a large number of polynucleotide kinase ribozymes from a pool of RNA molecules consisting of an ATP-binding domain flanked by regions of random sequence. Different classes of kinases catalyse the transfer of the gamma-thiophosphate of ATP-gamma S to the 5'-hydroxyl or to internal 2'-hydroxyls. An engineered version of one class is able to catalyse the transfer of thiophosphate from ATP-gamma S to the 5'-hydroxyl of an exogenous oligoribonucleotide substrate with multiple turnover, thus acting as a true enzyme.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Xrcc4 physically links DNA end processing by polynucleotide kinase to DNA ligation by DNA ligase IV.

Nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) is the major DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair pathway in mammalian cells. A critical step in this process is DNA ligation, involving the Xrcc4-DNA ligase IV complex. DNA end processing is often a prerequisite for ligation, but the coordination of these events is poorly understood. We show that polynucleotide kinase (PNK), with its ability to process ionizing radiation-induced 5'-OH and 3'-phosphate DNA termini, functions in NHEJ via an FHA-dependent interaction with CK2-phosphorylated Xrcc4. Analysis of the PNK FHA-Xrcc4 interaction revealed that the PNK FHA domain binds phosphopeptides with a unique selectivity among FHA domains. Disruption of the Xrcc4-PNK interaction in vivo is associated with increased radiosensitivity and slower repair kinetics of DSBs, in conjunction with a diminished efficiency of DNA end joining in vitro. Therefore, these results suggest a new role for Xrcc4 in the coordination of DNA end processing with DNA ligation.

Animals↗

The influence of the size and nature of basic activators on Clostridium perfringens polynucleotide phosphorylase-catalysed polyadenylic acid synthesis.

1. Basic oligo- and poly-(amino acids) stimulate polyadenylic acid synthesis by purified Clostridium perfringens polynucleotide phosphorylase (nucleoside diphosphate-polyribonucleotide nucleotidyltransferase, EC 2.7.7.8). 2. The effectiveness of the activators increases with chain length up to approx. 20-30 residues. 3. Polymers of the l and dl series are equally effective on a weight-for-weight basis. 4. l-Lysine, d-lysine, diethylamine and triethylamine, as hydrochlorides or hydrobromides, all stimulate the reaction markedly if their concentration is high enough. Their effect is similar to that of sodium chloride. 5. The size of the product depends primarily on the Mg(2+) concentration and basic polymers have a relatively limited effect on it. 6. Polyadenylic acid itself undergoes an Mg(2+)-catalysed non-enzymic hydrolysis.

Acrylates↗

Effects of proteins and polynucleotides on the activity of various hydrolases.

The effect of various macromolecules on the activity of several hydrolases was studied. Dilution of partially purified acid beta-galactosidase from ileal mucosa of suckling rats resulted in a decrease of specific activity. The relationship between specific activity and dilution of the enzyme suggests a dissociation of the enzyme. This could be prevented by addition of several proteins tested. However, addition of DNA to the assay mixture for acid beta-galactosidase caused an inhibition. This inhibition could be prevented by addition of proteins. Other polynucleotides and tRNA also exert an inhibitory effect that is prevented by albumin, but nucleotides have no effect. This inhibition occurs maximally at a low pH (3.0-4.0); no inhibition is observed at pH5.5. A similar pH-dependent inhibition by DNA was also found with various other acid hydrolases.

Animals↗

Nucleotide sequence analysis with polynucleotide kinase and nucleotide "mapping" methods. 5'-Terminal sequences of deoxyribonucleic acid from bacteriophages lambda and 424.

The polynucleotide kinase reaction was used in analyses of complex mixtures of oligodeoxynucleotides which were fractionated by various two-dimensional nucleotide ;mapping' procedures. Parallel ionophoretic analyses on DEAE-cellulose paper, pH2, and AE-cellulose paper, pH3.5, of venom phosphodiesterase partial digests of 5'-terminally labelled oligonucleotides enabled the sequence of the nucleotides to be deduced uniquely. A ;diagonal ionophoresis' method has been used with mixtures of nucleotides. Application of these methods to 5'-terminally labelled DNA from bacteriophage lambda gave the terminal sequences pA-G-G-T-C-G and pG-G-G-C-G. Identical 5'-terminal sequences were found with DNA from bacteriophage 424.

Adenine Nucleotides↗

The stereochemical course of phosphoryl transfer catalysed by polynucleotide kinase (bacteriophage-T4-infected Escherichia coli B).

Polynucleotide kinase (bacteriophage-T4-infected Escherichia coli B) catalyses the transfer of the [gamma-16O,17O,18O]phosphoryl group from 5'[gamma(S)-16O,17O,18O]ATP to 3'-AMP with inversion of configuration at the phosphorus atom. The simplest interpretation of this observation is that the [gamma-16O,17O,18O]phosphoryl group is transferred directly from ATP to the co-substrate by an 'in-line' mechanism.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗