No abstract

The carbonate radical anion is a biologically important one-electron oxidant that can directly abstract an electron from guanine, the most easily oxidizable DNA base. Oxidation of the 5′-d(CCTACGCTACC) sequence by photochemically generated CO3·− radicals in low steady-state concentrations relevant to biological processes results in the formation of spiroiminodihydantoin diastereomers and a previously unknown lesion. The latter was excised from the oxidized oligonucleotides by enzymatic digestion with nuclease P1 and alkaline phosphatase and identified by LC-MS/MS as an unusual intrastrand cross-link between guanine and thymine. In order to further characterize the structure of this lesion, 5′-d(GpCpT) was exposed to CO3·− radicals, and the cyclic nature of the 5′-d(G*pCpT*) cross-link in which the guanine C8-atom is bound to the thymine N3-atom was confirmed by LC-MS/MS, 1D and 2D NMR studies. The effect of bridging C bases on the cross-link formation was studied in the series of 5′-d(GpCnpT) and 5′-d(TpCnpG) sequences with n = 0, 1, 2 and 3. Formation of the G*-T* cross-links is most efficient in the case of 5′-d(GpCpT). Cross-link formation (n = 0) was also observed in double-stranded DNA molecules derived from the self-complementary 5′-d(TTACGTACGTAA) sequence following exposure to CO3·− radicals and enzymatic excision of the 5′-d(G*pT*) product.

Under oxidative stress: The oxidation of guanine and 8‐oxo‐7,8‐dihydroguanine has been monitored by 18O‐labeling methods. The combination of nucleobase radicals 1 with the carbonate radical anion 2 results in the net transfer of O− from CO3.− to the end products (see scheme).

The assignment of absolute configurations is of critical importance for understanding the biochemical processing of DNA lesions. The diastereomeric spiroiminodihydantoin (Sp) lesions are oxidation products of guanine and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG), and the absolute configurations of the two diastereomers, Sp1 and Sp2, have been evaluated by experimental and computational optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) methods. In order to support our previous assignments by the ORD method, we calculate the electronic circular dichroism spectra (ECD) of the Sp stereoisomers. Comparison of the experimentally measured and computed ECD spectra indicates that Sp1 has (−)-S absolute configuration, while Sp2 has (+)-R absolute configuration. Thus, the S and R assignments, based on the ECD spectra of Sp1 and Sp2, are consistent with our previous assignments of absolute configurations. To further test the validity of this approach, we performed a proof-of-principle computation of the ECD and ORD of the R and S enantiomers of allantoin (similar in chemical composition to Sp) of known absolute configurations. The calculations provide the correct assignment of the absolute configurations of the allantoin enantiomers, indicating that the computational TDDFT approach is robust for identifying the absolute configurations of allantoins, and probably the Sp stereoisomers, as has been shown previously for other organic molecules.

The carbonate radical anion CO3•− is a decomposition product of nitrosoperoxycarbonate derived from the combination of carbon dioxide and peroxynitrite, an important biological byproduct of the inflammatory response. The selective oxidation of guanine in DNA by CO3•− radicals is known to yield spiroiminodihydantoin (Sp), guanidinohydantoin (Gh), and a novel intrastrand cross-linked product, 5’-d(CCATCG*CT*ACC) between guanine C8 (G*) and thymine N3 (T*) atoms in the oligonucleotide (Crean et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 2008, 36, 742–755). Involvement of the T-N3 (pKa of N3-H is 9.67) suggests that the formation of 5’-d(CCATCG*CT*ACC) might be pH – dependent. This hypothesis was tested generating CO3•− radicals by the photodissociation of carbonatotetramminecobalt(III) complexes by steady-state UV irradiation that allowed for studies of product yields in the pH 5.0 – 10.0 range. The yields of 5’-d(CCATCG*CT*ACC) is ~ 45 times greater at pH 10.0 than at pH 5.0, which is consistent with the proposed mechanism that requires N3(H) thymine proton dissociation followed by nucleophilic addition to the C8 guanine radical.

The diastereomeric spiroiminodihydantoin (Sp) lesions are oxidation products of guanine and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG) and have generated considerable interest because of their stereochemistry-dependent mutagenic properties in vivo (Henderson, P. T., et al. (2003) Biochemistry 42, 9257-9262). However, the absolute configurations of the two diastereomers have not yet been elucidated, and such information may prove valuable for understanding relationships between biological function and structure at the DNA level (Jia, L., Shafirovich, V., Shapiro, R., Geacintov, N. E., and Broyde, S. (2005) Biochemistry 44, 13342-13353). We have synthesized the two chiral Sp nucleobases by hydrolysis of the nucleosides denoted by dSp1 and dSp2 according to their elution order in HPLC experiments using a Hypercarb column, and determined their absolute configurations using a combination of experimentally measured optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) spectra in aqueous solutions and computed ORD specific rotations using density functional theory (DFT). Recent developments have shown that DFT methods are now sufficiently robust for predicting ORD values of chiral molecules (Polavarapu, P. L. (2002) Chirality 14, 768-781). The nucleobases Sp1 and Sp2 exhibit experimentally measured CD and ORD spectra that are very close to those of the respective precursor nucleosides dSp1 and dSp2 in shape and sign. The first nucleoside stereoisomer (dSp1) to elute from a typical Hypercarb HPLC column has (-)-S, while the second (dSp2) has (+)-R absolute configuration. The R and S assignments are applicable to the amino tautomeric forms in each case.

The oxidation and nitration reactions in DNA associated with the combination of nitrogen dioxide radicals with 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoGua) and guanine radicals were explored by kinetic laser spectroscopy and mass spectrometry methods. The oxidation/nitration processes were triggered by photoexcitation of 2-aminopurine (2AP) residues site-specifically positioned in the 2'-deoxyribooligonucleotide 5'-d(CC[2AP]TC[X]CTACC) sequences (X = 8-oxoGua or G), by intense 308 nm excimer laser pulses. The photoionization products, 2AP radicals, rapidly oxidize either 8-oxoGua or G residues positioned within the same oligonucleotide but separated by a TC dinucleotide step on the 3'-side of 2AP. The two-photon ionization of the 2AP residue also generates hydrated electrons that are trapped by nitrate anions thus forming nitrogen dioxide radicals. The combination of nitrogen dioxide radicals with the 8-oxoGua and G radicals occurs with similar rate constants (approximately 4.3 x 10(8) M(-1) s(-1)) in both single- and double-stranded DNA. In the case of 8-oxoGua, the major end-products of this bimolecular radical-radical addition are spiroiminodihydantoin lesions, the products of 8-oxoGua oxidation. Oxygen-18 isotope labeling experiments reveal that the O-atom in the spiroiminodihydantoin lesion originates from water molecules, not from nitrogen dioxide radicals. In contrast, combination of nitrogen dioxide and guanine neutral radicals generated under the same conditions results in the formation of the nitro products, 5-guanidino-4-nitroimidazole and 8-nitroguanine adducts. The mechanistic aspects of the oxidation/nitration processes and their biological implications are discussed.

One of the major biomarkers of oxidative stress and oxidative damage of cellular DNA is 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoGua), which is more easily oxidized than guanine to diverse oxidative products. In this work, we have investigated further oxidative transformations of 8-oxoGua in single-and double-stranded oligonucleotides to the dehydroguanidinohydantoin, oxaluric acid, and diastereomeric spiroiminodihydantoin lesions. The relative distributions of these end products were explored by a combined kinetic laser spectroscopy and mass spectrometry approach and are shown to depend markedly on the presence of superoxide radical anions. The 8-oxaGua radicals were produced by oneelectron oxidation of 8-oxoGua by 2-aminopurine radicals generated by the two-photon ionization of 2-aminopurine residues site specifically positioned