Strand discrimination in Escherichia coli DNA mismatch repair requires the activation of the endonuclease MutH by MutL. There is evidence that MutH binds to the N-terminal domain of MutL in an ATP-dependent manner; however, the interaction sites and the molecular mechanism of MutH activation have not yet been determined. We used a combination of site-directed mutagenesis and site-specific cross-linking to identify protein interaction sites between the proteins MutH and MutL. Unique cysteine residues were introduced in cysteine-free variants of MutH and MutL. The introduced cysteines were modified with the cross-linking reagent 4-maleimidobenzophenone. Photoactivation resulted in cross-links verified by mass spectrometry of some of the single cysteine variants to their respective Cys-free partner proteins. Moreover, we mapped the site of interaction by cross-linking different combinations of single cysteine MutH and MutL variants with thiol-specific homobifunctional cross-linkers of varying length. These results were used to model the MutH⅐MutL complex and to explain the ATP dependence of this interaction.DNA repair systems are crucial for maintaining a stable genome (1). One of these systems, DNA mismatch repair, is present in most organisms and enhances the fidelity of DNA replication by a factor of up to 1000 by correcting replication errors (2-6). mismatch repair is a complex process that requires the coordination of a number of specialized enzymatic activities involving many different proteins. The paradigm of such a process is the MutHLS system from Escherichia coli (7). Because mismatch repair proteins MutS and MutL are evolutionarily conserved among the three kingdoms of life, it is believed that the basic mechanisms of mismatch repair are similar. In the presence of ATP and a mismatch, MutS recruits MutL and together they activate MutH, which in turn cleaves the newly replicated daughter strand at a transiently unmethylated d(GATC) site. The nick marks the erroneous strand for excision, which is started by the action of DNA helicase II, single-stranded DNA-binding protein, and one of several exonucleases (8). DNA polymerase III, single-stranded DNA-binding protein, and DNA ligase carry out repair synthesis.One of the interesting questions in DNA mismatch repair is how the different Mut proteins interact in time and space. In the E. coli system, the assembly of the active MutS⅐MutL complex will activate the strand discrimination endonuclease MutH. Both MutS and MutL are ATPases, and the roles of ATP binding and hydrolysis are just emerging (9 -13). The mismatch activated form of this complex will stimulate the latent endonuclease activity of MutH to cleave the transiently unmethylated error-containing daughter strand, thereby marking this strand for removal. We have previously shown that the proper discrimination of the unmethylated strand from the methylated strand can be mapped to a single amino acid residue in MutH, i.e. Tyr 212 . Biochemical analyses indicated that only MutL, not MutS, interacts direc...

MutLα, a heterodimer of MLH1 and PMS2, plays a central role in human DNA mismatch repair. It interacts ATP-dependently with the mismatch detector MutSα and assembles and controls further repair enzymes. We tested if the interaction of MutLα with DNA-bound MutSα is impaired by cancer-associated mutations in MLH1, and identified one mutation (Ala128Pro) which abolished interaction as well as mismatch repair activity. Further examinations revealed three more residues whose mutation interfered with interaction. Homology modelling of MLH1 showed that all residues clustered in a small accessible surface patch, suggesting that the major interaction interface of MutLα for MutSα is located on the edge of an extensive β-sheet that backs the MLH1 ATP binding pocket. Bioinformatic analysis confirmed that this patch corresponds to a conserved potential protein–protein interaction interface which is present in both human MLH1 and its E.coli homologue MutL. MutL could be site-specifically crosslinked to MutS from this patch, confirming that the bacterial MutL–MutS complex is established by the corresponding interface in MutL. This is the first study that identifies the conserved major MutLα–MutSα interaction interface in MLH1 and demonstrates that mutations in this interface can affect interaction and mismatch repair, and thereby can also contribute to cancer development.

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The Escherichia coli DNA mismatch repair (MMR) protein MutS is essential for the correction of DNA replication errors. In vitro, MutS exists in a dimer/tetramer equilibrium that is converted into a monomer/dimer equilibrium upon deletion of the C-terminal 53 amino acids. In vivo and in vitro data have shown that this C-terminal domain (CTD, residues 801–853) is critical for tetramerization and the function of MutS in MMR and anti-recombination. We report the expression, purification and analysis of the E.coli MutS-CTD. Secondary structure prediction and circular dichroism suggest that the CTD is folded, with an α-helical content of 30%. Based on sedimentation equilibrium and velocity analyses, MutS-CTD forms a tetramer of asymmetric shape. A single point mutation (D835R) abolishes tetramerization but not dimerization of both MutS-CTD and full-length MutS. Interestingly, the in vivo and in vitro MMR activity of MutSCF/D835R is diminished to a similar extent as a truncated MutS variant (MutS800, residues 1–800), which lacks the CTD. Moreover, the dimer-forming MutSCF/D835R has comparable DNA binding affinity with the tetramer-forming MutS, but is impaired in mismatch-dependent activation of MutH. Our data support the hypothesis that tetramerization of MutS is important but not essential for MutS function in MMR.

DNA mismatch repair (MMR) and very-short patch (VSP) repair are two pathways involved in the repair of T:G mismatches. To learn about competition and cooperation between these two repair pathways, we analyzed the physical and functional interaction between MutL and Vsr using biophysical and biochemical methods. Analytical ultracentrifugation reveals a nucleotide-dependent interaction between Vsr and the N-terminal domain of MutL. Using chemical crosslinking, we mapped the interaction site of MutL for Vsr to a region between the N-terminal domains similar to that described before for the interaction between MutL and the strand discrimination endonuclease MutH of the MMR system. Competition between MutH and Vsr for binding to MutL resulted in inhibition of the mismatch-provoked MutS- and MutL-dependent activation of MutH, which explains the mutagenic effect of Vsr overexpression. Cooperation between MMR and VSP repair was demonstrated by the stimulation of the Vsr endonuclease in a MutS-, MutL- and ATP-hydrolysis-dependent manner, in agreement with the enhancement of VSP repair by MutS and MutL in vivo. These data suggest a mobile MutS–MutL complex in MMR signalling, that leaves the DNA mismatch prior to, or at the time of, activation of downstream effector molecules such as Vsr or MutH.