Maintaining the chemical integrity of DNA in the face of assault by oxidizing agents is a constant challenge for living organisms. Base-excision repair has an important role in preventing mutations associated with a common product of oxidative damage to DNA, 8-oxoguanine. Recent structural studies have shown that 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylases use an intricate series of steps to locate and excise 8-oxoguanine lesions efficiently against a high background of undamaged bases. The importance of preventing mutations associated with 8-oxoguanine is shown by a direct association between defects in the DNA glycosylase MUTYH and colorectal cancer. The properties of other guanine oxidation products and the associated DNA glycosylases that remove them are now also being revealed.

Inherited defects of base excision repair have not been associated with any human genetic disorder, although mutations of the genes mutM and mutY, which function in Escherichia coli base excision repair, lead to increased transversions of G:C to T:A. We have studied family N, which is affected with multiple colorectal adenomas and carcinoma but lacks an inherited mutation of the adenomatous polyposis coli gene (APC) that is associated with familial adenomatous polyposis. Here we show that 11 tumors from 3 affected siblings contain 18 somatic inactivating mutations of APC and that 15 of these mutations are G:C-->A transversions--a significantly greater proportion than is found in sporadic tumors or in tumors associated with familial adenomatous polyposis. Analysis of the human homolog of mutY, MYH, showed that the siblings were compound heterozygotes for the nonconservative missense variants Tyr165Cys and Gly382Asp. These mutations affect residues that are conserved in mutY of E. coli (Tyr82 and Gly253). Tyrosine 82 is located in the pseudo-helix-hairpin-helix (HhH) motif and is predicted to function in mismatch specificity. Assays of adenine glycosylase activity of the Tyr82Cys and Gly253Asp mutant proteins with 8-oxoG:A and G:A substrates show that their activity is reduced significantly. Our findings link the inherited variants in MYH to the pattern of somatic APC mutation in family N and implicate defective base excision repair in predisposition to tumors in humans.

ContentsI. Introduction 1221 II. Types of Base-Excision Repair Glycosylases 1223 A. Uracil-DNA Glycosylase (UDG) 1223 B. Mismatch-Specific Thymine-DNA Glycosylase (TDG) and Related Double-Strand Specific Uracil DNA Glycosylase (dsUDG) 1226 C. Alkylated Base Removal 1227 D. Endonuclease III and Related Enzymes 1229 E. Pyrimidine Dimer Glycosylases 1230 F. The FPG Protein (Fapy Glycosylase or MutM) 1231

The DNA repair enzyme MutY plays an important role in the prevention of DNA mutations resulting from the presence of the oxidatively damaged lesion 7,8-dihydro-8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (OG) in DNA by the removal of misincorporated adenine residues in OG:A mispairs. MutY also exhibits adenine glycosylase activity toward adenine in G:A and C:A mismatches, although the importance of this activity in vivo has not been established. We have investigated the kinetic properties of MutY's glycosylase activity with OG:A and G:A containing DNA duplexes. Our results indicate that MutY's processing of these two substrates is distinctly different. By using single-turnover experiments, the intrinsic rate for adenine removal by MutY from an OG:A substrate was found to be at least 6-fold faster than that from the corresponding G:A substrate. However, under conditions where [MutY] << [DNA], OG:A substrates are not quantitatively converted to product due to the inefficient turnover resulting from slow product release. In contrast, with a G:A substrate MutY's dissociation from the corresponding product is more facile, such that complete conversion of the substrate to product can be achieved under similar conditions. The kinetic results illustrate that the glycosylase reaction catalyzed by MutY has significant differences depending on the characteristics of the substrate. The lingering of MutY with the product of its reaction with OG:A mispairs may be biologically significant to prevent premature removal of OG. Thus, this approach is providing insight into factors that may be influencing the repair of damaged and mismatched DNA in vivo by base-excision repair glycosylases.

MutY and endonuclease III, two DNA glycosylases from Escherichia coli, and AfUDG, a uracil DNA glycosylase from Archeoglobus fulgidus, are all base excision repair enzymes that contain the [4Fe-4S](2+) cofactor. Here we demonstrate that, when bound to DNA, these repair enzymes become redox-active; binding to DNA shifts the redox potential of the [4Fe-4S](3+/2+) couple to the range characteristic of high-potential iron proteins and activates the proteins toward oxidation. Electrochemistry on DNA-modified electrodes reveals potentials for Endo III and AfUDG of 58 and 95 mV versus NHE, respectively, comparable to 90 mV for MutY bound to DNA. In the absence of DNA modification of the electrode, no redox activity can be detected, and on electrodes modified with DNA containing an abasic site, the redox signals are dramatically attenuated; these observations show that the DNA base pair stack mediates electron transfer to the protein, and the potentials determined are for the DNA-bound protein. In EPR experiments at 10 K, redox activation upon DNA binding is also evident to yield the oxidized [4Fe-4S](3+) cluster and the partially degraded [3Fe-4S](1+) cluster. EPR signals at g = 2.02 and 1.99 for MutY and g = 2.03 and 2.01 for Endo III are seen upon oxidation of these proteins by Co(phen)(3)(3+) in the presence of DNA and are characteristic of [3Fe-4S](1+) clusters, while oxidation of AfUDG bound to DNA yields EPR signals at g = 2.13, 2.04, and 2.02, indicative of both [4Fe-4S](3+) and [3Fe-4S](1+) clusters. On the basis of this DNA-dependent redox activity, we propose a model for the rapid detection of DNA lesions using DNA-mediated electron transfer among these repair enzymes; redox activation upon DNA binding and charge transfer through well-matched DNA to an alternate bound repair protein can lead to the rapid redistribution of proteins onto genome sites in the vicinity of DNA lesions. This redox activation furthermore establishes a functional role for the ubiquitous [4Fe-4S] clusters in DNA repair enzymes that involves redox chemistry and provides a means to consider DNA-mediated signaling within the cell.

The DNA glycosylase hNEIL1 initiates the base excision repair (BER) of a diverse array of lesions, including ring-opened purines and saturated pyrimidines. Of these, the hydantoin lesions, guanidinohydantoin (Gh) and the two diastereomers of spiroiminodihydantoin (Sp1 and Sp2) have garnered much recent attention due to their unusual structures, high mutagenic potential and detection in cells. In order to provide insight into the role of repair, the excision efficiency by hNEIL1 of these hydantoin lesions relative to other known substrates was determined. Most notably, quantitative examination of the substrate specificity with hNEIL1 revealed that the hydantoin lesions are excised much more efficiently (> 100-fold faster) than the reported standard substrates thymine glycol (Tg) and 5-hydroxycytosine (5-OHC). Importantly, the glycosylase and β,δ-lyase reactions are tightly coupled such that the rate of the lyase activity does not influence the observed substrate specificity. The activity of hNEIL1 is also influenced by the base pair partner of the lesion, with both Gh and Sp removal being more efficient when paired with T, G or C than when paired with A. Notably, the most efficient removal is observed with the Gh or Sp paired in the unlikely physiological context with T; indeed, this may be a consequence of the unstable nature of base pairs with T. However, the facile removal via BER in promutagenic base pairs that are reasonably formed after replication (such as Gh:G) may be a factor that modulates the mutagenic profile of these lesions. In addition, hNEIL1 excises Sp1 faster than Sp2 indicating the enzyme can discriminate between the two diastereomers. This is the first time that a BER glycosylase has been shown to be able to preferentially excise one diastereomer of Sp. This may be a consequence of the architecture of the active site of hNEIL1 and the structural uniqueness of the Sp lesion. These results indicate that the hydantoin lesions are the best substrates identified thus far for hNEIL1, and suggest that repair of these lesions may be a critical function of the hNEIL1 enzyme in vivo.Cells experiencing oxidative stress have an overabundance of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals (1,2). ROS are present in cells as byproducts of endogenous metabolic reactions or as a result of external sources such as ionizing radiation. The reactions mediated by ROS can lead to various types of DNA damage including strand breaks, DNA-protein cross-links, abasic sites, and base lesions, which are potentially detrimental to cells (3)(4)(5)(6). Oxidative DNA damage is mitigated by a variety of DNA repair pathways (7-9). The importance of repairing DNA damage has been highlighted by the correlation between defects in DNA repair pathways and cancer (7,(10)(11)(12). ¶ This work was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (CA90689). Although a variety of guanine oxidation products have been identified (13), most st...

MutY, like many DNA base excision repair enzymes, contains a [4Fe4S] 2؉ cluster of undetermined function. Electrochemical studies of MutY bound to a DNA-modified gold electrode demonstrate that the [4Fe4S] cluster of MutY can be accessed in a DNA-mediated redox reaction. Although not detectable without DNA, the redox potential of DNA-bound MutY is Ϸ275 mV versus NHE, which is characteristic of HiPiP iron proteins. Binding to DNA is thus associated with a change in [4Fe4S] 3؉/2؉ potential, activating the cluster toward oxidation. Given that DNA charge transport chemistry is exquisitely sensitive to perturbations in base pair structure, such as mismatches, we propose that this redox process of MutY bound to DNA exploits DNA charge transport and provides a DNA signaling mechanism to scan for mismatches and lesions in vivo.D NA repair proteins that contain a FeS redox cofactor are ubiquitous (1-7), yet a role for these factors has been lacking. Two examples, highly homologous (8), are MutY (1) and endonuclease III (Endo III) (2, 9), base excision repair enzymes from Escherichia coli (10). MutY, containing 350 residues, acts as a glycosylase to remove adenine from G:A (11-13) and 7,8-dihydro-8-oxo-2-deoxyguanonsine:A mismatches (14-21); Endo III removes pyrimidines damaged by ring saturation, contraction, or fragmentation (22-29). Although MutY and Endo III have dramatically different substrate recognition features, they both contain a [4Fe4S] 2ϩ cluster (1, 2, 9) within a Cys-X 6 -Cys-X 2 -Cys-X 5 -Cys loop located near the protein C terminus (1, 9, 30). Based on sequence alignment, a loop defined by the first two ligating cysteines, called the FCL, is proposed to be a common element of DNA repair proteins (30), present throughout phylogeny (31-37). The function, if any, for these clusters remains undetermined, although the FCL has been proposed as a structural element, aiding in DNA binding (9,30,38). Interestingly, however, MutY is capable of folding without the cluster; the [4Fe4S] 2ϩ cluster adds no stability to the enzyme, but it is critical for substrate binding and catalysis (39). The solvent-accessible [4Fe4S] 2ϩ cluster of Endo III undergoes decomposition with ferricyanide and is resistant to reduction, with an estimated midpoint potential of ϽϪ600 mV for the [4Fe4S] 2ϩ/1ϩ couple (2, 38).Here, we consider whether the [4Fe4S] 2ϩ cluster in MutY can function in DNA-mediated charge transport (CT). Many laboratories have probed DNA-mediated CT chemistry (40-42). Using biochemical, spectroscopic, and electrochemical methods, we have shown that CT through DNA can proceed over long molecular distances in a reaction that is remarkably sensitive to intervening dynamical base pair structure (43-50). DNAmediated CT has been shown to yield oxidative DNA damage from a distance within nucleosome core particles (47) and HeLa cell nuclei (51). DNA binding proteins and peptides have also been shown to modulate and participate in long-range CT chemistry (48, 49), raising the question of the physiological relevance of DNA CT....

An intriguing feature of 7,8-dihydro-8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (OG) is that it is highly reactive toward further oxidation. Indeed, OG has been shown to be a "hot spot" for oxidative damage and susceptible to oxidation by a variety of cellular oxidants. Recent work has identified two new DNA lesions, guanidinohydantoin (Gh) and spiroiminodihydantoin (Sp), resulting from one-electron oxidation of OG. The presence of Gh and Sp lesions in DNA templates has been shown to result in misinsertion of G and A by DNA polymerases, and therefore, both are potentially mutagenic DNA lesions. The base excision repair (BER) glycosylases Fpg and MutY serve to prevent mutations associated with OG in Escherichia coli, and therefore, we have investigated the ability of these two enzymes to process DNA duplex substrates containing the further oxidized OG lesions, Gh and Sp. The Fpg protein, which removes OG and a variety of other oxidized purine base lesions, was found to remove Gh and Sp efficiently opposite all four of the natural DNA bases. The intrinsic rate of damaged base excision by Fpg was measured under single-turnover conditions and was found to be highly dependent upon the identity of the base opposite the OG, Gh, or Sp lesion; as expected, OG is removed more readily from an OG:C- than an OG:A-containing substrate. However, when adenine is paired with Gh or Sp, the rate of removal of these damaged lesions by Fpg was significantly increased relative to the rate of removal of OG from an OG:A mismatch. The adenine glycosylase MutY, which removes misincorporated A residues from OG:A mismatches, is unable to remove A paired with Gh or Sp. Thus, the activity of Fpg on Gh and Sp lesions may dramatically influence their mutagenic potential. This work suggests that, in addition to OG, oxidative products resulting from further oxidation of OG should be considered when evaluating oxidative DNA damage and its associated effects on DNA mutagenesis.