Purification of a mammalian homologue of Escherichia coli endonuclease III: identification of a bovine pyrimidine hydrate-thymine glycol DNAse/AP lyase by irreversible cross linking to a thymine glycol-containing oligoxynucleotide

We purified a homologue of the Escherichia coli DNA repair enzyme endo nuclease III 5000-fold from calf thymus which, like endonuclease III, demonstrates DNA-glycosylase activity against pyrimidine hydrates and thymine glycol and AP lyase activity (DNA strand cleavage at AP sites via beta-elimination). The functional similarity between the enzymes suggested a strategy for definitive identification of the bovine protein based on the nature of its enzyme-substrate (ES) intermediate. Prokaryotic DNA glycosylase/AP lyases function through N-acylimine (Schiff's base) ES intermediates which, upon chemical reduction to stable secondary amines, irreversibly cross link the enzyme to oligodeoxynucleotides containing substrate modified bases. We incubated endonuclease III with a 32P- labeled thymine glycol-containing oligodeoxynucleotide in the presence of NaCNBH3. This resulted in an increase in the apparent molecular weight of the enzyme by SDS-PAGE. Phosphorimaging confirmed irreversible cross linking between enzyme and DNA. Identical treatment of the most purified bovine enzyme fraction resulted in irreversible cross linking of the oligodeoxynucleotide to a predominant 31 kDa species. Amino acid analysis of the 31 kDa species revealed homology to the predicted amino acid sequence of a Caenorhabditis elegans 27.8 kDa protein which, in turn, has homology to endonuclease III. The translated amino acid sequences of two partial 3' cDNAs, from Homo sapiens and Rattus sp., also demonstrate homology to the C. elegans and bovine sequences suggesting a homologous family of endonuclease III-like DNA repair enzymes is present throughout phylogeny.     

Binding and incision activities of UvrABC excinuclease on slipped DNA intermediates that generate frameshift mutations

Previous in vivo studies involving sequence 5'-CCCG1G2G3-3' (SmaI site) have demonstrated that adducts of N-2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) to any of the three guanine residues of the SmaI sequence induce, with different efficiencies, two classes of -1 frameshift events, namely -G and -C mutations, referred to as targeted and semitargeted mutations, respectively. It has been proposed that both events occur during replication as a consequence of slippage events involving slipped mutagenic intermediates (SMIs). In order to evaluate the potential role of the UvrABC excinuclease in frameshift mutagenesis, we have studied the interaction of this enzyme with DNA molecules mimicking SMIs in vitro. In all of our constructions, when present, the AAF adduct was located on the third guanine residue of the SmaI site (5'-CCCG1G2G3-3'). This strand was referred to as the top strand, the complementary strand being the bottom strand. Double-stranded heteroduplexes mimicking the targeted and semitargeted SMIs contained a deletion of a C and a G within the SmaI sequence in the bottom strand and were designated deltaC/3 and deltaG/3 when modified with the AAF on the third guanine residue in the top strand or deltaC/O and deltaG/O when unmodified. The modified homoduplex was designated SmaI/3. deltaC/O and deltaG/O were weakly recognized by UvrA2B, but not incised. All three AAF-modified substrates were recognized with similar efficiency and much more efficiently than unmodified heteroduplexes. With AAF-monomodified substrates, dissociation of UvrA2 from the UvrA2B-DNA complex occurred more readily in heteroduplexes than in the homoduplex. SmaI/3 and deltaC/3 were incised with equal efficiency, while deltaG/3 was less incised. The position of the AAF lesion dictated the position of the incised phosphodiester bonds, suggesting that the presence of a bulge can modulate the yield but not the incision pattern of AAF-modified substrates. The finding that UvrABC excinuclease acts on substrates that mimic SMIs suggests that the nucleotide excision repair pathway may help in fixing frameshift mutations before the following round of replication.     

Human papillomavirus-specific serologic response in vulvar neoplasia

We describe a case of positional dyspnea due to compression of the tracheobronchial tree by an extensive thoracic aneurysm. In a 77-year-old woman with long-standing systemic hypertension, intermittent anterior chest pain gradually developed over several years. She had no history of asthma or thoracic trauma. She was admitted to our hospital because of sudden, severe shortness of breath. The breathlessness was markedly worse when she lay on her back or on her right side. On physical examination, she was in acute respiratory distress with cyanosis, severe hypertension (180/110 mmHg), tachycardia, and inspiratory stridor. A chest X-ray film showed loss of volume and nearly complete radiopacity of the left hemithorax. Arterial blood gas analysis revealed an arterial oxygen partial pressure of 54.8 mmHg, a carbon dioxide partial pressure of 39.8 mmHg, and an oxygen saturation of 84.5 percent on room air. Computed tomographic examination of the thorax showed dilation of the aortic arch and descending aorta, and marked compression of the trachea and the left main bronchus. Examination with a fiberoptic bronchoscope revealed extrinsic compression of the trachea just proximal to the carina. The patient's symptoms stabilized. However, she did not undergo surgery because of her age and because of the size of the aneurysm. She died due to rupture of the aneurysm.