8-hydroxyadenine and thymine-glycol

The blockage of transcription elongation by RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) at DNA lesions on the transcribed strand is a serious challenge to accurate transcription. Transcription-coupled DNA repair (TCR), which is assumed to be initiated by the blockage of transcription, rapidly removes lesions on the transcribed strand of expressed genes and allows the resumption of transcription. Although helix-distorting bulky damage such as a cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer is known to block transcription elongation and to be repaired by TCR, it is not clear whether oxidative DNA lesions are repaired by TCR. First, we examined whether transcription elongation by RNAPII is stalled at sites of 2-hydroxyadenine (2-OH-A), 8-oxoadenine (8-oxoA), 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG), or thymine glycol (Tg) on the transcribed strand. Our results indicate that RNAPII incorporated nucleotides opposite the lesions and then stalled. In addition, we found that transcription elongation factor TFIIS (SII) enabled RNAPII to bypass 8-oxoG but not the other types of damage, while transcription initiation and elongation factor TFIIF did not bypass 8-oxoG. These results suggest that SII is important for preventing cellular death due to oxidative DNA damage, assisting RNAPII to bypass 8-oxoG.

Topics: Adenine; Base Sequence; DNA Damage; DNA Repair; Guanine; HeLa Cells; Humans; Models, Chemical; Models, Genetic; Molecular Sequence Data; Oxygen; RNA Polymerase II; Thymine; Transcription, Genetic; Transcriptional Elongation Factors

Ultrasound can damage macromolecules by the mechanical (shearing) and sonochemical (free radical generating) action of ultrasonic cavitation. Attributing macromolecular damage to either direct mechanical stress or to indirect mechanisms involving free radicals or other sonochemicals is a challenging problem. DNA damage induced by ultrasound was evaluated by measuring the formation of purine and pyrimidine products using combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring. Samples of DNA were prepared in 10 mmol dm-3 phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.4) and saturated with a mixture of argon:oxygen (3:1). Continuous 2.17 MHz ultrasound exposures at 0.82 mPa spatial peak negative pressure amplitude were performed in a 60 rpm rotating tube exposure system. Hydrogen peroxide yields were measured after each exposure to quantify the cavitation activity and ranged up to 350 mumol dm-3 for 1-h exposures. Purine and pyrimidine products identified were those typically observed following exposure of DNA to hydroxyl radical-generating systems, such as ionizing radiation, hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase, or hydrogen peroxide in the presence of transition metal ions. The yields of these products were directly correlated with cavitation activity as measured by residual hydrogen peroxide concentrations. The yields of DNA products increased in the following order: thymine glycol approximately cytosine glycol > 8-oxoAde > FAPyAde approximately 5-HMU approximately 5,6-diOHCyt > FAPyGua. Unexpectedly, 8-oxoguanine did not exhibit a dose-dependent increase above background levels, and this observation is inconsistent with processes involving metal ion-dependent formation of hydroxyl radicals from hydrogen peroxide. In addition, the product yields were far too large to result from the residual hydrogen peroxide. Thus, ultrasonic cavitation appears to have a mode of action distinct from either ionizing radiation or formation of hydroxyl radicals via Fenton-like reaction with transition metals.

Topics: Adenine; Animals; Cattle; Cytosine; DNA Damage; Free Radicals; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Hydrogen Peroxide; Hydroxyl Radical; Purines; Pyrimidines; Thymine; Ultrasonics

The extent of DNA modification in cancerous rat live and lung tissues was investigated and compared to their respective normal tissues. Liver tumors were induced by 2-fluorenylacetamide (2-FAA) or N-nitroso-N-2-fluorenylacetamide (N-NO-2-FAA), and lung tumors were induced by sodium nitrite plus trimethylamine. In the DNA samples isolated from these tissues, two pyrimidine-derived and four purine-derived modified DNA bases were identified and quantified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with selected-ion monitoring. These compounds were characterized as 5-hydroxyuracil (5-OHUra), thymine glycol (TG), 4,6-diamino-5-formamidopyrimidine (FapyAde), 2,6-diamino-4-hydroxy-5- formamidopyrimidine (FapyGua), 8-hydroxyadenine (8-OHAde), and 8-hydroxyguanine (8-OHGua). Elevated amounts of modified DNA bases were found in most cancerous tissues when compared to the controls. Chemicals used for tumor induction were responsible for inducing DNA lesions that could be promutagenic in vivo and could lead to various types of mutations. When endogenous oxidative damage to DNA during aging was examined, a roughly 2-fold increase of thymine glycol, 8-OHAde and 8-OHGua was found in aged (12 months) rat liver tissues compared to young tissues (1 month). The same results were also found in lung tissues, except that the amount of thymine glycol exhibited more than a 10-fold increase in aged tissues when compared to young tissues. The association of the modified bases with the processes of aging and carcinogenesis deserves further investigation.

Topics: 2-Acetylaminofluorene; Adenine; Aging; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Disease Models, Animal; DNA Damage; DNA, Neoplasm; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Guanine; Hydrolysis; Liver; Liver Neoplasms, Experimental; Lung; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Methylamines; Nitrates; Oxidation-Reduction; Pyrimidines; Random Allocation; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Rats, Wistar; Thymine; Uracil