8-oxodeoxyguanosine-triphosphate and 2--deoxycytidine-5--triphosphate

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, is at increased risk of accumulating damaged guanine nucleotides such as 8-oxo-dGTP and 8-oxo-GTP because of its residency in the oxidative environment of the host macrophages. By hydrolyzing the oxidized guanine nucleotides before their incorporation into nucleic acids, MutT proteins play a critical role in allowing organisms to avoid their deleterious effects. Mycobacteria possess several MutT proteins. Here, we purified recombinant M. tuberculosis MutT2 (MtuMutT2) and M. smegmatis MutT2 (MsmMutT2) proteins from M. tuberculosis (a slow grower) and M. smegmatis (fast growing model mycobacteria), respectively, for their biochemical characterization. Distinct from the Escherichia coli MutT, which hydrolyzes 8-oxo-dGTP and 8-oxo-GTP, the mycobacterial proteins hydrolyze not only 8-oxo-dGTP and 8-oxo-GTP but also dCTP and 5-methyl-dCTP. Determination of kinetic parameters (Km and Vmax) revealed that while MtuMutT2 hydrolyzes dCTP nearly four times better than it does 8-oxo-dGTP, MsmMutT2 hydrolyzes them nearly equally. Also, MsmMutT2 is about 14 times more efficient than MtuMutT2 in its catalytic activity of hydrolyzing 8-oxo-dGTP. Consistent with these observations, MsmMutT2 but not MtuMutT2 rescues E. coli for MutT deficiency by decreasing both the mutation frequency and A-to-C mutations (a hallmark of MutT deficiency). We discuss these findings in the context of the physiological significance of MutT proteins.

Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Bacterial Proteins; Deoxycytosine Nucleotides; Deoxyguanine Nucleotides; Escherichia coli; Guanosine Triphosphate; Kinetics; Molecular Sequence Data; Mutation; Mycobacterium smegmatis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Oxidation-Reduction; Recombinant Proteins; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid

8-OxoGua (8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine) is produced in nucleic acids as well as in nucleotide pools of cells, by reactive oxygen species normally formed during cellular metabolic processes. MutT protein of Escherichia coli specifically degrades 8-oxoGua-containing deoxyribo- and ribonucleoside triphosphates to corresponding nucleoside monophosphates, thereby preventing misincorporation of 8-oxoGua into DNA and RNA, which would cause mutation and phenotypic suppression, respectively. Here, we report that the MutT protein has additional activities for cleaning up the nucleotide pools to ensure accurate DNA replication and transcription. It hydrolyzes 8-oxo-dGDP to 8-oxo-dGMP with a K(m) of 0.058 microM, a value considerably lower than that for its normal counterpart, dGDP (170 microM). Furthermore, the MutT possesses an activity to degrade 8-oxo-GDP to the related nucleoside monophosphate, with a K(m) value 8000 times lower than that for GDP. These multiple enzyme activities of the MutT protein would facilitate the high fidelity of DNA and RNA syntheses.

Topics: Deoxyadenine Nucleotides; Deoxycytosine Nucleotides; Deoxyguanine Nucleotides; DNA Replication; DNA, Bacterial; Escherichia coli Proteins; Guanine; Guanosine Triphosphate; Hydrolysis; Kinetics; Multienzyme Complexes; Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases; Pyrophosphatases; RNA, Bacterial; Thymine Nucleotides; Transcription, Genetic

The MutT pyrophosphohydrolase, in the presence of Mg2+, catalyzes the hydrolysis of nucleoside triphosphates by nucleophilic substitution at Pbeta, to yield the nucleotide and PP(i). The best substrate for MutT is the mutagenic 8-oxo-dGTP, on the basis of its Km being 540-fold lower than that of dGTP. Product inhibition studies have led to a proposed uni-bi-iso kinetic mechanism, in which PP(i) dissociates first from the enzyme-product complex (k3), followed by NMP (k4), leaving a product-binding form of the enzyme (F) which converts to the substrate-binding form (E) in a partially rate-limiting step (k5) [Saraswat, V., et al. (2002) Biochemistry 41, 15566-15577]. Single- and multiple-turnover kinetic studies of the hydrolysis of dGTP and 8-oxo-dGTP and global fitting of the data to this mechanism have yielded all of the nine rate constants. Consistent with an "iso" mechanism, single-turnover studies with dGTP and 8-oxo-dGTP hydrolysis showed slow apparent second-order rate constants for substrate binding similar to their kcat/Km values, but well below the diffusion limit (approximately 10(9) M(-1) s(-1)): k(on)app = 7.2 x 10(4) M(-1) s(-1) for dGTP and k(on)app = 2.8 x 10(7) M(-1) s(-1) for 8-oxo-dGTP. These low k(on)app values are fitted by assuming a slow iso step (k5 = 12.1 s(-1)) followed by fast rate constants for substrate binding: k1 = 1.9 x 10(6) M(-1) s(-1) for dGTP and k1 = 0.75 x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1) for 8-oxo-dGTP (the latter near the diffusion limit). With dGTP as the substrate, replacing Mg2+ with Mn2+ does not change k1, consistent with the formation of a second-sphere MutT-M2+-(H2O)-dGTP complex, but slows the iso step (k5) 5.8-fold, and its reverse (k(-5)) 25-fold, suggesting that the iso step involves a change in metal coordination, likely the dissociation of Glu-53 from the enzyme-bound metal so that it can function as the general base. Multiple-turnover studies with dGTP and 8-oxo-dGTP show bursts of product formation, indicating partially rate-limiting steps following the chemical step (k2). With dGTP, the slow steps are the chemical step (k2 = 10.7 s(-1)) and the iso step (k5 = 12.1 s(-1)). With 8-oxo-dGTP, the slow steps are the release of the 8-oxo-dGMP product (k4 = 3.9 s(-1)) and the iso step (k5 = 12.1 s(-1)), while the chemical step is fast (k2 = 32.3 s(-1)). The transient kinetic studies are generally consistent with the steady state kcat and Km values. Comparison of rate constants and free energy diagrams indicate that 8-oxo-dG

Topics: Deoxycytosine Nucleotides; Deoxyguanine Nucleotides; Enzyme Activation; Escherichia coli Proteins; Kinetics; Magnesium; Manganese; Models, Chemical; Pyrophosphatases; Thermodynamics; Viscosity