Inosine triphosphate pyrophosphatase from Trypanosoma brucei cleanses cytosolic pools from deaminated nucleotides.

Inosine triphosphate pyrophosphatases (ITPases) are ubiquitous house-cleaning enzymes that specifically recognize deaminated purine nucleotides and catalyze their hydrolytic cleavage. In this work, we have characterized the Trypanosoma brucei ITPase ortholog (TbITPA). Recombinant TbITPA efficiently hydrolyzes (deoxy)ITP and XTP nucleotides into their respective monophosphate form. Immunolocalization analysis performed in bloodstream forms suggests that the primary role of TbITPA is the exclusion of deaminated purines from the cytosolic nucleoside triphosphate pools. Even though ITPA-knockout bloodstream parasites are viable, they are more sensitive to inhibition of IMP dehydrogenase with mycophenolic acid, likely due to an expansion of IMP, the ITP precursor. On the other hand, TbITPA can also hydrolyze the activated form of the antiviral ribavirin although in this case, the absence of ITPase activity in the cell confers protection against this nucleoside analog. This unexpected phenotype is dependant on purine availability and can be explained by the fact that ribavirin monophosphate, the reaction product generated by TbITPA, is a potent inhibitor of trypanosomal IMP dehydrogenase and GMP reductase. In summary, the present study constitutes the first report on a protozoan inosine triphosphate pyrophosphatase involved in the removal of harmful deaminated nucleotides from the cytosolic pool.

DCTPP1 prevents a mutator phenotype through the modulation of dCTP, dTTP and dUTP pools.

To maintain dNTP pool homeostasis and preserve genetic integrity of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, the synthesis and degradation of DNA precursors must be precisely regulated. Human all-alpha dCTP pyrophosphatase 1 (DCTPP1) is a dNTP pyrophosphatase with high affinity for dCTP and 5'-modified dCTP derivatives, but its contribution to overall nucleotide metabolism is controversial. Here, we identify a central role for DCTPP1 in the homeostasis of dCTP, dTTP and dUTP. Nucleotide pools and the dUTP/dTTP ratio are severely altered in DCTPP1-deficient cells, which exhibit an accumulation of uracil in genomic DNA, the activation of the DNA damage response and both a mitochondrial and nuclear hypermutator phenotype. Notably, DNA damage can be reverted by incubation with thymidine, dUTPase overexpression or uracil-DNA glycosylase suppression. Moreover, DCTPP1-deficient cells are highly sensitive to down-regulation of nucleoside salvage. Our data indicate that DCTPP1 is crucially involved in the provision of dCMP for thymidylate biosynthesis, introducing a new player in the regulation of pyrimidine dNTP levels and the maintenance of genomic integrity.

Overview of the role of kinetoplastid surface carbohydrates in infection and host cell invasion: prospects for therapeutic intervention.

Kinetoplastid parasites are responsible for serious diseases in humans and livestock such as Chagas disease and sleeping sickness (caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and Trypanosoma brucei, respectively), and the different forms of cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis (produced by Leishmania spp). The limited number of antiparasitic drugs available together with the emergence of resistance underscores the need for new therapeutic agents with novel mechanisms of action. The use of agents binding to surface glycans has been recently suggested as a new approach to antitrypanosomal design and a series of peptidic and non-peptidic carbohydrate-binding agents have been identified as antiparasitics showing efficacy in animal models of sleeping sickness. Here we provide an overview of the nature of surface glycans in three kinetoplastid parasites, T. cruzi, T. brucei and Leishmania. Their role in virulence and host cell invasion is highlighted with the aim of identifying specific glycan-lectin interactions and carbohydrate functions that may be the target of novel carbohydrate-binding agents with therapeutic applications.

Targeting Kinetoplastid and Apicomplexan Thymidylate Biosynthesis as an Antiprotozoal Strategy.

Kinetoplastid and apicomplexan parasites comprise a group of protozoans responsible for human diseases, with a serious impact on human health and the socioeconomic growth of developing countries. Chemotherapy is the main option to control these pathogenic organisms and nucleotide metabolism is considered a promising area for the provision of antimicrobial therapeutic targets. Impairment of thymidylate (dTMP) biosynthesis severely diminishes the viability of parasitic protozoa and the absence of enzymatic activities specifically involved in the formation of dTMP (e.g. dUTPase, thymidylate synthase, dihydrofolate reductase or thymidine kinase) results in decreased deoxythymidine triphosphate (dTTP) levels and the so-called thymineless death. In this process, the ratio of deoxyuridine triphosphate (dUTP) versus dTTP in the cellular nucleotide pool has a crucial role. A high dUTP/dTTP ratio leads to uracil misincorporation into DNA, the activation of DNA repair pathways, DNA fragmentation and eventually cell death. The essential character of dTMP synthesis has stimulated interest in the identification and development of drugs that specifically block the biochemical steps involved in thymine nucleotide formation. Here, we review the available literature in relation to drug discovery studies targeting thymidylate biosynthesis in kinetoplastid (genera Trypanosoma and Leishmania) and apicomplexan (Plasmodium spp and Toxoplasma gondii) protozoans. The most relevant findings concerning novel inhibitory molecules with antiparasitic activity against these human pathogens are presented herein.

Base excision repair plays an important role in the protection against nitric oxide- and in vivo-induced DNA damage in Trypanosoma brucei.

Uracil-DNA glycosylase (UNG) initiates the base excision repair pathway by excising uracil from DNA. We have previously shown that Trypanosoma brucei cells defective in UNG exhibit reduced infectivity thus demonstrating the relevance of this glycosylase for survival within the mammalian host. In the early steps of the immune response, nitric oxide (NO) is released by phagocytes, which in combination with oxygen radicals produce reactive nitrogen species (RNS). These species can react with DNA generating strand breaks and base modifications including deaminations. Since deaminated cytosines are the main substrate for UNG, we hypothesized that the glycosylase might confer protection towards nitrosative stress. Our work establishes the occurrence of genotoxic damage in Trypanosoma brucei upon exposure to NO in vitro and shows that deficient base excision repair results in increased levels of damage in DNA and a hypermutator phenotype. We also evaluate the incidence of DNA damage during infection in vivo and show that parasites recovered from mice exhibit higher levels of DNA strand breaks, base deamination and repair foci compared to cells cultured in vitro. Notably, the absence of UNG leads to reduced infectivity and enhanced DNA damage also in animal infections. By analysing mRNA and protein levels, we found that surviving UNG-KO trypanosomes highly express tryparedoxin peroxidase involved in trypanothione/tryparedoxin metabolism. These observations suggest that the immune response developed by the host enhances the activation of genes required to counteract oxidative stress and emphasize the importance of DNA repair pathways in the protection to genotoxic and oxidative stress in trypanosomes.

Insights into the role of endonuclease V in RNA metabolism in Trypanosoma brucei.

Inosine may arise in DNA as a result of oxidative deamination of adenine or misincorporation of deoxyinosine triphosphate during replication. On the other hand, the occurrence of inosine in RNA is considered a normal and essential modification induced by specific adenosine deaminases acting on mRNA and tRNA. In prokaryotes, endonuclease V (EndoV) can recognize and cleave inosine-containing DNA. In contrast, mammalian EndoVs preferentially cleave inosine-containing RNA, suggesting a role in RNA metabolism for the eukaryotic members of this protein family. We have performed a biochemical characterization of EndoV from the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei. In vitro, TbEndoV efficiently processes single-stranded RNA oligonucleotides with inosine, including A to I-edited tRNA-like substrates but exhibits weak activity over DNA, except when a ribonucleotide is placed 3' to the inosine. Immunolocalization studies performed in procyclic forms indicate that TbEndoV is mainly cytosolic yet upon nutritional stress it redistributes and accumulates in stress granules colocalizing with the DEAD-box helicase TbDhh1. RNAi-mediated depletion of TbEndoV results in moderate growth defects in procyclic cells while the two EndoV alleles could be readily knocked out in bloodstream forms. Taken together, these observations suggest an important role of TbEndoV in RNA metabolism in procyclic forms of the parasite.

The nucleotidohydrolases DCTPP1 and dUTPase are involved in the cellular response to decitabine.

Decitabine (5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine, aza-dCyd) is an anti-cancer drug used clinically for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukaemia that can act as a DNA-demethylating or genotoxic agent in a dose-dependent manner. On the other hand, DCTPP1 (dCTP pyrophosphatase 1) and dUTPase are two 'house-cleaning' nucleotidohydrolases involved in the elimination of non-canonical nucleotides. In the present study, we show that exposure of HeLa cells to decitabine up-regulates the expression of several pyrimidine metabolic enzymes including DCTPP1, dUTPase, dCMP deaminase and thymidylate synthase, thus suggesting their contribution to the cellular response to this anti-cancer nucleoside. We present several lines of evidence supporting that, in addition to the formation of aza-dCTP (5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine-5'-triphosphate), an alternative cytotoxic mechanism for decitabine may involve the formation of aza-dUMP, a potential thymidylate synthase inhibitor. Indeed, dUTPase or DCTPP1 down-regulation enhanced the cytotoxic effect of decitabine producing an accumulation of nucleoside triphosphates containing uracil as well as uracil misincorporation and double-strand breaks in genomic DNA. Moreover, DCTPP1 hydrolyses the triphosphate form of decitabine with similar kinetic efficiency to its natural substrate dCTP and prevents decitabine-induced global DNA demethylation. The data suggest that the nucleotidohydrolases DCTPP1 and dUTPase are factors involved in the mode of action of decitabine with potential value as enzymatic targets to improve decitabine-based chemotherapy.

The NTP pyrophosphatase DCTPP1 contributes to the homoeostasis and cleansing of the dNTP pool in human cells.

The size and composition of dNTP (deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate) pools influence the accuracy of DNA synthesis and consequently the genetic stability of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. In order to keep the dNTP pool in balance, the synthesis and degradation of DNA precursors must be precisely regulated. One such mechanism involves catabolic activities that convert deoxynucleoside triphosphates into their monophosphate form. Human cells possess an all-α NTP (nucleoside triphosphate) pyrophosphatase named DCTPP1 [dCTP pyrophosphatase 1; also known as XTP3-TPA (XTP3-transactivated protein A)]. In the present study, we provide an extensive characterization of this enzyme which is ubiquitously distributed in the nucleus, cytosol and mitochondria. Interestingly, we found that in addition to dCTP, methyl-dCTP and 5-halogenated nucleotides, DCTPP1 hydrolyses 5-formyl-dCTP very efficiently and with the lowest Km value described so far. Because the biological function of mammalian all-α NTP pyrophosphatases remains uncertain, we examined the role of DCTPP1 in the maintenance of pyrimidine nucleotide pools and cellular sensitivity to pyrimidine analogues. DCTPP1-deficient cells accumulate high levels of dCTP and are hypersensitive to exposure to the nucleoside analogues 5-iodo-2'-deoxycytidine and 5-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine. The results of the present study indicate that DCTPP1 has a central role in the balance of dCTP and the metabolism of deoxycytidine analogues, thus contributing to the preservation of genome integrity.

Carbohydrate-binding agents act as potent trypanocidals that elicit modifications in VSG glycosylation and reduced virulence in Trypanosoma brucei.

The surface of Trypanosoma brucei is covered by a dense coat of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored glycoproteins. The major component is the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) which is glycosylated by both paucimannose and oligomannose N-glycans. Surface glycans are poorly accessible and killing mediated by peptide lectin-VSG complexes is hindered by active endocytosis. However, contrary to previous observations, here we show that high-affinity carbohydrate binding agents bind to surface glycoproteins and abrogate growth of T. brucei bloodstream forms. Specifically, binding of the mannose-specific Hippeastrum hybrid agglutinin (HHA) resulted in profound perturbations in endocytosis and parasite lysis. Prolonged exposure to HHA led to the loss of triantennary oligomannose structures in surface glycoproteins as a result of genetic rearrangements that abolished expression of the oligosaccharyltransferase TbSTT3B gene and yielded novel chimeric enzymes. Mutant parasites exhibited markedly reduced infectivity thus demonstrating the importance of specific glycosylation patterns in parasite virulence.

Pyrimidine requirements in deoxyuridine triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase deficient Trypanosoma brucei mutants.

Trypanosomal all-alpha dUTPases are homodimeric enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of dUTP and dUDP to dUMP and PPi. Trypanosomes lack dCTP/dCMP deaminase and therefore strongly depend on dUDP/dUTP hydrolysis for dUMP production. Here we have addressed by gene replacement the consequences of elimination of dUTPase activity in bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei. We first generated conditional DUT-knockout strains that allowed an effective decrease of dUTPase resulting in proliferation arrest, although gene repression could not be sustained long enough to cause lethality. Alternatively, DUT null mutants could be isolated in the presence of high levels of thymidine while exogenous supplementation with uracil, uridine or deoxyuridine could not complement metabolically the dUTPase deficiency. Upon thymidine removal, trypanosomes exhibited impaired proliferation and eventually died. These data establish a strict requirement for dUTPase in T. brucei viability and support a major role of the enzyme in the provision of pyrimidine nucleotides in kinetoplastids.

Ubiquitin mediates the physical and functional interaction between human DNA polymerases η and ι.

Human DNA polymerases η and ι are best characterized for their ability to facilitate translesion DNA synthesis (TLS). Both polymerases (pols) co-localize in 'replication factories' in vivo after cells are exposed to ultraviolet light and this co-localization is mediated through a physical interaction between the two TLS pols. We have mapped the polη-ι interacting region to their respective ubiquitin-binding domains (UBZ in polη and UBM1 and UBM2 in polι), and demonstrate that ubiquitination of either TLS polymerase is a prerequisite for their physical and functional interaction. Importantly, while monoubiquitination of polη precludes its ability to interact with proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), it enhances its interaction with polι. Furthermore, a polι-ubiquitin chimera interacts avidly with both polη and PCNA. Thus, the ubiquitination status of polη, or polι plays a key regulatory function in controlling the protein partners with which each polymerase interacts, and in doing so, determines the efficiency of targeting the respective polymerase to stalled replication forks where they facilitate TLS.

Increased uracil insertion in DNA is cytotoxic and increases the frequency of mutation, double strand break formation and VSG switching in Trypanosoma brucei.

Deoxyuridine 5'-triphosphate pyrophosphatase (dUTPase) and uracil-DNA glycosylase (UNG) are key enzymes involved in the control of the presence of uracil in DNA. While dUTPase prevents uracil misincorporation by removing dUTP from the deoxynucleotide pool, UNG excises uracil from DNA as a first step of the base excision repair pathway (BER). Here, we report that strong down-regulation of dUTPase in UNG-deficient Trypanosoma brucei cells greatly impairs cell viability in both bloodstream and procyclic forms, underscoring the extreme sensitivity of trypanosomes to uracil in DNA. Depletion of dUTPase activity in the absence of UNG provoked cell cycle alterations, massive dUTP misincorporation into DNA and chromosomal fragmentation. Overall, trypanosomatid cells that lack dUTPase and UNG activities exhibited greater proliferation defects and DNA damage than cells deficient in only one of these activities. To determine the mutagenic consequences of uracil in DNA, mutation rates and spectra were analyzed in dUTPase-depleted cells in the presence of UNG activity. These cells displayed a spontaneous mutation rate 9-fold higher than the parental cell line. Base substitutions at A:T base pairs and deletion frequencies were both significantly enhanced which is consistent with the generation of mutagenic AP sites and DNA strand breaks. The increase in strand breaks conveyed a concomitant increase in VSG switching in vitro. The low tolerance of T. brucei to uracil in DNA emphasizes the importance of uracil removal and regulation of intracellular dUTP pool levels in cell viability and genetic stability and suggests potential strategies to compromise parasite survival.

Trypanosomes lacking uracil-DNA glycosylase are hypersensitive to antifolates and present a mutator phenotype.

Cells contain low amounts of uracil in DNA which can be the result of dUTP misincorporation during replication or cytosine deamination. Elimination of uracil in the base excision repair pathway yields an abasic site, which is potentially mutagenic unless repaired. The Trypanosoma brucei genome presents a single uracil-DNA glycosylase responsible for removal of uracil from DNA. Here we establish that no excision activity is detected on U:G, U:A pairs or single-strand uracil-containing DNA in uracil-DNA glycosylase null mutant cell extracts, indicating the absence of back-up uracil excision activities. While procyclic forms can survive with moderate amounts of uracil in DNA, an analysis of the mutation rate and spectra in mutant cells revealed a hypermutator phenotype where the predominant events were GC to AT transitions and insertions. Defective elimination of uracil via the base excision repair pathway gives rise to hypersensitivity to antifolates and oxidative stress and an increased number of DNA strand breaks, suggesting the activation of alternative DNA repair pathways. Finally, we show that uracil-DNA glycosylase defective cells exhibit reduced infectivity in vivo demonstrating that efficient uracil elimination is important for survival within the mammalian host.

Kinetic analyses and inhibition studies reveal novel features in peptide deformylase 1 from Trypanosoma cruzi.

In eubacteria and eukaryotic organelles N-terminal methionine excision requires the sequential action of two activities, a peptide deformylase (PDF), which systematically removes the N-formyl group present on all nascent polypeptides and methionine aminopeptidase (MAP), which exscinds methionine specifically and depends on the previous removal of the N-formyl group. In Trypanosoma cruzi two genes encoding bacterial PDF homologues have been identified and referred to as TcPDF-1 and TcPDF-2. Here we report the biochemical characterization of a truncated soluble version of TcPDF-1 lacking the hydrophobic N-terminal domain that is active with the bacterial PDF substrate formyl-methionyl-alanyl-serine but, in contrast to other PDFs, is not inhibited by actinonin. The enzyme is strongly activated by Cu(2+) and inhibited by Ni(2+). Our results show that T. cruzi PDF exhibits unique features thus providing a new avenue for the design of potential inhibitors for use in the treatment of diseases caused by trypanosomatid parasites.

Trypanosoma brucei AP endonuclease 1 has a major role in the repair of abasic sites and protection against DNA-damaging agents.

DNA repair mechanisms guarantee the maintenance of genome integrity, which is critical for cell viability and proliferation in all organisms. As part of the cellular defenses to DNA damage, apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonucleases repair the abasic sites produced by spontaneous hydrolysis, oxidative or alkylation base damage and during base excision repair (BER). Trypanosoma brucei, the protozoan pathogen responsible of human sleeping sickness, has a class II AP endonuclease (TBAPE1) with a high degree of homology to human APE1 and bacterial exonuclease III. The purified recombinant enzyme cleaves AP sites and removes 3'-phosphoglycolate groups from 3'-ends. To study its cellular function, we have established TBAPE1-deficient cell lines derived from bloodstream stage trypanosomes, thus confirming that the AP endonuclease is not essential for viability in this cell type under in vitro culture conditions. The role of TBAPE1 in the removal of AP sites is supported by the inverse correlation between the level of AP endonuclease in the cell and the number of endogenously generated abasic sites in its genomic DNA. Furthermore, depletion of TBAPE1 renders cells hypersensitive to AP site and strand break-inducing agents such as methotrexate and phleomycin respectively but not to alkylating agents. Finally, the increased susceptibility that TBAPE1-depleted cells show to nitric oxide suggests an essential role for this DNA repair enzyme in protection against the immune defenses of the mammalian host.

Site-directed mutagenesis provides insights into the selective binding of trityl derivatives to Plasmodium falciparum dUTPase.

We have previously identified a series of triphenylmethane derivatives of deoxyuridine with antimalarial activity in vitro which selectively inhibit Plasmodium falciparum deoxyuridine triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase (PfdUTPase) compared to the human enzyme. The crystal structure of PfdUTPase in complex with one of these inhibitors suggested that the triphenylmethane derivative was selective due to a series of interactions between the trityl group and the side chains of residues Phe(46), Ile(117) and Lys(96) located in a hydrophobic pocket distinct from the phosphate binding site. Here we show by site-directed mutagenesis that the hydrophobic nature of the trityl binding site and in particular aromatic interactions established between the inhibitor and residue Phe(46) contribute significantly to the binding of uracil-based derivatives containing trityl groups in the 5'-position. Thus, changing Phe(46) for alanine resulted in increased K(i) values for all compounds tested. Conversely, substitution of the polar residue Lys(96) for Ala results in smaller K(i) values and an increase in selectivity with regard to human dUTPase. This information will aid in the design of inhibitors with improved activity against the Plasmodium enzyme.

Construction of a circular single-stranded DNA template containing a defined lesion.

We report a concise and efficient method to make a circular single-stranded DNA containing a defined DNA lesion. In this protocol, phagemid DNA containing Uracil is used as a template to synthesize a complementary DNA strand using T7 DNA polymerase and an oligonucleotide primer including a site-specific DNA lesion. The ligated lesion-containing strand can be recovered after the phage-derived template DNA is degraded by treatment with E. coli Uracil DNA glycosylase and Exonucleases I and III. The resulting product is a circular single-stranded DNA containing a defined DNA lesion suitable for in vitro translesion replication assays.

Identification of a residue critical for the excision of 3'-blocking ends in apurinic/apyrimidinic endonucleases of the Xth family.

DNA single-strand breaks containing 3'-blocking groups are generated from attack of the sugar backbone by reactive oxygen species or after base excision by DNA glycosylase/apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) lyases. In human cells, APE1 excises sugar fragments that block the 3'-ends thus facilitating DNA repair synthesis. In Leishmania major, the causal agent of leishmaniasis, the APE1 homolog is the class II AP endonuclease LMAP. Expression of LMAP but not of APE1 reverts the hypersensitivity of a xth nfo repair-deficient Escherichia coli strain to the oxidative compound hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). To identify the residues specifically involved in the repair of oxidative DNA damage, we generated random mutations in the ape1 gene and selected those variants that conferred protection against H(2)O(2). Among the resistant clones, we isolated a mutant in the nuclease domain of APE1 (D70A) with an increased capacity to remove 3'-blocking ends in vitro. D70 of APE1 aligns with A138 of LMAP and mutation of the latter to aspartate significantly reduces its 3'-phosphodiesterase activity. Kinetic analysis shows a novel role of residue D70 in the excision rate of 3'-blocking ends. The functional and structural differences between the parasite and human enzymes probably reflect a divergent molecular evolution of their DNA repair responses to oxidative damage.

Insights into the cellular role of enigmatic DNA polymerase iota.

It has been a decade since the discovery of human DNA polymerase iota (poliota). Since that time, the enzyme has been characterized extensively at the biochemical level, but the cellular function of poliota remains enigmatic. Recent studies on poliota have, however, provided much needed insights into its biological role(s) and suggest that the enzyme plays important functions in protecting humans from the deleterious consequences of exposure to both oxidative- and ultraviolet light-induced DNA damage.

Kinetic properties and inhibition of the dimeric dUTPase-dUDPase from Campylobacter jejuni.

The enzyme deoxyuridine 5'-triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase (dUTPase) catalyses the hydrolysis of dUTP to dUMP and PPi thus controlling the incorporation of uracil into DNA genomes. In Campylobacter jejuni dUTPase exhibits structural properties of dimeric proteins characteristic of protozoa of the Kinetoplastidae family. In the present study we perform a kinetic analysis of Campylobacter dUTPase using the continuous spectrophotometric method and show that the enzyme is highly specific for deoxyuridine nucleotides. The Michaelis-Menten constant for dUTP was 0.66 microM while the k(cat) was 12.3 s(- 1). dUDP was also efficiently hydrolysed although the specificity constant, k(cat)/K(m), was five fold lower than for dUTP. The reaction product and the non hydrolysable analogue alpha,beta imido dUDP are potent inhibitors of the enzyme while several analogues of dUMP with substituents at the 3'- and 5'-positions active against trimeric dUTPases, show poor inhibitory activity. Apparent structural and kinetic differences with other eukaryotic dUTPases suggest that the present enzyme might be exploited as a target for new drugs against campylobacteriosis.