Binding of nuclear proteins associated with mammalian DNA repair to the mitomycin C-DNA interstrand crosslink.

Mitomycin C (MMC) is a DNA crosslinking agent that is used in cancer chemotherapy. Unlike the DNA crosslinks formed by cisplatin or psoralen, which significantly distort the DNA helix, the MMC crosslink does not significantly disturb the B-DNA helical structure. Nonetheless, MMC interstrand crosslinks and total MMC adducts are rapidly removed in vivo. We investigated whether mammalian nuclear proteins can recognize and bind to a model 23 bp DNA duplex containing a single MMC lesion. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays identified two complexes in nuclear extracts from rodent cell lines and three complexes in human cell lines, containing proteins that appeared to specifically recognize the MMC interstrand crosslink. Nuclear extracts from normal and excision repair-defective mutant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines, from human Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP) complementation group A and E cell lines, and a Fanconi's Anemia cell line were also examined. The UV-20 CHO line, defective in ERCC-1, was missing one of the two rodent complexes. Two of the three human complexes were also absent in the XPA human cell line and the intensity of the third complex was significantly diminished. Based on these results, a model for MMC crosslink recognition is proposed in which ERCC-1 and XPA each participate in formation of one or more multimeric complexes on the crosslinked DNA and XPA also aids in the formation, but is not a component of a higher molecularweight multimeric complex that may contain ERCC-1.

Identification of an additional p53-responsive site in the human epidermal growth factor receptor gene promotor.

Exogenously introduced wild-type and mutant p53 have recently been reported to enhance the human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) gene promoter activity in p53-deficient Saos2 osteosarcoma cells. A p53 binding site residing at position -265/-239 in the EGF-R proximal promoter has also been identified. We investigated the p53 regulation of EGF-R core promoter activity in human cell lines with varying endogenour p53 status. Wild-type and mutant p53Ala143 enhanced the EGF-R core promotor activity in cells that were either p53-deficient or contained wild-type or mutant endogenous p53. Upon further characterization of the various deletion fragments of the EGF-R promoter, we identified a wild-type p53 responsive 62 bp region residing at position -167/-105. The -167/-105 segment was responsive only to wild-type p53 but not to mutant p53Ala143 or p53His273. The -167/-105 segment of the EGF-R promotor contains one perfect and several imperfect consensus p53-binding half sites; indeed in gel shift experiments the 62 bp -167/-105 segment as well as the oligonucleotides corresponding to two p53 consensus half-sites within the 62 bp fragment, exhibited binding to p53-containing protein complexes. Thus, we have identified an additional wild-type p53 responsive site in the human EGF-R promoter. This site containing consensus p53-binding sequences resides at position -167/-105 and is proximal to recently identified p53 binding element located at position -265/-239 in the EGF-R promotor.