Electron-Induced Damage by UV Photolysis of DNA Attached to Gold Nanoparticles.

Photolysis of DNA attached to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with ultraviolet (UV) photons induces DNA damage. The release of nucleobases (Cyt, Gua, Ade, and Thy) from DNA was the major reaction (99%) with an approximately equal release of pyrimidines and purines. This reaction contributes to the formation of abasic sites in DNA. In addition, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/MS (LC-MS/MS) analysis revealed the formation of reduction products of pyrimidines (5,6-dihydrothymidine and 5,6-dihydro-2'-deoxyuridine) and eight 2',3'- and 2',5'-dideoxynucleosides. In contrast, there was no evidence of the formation of 5-hydroxymethyluracil and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine, which are common oxidation products of thymine and guanine, respectively. Using appropriate filters, the main photochemical reactions were found to involve photoelectrons ejected from AuNPs by UV photons. The contribution of "hot" conduction band electrons with energies below the photoemission threshold was minor. The mechanism for the release of free nucleobases by photoelectrons is proposed to take place by the initial formation of transient molecular anions of the nucleobases, followed by dissociative electron attachment at the C1'-N glycosidic bond connecting the nucleobase to the sugar-phosphate backbone. This mechanism is consistent with the reactivity of secondary electrons ejected by X-ray irradiation of AuNPs attached to DNA, as well as the reactions of various nucleic acid derivatives irradiated with monoenergetic very-low-energy electrons (∼2 eV). These studies should help us to understand the chemistry of nanoparticles that are exposed to UV light and that are used as scaffolds and catalysts in molecular biology, curative agents in photodynamic therapy, and components of sunscreens and cosmetics.

Indenone derivatives as inhibitor of human DNA dealkylation repair enzyme AlkBH3.

The mammalian AlkB homologue-3 (AlkBH3) is a member of the dioxygenase family of enzymes that in humans is involved in DNA dealkylation repair. Because of its role in promoting tumor cell proliferation and metastasis of cancer, extensive efforts are being directed in developing selective inhibitors for AlkBH3. Here we report synthesis, screening and evaluation of panel of arylated indenone derivatives as new class of inhibitors of AlkBH3 DNA repair activity. An efficient synthesis of 2,3-diaryl indenones from 2,3-dibromo indenones was achieved via Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling. Using a robust quantitative assay, we have obtained an AlkBH3 inhibitor that display specific binding and competitive mode of inhibition against DNA substrate. Finally, we established that this compound could prevent the proliferation of lung cancer cell line and enhance sensitivity to DNA damaging alkylating agent.

Shape Resonances in DNA: Nucleobase Release, Reduction, and Dideoxynucleoside Products Induced by 1.3 to 2.3 eV Electrons.

Understanding the details of DNA damage caused by high-energy particles or photons is complicated by the multitude of reactive species, arising from the ionization and dissociation of H2O, DNA, and protein. In this work, oligonucleotides (ODNs) are irradiated with a beam of low-energy electrons of 1.3 to 2.3 eV, which can only induce damage via the decay of shape resonances into various dissociative electron attachment channels. Using LC-MS/MS analysis, the major products are the release of nonmodified nucleobases (NB; Cyt ≫ Thy ∼ Ade > Gua). Additional damage includes 5,6-dihydropyrimidines (dHT > dHU) and eight nucleosides with modified sugar moieties consisting of 2',3'- and 2',5'-dideoxynucleosides (ddG > ddA ∼ ddC > ddT). The distribution of products is remarkably different in a 16-mer ODN compared to that observed previously with thymidylyl-(3'-5')-thymidine. This difference is explained by electron delocalization occurring within a sufficiently long strand, the DEA theory of O'Malley, and recent time-dependent density functional theory calculations.

Profiling DNA Damage Induced by the Irradiation of DNA with Gold Nanoparticles.

The presence of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) greatly enhances the formation of DNA damage when exposed to therapeutic X-rays. Three types of DNA damage are assessed in irradiated DNA by enzymatic digestion coupled to liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. The major type of damage is release of the four nonmodified nucleobases, with a bias toward the release of cytosine and thymine. The second most important pathway involves the formation of several common reduction and oxidation products of DNA. Lastly, eight unique modifications of the 2-deoxyribose moiety are formed, which includes the 2',3'- and 2',5'-dideoxynucleosides (ddNs) of the four canonical nucleosides. The yield of ddNs decreases in the following order: ddG > ddA > ddC > ddT. From the yield and distribution of products, most of the damage is considered to arise from the generation of Auger/low-energy electrons (LEEs) and their reaction with DNA.

Synthesis of 2-Chloro-3-amino indenone derivatives and their evaluation as inhibitors of DNA dealkylation repair.

DNA alkylation damage, emanating from the exposure to environmental alkylating agents or produced by certain endogenous metabolic processes, affects cell viability and genomic stability. Fe(II)/2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase enzymes, such as Escherichia coli AlkB, are involved in protecting DNA from alkylation damage. Inspired by the natural product indenone derivatives reported to inhibit this class of enzymes, and a set of 2-chloro-3-amino indenone derivatives was synthesized and screened for their inhibitory properties against AlkB. The synthesis of 2-chloro-3-amino indenone derivatives was achieved from 2,3-dichloro indenones through addition-elimination method using alkyl/aryl amines under catalyst-free conditions. Using an in vitro reconstituted DNA repair assay, we have identified a 2-chloro-3-amino indenone compound 3o to be an inhibitor of AlkB. We have determined the binding affinity, mode of interaction, and kinetic parameters of inhibition of 3o and tested its ability to sensitize cells to methyl methanesulfonate that mainly produce DNA alkylation damage. This study established the potential of indenone-derived compounds as inhibitors of Fe(II)/2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase AlkB.

The HIV - 1 protease inhibitor Amprenavir targets Leishmania donovani topoisomerase I and induces oxidative stress-mediated programmed cell death.

The global prevalence of HIV is a major challenge for the control of visceral leishmaniasis. Although the effectiveness and usefulness of amprenavir (APV) are well studied in anti-retroviral regimens, very little is known on HIV/VL-co-infected patients. In the present study, we report for the first time the protective efficacy of APV against visceral leishmaniasis by inhibition of DNA Topoisomerase I (LdTOP1LS) and APV-induced downstream pathway in programmed cell death (PCD). During the early phase of activation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) is increased inside the cells, which causes subsequent elevation of lipid peroxidation. Endogenous ROS formation and lipid peroxidation cause eventual depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm). Furthermore, the release of cytochrome c and activation of CED3/CPP32 group of proteases lead to the formation of oxidative DNA lesions followed by DNA fragmentation. The promising in vitro and ex vivo results promoted to substantiate further by in vivo animal experiment, which showed a significant reduction of splenic and hepatic parasites burden compared to infected controls. Interestingly, APV selectively targets LdTOPILS and does not inhibit the catalytic activity of human topoisomerase I (hTopI). Moreover, based on the cytotoxicity test APV is not toxic for host macrophage cells, which is correlated with non-responsiveness of inhibition of catalytic activity of hTopI. Taken together, this study provides the opportunity for discovering and evaluating newer potential molecular therapeutic targets for drug designing. The present study might be exploited in future as important therapeutics, which will be useful for treatment of VL as well as HIV-VL co-infection.

Visual detection of G-quadruplex with mushroom derived highly fluorescent carbon quantum dots.

G-quadruplexes are secondary DNA structures frequently found in telomeres and DNA sequences related to gene regulation, etc. Herein, we report a label free, sensitive and visually detectable fluorescence based biosensing platform for the detection of G-quadruplexes in DNA. Highly fluorescent N-doped carbon quantum dot (CD) with enriched functional groups was synthesized from Ganoderma lucidum, an oriental fungus by using a green hydrothermal process. Noncovalent functionalization of CD was done with Hemin where Hemin/CD conjugate forms a quenched union. However, in presence of DNA sequences that contain G-quadruplexes, the fluorescence of CD is restored selectively. The fluorescence restoration of CD is attributed to the stripping of Hemin from Hemin/CD conjugate that preferably slide into the G quadruplexes leaving CD. This increase in CD fluorescence is easily detectable under hand-held UV light without any other instrumental intervention for G-quadruplex containing DNA only and not in any other DNA samples. Also, such selective fluorescent recovery was not observed with chemically synthesized CD that lack hydroxyl functionality.

Complex interplay of lesion-specific DNA repair enzyme on bistranded clustered DNA damage harboring Tg:G mismatch in nucleosome core particles.

5,6-Dihydroxy-5,6-dihydrothymine (thymine glycol) and 7,8-dihydro-8-oxo-20-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) are major DNA damage lesions produced by endogenous oxidative stress, as well as inflicted by carcinogens and ionizing radiation. The processing of Tg:G mismatch and 8-oxodG in close proximity of each other in a bistranded clustered environment in DNA oligomer duplexes as well as in a nucleosome core particle (NCP) model are reported here. The processing of the lesions was evaluated by purified enzyme cocktails of hNTH1 and hOGG1 as well as with a HeLa cell extract. Interestingly, the yield of double-strand breaks (DSBs) resulting from the processing of the bistranded lesions are appreciably lower when the DNA is treated with the HeLa cell extract compared with the relevant purified enzyme cocktail in both models. Clustered bistranded lesions become more repair refractive when reconstituted as an NCP. This indicates a complex interplay between the repair enzymes that influence the processing of the bistranded cluster damage positively to avoid the formation of DSBs under cellular conditions. In addition to position and orientation of the lesions, the type of the lesions in the cluster environment in DNA along with the relative abundance of the lesion-specific enzymes in the cells strongly prevents the processing of the oxidized nucleobases.

Vicinal abasic site impaired processing of a Tg:G mismatch and 8-oxoguanine lesions in three-component bistranded clustered DNA damage.

The occurrence of 7,8-dihydro-8-oxo-2'deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), thymine glycol:guanine (Tg:G) mismatch and abasic site DNA damage lesions in close proximity induce repair refractive multicomponent clustered DNA damage. Herein, the influence of abasic sites in the processing of 8-oxodG lesion and Tg:G mismatch bistranded cluster is evaluated. Abasic sites are found to impart conformational destabilization that appreciably hinders the repair activity of the other lesions whenever present in a cluster combination. The repair process reduces the formation of double strand breaks (DSBs) and renders this three-lesion combination a non-DSB forming cluster. The stability of the DNA duplex harbouring these three lesions is highly compromised due to altered base helicity and base stacking phenomena leading to impaired repair.

Accelerated processing of solitary and clustered abasic site DNA damage lesions by APE1 in the presence of aqueous extract of Ganoderma lucidum.

The stimulatory effect of the aqueous extract of G. lucidum, a basidiomycetes class fungus in the APE1-enzyme-mediated processing of solitary and bistranded clustered abasic sites DNA damages is presented. Abasic sites are considered the most common type of DNA damage lesions. Our study shows enhanced activity of APE1 in the processing of abasic sites in the presence of the polysaccharides fraction of G. lucidum. Remarkable increase in the amount of single-strand breaks (SSBs) and double-strand breaks (DSBs) from solitary and bistranded clustered abasic sites respectively with APE1 in the presence of the extract was found. This trend is maintained when abasic sites in DNA oligomers are exposed to fibroblast cell extracts in the presence of the extract. While DNA conformational alteration is negligible, APE1 enzyme shows characteristic changes in the alpha helix and beta strand ratio after incubation with G. lucidum extract. The enhanced reactivity of APE1 at the molecular level in the presence of G. lucidium is attributed to this effect. This study potentially amplifies the scope of the use of G. lucidum, which was earlier shown to have only reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging properties with regards to DNA damage inhibition.

Direct observation of preferential processing of clustered abasic DNA damages with APE1 in TATA box and CpG island by reaction kinetics and fluorescence dynamics.

Sequences like the core element of TATA box and CpG island are frequently encountered in the genome and related to transcription. The fate of repair of clustered abasic sites in such sequences of genomic importance is largely unknown. This prompted us to investigate the sequence dependence of cleavage efficiency of APE1 enzyme at abasic sites within the core sequences of TATA box and CpG island using fluorescence dynamics and reaction kinetics. Simultaneous molecular dynamics study through steady state and time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy using unique ethidium bromide dye release assay confirmed an elevated amount of abasic site cleavage of the TATA box sequence as compared to the core CpG island. Reaction kinetics showed that catalytic efficiency of APE1 for abasic site cleavage of core CpG island sequence was ∼4 times lower as compared to that of the TATA box. Higher value of Km was obtained from the core CpG island sequence than the TATA box sequence. This suggests a greater binding effect of APE1 enzyme on TATA sequence that signifies a prominent role of the sequence context of the DNA substrate. Evidently, a faster response from APE1 was obtained for clustered abasic damage repair of TATA box core sequences than CpG island consensus sequences. The neighboring bases of the abasic sites in the complementary DNA strand were found to have significant contribution in addition to the flanking bases in modulating APE1 activity. The repair refractivity of the bistranded clustered abasic sites arise from the slow processing of the second abasic site, consequently resulting in decreased overall production of potentially lethal double strand breaks.

Processing of abasic site damaged lesions by APE1 enzyme on DNA adsorbed over normal and organomodified clay.

The efficiency of the apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (APE1) DNA repair enzyme in the processing of abasic site DNA damage lesions at precise location in DNA oligomer duplexes that are adsorbed on clay surfaces was evaluated. Three different forms of clay namely montmorillonite, quaternary ammonium salt modified montmorillonite and its boiled counterpart i.e. partially devoid of organic moiety were used for a comparative study of adsorption, desorption and DNA repair efficiency on their surfaces. The interaction between the DNA and the clay was analysed by X-ray diffraction, Atomic force microscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy and Infrared spectroscopy. The abasic site cleavage efficiency of APE1 enzyme was quantitatively evaluated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Apart from the difference in the DNA adsorption or desorption capacity of the various forms of clay, substantial variation in the repair efficiency of abasic sites initiated by the APE1 enzyme on the clay surfaces was observed. The incision efficiency of APE1 enzyme at abasic sites was found to be greatly diminished, when the DNA was adsorbed over organomodified montmorillonite. The reduced repair activity indicates an important role of the pendant surfactant groups on the clay surfaces in directing APE1 mediated cleavage of abasic site DNA damage lesions.