The calf 5‘- to 3‘-exonuclease is also an endonuclease with both activities dependent on primers annealed upstream of the point of cleavage

Canonical and novel non-canonical activities of the Holliday junction resolvase Yen1

Yen1 and GEN1 are members of the Rad2/XPG family of nucleases that were identified as the first canonical nuclear Holliday junction (HJ) resolvases in budding yeast and humans due to their ability to introduce two symmetric, coordinated incisions on opposite strands of the HJ, yielding nicked DNA products that could be readily ligated. While GEN1 has been extensively characterized in vitro, much less is known about the biochemistry of Yen1. Here, we have performed the first in-depth characterization of purified Yen1. We confirmed that Yen1 resembles GEN1 in many aspects, including range of substrates targeted, position of most incisions they produce or the increase in the first incision rate by assembly of a dimer on a HJ, despite minor differences. However, we demonstrate that Yen1 is endowed with additional nuclease activities, like a nick-specific 5′-3′ exonuclease or HJ arm-chopping that could apparently blur its classification as a canonical HJ resolvase. Despite this, we show that Yen1 fulfils the requirements of a canonical HJ resolvase and hypothesize that its wider array of nuclease activities might contribute to its function in the removal of persistent recombination or replication intermediates.

Base Excision DNA Repair Deficient Cells: From Disease Models to Genotoxicity Sensors

Base excision DNA repair (BER) is a vitally important pathway that protects the cell genome from many kinds of DNA damage, including oxidation, deamination, and hydrolysis. It involves several tightly coordinated steps, starting from damaged base excision and followed by nicking one DNA strand, incorporating an undamaged nucleotide, and DNA ligation. Deficiencies in BER are often embryonic lethal or cause morbid diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration, or severe immune pathologies. Starting from the early 1980s, when the first mammalian cell lines lacking BER were produced by spontaneous mutagenesis, such lines have become a treasure trove of valuable information about the mechanisms of BER, often revealing unexpected connections with other cellular processes, such as antibody maturation or epigenetic demethylation. In addition, these cell lines have found an increasing use in genotoxicity testing, where they provide increased sensitivity and representativity to cell-based assay panels. In this review, we outline current knowledge about BER-deficient cell lines and their use.

Flap endonuclease activity of gene 6 exonuclease of bacteriophage T7

Flap endonucleases remove flap structures generated during DNA replication. Gene 6 protein of bacteriophage T7 is a 5'-3'-exonuclease specific for dsDNA. Here we show that gene 6 protein also possesses a structure-specific endonuclease activity similar to known flap endonucleases. The flap endonuclease activity is less active relative to its exonuclease activity. The major cleavage by the endonuclease activity occurs at a position one nucleotide into the duplex region adjacent to a dsDNA-ssDNA junction. The efficiency of cleavage of the flap decreases with increasing length of the 5'-overhang. A 3'-single-stranded tail arising from the same end of the duplex as the 5'-tail inhibits gene 6 protein flap endonuclease activity. The released flap is not degraded further, but the exonuclease activity then proceeds to hydrolyze the 5'-terminal strand of the duplex. T7 gene 2.5 single-stranded DNA-binding protein stimulates the exonuclease and also the endonuclease activity. This stimulation is attributed to a specific interaction between the two proteins because Escherichia coli single-stranded DNA binding protein does not produce this stimulatory effect. The ability of gene 6 protein to remove 5'-terminal overhangs as well as to remove nucleotides from the 5'-termini enables it to effectively process the 5'-termini of Okazaki fragments before they are ligated.

Human Fanconi anemia complementation group a protein stimulates the 5' flap endonuclease activity of FEN1

In eukaryotic cells, Flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) is a major structure-specific endonuclease that processes 5’ flapped structures during maturation of lagging strand DNA synthesis, long patch base excision repair, and rescue of stalled replication forks. Here we report that fanconi anemia complementation group A protein (FANCA), a protein that recognizes 5’ flap structures and is involved in DNA repair and maintenance of replication forks, constantly stimulates FEN1-mediated incision of both DNA and RNA flaps. Kinetic analyses indicate that FANCA stimulates FEN1 by increasing the turnover rate of FEN1 and altering its substrate affinity. More importantly, six pathogenic FANCA mutants are significantly less efficient than the wild-type at stimulating FEN1 endonuclease activity, implicating that regulation of FEN1 by FANCA contributes to the maintenance of genomic stability.

Base excision repair in physiology and pathology of the central nervous system

Relatively low levels of antioxidant enzymes and high oxygen metabolism result in formation of numerous oxidized DNA lesions in the tissues of the central nervous system. Accumulation of damage in the DNA, due to continuous genotoxic stress, has been linked to both aging and the development of various neurodegenerative disorders. Different DNA repair pathways have evolved to successfully act on damaged DNA and prevent genomic instability. The predominant and essential DNA repair pathway for the removal of small DNA base lesions is base excision repair (BER). In this review we will discuss the current knowledge on the involvement of BER proteins in the maintenance of genetic stability in different brain regions and how changes in the levels of these proteins contribute to aging and the onset of neurodegenerative disorders.

Biochemical analyses indicate that binding and cleavage specificities define the ordered processing of human Okazaki fragments by Dna2 and FEN1

In eukaryotic Okazaki fragment processing, the RNA primer is displaced into a single-stranded flap prior to removal. Evidence suggests that some flaps become long before they are cleaved, and that this cleavage involves the sequential action of two nucleases. Strand displacement characteristics of the polymerase show that a short gap precedes the flap during synthesis. Using biochemical techniques, binding and cleavage assays presented here indicate that when the flap is ∼30 nt long the nuclease Dna2 can bind with high affinity to the flap and downstream double strand and begin cleavage. When the polymerase idles or dissociates the Dna2 can reorient for additional contacts with the upstream primer region, allowing the nuclease to remain stably bound as the flap is further shortened. The DNA can then equilibrate to a double flap that can bind Dna2 and flap endonuclease (FEN1) simultaneously. When Dna2 shortens the flap even more, FEN1 can displace the Dna2 and cleave at the flap base to make a nick for ligation.

Okazaki fragment maturation: nucleases take centre stage

Completion of lagging strand DNA synthesis requires processing of up to 50 million Okazaki fragments per cell cycle in mammalian cells. Even in yeast, the Okazaki fragment maturation happens approximately a million times during a single round of DNA replication. Therefore, efficient processing of Okazaki fragments is vital for DNA replication and cell proliferation. During this process, primase-synthesized RNA/DNA primers are removed, and Okazaki fragments are joined into an intact lagging strand DNA. The processing of RNA/DNA primers requires a group of structure-specific nucleases typified by flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1). Here, we summarize the distinct roles of these nucleases in different pathways for removal of RNA/DNA primers. Recent findings reveal that Okazaki fragment maturation is highly coordinated. The dynamic interactions of polymerase δ, FEN1 and DNA ligase I with proliferating cell nuclear antigen allow these enzymes to act sequentially during Okazaki fragment maturation. Such protein-protein interactions may be regulated by post-translational modifications. We also discuss studies using mutant mouse models that suggest two distinct cancer etiological mechanisms arising from defects in different steps of Okazaki fragment maturation. Mutations that affect the efficiency of RNA primer removal may result in accumulation of unligated nicks and DNA double-strand breaks. These DNA strand breaks can cause varying forms of chromosome aberrations, contributing to development of cancer that associates with aneuploidy and gross chromosomal rearrangement. On the other hand, mutations that impair editing out of polymerase α incorporation errors result in cancer displaying a strong mutator phenotype.

Complementary non-radioactive assays for investigation of human flap endonuclease 1 activity

FEN1, a key participant in DNA replication and repair, is the major human flap endonuclease that recognizes and cleaves flap DNA structures. Deficiencies in FEN1 function or deletion of the fen1 gene have profound biological effects, including the suppression of repair of DNA damage incurred from the action of various genotoxic agents. Given the importance of FEN1 in resolving abnormal DNA structures, inhibitors of the enzyme carry a potential as enhancers of DNA-interactive anticancer drugs. To facilitate the studies of FEN1 activity and the search for novel inhibitors, we developed a pair of complementary-readout homogeneous assays utilizing fluorogenic donor/quencher and AlphaScreen chemiluminescence strategies. A previously reported FEN1 inhibitor 3-hydroxy-5-methyl-1-phenylthieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione displayed equal potency in the new assays, in agreement with its published IC₅₀. The assays were optimized to a low 4 µl volume and used to investigate a set of small molecules, leading to the identification of previously-unreported FEN1 inhibitors, among which aurintricarboxylic acid and NSC-13755 (an arylstibonic derivative) displayed submicromolar potency (average IC₅₀ of 0.59 and 0.93 µM, respectively). The availability of these simple complementary assays obviates the need for undesirable radiotracer-based assays and should facilitate efforts to develop novel inhibitors for this key biological target.

Dna2 exhibits a unique strand end-dependent helicase function

Dna2 endonuclease/helicase participates in eukaryotic DNA transactions including cleavage of long flaps generated during Okazaki fragment processing. Its unusual substrate interaction consists of recognition and binding of the flap base, then threading over the 5'-end of the flap, and cleaving periodically to produce a terminal product ∼5 nt in length. Blocking the 5'-end prevents cleavage. The Dna2 ATP-driven 5' to 3' DNA helicase function promotes motion of Dna2 on the flap, presumably aiding its nuclease function. Here we demonstrate using two different nuclease-dead Dna2 mutants that on substrates simulating Okazaki fragments, Dna2 must thread onto an unblocked 5' flap to display helicase activity. This requirement is maintained on substrates with single-stranded regions thousands of nucleotides in length. To our knowledge this is the first description of a eukaryotic helicase that cannot load onto its tracking strand internally but instead must enter from the end. Biologically, the loading requirement likely helps the helicase to coordinate with the Dna2 nuclease function to prevent creation of undesirably long flaps during DNA transactions.

Dna2 on the road to Okazaki fragment processing and genome stability in eukaryotes

DNA replication is a primary mechanism for maintaining genome integrity, but it serves this purpose best by cooperating with other proteins involved in DNA repair and recombination. Unlike leading strand synthesis, lagging strand synthesis has a greater risk of faulty replication for several reasons: First, a significant part of DNA is synthesized by polymerase alpha, which lacks a proofreading function. Second, a great number of Okazaki fragments are synthesized, processed and ligated per cell division. Third, the principal mechanism of Okazaki fragment processing is via generation of flaps, which have the potential to form a variety of structures in their sequence context. Finally, many proteins for the lagging strand interact with factors involved in repair and recombination. Thus, lagging strand DNA synthesis could be the best example of a converging place of both replication and repair proteins. To achieve the risky task with extraordinary fidelity, Okazaki fragment processing may depend on multiple layers of redundant, but connected pathways. An essential Dna2 endonuclease/helicase plays a pivotal role in processing common structural intermediates that occur during diverse DNA metabolisms (e.g. lagging strand synthesis and telomere maintenance). Many roles of Dna2 suggest that the preemptive removal of long or structured flaps ultimately contributes to genome maintenance in eukaryotes. In this review, we describe the function of Dna2 in Okazaki fragment processing, and discuss its role in the maintenance of genome integrity with an emphasis on its functional interactions with other factors required for genome maintenance.

Human RECQL5beta stimulates flap endonuclease 1

Human RECQL5 is a member of the RecQ helicase family which is implicated in genome maintenance. Five human members of the family have been identified; three of them, BLM, WRN and RECQL4 are associated with elevated cancer risk. RECQL1 and RECQL5 have not been linked to any human disorder yet; cells devoid of RECQL1 and RECQL5 display increased chromosomal instability. Here, we report the physical and functional interaction of the large isomer of RECQL5, RECQL5β, with the human flap endonuclease 1, FEN1, which plays a critical role in DNA replication, recombination and repair. RECQL5β dramatically stimulates the rate of FEN1 cleavage of flap DNA substrates. Moreover, we show that RECQL5β and FEN1 interact physically and co-localize in the nucleus in response to DNA damage. Our findings, together with the previous literature on WRN, BLM and RECQL4’s stimulation of FEN1, suggests that the ability of RecQ helicases to stimulate FEN1 may be a general feature of this class of enzymes. This could indicate a common role for the RecQ helicases in the processing of oxidative DNA damage.

C-terminal flap endonuclease (rad27) mutations: lethal interactions with a DNA ligase I mutation (cdc9-p) and suppression by proliferating cell nuclear antigen (POL30) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

During lagging-strand DNA replication in eukaryotic cells primers are removed from Okazaki fragments by the flap endonuclease and DNA ligase I joins nascent fragments. Both enzymes are brought to the replication fork by the sliding clamp proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). To understand the relationship among these three components, we have carried out a synthetic lethal screen with cdc9-p, a DNA ligase mutation with two substitutions (F43A/F44A) in its PCNA interaction domain. We recovered the flap endonuclease mutation rad27-K325* with a stop codon at residue 325. We created two additional rad27 alleles, rad27-A358* with a stop codon at residue 358 and rad27-pX8 with substitutions of all eight residues of the PCNA interaction domain. rad27-pX8 is temperature lethal and rad27-A358* grows slowly in combination with cdc9-p. Tests of mutation avoidance, DNA repair, and compatibility with DNA repair mutations showed that rad27-K325* confers severe phenotypes similar to rad27Delta, rad27-A358* confers mild phenotypes, and rad27-pX8 confers phenotypes intermediate between the other two alleles. High-copy expression of POL30 (PCNA) suppresses the canavanine mutation rate of all the rad27 alleles, including rad27Delta. These studies show the importance of the C terminus of the flap endonuclease in DNA replication and repair and, by virtue of the initial screen, show that this portion of the enzyme helps coordinate the entry of DNA ligase during Okazaki fragment maturation.

Long patch base excision repair proceeds via coordinated stimulation of the multienzyme DNA repair complex

Base excision repair, a major repair pathway in mammalian cells, is responsible for correcting DNA base damage and maintaining genomic integrity. Recent reports show that the Rad9-Rad1-Hus1 complex (9-1-1) stimulates enzymes proposed to perform a long patch-base excision repair sub-pathway (LP-BER), including DNA glycosylases, apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1), DNA polymerase beta (pol beta), flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1), and DNA ligase I (LigI). However, 9-1-1 was found to produce minimal stimulation of FEN1 and LigI in the context of a complete reconstitution of LP-BER. We show here that pol beta is a robust stimulator of FEN1 and a moderate stimulator of LigI. Apparently, there is a maximum possible stimulation of these two proteins such that after responding to pol beta or another protein in the repair complex, only a small additional response to 9-1-1 is allowed. The 9-1-1 sliding clamp structure must serve primarily to coordinate enzyme actions rather than enhancing rate. Significantly, stimulation by the polymerase involves interaction of primer terminus-bound pol beta with FEN1 and LigI. This observation provides compelling evidence that the proposed LP-BER pathway is actually employed in cells. Moreover, this pathway has been proposed to function by sequential enzyme actions in a "hit and run" mechanism. Our results imply that this mechanism is still carried out, but in the context of a multienzyme complex that remains structurally intact during the repair process.

Mechanism of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC)-mediated blockage of long-patch base excision repair

Recently, we found an interaction between adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) and DNA polymerase beta (pol-beta) and showed that APC blocks strand-displacement synthesis of long-patch base excision repair (LP-BER) (Narayan, S., Jaiswal, A. S., and Balusu, R. (2005) J. Biol. Chem. 280, 6942-6949); however, the mechanism is not clear. Using an in vivo LP-BER assay system, we now show that the LP-BER is higher in APC-/- cells than in APC+/+ cells. In addition to pol-beta, the pull-down experiments showed that the full-length APC also interacted with flap endonuclease 1 (Fen-1). To further characterize the interaction of APC with pol-beta and Fen-1, we performed a domain-mapping of APC and found that both pol-beta and Fen-1 interact with a 138-amino acids peptide from the APC at the DRI-domain. Our functional assays showed that APC blocks pol-beta-mediated 1-nucleotide (1-nt) as well as strand-displacement synthesis of reduced abasic, nicked-, or 1-nt gapped-DNA substrates. Further studies demonstrated that APC blocks 5'-flap endonuclease as well as the 5'-3' exonuclease activity of Fen-1 resulting in the blockage of LP-BER. From these results, we concluded that APC can have three different effects on the LP-BER pathway. First, APC can block pol-beta-mediated 1-nt incorporation and strand-displacement synthesis. Second, APC can block LP-BER by blocking the coordinated formation and removal of the strand-displaced flap. Third, APC can block LP-BER by blocking hit-and-run synthesis. These studies will have important implications for APC in DNA damage-induced carcinogenesis and chemoprevention.

Multiple but dissectible functions of FEN-1 nucleases in nucleic acid processing, genome stability and diseases

Flap EndoNuclease-1 (FEN-1) is a multifunctional and structure-specific nuclease involved in nucleic acid processing pathways. It plays a critical role in maintaining human genome stability through RNA primer removal, long-patch base excision repair and resolution of dinucleotide and trinucleotide repeat secondary structures. In addition to its flap endonuclease (FEN) and nick exonuclease (EXO) activities, a new gap endonuclease (GEN) activity has been characterized. This activity may be important in apoptotic DNA fragmentation and in resolving stalled DNA replication forks. The multiple functions of FEN-1 are regulated via several means, including formation of complexes with different protein partners, nuclear localization in response to cell cycle or DNA damage and post-translational modifications. Its functional deficiency is predicted to cause genetic diseases, including Huntington's disease, myotonic dystrophy and cancers. This review summarizes the knowledge gained through efforts in the past decade to define its structural elements for specific activities and possible pathological consequences of altered functions of this multirole player.

Cisplatin sensitizes cancer cells to ionizing radiation via inhibition of nonhomologous end joining

The combination of cisplatin and ionizing radiation (IR) treatment represents a common modality for treating a variety of cancers. These two agents provide considerable synergy during treatment, although the mechanism of this synergy remains largely undefined. We have investigated the mechanism of cisplatin sensitization to IR using a combination of in vitro and in vivo experiments. A clear synergistic interaction between cisplatin and IR is observed in cells proficient in nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) catalyzed repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSB). In contrast, no interaction between cisplatin and IR is observed in NHEJ-deficient cells. Reconstituted in vitro NHEJ assays revealed that a site-specific cisplatin-DNA lesion near the terminus results in complete abrogation of NHEJ catalyzed repair of the DSB. These data show that the cisplatin-IR synergistic interaction requires the DNA-dependent protein kinase-dependent NHEJ pathway for joining of DNA DSBs, and the presence of a cisplatin lesion on the DNA blocks this pathway. In the absence of a functional NHEJ pathway, although the cells are hypersensitive to IR, there is no synergistic interaction with cisplatin.

DNA polymerase beta and flap endonuclease 1 enzymatic specificities sustain DNA synthesis for long patch base excision repair

DNA polymerase beta (pol beta) and flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) are key players in pol beta-mediated long-patch base excision repair (LP-BER). It was proposed that this type of LP-BER is accomplished through FEN1 removal of a 2- to 11-nucleotide flap created by pol beta strand displacement DNA synthesis. To understand how these enzymes might cooperate during LP-BER, we characterized purified human pol beta DNA synthesis by utilizing various BER intermediates, including single-nucleotide-gapped DNA, nicked DNA, and nicked DNA with various lengths of flaps all with a 5'-terminal tetrahydrofuran (THF) residue. We observed that nicked DNA and nicked-THF flap DNA were poor substrates for pol beta-mediated DNA synthesis; yet, DNA synthesis was strongly stimulated by purified human FEN1. FEN1 did not improve pol beta substrate binding. FEN1 cleavage activity was required for the stimulation, suggesting that FEN1 removed a barrier to pol beta DNA synthesis. In addition, FEN1 cleavage on both nicked and nicked-THF flap DNA resulted in a one-nucleotide gapped DNA molecule that was an ideal substrate for pol beta. This study demonstrates that pol beta cooperates with FEN1 to remove DNA damage via a "Hit and Run" mechanism, involving alternating short gap production by FEN1 and gap filling by pol beta, rather than through coordinated formation and removal of a strand-displaced flap.

Flap endonuclease 1: a central component of DNA metabolism

One strand of cellular DNA is generated as RNA-initiated discontinuous segments called Okazaki fragments that later are joined. The RNA terminated region is displaced into a 5' single-stranded flap, which is removed by the structure-specific flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1), leaving a nick for ligation. Similarly, in long-patch base excision repair, a damaged nucleotide is displaced into a flap and removed by FEN1. FEN1 is a genome stabilization factor that prevents flaps from equilibrating into structures that lead to duplications and deletions. As an endonuclease, FEN1 enters the flap from the 5' end and then tracks to cleave the flap base. Cleavage is oriented by the formation of a double flap. Analyses of FEN1 crystal structures suggest mechanisms for tracking and cleavage. Some flaps can form self-annealed and template bubble structures that interfere with FEN1. FEN1 interacts with other nucleases and helicases that allow it to act efficiently on structured flaps. Genetic and biochemical analyses continue to reveal many roles of FEN1.

Structure-specific DNA-induced conformational changes in Taq polymerase revealed by small angle neutron scattering

The DNA polymerase I from Thermus aquaticus (Taq polymerase) performs lagging-strand DNA synthesis and DNA repair. Taq polymerase contains a polymerase domain for synthesizing a new DNA strand and a 5'-nuclease domain for cleaving RNA primers or damaged DNA strands. The extended crystal structure of Taq polymerase poses a puzzle on how this enzyme coordinates its polymerase and the nuclease activities to generate only a nick. Using contrast variation solution small angle neutron scattering, we have examined the conformational changes that occur in Taq polymerase upon binding "overlap flap" DNA, a structure-specific DNA substrate that mimics the substrate in strand replacement reactions. In solution, apoTaq polymerase has an overall expanded equilibrium conformation similar to that in the crystal structure. Upon binding to the DNA substrate, both the polymerase and the nuclease domains adopt more compact overall conformations, but these changes are not enough to bring the two active sites close enough to generate a nick. Reconstruction of the three-dimensional molecular envelope from small angle neutron scattering data shows that in the DNA-bound form, the nuclease domain is lifted up relative to its position in the non-DNA-bound form so as to be in closer contact with the thumb and palm subdomains of the polymerase domain. The results suggest that a form of structure sensing is responsible for the coordination of the polymerase and nuclease activities in nick generation. However, interactions between the polymerase and the nuclease domains can assist in the transfer of the DNA substrate from one active site to the other.

Triplet repeat expansion generated by DNA slippage is suppressed by human flap endonuclease 1

Human flap endonuclease 1 (h-FEN1) mutations have dramatic effects on repeat instability. Current models for repeat expansion predict that h-FEN1 protein prevents mutations by removing 5'-flaps generated at ends of Okazaki fragments by strand displacement synthesis. The models propose that hairpin formations within flaps containing repeats enable them to escape h-FEN1 cleavage. Friedreich's ataxia is caused by expansion mutations in a d(GAA)n repeat tract. Single-stranded d(GAA)n repeat tracts, however, do not form stable hairpins until the repeat tracts are quite long. Therefore, to understand how d(GAA)n repeat expansions survive h-FEN1 activity, we determined the effects of h-FEN1 on d(GAA)n repeat expansion during replication of a d(TTC)n repeat template. Replication initiated within the repeat tract generated significant expansion that was suppressed by the addition of h-FEN1 at the start of replication. The ability of h-FEN1 to suppress expansion implies that DNA slippage generates a 5'-flap in the nascent strand independent of strand displacement synthesis by an upstream polymerase. Delaying the addition of h-FEN1 to the replication reaction abolished the ability of h-FEN1 ability to suppress d(GAA)n repeat expansion products of all sizes, including sizes unable to hairpin. Use of model substrates demonstrated that h-FEN1 cleaves d(GAA)n 5'-flaps joined to double-stranded nonrepeat sequences but not those joined to double-stranded repeat tracts. The results provide evidence that, given the opportunity, short d(GAA)n repeat expansion products rearrange from 5'-flaps to stable internal loops inside the repeat tract. Long expansion products are predicted to form hairpinned flaps and internal loops. Once formed, these DNA conformations resist h-FEN1. The biological implications of the results are discussed.

Modeling of flap endonuclease interactions with DNA substrate

Structure-specific 5' nucleases play an important role in DNA replication and repair uniquely recognizing an overlap flap DNA substrate and processing it into a DNA nick. However, in the absence of a high-resolution structure of the enzyme/DNA complex, the mechanism underlying this recognition and substrate specificity, which is key to the enzyme's function, remains unclear. Here, we propose a three-dimensional model of the structure-specific 5' flap endonuclease from Pyrococcus furiosus in its complex with DNA. The model is based on the known X-ray structure of the enzyme and a variety of biochemical and molecular dynamics (MD) data utilized in the form of distance restraints between the enzyme and the DNA. Contacts between the 5' flap endonuclease and the sugar-phosphate backbone of the overlap flap substrate were identified using enzyme activity assays on substrates with methylphosphonate or 2'-O-methyl substitutions. The enzyme footprint extends two to four base-pairs upstream and eight to nine base-pairs downstream of the cleavage site, thus covering 10-13 base-pairs of duplex DNA. The footprint data are consistent with a model in which the substrate is bound in the DNA-binding groove such that the downstream duplex interacts with the helix-hairpin-helix motif of the enzyme. MD simulations to identify the substrate orientation in this model are consistent with the results of the enzyme activity assays on the methylphosphonate and 2'-O-methyl-modified substrates. To further refine the model, 5' flap endonuclease variants with alanine point substitutions at amino acid residues expected to contact phosphates in the substrate and one deletion mutant were tested in enzyme activity assays on the methylphosphonate-modified substrates. Changes in the enzyme footprint observed for two point mutants, R64A and R94A, and for the deletion mutant in the enzyme's beta(A)/beta(B) region, were interpreted as being the result of specific interactions in the enzyme/DNA complex and were used as distance restraints in MD simulations. The final structure suggests that the substrate's 5' flap interacts with the enzyme's helical arch and that the helix-hairpin-helix motif interacts with the template strand in the downstream duplex eight base-pairs from the cleavage site. This model suggests specific interactions between the 3' end of the upstream oligonucleotide and the enzyme. The proposed structure presents the first detailed description of substrate recognition by structure-specific 5' nucleases.

The acetylatable lysines of human Fen1 are important for endo- and exonuclease activities

Human Fen1 can be acetylated in vivo and in vitro resulting in reduced endonuclease and exonuclease activities in vitro. Acetylation occurs at four lysines located at the C terminus of Fen1, which is important for DNA binding. In this paper we show that Fen1 mutant proteins lacking the lysines at the C terminus have both reduced PCNA independent exonucleolytic and endonucleolytic activities. However, lysines at the C terminus are not required for PCNA stimulation of human Fen1. A double flap substrate was optimal for human Fen1 endonuclease and did not require the C-terminal lysines. Similarly, a one nucleotide 3'-overhang nick substrate was optimal for human Fen1 exonuclease and also did not require the C-terminal lysines. Finally, we found by an electromobility shift assay that human Fen1 had a different mode of binding with a double flap substrate containing a one nucleotide 3'-tail when compared to various other flap substrates. Taken together, our results confirm the double flap substrate as the likely in vivo intermediate for human Fen1 and that the C-terminal lysines are important for the endonuclease and exonuclease activities likely through DNA binding.

Molecular structure and novel DNA binding sites located in loops of flap endonuclease-1 from Pyrococcus horikoshii

The crystal structure of flap endonuclease-1 from Pyrococcus horikoshii (phFEN-1) was determined to a resolution of 3.1 A. The active cleft of the phFEN-1 molecule is formed with one large loop and four small loops. We examined the function of the conserved residues and positively charged clusters on these loops by kinetic analysis with 45 different mutants. Arg(40) and Arg(42) on small loop 1, a cluster Lys(193)-Lys(195) on small loop 2, and two sites, Arg(94) and Arg(118)-Lys(119), on the large loop were identified as binding sites. Lys(87) on the large loop may play significant roles in catalytic reaction. Furthermore, we successfully elucidated the function of the four DNA binding sites that form productive ES complexes specific for each endo- or exo-type hydrolysis, probably by bending the substrates. For the endo-activity, Arg(94) and Lys(193)-Lys(195) located at the top and bottom of the molecule were key determinants. For the exo-activity, all four sites were needed, but Arg(118)-Lys(119) was dominant. The major binding sites for both the nick substrate and double-stranded DNA might be the same.

Stimulation of human flap endonuclease 1 by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 integrase: possible role for flap endonuclease 1 in 5'-end processing of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 integration intermediates

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) DNA integration intermediates consist of viral and host DNA segments separated by a 5-nucleotide gap adjacent to a 5'-AC unpaired dinucleotide. These short-flap (pre-repair) integration intermediates are structurally similar to DNA loci undergoing long-patch base excision repair in mammalian cells. The cellular proteins flap endonuclease 1 (FEN-1), proliferating cell nuclear antigen, replication factor C, DNA ligase I and DNA polymerase delta are required for the repair of this type of DNA lesion. The role of FEN-1 in the base excision repair pathway is to cleave 5'-unpaired flaps in forked structures so that DNA ligase can seal the single-stranded breaks that remain following gap repair. The rate of excision by FEN-1 of 5'-flaps from short- and long-flap oligonucleotide substrates that mimic pre- and post-repair HIV-1 integration intermediates, respectively, and the effect of HIV-1 integrase on these reactions were examined in the present study. Cleavage of 5'-flaps by FEN-1 in pre-repair HIV-1 integration intermediates was relatively inefficient and was further decreased 3-fold by HIV-1 integrase. The rate of removal of 5'-flaps by FEN-1 from post-repair HIV-1 integration intermediates containing relatively long (7-nucleotide) unpaired 5'-tails and short (1-nucleotide) gaps was increased 3-fold relative to that seen with pre-repair substrates and was further stimulated 5- to 10-fold by HIV-1 integrase. Overall, post-repair structures were cleaved 18 times more effectively in the presence of HIV-1 integrase than pre-repair structures. The site of cleavage was 1 or 2 nucleotides 3' of the branch point and was unaffected by HIV-1 integrase. Integrase alone had no detectable activity in removing 5'-flaps from either pre- or post-repair substrates.

Cleavage specificity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae flap endonuclease 1 suggests a double-flap structure as the cellular substrate

Flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) is a structure-specific nuclease that cleaves substrates containing unannealed 5'-flaps during Okazaki fragment processing. Cleavage removes the flap at or near the point of annealing. The preferred substrate for archaeal FEN1 or the 5'-nuclease domains of bacterial DNA polymerases is a double-flap structure containing a 3'-tail on the upstream primer adjacent to the 5'-flap. We report that FEN1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Rad27p) exhibits a similar specificity. Cleavage was most efficient when the upstream primer contained a 1-nucleotide 3'-tail as compared with the fully annealed upstream primer traditionally tested. The site of cleavage was exclusively at a position one nucleotide into the annealed region, allowing human DNA ligase I to seal all resulting nicks. In contrast, a portion of the products from traditional flap substrates is not ligated. The 3'-OH of the upstream primer is not critical for double-flap recognition, because Rad27p is tolerant of modifications. However, the positioning of the 3'-nucleotide defines the site of cleavage. We have tested substrates having complementary tails that equilibrate to many structures by branch migration. FEN1 only cleaved those containing a 1-nucleotide 3'-tail. Equilibrating substrates containing 12-ribonucleotides at the end of the 5'-flap simulates the situation in vivo. Rad27p cleaves this substrate in the expected 1-nucleotide 3'-tail configuration. Overall, these results suggest that the double-flap substrate is formed and cleaved during eukaryotic DNA replication in vivo.

Mechanism underlying replication protein a stimulation of DNA ligase I

Replication protein A (RPA) is a heterotrimeric single-stranded DNA-binding protein that participates in multiple DNA transactions that include replication and repair. Base excision repair is a central DNA repair pathway, responsible for the removal of damaged bases. We have shown previously that RPA was able to stimulate long patch base excision repair reconstituted in vitro. Herein we show that human RPA stimulates the activity of the base excision repair component human DNA ligase I by approximately 15-fold. Other analyzed single-stranded binding proteins would not substitute, attesting to the specificity of the stimulation. Conversely, RPA was unable to stimulate the functionally homologous ATP-dependent ligase from T4 bacteriophage. Kinetic analyses suggest that catalysis of ligation is enhanced by RPA, as a 4-fold increase in k(cat) is observed, whereas K(m) is not significantly changed. Substrate competition experiments further support the conclusion that RPA does not alter the specificity or rate of substrate binding by DNA ligase I. Additionally, RPA is unable to significantly enhance ligation on substrates containing an unannealed 3'-upstream primer terminus, suggesting that RPA does not stabilize the nick site to enhance ligase recognition. Furthermore when DNA ligase I is pre-bound to the substrate and limited to a single turnover, RPA is still able to stimulate ligation. Overall, the results support a mechanism of stimulation that involves increasing the rate of catalysis of ligation.

DNA damage recognition and repair pathway coordination revealed by the structural biochemistry of DNA repair enzymes

Cells have evolved distinct mechanisms for both preventing and removing mutagenic and lethal DNA damage. Structural and biochemical characterization of key enzymes that function in DNA repair pathways are illuminating the biological and chemical mechanisms that govern initial lesion detection, recognition, and excision repair of damaged DNA. These results are beginning to reveal a higher level of DNA repair coordination that ensures the faithful repair of damaged DNA. Enzyme-induced DNA distortions allow for the specific recognition of distinct extrahelical lesions, as well as tight binding to cleaved products, which has implications for the ordered transfer of unstable DNA repair intermediates between enzymes during base excision repair.

A model for the involvement of Okazaki fragments maturation in the expansion of short tandem repeats

We propose a model for the expansion of short tandem repeats (ESTR), a phenomenon which has been found to occur in human DNA and is associated with a dozen of neuromuscular diseases. The model is based mainly on theoretical considerations and recovers experimental data from the literature; it also finds support in preliminary results obtained by us in multiprimed polymerase chain reactions designed to assess the effects of a downstream primer on the fidelity of the elongation of an upstream one. The model links the occurrence of the ESTR to a defective maturation of the Okazaki fragments (OF), and in particular to an improper processing of their 3' termini. This may occur when the last OF approaches the 5' terminus of the previous one in a susceptible region of the template. It is postulated here that when a growing OF has progressed past the priming region and its main portion has been synthesized, upon approaching its conclusion, the final elongation may take place in a region of the template where certain triplets are repeated: in that case a series of aberrations on the elongation mechanism may occur. These aberrations could involve (a) the displacement of the 5' terminus of the penultimate, properly matured OF, enacted by the incoming 3' terminus of the last OF, (b) the switch of the latter to the displaced strand of the former as template, (c) the fold-back on itself of the growing 3' terminus of the last OF, (d) its assumption of an unusual structure because of the repetition, and (e) some impairment of its removal by structure-specific exo-endonuclease(s). Derangements of this last part of the process may trigger the ESTR.

Meiotic recombination involving heterozygous large insertions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: formation and repair of large, unpaired DNA loops

Meiotic recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae involves the formation of heteroduplexes, duplexes containing DNA strands derived from two different homologues. If the two strands of DNA differ by an insertion or deletion, the heteroduplex will contain an unpaired DNA loop. We found that unpaired loops as large as 5.6 kb can be accommodated within a heteroduplex. Repair of these loops involved the nucleotide excision repair (NER) enzymes Rad1p and Rad10p and the mismatch repair (MMR) proteins Msh2p and Msh3p, but not several other NER (Rad2p and Rad14p) and MMR (Msh4p, Msh6p, Mlh1p, Pms1p, Mlh2p, Mlh3p) proteins. Heteroduplexes were also formed with DNA strands derived from alleles containing two different large insertions, creating a large "bubble"; repair of this substrate was dependent on Rad1p. Although meiotic recombination events in yeast are initiated by double-strand DNA breaks (DSBs), we showed that DSBs occurring within heterozygous insertions do not stimulate interhomologue recombination.

Bacteriophage T4 RNase H removes both RNA primers and adjacent DNA from the 5' end of lagging strand fragments

Bacteriophage T4 RNase H belongs to a family of prokaryotic and eukaryotic nucleases that remove RNA primers from lagging strand fragments during DNA replication. Each enzyme has a flap endonuclease activity, cutting at or near the junction between single- and double-stranded DNA, and a 5'- to 3'-exonuclease, degrading both RNA.DNA and DNA.DNA duplexes. On model substrates for lagging strand synthesis, T4 RNase H functions as an exonuclease removing short oligonucleotides, rather than as an endonuclease removing longer flaps created by the advancing polymerase. The combined length of the DNA oligonucleotides released from each fragment ranges from 3 to 30 nucleotides, which corresponds to one round of processive degradation by T4 RNase H with 32 single-stranded DNA-binding protein present. Approximately 30 nucleotides are removed from each fragment during coupled leading and lagging strand synthesis with the complete T4 replication system. We conclude that the presence of 32 protein on the single-stranded DNA between lagging strand fragments guarantees that the nuclease will degrade processively, removing adjacent DNA as well as the RNA primers, and that the difference in the relative rates of synthesis and hydrolysis ensures that there is usually only a single round of degradation during each lagging strand cycle.

Human flap endonuclease-1: conformational change upon binding to the flap DNA substrate and location of the Mg2+ binding site

Human flap endonuclease-1 (FEN-1) is a member of the structure-specific endonuclease family and is a key enzyme in DNA replication and repair. FEN-1 recognizes the 5'-flap DNA structure and cleaves it, a specialized endonuclease function essential for the processing of Okazaki fragments during DNA replication and for the repair of 5'-end single-stranded tails from nicked double-stranded DNA substrates. Magnesium is a cofactor required for nuclease activity. We have used Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to better understand how Mg2+ and flap DNA interact with human FEN-1. FTIR spectroscopy provides three fundamentally new insights into the structural changes induced by the interaction of FEN-1 with substrate DNA and Mg2+. First, FTIR difference spectra in the amide I vibrational band (1600-1700 cm(-1)) reveal a change in the secondary structure of FEN-1 induced by substrate DNA binding. Quantitative analysis of the FTIR spectra indicates a 4% increase in helicity upon DNA binding or about 14 residues converted from disordered to helical conformations. The observation that the residues are disordered without DNA strongly implicates the flexible loop region. The conversion to helix also suggests a mechanism for locking the flexible loop region around the bound DNA. This is the first direct experimental evidence for a binding mechanism that involves a secondary structural change of the protein. Second, in contrast with DNA binding, no change is observed in the secondary structure of FEN-1 upon Mg2+ binding to the wild type or to the noncleaving D181A mutant. Third, the FTIR results provide direct evidence (via the carboxylate ligand band at 1535 cm(-1)) that not only is D181 a ligand to Mg2+ in the human enzyme but Mg2+ binding does not occur in the D181A mutant which lacks this ligand.

Modeling the late steps in HIV-1 retroviral integrase-catalyzed DNA integration

Model oligodeoxyribonucleotide substrates representing viral DNA integration intermediates with a gap and a two-nucleotide 5' overhang were used to examine late steps in human immunodeficiency virus, type 1 (HIV-1) retroviral integrase (IN)-catalyzed DNA integration in vitro. HIV-1 or avian myeloblastosis virus reverse transcriptase (RT) were capable of quantitatively filling in the gap to create a nicked substrate but did not remove the 5' overhang. HIV-1 IN also failed to remove the 5' overhang with the gapped substrate. However, with a nicked substrate formed by RT, HIV-1 IN removed the overhang and covalently closed the nick in a disintegration-like reaction. The efficiency of this closure reaction was very low. Such closure was not stimulated by the addition of HMG-(I/Y), suggesting that this protein only acts during the early processing and joining reactions. Addition of Flap endonuclease-1, a nuclease known to remove 5' overhangs, abolished the closure reaction catalyzed by IN. A series of base pair inversions, introduced into the HIV-1 U5 long terminal repeat sequence adjacent to and/or including the conserved CA dinucleotide, produced no or only a small decrease in the HIV-1 IN-dependent strand closure reaction. These same mutations caused a significant decrease in the efficiency of concerted DNA integration by a modified donor DNA in vitro, suggesting that recognition of the ends of the long terminal repeat sequence is required only in the early steps of DNA integration. Finally, a combination of HIV-1 RT, Flap endonuclease-1, and DNA ligase is capable of quantitatively forming covalently closed DNA with these model substrates. These results support the hypothesis that cellular enzyme(s) may catalyze the late steps of retroviral DNA integration.

Characterization of the enzymatic properties of the yeast dna2 Helicase/endonuclease suggests a new model for Okazaki fragment processing

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Dna2, which contains single-stranded DNA-specific endonuclease activity, interacts genetically and physically with Fen-1, a structure-specific endonuclease implicated in Okazaki fragment maturation during lagging strand synthesis. In this report, we investigated the properties of the Dna2 helicase/endonuclease activities in search of their in vivo physiological functions in eukaryotes. We found that the Dna2 helicase activity translocates in the 5' to 3' direction and uses DNA with free ends as the preferred substrate. Furthermore, the endonucleolytic cleavage activity of Dna2 was markedly stimulated by the presence of an RNA segment at the 5'-end of single-stranded DNA and occurred within the DNA, ensuring the complete removal of the initiator RNA segment on the Okazaki fragment. In addition, we demonstrated that the removal of pre-existing initiator 5'-terminal RNA segments depended on a displacement reaction carried out during the DNA polymerase delta-catalyzed elongation of the upstream Okazaki fragments. These properties indicate that Dna2 is well suited to remove the primer RNA on the Okazaki fragment. Based op this information, we propose a new model in which Dna2 plays a direct role in Okazaki fragment maturation in conjunction with Fen-1.

A coordinated interplay: proteins with multiple functions in DNA replication, DNA repair, cell cycle/checkpoint control, and transcription

In eukaryotic cells, DNA transactions such as replication, repair, and transcription require a large set of proteins. In all of these events, complexes of more than 30 polypetides appear to function in highly organized and structurally well-defined machines. We have learned in the past few years that the three essential macromolecular events, replication, repair, and transcription, have common functional entities and are coordinated by complex regulatory mechanisms. This can be documented for replication and repair, for replication and checkpoint control, and for replication and cell cycle control, as well as for replication and transcription. In this review we cover the three different protein classes: DNA polymerases, DNA polymerase accessory proteins, and selected transcription factors. The "common enzyme-different pathway strategy" is fascinating from several points of view: first, it might guarantee that these events are coordinated; second, it can be viewed from an evolutionary angle; and third, this strategy might provide cells with backup mechanisms for essential physiological tasks.

Inhibition of flap endonuclease 1 by flap secondary structure and relevance to repeat sequence expansion

Recent genetic evidence indicates that null mutants of the 5'-flap endonuclease (FEN1) result in an expansion of repetitive sequences. The substrate for FEN1 is a flap formed by natural 5'-end displacement of the short intermediates of lagging strand replication. FEN1 binds the 5'-end of the flap, tracks to the point of annealing at the base of the flap, and then cleaves. Here we examine mechanisms by which foldback structures within the flap could contribute to repeat expansions. Cleavage by FEN1 was reduced with increased length of the foldback. However, even the longest foldbacks were cleaved at a low rate. Substrates containing the repetitive sequence CTG also were cleaved at a reduced rate. Bubble substrates, likely intermediates in repeat expansions, were inhibitory. Neither replication protein A nor proliferating cell nuclear antigen were able to assist in the removal of secondary structure within a flap. We propose that FEN1 cleaves natural foldbacks at a reduced rate. However, although the cleavage delay is not likely to influence the overall process of chromosomal replication, specific foldbacks could inhibit cleavage sufficiently to result in duplication of the foldback sequence.

The nuclease activity of the yeast DNA2 protein, which is related to the RecB-like nucleases, is essential in vivo

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Dna2 protein is required for DNA replication and repair and is associated with multiple biochemical activities: DNA-dependent ATPase, DNA helicase, and DNA nuclease. To investigate which of these activities is important for the cellular functions of Dna2, we have identified separation of function mutations that selectively inactivate the helicase or nuclease. We describe the effect of six such mutations on ATPase, helicase, and nuclease after purification of the mutant proteins from yeast or baculovirus-infected insect cells. A mutation in the Walker A box in the C-terminal third of the protein affects helicase and ATPase but not nuclease; a mutation in the N-terminal domain (amino acid 504) affects ATPase, helicase, and nuclease. Two mutations in the N-terminal domain abolish nuclease but do not reduce helicase activity (amino acids 657 and 675) and identify the putative nuclease active site. Two mutations immediately adjacent to the proposed nuclease active site (amino acids 640 and 693) impair nuclease activity in the absence of ATP but completely abolish nuclease activity in the presence of ATP. These results suggest that, although the Dna2 helicase and nuclease activities can be independently affected by some mutations, the two activities appear to interact, and the nuclease activity is regulated in a complex manner by ATP. Physiological analysis shows that both ATPase and nuclease are important for the essential function of DNA2 in DNA replication and for its role in double-strand break repair. Four of the nuclease mutants are not only loss of function mutations but also exhibit a dominant negative phenotype.

Gene expression of flap endonuclease-1 during cell proliferation and differentiation

It has been shown that flap endonuclease-1 (FEN-1), a structure-specific nuclease, acts on the removal of RNA primers during Okazaki fragment maturation in DNA synthesis. To study whether the gene expression of FEN-1 is inducible during cell proliferation, we analyzed the FEN-1 mRNA levels in actively growing cells and non-growing cells. The gene expression of FEN-1 was higher in mitotic cells than in resting cells, and was markedly decreased, especially, when terminal differentiation was induced in promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60 cells). The decline correlated substantially with the ceasing of DNA synthesis. In the examination of tissue-specific gene expression, the human testis, spleen, thymus and mucosal lining of colon tissues expressed this gene actively, whereas the prostate, ovary, small intestine and peripheral blood leukocyte hardly expressed it. In addition, FEN-1 was co-localized with the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in young rat kidney according to immunohistochemistry. These findings suggest that FEN-1 gene expression is inducible during cell proliferation for DNA synthesis, and is down-regulated during cell differentiation.

Mechanism whereby proliferating cell nuclear antigen stimulates flap endonuclease 1

Human flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1), an essential DNA replication protein, cleaves substrates with unannealed 5'-tails. FEN1 apparently tracks along the flap from the 5'-end to the cleavage site. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) stimulates FEN1 cleavage 5-50-fold. To determine whether tracking, binding, or cleavage is enhanced by PCNA, we tested a variety of flap substrates. Similar levels of PCNA stimulation occur on both a cleavage-sensitive nicked substrate and a less sensitive gapped substrate. PCNA stimulates FEN1 irrespective of the flap length. Stimulation occurs on a pseudo-Y substrate that exhibits upstream primer-independent cleavage. A pseudo-Y substrate with a sequence requiring an upstream primer for cleavage was not activated by PCNA, suggesting that PCNA does not compensate for substrate features that inhibit cleavage. A biotin.streptavidin conjugation at the 5'-end of a flap structure prevents FEN1 loading. The addition of PCNA does not restore FEN1 activity. These results indicate that PCNA does not direct FEN1 to the cleavage site from solution. Kinetic analyses reveal that PCNA can lower the K(m) for FEN1 by 11-12-fold. Overall, our results indicate that after FEN1 tracks to the cleavage site, PCNA enhances FEN1 binding stability, allowing for greater cleavage efficiency.

DNA synthesis by CHO cell extracts on fork-like DNA templates containing the major cisplatin adduct requires a ligation step

In this work we have examined the role of DNA ligation in the in vitro replication catalyzed by CHO crude extracts on fork-like oligonucleotide substrates containing a unique d(GpG) intrastrand cross-link produced by the antitumor drug cisplatin. We show here that this reaction involves a ligation step, which necessitates excision of the flap strand of the forked substrate. By constructing substrates in which the unannealed tail could not be degraded by a 5' exonuclease, we obtained evidence suggesting that this type of activity participates in the removal of the flap strand. Furthermore, we found that the ligation event played a predominant role in the synthesis of fully replicated products from both intact and platinated templates. Finally, we investigated whether translesion synthesis of the cisplatin lesion could occur concomitantly to ligation by monitoring the incorporation of labeled precursors downstream of the adduct. Our results are compatible with the possibility that some translesion syntheses of the Pt-d(GpG) adduct by the extracts also contributed to the generation of full length molecules.

Emergence of the active site of spleen exonuclease upon association of the two basic monomers of the tetrameric enzyme

The 5'-->3' exonuclease from beef spleen is a 160-kDa tetramer consisting of four subunits of two types. Partial reduction of the tetramer led to one stable intermediate state of the enzyme with Mr = 80 kDa. The aim of this paper was to attribute the exonucleolytic activity to one of the two monomers, to the dimer or to the tetramer. The different forms of the exonuclease were separated by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, transferred on an Immobilon-P membrane and subsequently renaturated. Antibodies monospecific against each of the two monomers as well as against the dimer were isolated and their inhibitory effect on the holoenzyme determined. It was found that after renaturation the two monomers did not possess any exonuclease activity while the 80-kDa dimer showed a lower recovery of the specific activity of the enzyme (20.8+/-0.23 nkat/nmol, (n = 5)) in comparison with the 160-kDa tetramer (64.8+/-0.75 nkat/nmol (n = 5)). It was demonstrated that the antibodies monospecific against the dimer caused 53% maximum inhibition of the 160-kDa exonuclease. The antibodies monospecific against 25- and 55-kDa monomers did not inhibit the activity of the holoenzyme. No single-strand endonuclease activity of the spleen exonuclease was observed when using supercoiled Bluescript KS+ plasmid DNA as a substrate. This data suggest the emergence of an 80 kDa active form of beef spleen exonuclease upon association of two monomers of the tetrameric enzyme.

Effect of flap modifications on human FEN1 cleavage

The flap endonuclease, FEN1, plays a critical role in DNA replication and repair. Human FEN1 exhibits both a 5' to 3' exonucleolytic and a structure-specific endonucleolytic activity. On primer-template substrates containing an unannealed 5'-tail, or flap structure, FEN1 employs a unique mechanism to cleave at the point of annealing, releasing the 5'-tail intact. FEN1 appears to track along the full length of the flap from the 5'-end to the point of cleavage. Substrates containing structural modifications to the flap have been used to explore the mechanism of tracking. To determine whether the nuclease must recognize a succession of nucleotides on the flap, chemical linkers were used to replace an interior nucleotide. The nuclease could readily traverse this site. The footprint of the nuclease at the time of cleavage does not extend beyond 25 nucleotides on the flap. Eleven-nucleotide branches attached to the flap beyond the footprinted region do not prevent cleavage. Single- or double-thymine dimers also allow cleavage. cis-Platinum adducts outside the protected region are moderately inhibitory. Platinum-modified branch structures are completely inert to cleavage. These results show that some flap modifications can prevent or inhibit tracking, but the tracking mechanism tolerates a variety of flap modifications. FEN1 has a flexible loop structure through which the flap has been proposed to thread. However, efficient cleavage of branched structures is inconsistent with threading the flap through a hole in the protein.

A comparison of eubacterial and archaeal structure-specific 5'-exonucleases

The 5'-exonuclease domains of the DNA polymerase I proteins of Eubacteria and the FEN1 proteins of Eukarya and Archaea are members of a family of structure-specific 5'-exonucleases with similar function but limited sequence similarity. Their physiological role is to remove the displaced 5' strands created by DNA polymerase during displacement synthesis, thereby creating a substrate for DNA ligase. In this paper, we define the substrate requirements for the 5'-exonuclease enzymes from Thermus aquaticus, Thermus thermophilus, Archaeoglobus fulgidus, Pyrococcus furiosus, Methanococcus jannaschii, and Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum. The optimal substrate of these enzymes resembles DNA undergoing strand displacement synthesis and consists of a bifurcated downstream duplex with a directly abutted upstream duplex that overlaps the downstream duplex by one base pair. That single base of overlap causes the enzymes to leave a nick after cleavage and to cleave several orders of magnitude faster than a substrate that lacks overlap. The downstream duplex needs to be 10 base pairs long or greater for most of the enzymes to cut efficiently. The upstream duplex needs to be only 2 or 3 base pairs long for most enzymes, and there appears to be interaction with the last base of the primer strand. Overall, the enzymes display very similar substrate specificities, despite their limited level of sequence similarity.

Thermostable flap endonuclease from the archaeon, Pyrococcus horikoshii, cleaves the replication fork-like structure endo/exonucleolytically

The flap endonuclease gene homologue from the hyperthermophilic archaeon, Pyrococcus horikoshii, was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified. The results of gel filtration indicated that this protein was a 41-kDa monomer. P. horikoshii flap endonuclease (phFEN) cleaves replication fork-like substrates (RF) and 5' double-strand flap structures (DF) using both flap endonuclease and 5'-3'-exonuclease activities. The mammalian flap endonuclease (mFEN) is a single-strand flap-specific endonuclease (Harrington, J. J., and Lieber, M. R. (1994) EMBO J. 13, 1235-1246), but the action patterns of phFEN appear to be quite different from those of mFEN at this point. The DF-specific flap endonuclease and 5'-exonuclease activities have not yet been reported. Therefore, this is the first report of the specific endo/exonuclease activities of phFEN. The DF-specific 5'-exonuclease activity degraded the downstream primer of 3' single-flap structure and was 15 times higher than the activities against nicked substrates without 3' flap strand. DF-specific flap endonuclease cleaved the 5' double-flap strand in DF and the lagging strand in RF at the junction portion. Because the RF appears to be the intermediate structure, due to the arrest of the replication fork, the double strand breaks after the arrests of the replication forks are probably caused by phFEN.

Cleavage of substrates with mismatched nucleotides by Flap endonuclease-1. Implications for mammalian Okazaki fragment processing

Flap endonuclease-1 (FEN1) is proposed to participate in removal of the initiator RNA of mammalian Okazaki fragments by two pathways. In one pathway, RNase HI removes most of the RNA, leaving a single ribonucleotide adjacent to the DNA. FEN1 removes this ribonucleotide exonucleolytically. In the other pathway, FEN1 removes the entire primer endonucleolytically after displacement of the 5'-end region of the Okazaki fragment. Cleavage would occur beyond the RNA, a short distance into the DNA. The initiator RNA and an adjacent short region of DNA are synthesized by DNA polymerase alpha/primase. Because the fidelity of DNA polymerase alpha is lower than that of the DNA polymerases that complete DNA extension, mismatches occur relatively frequently near the 5'-ends of Okazaki fragments. We have examined the ability of FEN1 to repair such errors. Results show that mismatched bases up to 15 nucleotides from the 5'-end of an annealed DNA strand change the pattern of FEN1 cleavage. Instead of removing terminal nucleotides sequentially, FEN1 appears to cleave a portion of the mismatched strand endonucleolytically. We propose that a mismatch destabilizes the helical structure over a nearby area. This allows FEN1 to cleave more efficiently, facilitating removal of the mismatch. If mismatches were not introduced during synthesis of the Okazaki fragment, helical disruption would not occur, nor would unnecessary degradation of the 5'-end of the fragment.

Processing of UV damage in vitro by FEN-1 proteins as part of an alternative DNA excision repair pathway

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation induces predominantly cyclobutane and (6-4) pyrimidine dimer photoproducts in DNA. Several mechanisms for repairing these mutagenic UV-induced DNA lesions have been identified. Nucleotide excision repair is a major pathway, but mechanisms involving photolyases and DNA glycosylases have also been characterized. Recently, a novel UV damage endonuclease (UVDE) was identified that initiates an excision repair pathway different from previously established repair mechanisms. Homologues of UVDE have been found in eukaryotes as well as in bacteria. In this report, we have used oligonucleotide substrates containing site-specific cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and (6-4) photoproducts for the characterization of this UV damage repair pathway. After introduction of single-strand breaks at the 5' sides of the photolesions by UVDE, these intermediates became substrates for cleavage by flap endonucleases (FEN-1 proteins). FEN-1 homologues from humans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Schizosaccharomyces pombe all cleaved the UVDE-nicked substrates at similar positions 3' to the photolesions. T4 endonuclease V-incised DNA was processed in the same way. Both nicked and flapped DNA substrates with photolesions (the latter may be intermediates in DNA polymerase-catalyzed strand displacement synthesis) were cleaved by FEN-1. The data suggest that the two enzymatic activities, UVDE and FEN-1, are part of an alternative excision repair pathway for repair of UV photoproducts.

Polymorphism identification and quantitative detection of genomic DNA by invasive cleavage of oligonucleotide probes

Flap endonucleases (FENs) isolated from archaea are shown to recognize and cleave a structure formed when two overlapping oligonucleotides hybridize to a target DNA strand. The downstream oligonucleotide probe is cleaved, and the precise site of cleavage is dependent on the amount of overlap with the upstream oligonucleotide. We have demonstrated that use of thermostable archaeal FENs allows the reaction to be performed at temperatures that promote probe turnover without the need for temperature cycling. The resulting amplification of the cleavage signal enables the detection of specific DNA targets at sub-attomole levels within complex mixtures. Moreover, we provide evidence that this cleavage is sufficiently specific to enable discrimination of single-base differences and can differentiate homozygotes from heterozygotes in single-copy genes in genomic DNA.

A role for FEN-1 in nonhomologous DNA end joining: the order of strand annealing and nucleolytic processing events

Eukaryotic repair of double-strand DNA breaks can occur either by homologous recombination or by nonhomologous DNA end joining (NHEJ). NHEJ relies on Ku70/86, XRCC4, DNA ligase IV, and DNA-dependent protein kinase. NHEJ involves a synapsis step in which the two ends are maintained in proximity, processing steps in which nucleases and polymerases act on the ends, an alignment step in which a few nucleotides of terminal homology guide the ends into preferred alignments, and a ligation step. Some of the steps, such as ligation, rely on a single enzymatic component. However, the processing steps begin and end with a wide array of alternative substrates and products, respectively, and likely involve multiple nucleases and polymerases. Given the alternative pathways that can be catalyzed by the remaining nucleases and polymerases, no one of these processing enzymes is likely to be essential. The only requirement for the processing enzymes, as a collective, is to generate a ligatable configuration, namely a ligatable nick on each strand. Here, we have tested the two major known 5'-specific nucleases of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for involvement in NHEJ. Whereas EXO1 does not appear to be involved to any detectable level, deleting RAD27 (FEN-1 of yeast) leads to a 4.4-fold reduction specifically of those NHEJ events predicted to proceed by means of 5' flap intermediates. Because Rad27/FEN-1 acts specifically at 5' flap structures, these results suggest that the NHEJ alignment step precedes nucleolytic processing steps in a significant fraction of NHEJ events.

The biochemistry and biological significance of nonhomologous DNA end joining: an essential repair process in multicellular eukaryotes

Recent progress over the past year has provided new insights into the proteins involved in nonhomologous end joining. The assembly of Ku and DNA-dependent protein kinase at DNA ends is now understood in greater detail. Murine genetic knockouts for DNA ligase IV and XRCC4 are embryonic lethal, indicating that nonhomologous end joining is essential for viability. Interestingly, neurones, in addition to lymphocytes, are particularly vulnerable to an absence of NHEJ.