Site-specific synthesis of aflatoxin B(1) adducts within an oligodeoxyribonucleotide containing the human p53 codon 249 sequence

In vitro recapitulating of TP53 mutagenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma associated with dietary aflatoxin B1 exposure

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Dietary exposure to aflatoxin B(1) (AFB(1)), in addition to other known factors, increases risk for human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCCs from AFB(1)-exposed individuals frequently have distinct TP53 mutations, such as G to T transversions in the second guanine of codon 249 (AGG to AGT), and a characteristic mutational spectrum predominated by G:C to T:A mutations.

METHODS

To recapitulate the distinctive features of TP53 mutations in AFB(1)-associated HCC, we investigated AFB(1)-induced DNA adduction in relation to mutagenesis in transgenic mouse fibroblasts exposed to AFB(1) in vitro.

RESULTS

Immunodotblot determination of DNA adducts in the overall genome of AFB(1)-exposed cells revealed the dose-dependant formation of persistent imidazole ring-opened AFB(1)-DNA adducts. DNA footprinting analysis of the cII transgene in AFB(1)-exposed cells verified the dose-dependent and sequence-specific formation of DNA adducts. The preferential formation of AFB(1)-induced DNA adducts along the cII transgene was almost exclusively localized to guanine-containing sequences encompassing CpG dinucleotides. Mutation analysis of the cII transgene in AFB(1)-exposed cells revealed a dose-dependent induction of cII mutant frequency (P < .001) and a unique induced mutational spectrum characterized by predominant induction of G:C to T:A transversions that occurred within CpG sequence contexts. Notably, codons 42 and 45 of the cII transgene, which have identical sequence contexts to that of codon 249 of human TP53, constituted 2 frequently mutated sites in AFB(1)-exposed cells that contained the G to T transversion signature mutation at their third base positions.

CONCLUSIONS

In this model system, AFB(1)-induced DNA adduction and mutagenesis recapitulate the unique mutational features of TP53 in AFB(1)-associated human HCC.

Site-specific synthesis and characterization of oligonucleotides containing an N6-(2-deoxy-D-erythro-pentofuranosyl)-2,6-diamino-3,4-dihydro-4-oxo-5-N-methylformamidopyrimidine lesion, the ring-opened product from N7-methylation of deoxyguanosine

A phosphoramidite reagent of N6-(2-deoxy-D-erythro-pentofuranosyl)-2,6-diamino-1,4-dihydro-4-oxo-5-N-methylformamidopyrimidine (MeFapy-dGuo) lesions was synthesized in four steps from 2'-deoxyguanosine. Fapy nucleosides can rearrange to the pyranose form when the 5'-hydroxyl group is unprotected. The phosphoramidite was incorporated into oligonucleotides using solid-phase synthesis by adjusting the deprotection time for removal of the 5'-dimethoxytrityl group of the MeFapy-dGuo nucleotide, thereby minimizing its rearrangement to the ribopyranose. The furanose and pyranose forms were differentiated by a series of two-dimensional NMR experiments.

Clerocidin alkylates DNA through its epoxide function: evidence for a fine tuned mechanism of action

Clerocidin (CL) is an effective topoisomerase II-poison, which has been shown to produce DNA depurination and strand breaks per se at the guanine (G) level. To elucidate the roles played by the different functional groups of CL in the reactivity towards nucleic acids, we investigated CL derivatives with key structural modifications. The derivatives were reacted with plasmid, single-/double-stranded DNA and isolated 2'-deoxy-guanosines (dG). We show here that an intact oxirane ring is essential to achieve DNA modification and depurination. Through HPLC/MS and MS/MS techniques we were able to unambiguously characterize adducts obtained by reacting isolated dG and single-/double-stranded DNA with the drugs, indicating beyond reasonable doubt that the structure of a typical adduct is formed by epoxide alkylation at N7 of G with subsequent loss of the pentose unit. Further, we showed that reduction of vicinal carbonyl functions affect drug activity to a large extent. Our findings demonstrate that the characteristic DNA-alkylating properties of CL arise from mutual action of the functional groups present in this molecule. Its oxidation state seems crucial to modulate the rates of reactivity by finely tuning the strain applied on the oxirane ring.

Determination of PyPuPu (PyPuPy) intermolecular triple-stranded DNA by capillary electrophoresis

The PyPuPu and PyPuPy intermolecular triple-stranded DNA (tsDNA) can be determined more easily by capillary electrophoresis (CE) than by traditional methods. The tsDNA and its component compounds can be well separated by using a sieving matrix of 1.0% hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) containing 2.5 mM magnesium ions. Such factors as buffer pH, the concentration of triplex-forming oligonucleotide (TFO), temperature, and the concentration of magnesium cation in the formation and stabilization of triple-stranded helices have been studied with capillary electrophoresis. The triplex cannot be formed when the buffer pH is lower than 4.0. When the concentration of TFO is four times higher than that of dsDNA, all of the dsDNA molecules can be associated. The limit of capillary electrophoresis detection with good reproducibility is 0.5-1 nM (S/N = 3). The CE analysis of short tsDNA takes only 40 min, whereas gel electrophoresis needs at least 5 h.