Kinetic and Structural Impact of Metal Ions and Genetic Variations on Human DNA Polymerase ι

8-Oxoadenine: A «New» Player of the Oxidative Stress in Mammals?

Numerous studies have shown that oxidative modifications of guanine (7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanine, 8-oxoG) can affect cellular functions. 7,8-Dihydro-8-oxoadenine (8-oxoA) is another abundant paradigmatic ambiguous nucleobase but findings reported on the mutagenicity of 8-oxoA in bacterial and eukaryotic cells are incomplete and contradictory. Although several genotoxic studies have demonstrated the mutagenic potential of 8-oxoA in eukaryotic cells, very little biochemical and bioinformatics data about the mechanism of 8-oxoA-induced mutagenesis are available. In this review, we discuss dual coding properties of 8-oxoA, summarize historical and recent genotoxicity and biochemical studies, and address the main protective cellular mechanisms of response to 8-oxoA. We also discuss the available structural data for 8-oxoA bypass by different DNA polymerases as well as the mechanisms of 8-oxoA recognition by DNA repair enzymes.

Structure and function of extreme TLS DNA polymerase TTEDbh from Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis

Translesion synthesis (TLS) is a kind of DNA repair that maintains the stability of the genome and ensures the normal growth of life in cells under emergencies. Y-family DNA polymerases, as a kind of error-prone DNA polymerase, mainly perform TLS. Previous studies have suggested that the occurrence of tumors is associated with the overexpression of human DNA polymerase of the Y family. And the combination of Y-family DNA polymerase inhibitors is promising for cancer therapy. Here we report the functional and structural characterization of a member of the Y-family DNA polymerases, TTEDbh. We determine TTEDbh is an extreme TLS polymerase that can cross oxidative damage sites, and further identify the amino acids and novel structures that are critical for DNA binding, synthesis, fidelity, and oxidative damage bypass. Moreover, previously unnoticed structural elements with important functions have been discovered and analyzed. These studies provide a more experimental basis for further elucidating the molecular mechanisms of DNA polymerase in the Y family. It could also shed light on the design of drugs to target tumors.

Implications of Translesion DNA Synthesis Polymerases on Genomic Stability and Human Health

Replication fork arrest-induced DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) caused by lesions are effectively suppressed in cells due to the presence of a specialized mechanism, commonly referred to as DNA damage tolerance (DDT). In eukaryotic cells, DDT is facilitated through translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) carried out by a set of DNA polymerases known as TLS polymerases. Another parallel mechanism, referred to as homology-directed DDT, is error-free and involves either template switching or fork reversal. The significance of the DDT pathway is well established. Several diseases have been attributed to defects in the TLS pathway, caused either by mutations in the TLS polymerase genes or dysregulation. In the event of a replication fork encountering a DNA lesion, cells switch from high-fidelity replicative polymerases to low-fidelity TLS polymerases, which are associated with genomic instability linked with several human diseases including, cancer. The role of TLS polymerases in chemoresistance has been recognized in recent years. In addition to their roles in the DDT pathway, understanding noncanonical functions of TLS polymerases is also a key to unraveling their importance in maintaining genomic stability. Here we summarize the current understanding of TLS pathway in DDT and its implication for human health.

The enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli insertion sequence-excision enhancer protein is a DNA polymerase with microhomology-mediated end-joining activity

Bacterial genomes contain an abundance of transposable insertion sequence (IS) elements that are essential for genome evolution and fitness. Among them, IS629 is present in most strains of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 and accounts for many polymorphisms associated with gene inactivation and/or genomic deletions. The excision of IS629 from the genome is promoted by IS-excision enhancer (IEE) protein. Despite IEE has been identified in the most pathogenic serotypes of E. coli, its biochemical features that could explain its role in IS excision are not yet understood. We show that IEE is present in >30% of all available E. coli genome assemblies, and is highly conserved and very abundant within enterohemorrhagic, enteropathogenic and enterotoxigenic genomes. In vitro analysis of the recombinant protein from E. coli O157:H7 revealed the presence of a Mn2+-dependent error-prone DNA polymerase activity in its N-terminal archaeo-eukaryotic primase (AEP) domain able to promote dislocations of the primer and template strands. Importantly, IEE could efficiently perform in vitro an end-joining reaction of 3'-single-strand DNA overhangs with ≥4 bp of homology requiring both the N-terminal AEP and C-terminal helicase domains. The proposed role for IEE in the novel IS excision mechanism is discussed.

Human Mitochondrial DNA Polymerase Metal Dependent UV Lesion Bypassing Ability

Human mitochondrial DNA contains more UV-induced lesions than the nuclear DNA due to lack of mechanism to remove bulky photoproducts. Human DNA polymerase gamma (Pol γ) is the sole DNA replicase in mitochondria, which contains a polymerase (pol) and an exonuclease (exo) active site. Previous studies showed that Pol γ only displays UV lesion bypassing when its exonuclease activity is obliterated. To investigate the reaction environment on Pol γ translesion activity, we tested Pol γ DNA activity in the presence of different metal ions. While Pol γ is unable to replicate through UV lesions on DNA templates in the presence of Mg²⁺, it exhibits robust translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) on cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD)-containing template when Mg²⁺ was mixed with or completely replaced by Mn²⁺. Under these conditions, the efficiency of Pol γ′s TLS opposite CPD is near to that on a non-damaged template and is 800-fold higher than that of exonuclease-deficient Pol γ. Interestingly, Pol γ exhibits higher exonuclease activity in the presence of Mn²⁺ than with Mg²⁺, suggesting Mn²⁺-stimulated Pol γ TLS is not via suppressing its exonuclease activity. We suggest that Mn²⁺ ion expands Pol γ′s pol active site relative to Mg²⁺ so that a UV lesion can be accommodated and blocks the communication between pol and exo active sites to execute translesion DNA synthesis.

DNA Polymerase and dRP-lyase activities of polymorphic variants of human Pol ι

Y-family DNA polymerase iota (Pol ι) is involved in DNA damage response and tolerance. Mutations and altered expression level of POLI gene are linked to a higher incidence of cancer. We biochemically characterized five active site polymorphic variants of human Pol ι: R71G (rs3218778), P118L (rs554252419), I236M (rs3218784), E251K (rs3218783) and P365R (rs200852409). We analyzed fidelity of nucleotide incorporation on undamaged DNA, efficiency and accuracy of DNA damage bypass, as well as 5'-deoxyribophosphate lyase (dRP-lyase) activity. The I236M and P118L variants were indistinguishable from the wild-type Pol ι in activity. The E251K and P365R substitutions altered the spectrum of nucleotide incorporation opposite several undamaged DNA bases. The P365R variant also reduced the dRP-lyase activity and possessed the decreased TLS activity opposite 8-oxo-G. The R71G mutation dramatically affected the catalytic activities of Pol ι. The reduced DNA polymerase activity of the R71G variant correlated with an enhanced fidelity of nucleotide incorporation on undamaged DNA, altered lesion-bypass activity and reduced dRP-lyase activity. Therefore, this amino acid substitution likely alters Pol ι functions in vivo.

Three Human Pol ι Variants with Impaired Polymerase Activity Fail to Rescue H2O2 Sensitivity in POLI-Deficient Cells

Human Y-family DNA polymerase (pol) ι is involved in translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) and base excision repair (BER) of oxidative DNA damage. Genetic variations may alter the function of pol ι and affect cellular susceptibility to oxidative genotoxic agents, but their effects remain unclear. We investigated the impacts of 10 human missense germline variations on pol ι function by biochemical and cell-based assays. Both polymerase and deoxyribose phosphate (dRP) lyase activities were determined utilizing recombinant pol ι (residues 1-445) proteins. The K209Q, K228I, and Q386R variants showed 4- to 53-fold decreases in specificity constants (k_cat/K_m) for dCTP insertion opposite G and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine compared to the wild-type. The R126C and K345E variants showed wild-type-like polymerase activity, although these two variants (as well as the R209Q, K228I, and Q386R variants) showed greater than 6-fold decreases in dRP lyase activity compared to the wild-type. A CRISPR/Cas9-mediated POLI knockout conferred higher sensitivity to H₂O₂ in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells. Exogenous expression of the full-length wild-type, R126C, and K345E variants fully rescued the H₂O₂ sensitivity in POLI-deficient cells, while full-length R209Q, K228I, and Q386R variants did not rescue the sensitivity. Our results indicate that the R126C and K345E variants (having wild-type-like polymerase activity, albeit impaired in dRP lyase activity) could fully rescue the H₂O₂ sensitivity in POLI-deficient cells, while the R209Q, K228I, and Q386R variants, all impaired in polymerase and dRP lyase activity, failed to rescue the sensitivity, indicating the relative importance of TLS-related polymerase function of pol ι rather than its BER-related dRP lyase function in protection from oxidative stress. The possibility exists that the hypoactive pol ι variants increase the individual susceptibility to oxidative genotoxic agents.

Polymerase iota - an odd sibling among Y family polymerases

It has been two decades since the discovery of the most mutagenic human DNA polymerase, polymerase iota (Polι). Since then, the biochemical activity of this translesion synthesis (TLS) enzyme has been extensively explored, mostly through in vitro experiments, with some insight into its cellular activity. Polι is one of four members of the Y-family of polymerases, which are the best characterized DNA damage-tolerant polymerases involved in TLS. Polι shares some common Y-family features, including low catalytic efficiency and processivity, high infidelity, the ability to bypass some DNA lesions, and a deficiency in 3'→5' exonucleolytic proofreading. However, Polι exhibits numerous properties unique among the Y-family enzymes. Polι has an unusual catalytic pocket structure and prefers Hoogsteen over Watson-Crick pairing, and its replication fidelity strongly depends on the template; further, it prefers Mn²⁺ ions rather than Mg²⁺ as catalytic activators. In addition to its polymerase activity, Polι possesses also 5'-deoxyribose phosphate (dRP) lyase activity, and its ability to participate in base excision repair has been shown. As a highly error-prone polymerase, its regulation is crucial and mostly involves posttranslational modifications and protein-protein interactions. The upregulation and downregulation of Polι are correlated with different types of cancer and suggestions regarding the possible function of this polymerase have emerged from studies of various cancer lines. Nonetheless, after twenty years of research, the biological function of Polι  certainly remains unresolved.

A Strategically Located Arg/Lys Residue Promotes Correct Base Paring During Nucleic Acid Biosynthesis in Polymerases

Polymerases (Pols) synthesize the double-stranded nucleic acids in the Watson-Crick (W-C) conformation, which is critical for DNA and RNA functioning. Yet, the molecular basis to catalyze the W-C base pairing during Pol-mediated nucleic acids biosynthesis remains unclear. Here, through bioinformatics analyses on a large data set of Pol/DNA structures, we first describe the conserved presence of one positively charged residue (Lys or Arg), which is similarly located near the enzymatic two-metal active site, always interacting directly with the incoming substrate (d)NTP. Incidentally, we noted that some Pol/DNA structures showing the alternative Hoogsteen base pairing were often solved with this specific residue either mutated, displaced, or missing. We then used quantum and classical simulations coupled to free-energy calculations to illustrate how, in human DNA Pol-η, the conserved Arg61 favors W-C base pairing through defined interactions with the incoming nucleotide. Taken together, these structural observations and computational results suggest a structural framework in which this specific residue is critical for stabilizing the incoming (d)NTP nucleotide and base pairing during Pol-mediated nucleic acid biosynthesis. These results may benefit enzyme engineering for nucleic acid processing and encourage new drug discovery strategies to modulate Pols function.

Mouse DNA polymerase ι lacking the forty-two amino acids encoded by exon-2 is catalytically inactive in vitro

In 2003, we reported that 129-derived strains of mice carry a naturally occurring nonsense mutation at codon 27 of the Poli gene that would produce a polι peptide of just 26 amino acids, rather then the full-length 717 amino acid wild-type polymerase. In support of the genomic analysis, no polι protein was detected in testes extracts from 129X1/SvJmice, where wild-type polι is normally highly expressed. The early truncation in polι occurs before any structural domains of the polymerase are synthesized and as a consequence, we reasoned that 129-derived strains of mice should be considered as functionally defective in polι activity. However, it has recently been reported that during the maturation of the Poli mRNA in 129-derived strains, exon- 2 is sometimes skipped and that an exon-2-less polι protein of 675 amino acids is synthesized that retains catalytic activity in vitro and in vivo. From a structural perspective, we found this idea untenable, given that the amino acids encoded by exon-2 include residues critical for the coordination of the metal ions required for catalysis, as well as the structural integrity of the DNA polymerase. To determine if the exon-2-less polι isoform possesses catalytic activity in vitro, we have purified a glutathione-tagged full-length exon-2-less (675 amino acid) polι protein from baculovirus infected insect cells and compared the activity of the isoform to full-length (717 amino acid) GST-tagged wild-type mouse polι in vitro. Reaction conditions were performed under a range of magnesium or manganese concentrations, as well as different template sequence contexts. Wild-type mouse polι exhibited robust characteristic properties previously associated with human polι's biochemical properties. However, we did not detect any polymerase activity associated with the exon-2-less polι enzyme under the same reaction conditions and conclude that exon-2-less polι is indeed rendered catalytically inactive in vitro.