The genomes of aerobic organisms suffer chronic oxidation of guanine to the genotoxic product 8-oxoguanine (oxoG). Replicative DNA polymerases misread oxoG residues and insert adenine instead of cytosine opposite the oxidized base. Both bases in the resulting A*oxoG mispair are mutagenic lesions, and both must undergo base-specific replacement to restore the original C*G pair. Doing so represents a formidable challenge to the DNA repair machinery, because adenine makes up roughly 25% of the bases in most genomes. The evolutionarily conserved enzyme adenine DNA glycosylase (called MutY in bacteria and hMYH in humans) initiates repair of A*oxoG to C*G by removing the inappropriately paired adenine base from the DNA backbone. A central issue concerning MutY function is the mechanism by which A*oxoG mispairs are targeted among the vast excess of A*T pairs. Here we report the use of disulphide crosslinking to obtain high-resolution crystal structures of MutY-DNA lesion-recognition complexes. These structures reveal the basis for recognizing both lesions in the A*oxoG pair and for catalysing removal of the adenine base.
How DNA repair proteins distinguish between the rare sites of damage and the vast expanse of normal DNA is poorly understood. Recognizing the mutagenic lesion 8-oxoguanine (oxoG) represents an especially formidable challenge, because this oxidized nucleobase differs by only two atoms from its normal counterpart, guanine (G). Here we report the use of a covalent trapping strategy to capture a human oxoG repair protein, 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase I (hOGG1), in the act of interrogating normal DNA. The X-ray structure of the trapped complex features a target G nucleobase extruded from the DNA helix but denied insertion into the lesion recognition pocket of the enzyme. Free energy difference calculations show that both attractive and repulsive interactions have an important role in the preferential binding of oxoG compared with G to the active site. The structure reveals a remarkably effective gate-keeping strategy for lesion discrimination and suggests a mechanism for oxoG insertion into the hOGG1 active site.
Botryococcus braunii, a green colonial microalga, is an unusually rich renewable source of hydrocarbons and other chemicals. Hydrocarbons can constitute up to 75% of the dry mass of B. braunii. This review details the various facets of biotechnology of B. braunii, including its microbiology and physiology; production of hydrocarbons and other compounds by the alga; methods of culture; downstream recovery and processing of algal hydrocarbons; and cloning of the algal genes into other microorganisms. B. braunii converts simple inorganic compounds and sunlight to potential hydrocarbon fuels and feedstocks for the chemical industry. Microorganisms such as B. braunii can, in the long run, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and because of this B. braunii continues to attract much attention.
Expression of early secreted antigenic target protein 6 (ESAT-6) by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is associated with lower innate immune responses to infection. Here we show that ESAT-6 inhibited activation of transcription factor NF-kappaB and interferon-regulatory factors (IRFs) after Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling; inhibition of TLR signaling by ESAT-6 required the kinase Akt. Direct binding of ESAT-6 to TLR2 activated Akt and prevented interaction between the adaptor MyD88 and 'downstream' kinase IRAK4, thus abrogating NF-kappaB activation. The six carboxy-terminal amino acid residues of ESAT-6 were required and sufficient for the TLR2-mediated inhibitory effect. A critical function for the carboxy-terminal peptide of ESAT-6 in restricting MyD88-dependent TLR signaling emphasizes the possibility that mimetic inhibitory peptides could be used to restrict innate immune responses in situations in which prolonged TLR signaling has deleterious effects.
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