Mammalian MutY glycosylases have a unique architecture that features an interdomain connector (IDC) that joins the catalytic N-terminal domain and 8-oxoguanine (OG) recognition C-terminal domain. The IDC has been shown to be a hub for interactions with protein partners involved in coordinating downstream repair events and signaling apoptosis. Herein, a previously unidentified zinc ion and its coordination by three Cys residues of the IDC region of eukaryotic MutY organisms were characterized by mutagenesis, ICP-MS, and EXAFS. In vitro kinetics and cellular assays on WT and Cys to Ser mutants have revealed an important function for zinc coordination on overall protein stability, iron–sulfur cluster insertion, and ability to mediate DNA damage repair. We propose that this “zinc linchpin” motif serves to structurally organize the IDC and coordinate the damage recognition and base excision functions of the C- and N-terminal domains.

Uracil is a common form of DNA damage resulting from hydrolysis of cytosine, and cellular uracil DNA glycosylases (UDG) have evolved to remove it specifically. The use of nonnatural pyrene deoxyriboside in short DNA oligomers to directly report on UDG enzymatic activity is described. The mechanism relies on the use of uracil as a strong quencher of pyrene, and enzyme repair activity can be directly imaged with bacterial cells in real time.

Human deoxyhypusine hydroxylase (hDOHH) is an enzyme that is involved in the critical post-translational modification of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A). Following the conversion of a lysine residue on eIF5A to deoxyhypusine (Dhp) by deoxyhypusine synthase, hDOHH hydroxylates Dhp to yield the unusual amino acid residue hypusine (Hpu), a modification that is essential for eIF5A to promote peptide synthesis at the ribosome, among other functions. Purification of hDOHH overexpressed in E. coli affords enzyme that is blue in color, a feature that has been associated with the presence of a peroxo-bridged diiron(III) active site. To gain further insight into the nature of the diiron site and how it may change as hDOHH goes through the catalytic cycle, we have conducted X-ray absorption spectroscopic studies of hDOHH on five samples that represent different species along its reaction pathway. Structural analysis of each species has been carried out, starting with the reduced diferrous state, proceeding through its O2 adduct, and ending with a diferric decay product. Our results show that the Fe•••Fe distances found for the five samples fall within a narrow range of 3.4–3.5 Å, suggesting that hDOHH has a fairly constrained active site. This pattern differs significantly from what has been associated with canonical dioxygen activating nonheme diiron enzymes such as soluble methane monooxygenase and Class 1A ribonucleotide reductases, for which the Fe•••Fe distance can change by as much as 1 Å during the redox cycle. These results suggest that the O2 activation mechanism for hDOHH deviates somewhat from that associated with the canonical nonheme diiron enzymes, opening the door to new mechanistic possibilities for this intriguing family of enzymes.

The Family 4 Uracil DNA glycosylase from the hyperthermophilic organism Archaeoglobus fulgidus (AFUDG) is responsible for the removal of uracil in DNA as the first step in the Base Excision Repair (BER) pathway. AFUDG contains a large solvent-exposed peptide region containing an alpha helix and loop anchored on each end via ligation of two cysteine thiolates to a [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster. We propose that this region plays a similar role in DNA damage recognition as a smaller iron-sulfur cluster loop (FCL) motif in the structurally unrelated BER glycosylases MutY and Endonuclease III, and therefore refer to this region as the “pseudo-FCL” in AFUDG. In order to evaluate the importance of this region, three positively charged residues (Arg 86, Arg 91, Lys 100) and the anchoring Cys residues (Cys 85, Cys 101) within this motif were replaced with alanine and the effects of these replacements on uracil excision in single and double-stranded DNA were evaluated. These results show that this region participates and allows for efficient recognition and excision of uracil within DNA. Notably, R86A AFUDG exhibited reduced activity for uracil removal only within double-stranded DNA, suggesting an importance in duplex disruption and extrusion of the base as part of the excision process. In addition, mutation of the [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster cysteine ligands at the ends of the pseudo-FCL to alanine reduced the uracil excision efficiency, suggesting the importance of anchoring the loop via coordination to the cluster. In contrast, K100A AFUDG exhibited enhanced uracil excision activity, providing evidence for the importance of the loop conformation and flexibility. Taken together, the results herein provide evidence that the pseudo-FCL motif is involved in DNA binding and catalysis, particularly in duplex DNA contexts. This work underscores the requirement of an ensemble of interactions, both distant and in proximity to the damaged site, for accurate and efficient uracil excision.

Uracil ist ein verbreiteter DNA‐Schaden, der aus der Hydrolyse von Cytosin resultiert und durch Uracil‐DNA‐Glycosylasen (UDGs) spezifisch beseitigt wird. Ein nichtnatürliches Pyrendesoxyribosid in kurzen DNA‐Oligomeren wurde entwickelt, das die enzymatische Aktivität von UDG direkt messen kann. Der Mechanismus beruht auf der starken Fluoreszenzlöschung des Pyrens durch Uracil, und die Aktivität des Reparaturenzyms kann in Bakterienzellen in Echtzeit abgebildet werden.