When oligonucleotides
are oxidized by carbonate radical, thymine
and carbonate can add to guanine radical, yielding either a guanine-thymine
cross-link product (G∧T) or 8-oxo-7,8-dehydroguanine (8oxoG)
and its further oxidation products such as spiroiminodihydantoin (Sp)
and guanidinohydantoin (Gh). The ratio of thymine addition to carbonate
addition depends strongly on the pH. Details of the mechanism have
been explored by density functional calculations using the ωB97XD/6-31+G(d,p)
level of theory with the SMD implicit solvation method, augmented
with a few explicit waters. Free energies of intermediates and transition
states in aqueous solution have been calculated along the pathways
for addition of thymine, CO3
2–/HCO3
– and carbonate radical to guanine radical.
The pH dependence was examined by using appropriate explicit proton
donors/acceptors as computational models for buffers at pH 2.5, 7,
and 10. Deprotonation of thymine is required for nucleophilic addition
at C8 of guanine radical, and thus is favored at higher pH. The barrier
for carbonate radical addition is lower than for bicarbonate or carbonate
dianion addition; however, for low concentrations of carbonate radical,
the reaction may proceed by addition of bicarbonate/carbonate dianion
to guanine radical. Thymine and bicarbonate/carbonate dianion addition
are followed by oxidation by O2, loss of a proton from
C8 and decarboxylation of the carbonate adduct. At pH 2.5, guanine
radical cation can be formed by oxidization with sulfate radical.
Water addition to guanine radical cation is the preferred path for
forming 8oxoG at pH 2.5.