Incorporation of 3-aminobenzanthrone into 2'-deoxyoligonucleotides and its impact on duplex stability.

3-Nitrobenzanthrone (3NBA), an environmental pollutant and potent mutagen, causes DNA damage via the reaction of its metabolically activated form with the exocyclic amino groups of purines and the C-8 position of guanine. The present work describes a synthetic approach to the preparation of oligomeric 2'-deoxyribonucleotides containing a 2-(2'-deoxyguanosin-N(2)-yl)-3-aminobenzanthrone moiety, one of the major DNA adducts found in tissues of living organisms exposed to 3NBA. The NMR spectra indicate that the damaged oligodeoxyribonucleotide is capable of forming a regular double helical structure with the polyaromatic moiety assuming a single conformation at room temperature; the spectra suggest that the 3ABA moiety resides in the duplex minor groove pointing toward the 5'-end of the modified strand.

Effect of 6-thioguanine on the stability of duplex DNA.

The incorporation of 6-thioguanine (S6G) into DNA is a prerequisite for its cytotoxic action, but duplex structure is not significantly perturbed by the presence of the lesion [J. Bohon and C. R.

Stereoselective excision of thymine glycol lesions by mammalian cell extracts.

Thymine glycols (Tg) are major pyrimidine oxidation products produced by chemical agents and ionizing radiation. Recent improvements in purification procedures gave us the opportunity to examine the incision of DNA duplexes containing a single (5S,6R)- or (5R,6S)-Tg lesion by mouse NTH1 DNA glycosylase and mammalian cell nuclear extracts. Time course experiments and steady state enzyme kinetics indicated that mNTH1 discriminates between the cis-Tg isomers.

Structural effect of the anticancer agent 6-thioguanine on duplex DNA.

The incorporation of 6-thioguanine (S6G) into DNA is an essential step in the cytotoxic activity of thiopurines. However, the structural effects of this substitution on duplex DNA have not been fully characterized. Here, we present the solution structures of DNA duplexes containing S6G opposite thymine (S6G.