Removal of N-alkyl modifications from N(2)-alkylguanine and N(4)-alkylcytosine in DNA by the adaptive response protein AlkB.

The AlkB enzyme is an Fe(II)- and α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase that repairs DNA alkyl lesions by a direct reversal of damage mechanism as part of the adaptive response in E. coli. The reported substrate scope of AlkB includes simple DNA alkyl adducts, such as 1-methyladenine, 3-methylcytosine, 3-ethylcytosine, 1-methylguanine, 3-methylthymine, and N(6)-methyladenine, as well as more complex DNA adducts, such as 1,N(6)-ethenoadenine, 3,N(4)-ethenocytosine, and 1,N(6)-ethanoadenine.

Electrochemical characterization of Escherichia coli adaptive response protein AidB.

When exposed to known DNA-damaging alkylating agents, Escherichia coli cells increase production of four DNA repair enzymes: Ada, AlkA, AlkB, and AidB. The role of three enzymes (Ada, AlkA, and AlkB) in repairing DNA lesions has been well characterized, while the function of AidB is poorly understood. AidB has a distinct cofactor that is potentially related to the elusive role of AidB in adaptive response: a redox active flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD).

Facile method of quantification for oxidized tryptophan degradants of monoclonal antibody by mixed mode ultra performance liquid chromatography.

Oxidation in therapeutic monoclonal antibody is a common occurrence and it may affect potency. Thus controlling and monitoring the amount of oxidized variant in the drug product sample is important since it may impact the purity. Here, we present the development of a fast and easy method utilizing size exclusion - ultra performance liquid chromatography (SE-UPLC) run under moderate hydrophobic conditions (mixed mode) to monitor the heterogeneity in drug product samples.

Exocyclic carbons adjacent to the N6 of adenine are targets for oxidation by the Escherichia coli adaptive response protein AlkB.

The DNA and RNA repair protein AlkB removes alkyl groups from nucleic acids by a unique iron- and α-ketoglutarate-dependent oxidation strategy. When alkylated adenines are used as AlkB targets, earlier work suggests that the initial target of oxidation can be the alkyl carbon adjacent to N1. Such may be the case with ethano-adenine (EA), a DNA adduct formed by an important anticancer drug, BCNU, whereby an initial oxidation would occur at the carbon adjacent to N1.

Flavin-induced oligomerization in Escherichia coli adaptive response protein AidB.

The process known as "adaptive response" allows Escherichia coli to respond to small doses of DNA-methylating agents by upregulating the expression of four proteins. While the role of three of these proteins in mitigating DNA damage is well understood, the function of AidB is less clear. Although AidB is a flavoprotein, no catalytic role has been established for the bound cofactor.

Repair of DNA Alkylation Damage by the Escherichia coli Adaptive Response Protein AlkB as Studied by ESI-TOF Mass Spectrometry.

DNA alkylation can cause mutations, epigenetic changes, and even cell death. All living organisms have evolved enzymatic and non-enzymatic strategies for repairing such alkylation damage. AlkB, one of the Escherichia coli adaptive response proteins, uses an α-ketoglutarate/Fe(II)-dependent mechanism that, by chemical oxidation, removes a variety of alkyl lesions from DNA, thus affording protection of the genome against alkylation.

Structural analysis of an open active site conformation of nonheme iron halogenase CytC3.

CytC3, a member of the recently discovered class of nonheme Fe(II) and alpha-ketoglutarate (alphaKG)-dependent halogenases, catalyzes the double chlorination of L-2-aminobutyric acid (Aba) to produce a known Streptomyces antibiotic, gamma,gamma-dichloroaminobutyrate. Unlike the majority of the Fe(II)-alphaKG-dependent enzymes that catalyze hydroxylation reactions, halogenases catalyze a transfer of halides. To examine the important enzymatic features that discriminate between chlorination and hydroxylation, the crystal structures of CytC3 both with and without alphaKG/Fe(II) have been solved to 2.

Alleviation of 1,N6-ethanoadenine genotoxicity by the Escherichia coli adaptive response protein AlkB.

1,N(6)-ethanoadenine (EA) forms through the reaction of adenine in DNA with the antitumor agent 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea, a chemotherapeutic used to combat various brain, head, and neck tumors. Previous studies of the toxic and mutagenic properties of the DNA adduct EA have been limited to in vitro experiments using mammalian polymerases and have revealed the lesion to be both miscoding and genotoxic. This work explores lesion bypass and mutagenicity of EA replicated in vivo and demonstrates that EA is neither toxic nor mutagenic in wild-type Escherichia coli.

AlkB reverses etheno DNA lesions caused by lipid oxidation in vitro and in vivo.

Oxidative stress converts lipids into DNA-damaging agents. The genomic lesions formed include 1,N(6)-ethenoadenine (epsilonA) and 3,N(4)-ethenocytosine (epsilonC), in which two carbons of the lipid alkyl chain form an exocyclic adduct with a DNA base. Here we show that the newly characterized enzyme AlkB repairs epsilonA and epsilonC.