Collision of Trapped Topoisomerase 2 with Transcription and Replication: Generation and Repair of DNA Double-Strand Breaks with 5' Adducts.

Topoisomerase 2 (Top2) is an essential enzyme responsible for manipulating DNA topology during replication, transcription, chromosome organization and chromosome segregation. It acts by nicking both strands of DNA and then passes another DNA molecule through the break. The 5' end of each nick is covalently linked to the tyrosine in the active center of each of the two subunits of Top2 (Top2cc).

The structure of ends determines the pathway choice and Mre11 nuclease dependency of DNA double-strand break repair.

The key event in the choice of repair pathways for DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) is the initial processing of ends. Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) involves limited processing, but homology-dependent repair (HDR) requires extensive resection of the 5' strand. How cells decide if an end is channeled to resection or NHEJ is not well understood.

DNA double-strand breaks with 5' adducts are efficiently channeled to the DNA2-mediated resection pathway.

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) with 5' adducts are frequently formed from many nucleic acid processing enzymes, in particular DNA topoisomerase 2 (TOP2). The key intermediate of TOP2 catalysis is the covalent complex (TOP2cc), consisting of two TOP2 subunits covalently linked to the 5' ends of the nicked DNA. In cells, TOP2ccs can be trapped by cancer drugs such as etoposide and then converted into DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) that carry adducts at the 5' end.

The N-terminus of RPA large subunit and its spatial position are important for the 5'->3' resection of DNA double-strand breaks.

The first step of homology-dependent repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) is the resection of the 5' strand to generate 3' ss-DNA. Of the two major nucleases responsible for resection, EXO1 has intrinsic 5'->3' directionality, but DNA2 does not. DNA2 acts with RecQ helicases such as the Werner syndrome protein (WRN) and the heterotrimeric eukaryotic ss-DNA binding protein RPA.

Enriching CRISPR-Cas9 targeted cells by co-targeting the HPRT gene.

The CRISPR-Cas9 system uses guide RNAs to direct the Cas9 endonuclease to cleave target sequences. It can, in theory, target essentially any sequence in a genome, but the efficiency of the predicted guide RNAs varies dramatically. If no targeted cells are obtained, it is also difficult to know why the experiment fails.

Replication-dependent and transcription-dependent mechanisms of DNA double-strand break induction by the topoisomerase 2-targeting drug etoposide.

Etoposide is a DNA topoisomerase 2-targeting drug widely used for the treatment of cancer. The cytoxicity of etoposide correlates with the generation of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), but the mechanism of how it induces DSBs in cells is still poorly understood. Catalytically, etoposide inhibits the re-ligation reaction of Top2 after it nicks the two strands of DNA, trapping it in a cleavable complex consisting of two Top2 subunits covalently linked to the 5' ends of DNA (Top2cc).

Effect of the cyclobutane cytidine dimer on the properties of Escherichia coli DNA photolyase.

Cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) photolyases are structure specific DNA-repair enzymes that specialize in the repair of CPDs, the major photoproducts that are formed upon irradiation of DNA with ultraviolet light. The purified enzyme binds a flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), which is in the neutral radical semiquinone (FADH(*)) form. The CPDs are repaired by a light-driven, electron transfer from the anionic hydroquinone (FADH(-)) singlet excited state to the CPD, which is followed by reductive cleavage of the cyclobutane ring and subsequent monomerization of the pyrimidine bases.

The free energy of dissociation of oligomeric structure in phycocyanin is not linear with denaturant.

Using SEC HPLC and fluorescence anisotropy, absorption spectra were assigned to the specific oligomeric structures found with phycocyanin. The absorption spectra were used to quantify the population of each oligomeric form of the protein as a function of both urea concentration and temperature. Phycocyanin hexamers dissociate to trimers with equilibrium constants of 10(-6) to 10(-5).