1,3-Butadiene-Induced Adenine DNA Adducts Are Genotoxic but Only Weakly Mutagenic When Replicated in Escherichia coli of Various Repair and Replication Backgrounds.

The adverse effects of the human carcinogen 1,3-butadiene (BD) are believed to be mediated by its DNA-reactive metabolites such as 3,4-epoxybut-1-ene (EB) and 1,2,3,4-diepoxybutane (DEB). The specific DNA adducts responsible for toxic and mutagenic effects of BD, however, have yet to be identified. Recent in vitro polymerase bypass studies of BD-induced adenine (BD-dA) adducts show that DEB-induced N,N-DHB-dA (DHB = 2,3-dihydroxybutan-1,4-diyl) and 1,N-γ-HMHP-dA (HMHP = 2-hydroxy-3-hydroxymethylpropan-1,3-diyl) adducts block replicative DNA polymerases but are bypassed by human polymerases η and κ, leading to point mutations and deletions.

Intrinsic mutagenic properties of 5-chlorocytosine: A mechanistic connection between chronic inflammation and cancer.

During chronic inflammation, neutrophil-secreted hypochlorous acid can damage nearby cells inducing the genomic accumulation of 5-chlorocytosine (5ClC), a known inflammation biomarker. Although 5ClC has been shown to promote epigenetic changes, it has been unknown heretofore if 5ClC directly perpetrates a mutagenic outcome within the cell. The present work shows that 5ClC is intrinsically mutagenic, both in vitro and, at a level of a single molecule per cell, in vivo.

Next-generation sequencing reveals the biological significance of the N(2),3-ethenoguanine lesion in vivo.

Etheno DNA adducts are a prevalent type of DNA damage caused by vinyl chloride (VC) exposure and oxidative stress. Etheno adducts are mutagenic and may contribute to the initiation of several pathologies; thus, elucidating the pathways by which they induce cellular transformation is critical. Although N(2),3-ethenoguanine (N(2),3-εG) is the most abundant etheno adduct, its biological consequences have not been well characterized in cells due to its labile glycosidic bond.

Decipher the dynamic coordination between enzymatic activity and structural modulation at focal adhesions in living cells.

Focal adhesions (FAs) are dynamic subcellular structures crucial for cell adhesion, migration and differentiation. It remains an enigma how enzymatic activities in these local complexes regulate their structural remodeling in live cells. Utilizing biosensors based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), we developed a correlative FRET imaging microscopy (CFIM) approach to quantitatively analyze the subcellular coordination between the enzymatic Src activation and the structural FA disassembly.

A single neonatal exposure to aflatoxin b1 induces prolonged genetic damage in two loci of mouse liver.

Aflatoxin B (1) (AFB(1)) is a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma in humans. Infant, but not adult, mice are sensitive to AFB(1)-induced liver carcinogenesis; a single dose during the neonatal period leads to hepatocellular carcinoma in adulthood. Earlier work defined the mutational spectrum in the gpt gene of gpt delta B6C3F1 mice 3 weeks after exposure to aflatoxin.

Inhibition of geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase by bisphosphonates: a crystallographic and computational investigation.

We report the X-ray structures of several bisphosphonate inhibitors of geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase, a target for anticancer drugs. Bisphosphonates containing unbranched side chains bind to either the farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) substrate site, the geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) product site, and in one case, both sites, with the bisphosphonate moiety interacting with 3 Mg (2+) that occupy the same position as found in FPP synthase. However, each of three "V-shaped" bisphosphonates bind to both the FPP and GGPP sites.