Search results for "DNA supercoil"
showing 10 items of 11 documents
2016
DNA damage can significantly modulate expression of the affected genes either by direct structural interference with transcription components or as a collateral outcome of cellular repair attempts. Thus, DNA glycosylases of the base excision repair (BER) pathway have been implicated in negative transcriptional response to several spontaneously generated DNA base modifications, including a common oxidative DNA base modification 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG). Here, we report that single 8-oxoG situated in the non-transcribed DNA strand of a reporter gene has a pronounced negative effect on transcription, driven by promoters of various strength and with different structural properties, including viral…
Endogenous fluctuations of DNA topology in the chloroplast of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
1998
DNA supercoiling in the chloroplast of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was found to change with a diurnal rhythm in cells growing in alternating 12-h dark-12-h light periods. Highest and lowest DNA superhelicities occurred at the beginning and towards the end of the 12-h light periods, respectively. The fluctuations in DNA supercoiling occurred concurrently and in the same direction in two separate parts of the chloroplast genome, one containing the genes psaB, rbcL, and atpA and the other containing the atpB gene. Fluctuations were not confined to transcribed DNA regions, indicating simultaneous changes in DNA conformation all over the chloroplast genome. Because the d…
DNA Junction Ligands Trigger DNA Damage and Are Synthetic Lethal with DNA Repair Inhibitors in Cancer Cells.
2019
International audience; Translocation of DNA and RNA polymerases along their duplex substrates results in DNA supercoiling. This torsional stress promotes the formation of plectonemic structures, including three-way DNA junction (TWJ), which can block DNA transactions and lead to DNA damage. While cells have evolved multiple mechanisms to prevent the accumulation of such structures, stabilizing TWJ through ad hoc ligands offer an opportunity to trigger DNA damage in cells with high level of transcription and replication, such as cancer cells. Here, we develop a series of azacryptand-based TWJ ligands, we thoroughly characterize their TWJ-interacting properties in vitro and demonstrate their…
Modulation of base excision repair of 8-oxoguanine by the nucleotide sequence.
2013
8-Oxoguanine (8-oxoG) is a major product of oxidative DNA damage, which induces replication errors and interferes with transcription. By varying the position of single 8-oxoG in a functional gene and manipulating the nucleotide sequence surrounding the lesion, we found that the degree of transcriptional inhibition is independent of the distance from the transcription start or the localization within the transcribed or the non-transcribed DNA strand. However, it is strongly dependent on the sequence context and also proportional to cellular expression of 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1)-demonstrating that transcriptional arrest does not take place at unrepaired 8-oxoG and proving a causal…
8-Oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine in DNA does not constitute a barrier to transcription, but is converted into transcription-blocking damage by OGG1.
2011
The common DNA base modification 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxo-G) affects the efficiency and fidelity of transcription. We constructed plasmid substrates carrying single 8-oxo-G residues, specifically positioned in the transcribed or the non-transcribed DNA strands, to investigate their effects on the expression of an EGFP reporter gene and to explore the role of base excision repair in the mechanism of transcription inhibition. We report that 8-oxo-G does not directly block transcription in cells, since a single 8-oxo-G in the transcribed DNA strand did not reduce the EGFP expression levels in repair-deficient (OGG1-null) mouse embryonic fibroblast cell lines. Rather, inhibition of trans…
Molecular Docking approach on the Topoisomerase I inhibitors series included in the NCI anti-cancer agents mechanism database
2006
Topoisomerase I (Top1) is an essential enzyme participating to all those processes associated with separation of DNA strands. It manages superhelical tensions through the transient breakage of one strand of duplex DNA, followed by the unwinding of supercoiled DNA. Camptothecins, a class of alkaloids extracted from the wood of a Chinese tree, were found to be potent inhibitors of Topoisomerase I. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Anti-cancer Agents Mechanism Database contains several camptothecins derivatives, classified as selective Top1 inhibitors. In this work we performed molecular docking studies on 24 camptothecin-like inhibitors present in this database (using Autodock 3.0.5). In or…
New alkaloid antibiotics that target the DNA topoisomerase I of Streptococcus pneumoniae
2011
16 pags, 3 figs, 3 tabs
A natural A/T-rich sequence from the yeast FBP1 gene exists as a cruciform in Escherichia coli cells.
1993
Abstract Palindromic or semipalindromic sequences can adopt cruciform structures in DNA in vitro. It has been demonstrated in some cases that A/T-rich cruciforms exist also in vivo in Escherichia coli. The biological function of those structures is not understood although putative cruciforms have been found in interesting locations on replication origins, operators, or transcriptional termination regions. Here we show by means of the use of structure-dependent nucleases that the 3′ end of the yeast FBP1 gene contains a stable cruciform both in vitro and in E. coli cells and that in both cases, its extrusion depends on the DNA supercoiling state.
DNA interaction of CuII, NiII and ZnII functionalized salphen complexes: studies by linear dichroism, gel electrophoresis and PCR.
2013
The interaction of salphen-type NiII, CuII and ZnII complexes with native DNA was investigated by exploiting linear dichroism experiments. The NiII complex behaves as a typical intercalator, binding strongly and stiffening and unwinding the DNA. The strength of the DNA interaction is slightly weaker for the copper complex and much weaker for the zinc complex. Plasmid-DNA gel electrophoresis experiments indicated that while CuII and ZnII complexes do not induce the unwinding of supercoiled DNA, the NiII complex has a nuclease activity without the addition of external agents. On the other hand, as shown in the PCR assays, we demonstrate that, at the used concentrations, only the CuII complex …