RESUMO
DNA repair by O6-alkylguanine-DNA-alkyltransferase involves the stoichiometric transfer of the O6-alkyl group from the guanine lesion to the active-site cysteine residues of the protein. Site-directed mutagenesis of glutamic acid 172 of human O6-alkylguanine-DNA-alkyltransferase (EC 2.1.1.63) to glutamine totally abolished the alkyltransferase activity of the protein. This suggests that glutamic acid 172 is crucial to the alkyl transfer. It may act as a general acid (as CO2H) or base (as CO2-), or have a role as a component of a salt-link (-CO2-.....+N-), vital for the structural integrity of the active site. This is the first mutational inactivation of a protein in this family of DNA repair molecules by means of a residue change outside the highly conserved pentet (PCHRV) which includes the active-site cysteine.
Assuntos
Metiltransferases/química , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Reparo do DNA , Glutamatos/química , Glutamina/química , Humanos , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Mutagênese Sítio-Dirigida , O(6)-Metilguanina-DNA Metiltransferase , Relação Estrutura-AtividadeRESUMO
A cDNA encoding the human O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (ATase; EC 2.1.1.63; methylated-DNA: protein-cysteine methyltransferase) has been manipulated to generate a C-terminally deleted protein which retains full methyl-transfer activity. The elimination of 22 amino-acid residues from the C-terminus was achieved by endonuclease-SacI digestion of the 623 bp cDNA coding sequence and ligation of a SacI/HindIII linker containing an in-frame stop codon. The truncated protein was characterized by its reduced molecular mass in immunoblots probed with an antiserum against the full-length protein and by fluorography after incubation with [3H]methylated calf thymus DNA. The rate of methyl transfer was virtually identical for the full-length and truncated ATases. The construction of such a truncated, yet still functional, ATase, with a molecular mass of 19.7 kDa should facilitate a detailed n.m.r. structural study and help to determine the functional significance of the C-terminal domain of mammalian ATases.
