scholarly journals DNA-binding mechanism of spiropyran photoswitches: the role of electrostatics

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (17) ◽  
pp. 8614-8618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Avagliano ◽  
Pedro A. Sánchez-Murcia ◽  
Leticia González

The binding mechanism of the protonated open form of three spiropyran derivatives into a 12-mer (poly-dAT)2 has been unveiled by means of computational methods.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystyna Ślaska-Kiss ◽  
Nikolett Zsibrita ◽  
Mihály Koncz ◽  
Pál Albert ◽  
Ákos Csábrádi ◽  
...  

AbstractTargeted DNA methylation is a technique that aims to methylate cytosines in selected genomic loci. In the most widely used approach a CG-specific DNA methyltransferase (MTase) is fused to a sequence specific DNA binding protein, which binds in the vicinity of the targeted CG site(s). Although the technique has high potential for studying the role of DNA methylation in higher eukaryotes, its usefulness is hampered by insufficient methylation specificity. One of the approaches proposed to suppress methylation at unwanted sites is to use MTase variants with reduced DNA binding affinity. In this work we investigated how methylation specificity of chimeric MTases containing variants of the CG-specific prokaryotic MTase M.SssI fused to zinc finger or dCas9 targeting domains is influenced by mutations affecting catalytic activity and/or DNA binding affinity of the MTase domain. Specificity of targeted DNA methylation was assayed in E. coli harboring a plasmid with the target site. Digestions of the isolated plasmids with methylation sensitive restriction enzymes revealed that specificity of targeted DNA methylation was dependent on the activity but not on the DNA binding affinity of the MTase. These results have implications for the design of strategies of targeted DNA methylation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 5112
Author(s):  
Lotte van Beek ◽  
Éilís McClay ◽  
Saleha Patel ◽  
Marianne Schimpl ◽  
Laura Spagnolo ◽  
...  

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARP) 1-3 are well-known multi-domain enzymes, catalysing the covalent modification of proteins, DNA, and themselves. They attach mono- or poly-ADP-ribose to targets using NAD+ as a substrate. Poly-ADP-ribosylation (PARylation) is central to the important functions of PARP enzymes in the DNA damage response and nucleosome remodelling. Activation of PARP happens through DNA binding via zinc fingers and/or the WGR domain. Modulation of their activity using PARP inhibitors occupying the NAD+ binding site has proven successful in cancer therapies. For decades, studies set out to elucidate their full-length molecular structure and activation mechanism. In the last five years, significant advances have progressed the structural and functional understanding of PARP1-3, such as understanding allosteric activation via inter-domain contacts, how PARP senses damaged DNA in the crowded nucleus, and the complementary role of histone PARylation factor 1 in modulating the active site of PARP. Here, we review these advances together with the versatility of PARP domains involved in DNA binding, the targets and shape of PARylation and the role of PARPs in nucleosome remodelling.


2006 ◽  
Vol 281 (50) ◽  
pp. 38966
Author(s):  
Takashi Kinebuchi ◽  
Wataru Kagawa ◽  
Hitoshi Kurumizaka ◽  
Shigeyuki Yokoyama
Keyword(s):  

Virology ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 165 (2) ◽  
pp. 438-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ianis Lazaridis ◽  
Alexander Babich ◽  
Joseph R. Nevins

2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (13) ◽  
pp. 8661-8664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Schuck ◽  
Arne Stenlund

ABSTRACT Viral initiator proteins are polypeptides that form oligomeric complexes on the origin of DNA replication (ori). These complexes carry out a multitude of functions related to initiation of DNA replication, and although many of these functions have been characterized biochemically, little is understood about how the complexes are assembled. Here we demonstrate that loss of one particular interaction, the dimerization between E1 DNA binding domains, has a severe effect on DNA replication in vivo but has surprisingly modest effects on most individual biochemical activities in vitro. We conclude that the dimer interaction is primarily required for initial recognition of ori.


2005 ◽  
Vol 289 (5) ◽  
pp. G798-G805 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gernot Zollner ◽  
Martin Wagner ◽  
Peter Fickert ◽  
Andreas Geier ◽  
Andrea Fuchsbichler ◽  
...  

Expression of the main hepatic bile acid uptake system, the Na+-taurocholate cotransporter (Ntcp), is downregulated during cholestasis. Bile acid-induced, farnesoid X receptor (FXR)-mediated induction of the nuclear repressor short heterodimer partner (SHP) has been proposed as a key mechanism reducing Ntcp expression. However, the role of FXR and SHP or other nuclear receptors and hepatocyte-enriched transcription factors in mediating Ntcp repression in obstructive cholestasis is unclear. FXR knockout (FXR−/−) and wild-type (FXR+/+) mice were subjected to common bile duct ligation (CBDL). Cholic acid (CA)-fed and LPS-treated FXR−/− and FXR+/+ mice were studied for comparison. mRNA levels of Ntcp and SHP and nuclear protein levels of hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF)-1α, HNF-3β, HNF-4α, retinoid X receptor (RXR)-α, and retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-α and their DNA binding were assessed. Hepatic cytokine mRNA levels were also measured. CBDL and CA led to Ntcp repression in FXR+/+, but not FXR−/−, mice, whereas LPS reduced Ntcp expression in both genotypes. CBDL and LPS but not CA induced cytokine expression and reduced levels of HNF-1α, HNF-3β, HNF-4α, RXRα, and RARα to similar extents in FXR+/+ and FXR−/−. DNA binding of these transactivators was unaffected by CA in FXR+/+ mice but was markedly reduced in FXR−/− mice. In conclusion, Ntcp repression by CBDL and CA is mediated by accumulating bile acids via FXR and does not depend on cytokines, whereas Ntcp repression by LPS is independent of FXR. Reduced levels of HNF-1α, RXRα, and RARα in CBDL FXR−/− mice and reduced DNA binding in CA-fed FXR−/− mice, despite unchanged Ntcp levels, indicate that these factors may have a minor role in regulation of mouse Ntcp during cholestasis.


1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 7269-7277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonnie L. Burgess-Beusse ◽  
Gretchen J. Darlington

ABSTRACT Members of the C/EBP (CCAAT/enhancer binding protein) family of transcription factors play important roles in mediating the acute-phase response (APR), an inflammatory process resulting from infection and/or tissue damage. Among the C/EBP family of proteins, C/EBPβ and -δ were thought to be the primary mediators of the APR. The function of C/EBPα in the APR has not been fully characterized to date. Here, we investigate the role of C/EBPα in the APR by using neonatal mice that lack C/EBPα expression. Northern blot analysis of acute-phase protein gene expression in neonatal mice treated with purified bacterial lipopolysaccharide or recombinant interleukin 1β as an inflammation stimulus showed a strong APR in wild-type mice, but a response in C/EBPα null animals was completely lacking. The C/EBPα knockout and wild-type mice demonstrated elevations in C/EBPβ and -δ mRNA expression and DNA binding as well as increased DNA binding of NF-κB, all of which are known to be important in the APR. Null mice, however, failed to activate STAT3 binding in response to lipopolysaccharide. Our results provide the first evidence that C/EBPα is absolutely required for the APR in neonatal mice, is involved in STAT3 regulation, and cannot be compensated for by other C/EBP family members.


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