MutS蛋白识别DNA错配机制的研究

DNA生物合成过程中DNA聚合酶会错误的掺入一些碱基而导致错配，这些错配的碱基如果不能被及时地更正将会引起机体广泛的突变。DNA错配修复系统正是基于这样一种需要而产生的，它能够切除含有错配的DNA片段并重新合成出一段正确的DNA，因此对于维持基因组的稳定性具有重要的意义。 大肠杆菌DNA错配修复系统包含11种蛋白活性，并可分为起始、切割和修复三个阶段。起始阶段的第一个步骤是错配识别，这一功能是由一种叫作MutS的蛋白来完成的，它能够特异性的识别并且结合到错配上，然后引发下游一系列的修复反应。为了更深入的理解MutS蛋白识别镶嵌在随机DNA序列中的错配的机制，我们纯化了MutS及其突变体蛋白，构建了一个2279 bp的在1/4位置带有G/T错配的DNA片段和一个具有同样长度与序列的完全配对的DNA片段，然后在原子力显微镜下观察MutS及突变体蛋白与这两种DNA底物的作用方式。结果表明MutS蛋白不但能与错配的DNA结合也能与完全配对的DNA结合，而且MutS蛋白能够诱导这两种DNA底物形成一种形似a字母的环状结构，在这种结构中MutS蛋白位于两条DNA臂的交叉处。我们发现这些环状结构是在MutS蛋白寻找错配的过程中形成的，因为随着时间推移越来越多的错配位点会被MutS蛋白占据。这些结果表明MutS蛋白非特异性的结合到DNA上，然后诱导DNA形成a环状结构，并且凭借a环结构的形成对DNA的两条臂同时进行扫描以便寻找出错配的碱基对。根据以上结果我们推测a环模式是MutS蛋白寻找错配的一种机制。这些研究也为用单分子的手段研究蛋白与DNA的相互作用提供了一种可行的方法。

DNA错配修复基因mutS的高效表达及表达产物活性鉴定

将DNA错配修复基因mutS(2 5 6kb)克隆于分泌型原核表达载体pET32a(+)上 ,以N端融合 6个组氨酸的形式在E .coliAD494(DE3)中进行了IPTG诱导表达。SDS PAGE分析证实有一与预期分子量相应的诱导表达条带 ,其表达量占全菌蛋白质的 35 %左右 ,且表达蛋白以可溶形式存在。利用固定化金属离子 (Ni2 +)配体亲和层析柱纯化目的蛋白 ,其纯度为 90 %以上。与含有错配碱基DNA双链的结合反应证明该蛋白具有特异性识别、结合含有错配碱基DNA双链的生物活性

Pere Barnils i l'educació dels sords-muts. 'Pere Barnils y la educación de los sordo-mudos'.

Resaltar la figura de Barnils como pedagogo de la renovación pedagógica de principios de siglo. Vida y obra de Pere Barnils. Realiza una visión general de la época de Pere Barnils. Presenta su biografía. Estudia los antecedentes históricos en la educación de los sordo-mudos. Estudia la figura de Pere Barnils desde el punto de vista pedagógico. Entrevistas. Fuentes documentales. Investigación biográfica. Podemos considerar la obra pedagógica de Barnils como una adaptación original en el campo de la enseñanza de los sordo-mudos. Barnils era partidario de la aplicación de un método mixto en la enseñanza y sus procedimientos se siguen aplicando en la educación de los sordo-mudos. Sería necesario, de cara a futuras investigaciones, hacer un análisis y valoración de las publicaciones de Barnils en función de la Ortofonía.

Regulation of the expression of {\it mutS, mutL}, and {\it mutH\/} mismatch repair genes in {\it Escherichia coli\/} K-12

Post-replication DNA mismatch repair plays crucial roles in mutation avoidance and maintenance of chromosome stability in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In humans, deficiency in this repair system leads to a predisposition for certain cancers. The biochemistry of this repair system has been best studied in a model bacterium Escherichia coli. In this thesis, regulation of expression of mutS, mutL and mutH genes, whose products mediate methyl-directed mismatch (MDM) repair in E. coli, is investigated. One-step affinity purification schemes were developed to purify E. coli MutS, MutL and MutH proteins fused to a His-6-affinity tag. His-6-MutS exhibited the same mismatch binding activity and specificity as the native MutS protein. Purified His-6-MutS, -MutL and -MutH proteins were used to develop quantitative Western blotting assays for amounts of MutS, MuL and MutH proteins under various conditions. It was found that the three proteins were present in relatively low amounts in exponentially growing cells and MutS and MutH were diminished in stationary-phase cells. Further studies indicated that the drop in the amounts of MutS and MutH proteins in stationary-phase cells was mediated through RpoS, a key global regulator of stationary-phase transition. In both exponential- and stationary-phase cells, MutS amount was also negatively regulated by the Hfq (HF-I) global regulator, which is required for RpoS translation, through an RpoS-independent mechanism. $\beta$-galactosidase assays of mutS-lacZ operon and gene fusions suggested that hfq regulates mutS posttranscriptionally, and RNase T2 protection assays revealed that Hfq destabilizes mutS transcripts in exponentially growing cells. To study the relation between regulation of MDM repair and mutagenesis, amounts of MutS, MutL and MutH were measured in starved cells undergoing adaptive mutagenesis. It was found that MutS amount dropped drastically, MutH amount dropped slightly, whereas MutL amount remained essentially constant in starved cells. Overexpression of MutL did not reverse the drop in the amounts of MutS or MutH protein. These results ruled out several explanations for a phenomenon in which overexpression of MutL, but not MutS, reversed adaptive mutagenesis. The findings further suggested that functional MutL is limiting during adaptive mutagenesis. The implications of regulation of the MDM repair are discussed in the context of mutagenesis, pathogenesis and tumorigenesis. ^

Barriers to recombination between closely related bacteria: MutS and RecBCD inhibit recombination between Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella typhi

Previous studies have shown that inactivation of the MutS or MutL mismatch repair enzymes increases the efficiency of homeologous recombination between Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium and between S. typhimurium and Salmonella typhi. However, even in mutants defective for mismatch repair the recombination frequencies are 102- to 103-fold less than observed during homologous recombination between a donor and recipient of the same species. In addition, the length of DNA exchanged during transduction between S. typhimurium and S. typhi is less than in transductions between strains of S. typhimurium. In homeologous transductions, mutations in the recD gene increased the frequency of transduction and the length of DNA exchanged. Furthermore, in mutS recD double mutants the frequency of homeologous recombination was nearly as high as that seen during homologous recombination. The phenotypes of the mutants indicate that the gene products of mutS and recD act independently. Because S. typhimurium and S. typhi are ≈98–99% identical at the DNA sequence level, the inhibition of recombination is probably not due to a failure of RecA to initiate strand exchange. Instead, these results suggest that mismatches act at a subsequent step, possibly by slowing the rate of branch migration. Slowing the rate of branch migration may stimulate helicase proteins to unwind rather than extend the heteroduplex and leave uncomplexed donor DNA susceptible to further degradation by RecBCD exonuclease.

Interaction of the β sliding clamp with MutS, ligase, and DNA polymerase I

The β and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) sliding clamps were first identified as components of their respective replicases, and thus were assigned a role in chromosome replication. Further studies have shown that the eukaryotic clamp, PCNA, interacts with several other proteins that are involved in excision repair, mismatch repair, cellular regulation, and DNA processing, indicating a much wider role than replication alone. Indeed, the Escherichia coli β clamp is known to function with DNA polymerases II and V, indicating that β also interacts with more than just the chromosomal replicase, DNA polymerase III. This report demonstrates three previously undetected protein–protein interactions with the β clamp. Thus, β interacts with MutS, DNA ligase, and DNA polymerase I. Given the diverse use of these proteins in repair and other DNA transactions, this expanded list of β interactive proteins suggests that the prokaryotic β ring participates in a wide variety of reactions beyond its role in chromosomal replication.

Mutation detection with MutH, MutL, and MutS mismatch repair proteins.

Escherichia coli methyl-directed mismatch repair is initiated by MutS-, MutL-, and ATP-dependent activation of MutH endonuclease, which cleaves at d(GATC) sites in the vicinity of a mismatch. This reaction provides an efficient method for detection of mismatches in heteroduplexes produced by hybridization of genetically distinct sequences after PCR amplification. Multiple examples of transition and transversion mutations, as well as one, two, and three nucleotide insertion/deletion mutants, have been detected in PCR heteroduplexes ranging in size from 400 bp to 2.5 kb. Background cleavage of homoduplexes is largely due to polymerase errors that occur during amplification, and the MutHLS reaction provides an estimate of the incidence of mutant sequences that arise during PCR.

Products of DNA mismatch repair genes mutS and mutL are required for transcription-coupled nucleotide-excision repair of the lactose operon in Escherichia coli.

To improve our understanding of the mechanism that couples nucleotide-excision repair to transcription in expressed genes, we have examined the effects of mutations in several different DNA repair genes on the removal of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers from the individual strands of the induced lactose operon in UV-irradiated Escherichia coli. As expected, we found little repair in either strand of the lactose operon in strains with mutations in established nucleotide excision-repair genes (uvrA, uvrB, uvrC, or uvrD). In contrast, we found that mutations in either of two genes required for DNA-mismatch correction (mutS and mutL) selectively abolish rapid repair in the transcribed strand and render the cells moderately sensitive to UV irradiation. Similar results were found in a strain with a mutation in the mfd gene, the product of which has been previously shown to be required for transcription-coupled repair in vitro. Our results demonstrate an association between mismatch-correction and nucleotide-excision repair and implicate components of DNA-mismatch repair in transcription-coupled repair. In addition, they may have important consequences for human disease and may enhance our understanding of the etiology of certain cancers which have been associated with defects in mismatch correction.

Functional characterization of MutL homologue mismatch repair proteins and their variants

Mismatch repair (MMR) mechanisms repair DNA damage occurring during replication and recombination. To date, five human MMR genes, MSH2, MHS6, MSH3, MLH1 and PMS2 are known to be involved in the MMR function. Human MMR proteins form 3 different heterodimers: MutSα (MSH2 and MSH6) and MutSβ (MSH2 and MSH3), which are needed for mismatch recognition and binding, and MutLα (MLH1 and PMS2), which is needed for mediating interactions between MutS homologues and other MMR proteins. The other two MutL homologues, MLH3 and PMS1, have been shown to heterodimerize with MLH1. However, the heterodimers MutLγ (MLH1and MLH3) and MutLβ (MLH1 and PMS1) are able to correct mismatches only with low or no efficiency, respectively. A deficient MMR mechanism is associated with the hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome called hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) or Lynch syndrome. HNPCC is the most common hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome and accounts for 2-5% of all colorectal cancer cases. HNPCC-associated mutations have been found in 5 MMR genes: MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS2 and MLH3. Most of the mutations have been found in MLH1 and MSH2 (~90%) and are associated with typical HNPCC, while mutations in MSH6, PMS2 and MLH3 are mainly linked to putative HNPCC families lacking the characteristics of the syndrome. More data of MLH3 mutations are needed to assess the significance of its mutations in HNPCC. In this study, were functionally characterized 51 nontruncating mutations in the MLH1, MLH3 and MSH2 genes to address their pathogenic significance and mechanism of pathogenicity. Of the 36 MLH1 mutations, 22 were deficient in more than one assay, 2 variants were impaired only in one assay, and 12 variants behaved like the wild type protein, whereas all seven MLH3 mutants functioned like the wild type protein in the assays. To further clarify the role and relevance of MLH3 in MMR, we analyzed the subcellular localization of the native MutL homologue proteins. Our immunofluorescence analyses indicated that when all the three MutL homologues are natively expressed in human cells, endogenous MLH1 and PMS2 localize in the nucleus, whereas MLH3 stays in the cytoplasm. The coexpression of MLH3 with MLH1 results in its partial nuclear localization. Only one MSH2 mutation was pathogenic in the in vitro MMR assay. Our study on MLH1 mutations could clearly distinguish nontruncating alterations with severe functional defects from those not or only slightly impaired in protein function. However, our study on MLH3 mutations suggest that MLH3 mutations per se are not sufficient to trigger MMR deficiency and the continuous nuclear localization of MLH1 and PMS2 suggest that MutLα has a major activity in MMR in vivo. Together with our functional assays, this confirms that MutLγ is a less efficient MMR complex than MutLα.

The C-Terminal Domain of the MutL Homolog from Neisseria gonorrhoeae Forms an Inverted Homodimer

The mismatch repair (MMR) pathway serves to maintain the integrity of the genome by removing mispaired bases from the newly synthesized strand. In E. coli, MutS, MutL and MutH coordinate to discriminate the daughter strand through a mechanism involving lack of methylation on the new strand. This facilitates the creation of a nick by MutH in the daughter strand to initiate mismatch repair. Many bacteria and eukaryotes, including humans, do not possess a homolog of MutH. Although the exact strategy for strand discrimination in these organisms is yet to be ascertained, the required nicking endonuclease activity is resident in the C-terminal domain of MutL. This activity is dependent on the integrity of a conserved metal binding motif. Unlike their eukaryotic counterparts, MutL in bacteria like Neisseria exist in the form of a homodimer. Even though this homodimer would possess two active sites, it still acts a nicking endonuclease. Here, we present the crystal structure of the C-terminal domain (CTD) of the MutL homolog of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NgoL) determined to a resolution of 2.4 A. The structure shows that the metal binding motif exists in a helical configuration and that four of the six conserved motifs in the MutL family, including the metal binding site, localize together to form a composite active site. NgoL-CTD exists in the form of an elongated inverted homodimer stabilized by a hydrophobic interface rich in leucines. The inverted arrangement places the two composite active sites in each subunit on opposite lateral sides of the homodimer. Such an arrangement raises the possibility that one of the active sites is occluded due to interaction of NgoL with other protein factors involved in MMR. The presentation of only one active site to substrate DNA will ensure that nicking of only one strand occurs to prevent inadvertent and deleterious double stranded cleavage.

Structural Insights into Saccharomyces cerevisiae Msh4-Msh5 Complex Function Using Homology Modeling

The Msh4-Msh5 protein complex in eukaryotes is involved in stabilizing Holliday junctions and its progenitors to facilitate crossing over during Meiosis I. These functions of the Msh4-Msh5 complex are essential for proper chromosomal segregation during the first meiotic division. The Msh4/5 proteins are homologous to the bacterial mismatch repair protein MutS and other MutS homologs (Msh2, Msh3, Msh6). Saccharomyces cerevisiae msh4/5 point mutants were identified recently that show two fold reduction in crossing over, compared to wild-type without affecting chromosome segregation. Three distinct classes of msh4/5 point mutations could be sorted based on their meiotic phenotypes. These include msh4/5 mutations that have a) crossover and viability defects similar to msh4/5 null mutants; b) intermediate defects in crossing over and viability and c) defects only in crossing over. The absence of a crystal structure for the Msh4-Msh5 complex has hindered an understanding of the structural aspects of Msh4-Msh5 function as well as molecular explanation for the meiotic defects observed in msh4/5 mutations. To address this problem, we generated a structural model of the S. cerevisiae Msh4-Msh5 complex using homology modeling. Further, structural analysis tailored with evolutionary information is used to predict sites with potentially critical roles in Msh4-Msh5 complex formation, DNA binding and to explain asymmetry within the Msh4-Msh5 complex. We also provide a structural rationale for the meiotic defects observed in the msh4/5 point mutations. The mutations are likely to affect stability of the Msh4/5 proteins and/or interactions with DNA. The Msh4-Msh5 model will facilitate the design and interpretation of new mutational data as well as structural studies of this important complex involved in meiotic chromosome segregation.

Regulation of Energy Metabolism by the Extracytoplasmic Function (ECF) σ Factors of Arcobacter butzleri

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镉胁迫对拟南芥幼苗错配修复相关基因表达及突变的影响

土壤重金属污染是影响农业可持续发展和生态环境的重要问题，而通过生物标记物方式对污染土壤进行早期诊断已成为环境科学领域的研究热点。本文以M&S营养液为培养介质，以拟南芥为供试材料，以错配修复基因MutS 2 homolog (atMSH2)，atMSH3，atMSH7，细胞增殖核抗原1 和2 (atPCNA1和atPCNA2)为检测目的基因，分别采用半定量反转录-聚合酶链式反应（RT-PCR）技术、克隆及测序技术研究了Cd在不同胁迫水平（0，0.125，0.25，1.0，3.0 mg•L-1 ）上对上述错配修复相关基因表达和atMSH2基因突变的影响，并与拟南芥幼苗形态、生理指标的毒性效应进行比较分析，筛选出对Cd污染胁迫敏感的生物标记物。主要结果如下： 1. 不同浓度（0，0.125，0.25，1.0，3.0 mg•L-1 ）Cd处理7天后，拟南芥幼苗叶片数、地上部鲜重变化与对照相比差异均不显著；而根长随Cd胁迫强度的增加明显降低； 2. 不同浓度（0，0.125，0.25，1.0，3.0 mg•L-1 ）Cd处理7天后，叶绿素含量变化与对照相比差异均不显著； 地上部可溶性蛋白含量随Cd浓度的增加变化明显，0.125 mg•L-1 Cd处理下，地上部可溶性蛋白含量显著增加，而在0.25，1.0和3.0 mg•L-1 Cd时降低，但仍高于对照； 3. 地上部atMSH2，atPCNA1，atPCNA2基因表达量的变化与Cd胁迫浓度呈明显的倒U字型关系，分别在0.125mg•L-1，0.25mg•L-1和0.125mg•L-1 Cd时达到最大值。地上部可溶性蛋白含量变化趋势与atMSH2，atPCNA1，atPCNA2基因表达量的变化相似，均可作为对Cd污染胁迫敏感的潜在生物标记物。 4. 对不同浓度（0，0.125，0.25，1.0，3.0 mg•L-1 ）Cd处理7天后，拟南芥atMSH2基因PCR后的扩增产物进行回收、纯化、克隆和测序。测序结果表明，0.25 mg•L-1 Cd处理拟南芥atMSH2基因在第8个和第9个外显子之间的内含子有一个碱基转换；在1.0 mg•L-1 Cd处理下，拟南芥在第10个外显子有一个碱基转换。