title: A novel type of interaction between cruciform DNA and a cruciform binding protein from HeLa cells.
abstract: We recently identified and enriched a protein (CBP) from HeLa cells with binding specificity for cruciform-containing DNA. We have now studied the interaction of CBP with stable cruciform DNA molecules containing the 27 bp palindrome of SV40 on one strand and an unrelated 26 bp palindrome on the other strand by hydroxyl radical footprinting. The CBP-DNA interaction is localized to the four-way junction at the base of the cruciforms. CBP appears to interact with the elbows of the junctions in an asymmetric fashion. Upon CBP binding, structural distortions were observed in the cruciform stems and in a DNA region adjacent to the junction. These features distinguish CBP from other cruciform binding proteins, which bind symmetrically and display exclusively either contacts with the DNA backbone or structural alterations in the DNA.
authors.affiliation: McGill Cancer Centre, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zannis-Hadjopoulos
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zorbas
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical / Q000032:analysis; D008961:Models, Structural; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D010957:Plasmids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D011487:Protein Conformation; D015183:Restriction Mapping
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical