title: Conformational analysis of a 139 base-pair DNA fragment containing a single-stranded break and its interaction with human poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase.
abstract: The conformational changes induced by the introduction of a central and unique single-stranded break in a 139 base-pair DNA duplex have been analysed by means of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, HPLC and dark-field electron microscopy. Compared to the control DNA, the disruption of the covalent sugar-phosphate backbone induces a retardation detected both by gel electrophoresis and anion exchange based HPLC. Electron microscopic visualization of the DNA molecules reveals that most of them present a central fracture at the position of the nick. Measures of the angle at the apex were very well fitted by a simple model of isotropic flexible junction assuming spatial Hooke's law and simple basic Boltzmann statistics. This amounts to using a folded Gaussian distribution. The fit yields an angle equilibrium value phi 0 = 122 degrees for the nicked fragment. The angle distribution could also result from an equilibrium between two forms of the molecule with isotropic flexibility at the nicked site: a stacked and a very flexible unstacked form. The majority of bound poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, a zinc-finger enzyme involved in DNA break detection, was localized at the apex of the V-shaped DNA duplex, with an accentuation of its general V-shaped conformation (phi 0 = 102 degrees).
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Microscopie Cellulaire et Moléculaire, URA 147 du CNRS Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Le Cam
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fack
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ménissier-de Murcia
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cognet
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barbin
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sarantoglou
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Révet
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Delain
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: de Murcia
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides / Q000737:chemistry; D011065:Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D004247:DNA; D011065:Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases