title: hUNG2 is the major repair enzyme for removal of uracil from U:A matches, U:G mismatches, and U in single-stranded DNA, with hSMUG1 as a broad specificity backup.
abstract: hUNG2 and hSMUG1 are the only known glycosylases that may remove uracil from both double- and single-stranded DNA in nuclear chromatin, but their relative contribution to base excision repair remains elusive. The present study demonstrates that both enzymes are strongly stimulated by physiological concentrations of Mg2+, at which the activity of hUNG2 is 2-3 orders of magnitude higher than of hSMUG1. Moreover, Mg2+ increases the preference of hUNG2 toward uracil in ssDNA nearly 40-fold. APE1 has a strong stimulatory effect on hSMUG1 against dsU, apparently because of enhanced dissociation of hSMUG1 from AP sites in dsDNA. hSMUG1 also has a broader substrate specificity than hUNG2, including 5-hydroxymethyluracil and 3,N(4)-ethenocytosine. hUNG2 is excluded from, whereas hSMUG1 accumulates in, nucleoli in living cells. In contrast, only hUNG2 accumulates in replication foci in the S-phase. hUNG2 in nuclear extracts initiates base excision repair of plasmids containing either U:A and U:G in vitro. Moreover, an additional but delayed repair of the U:G plasmid is observed that is not inhibited by neutralizing antibodies against hUNG2 or hSMUG1. We propose a model in which hUNG2 is responsible for both prereplicative removal of deaminated cytosine and postreplicative removal of misincorporated uracil at the replication fork. We also provide evidence that hUNG2 is the major enzyme for removal of deaminated cytosine outside of replication foci, with hSMUG1 acting as a broad specificity backup.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cancer Research and Molecular Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7489 Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Bodil
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kavli
authors.forename: Ottar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sundheim
authors.forename: Mansour
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akbari
authors.forename: Marit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Otterlei
authors.forename: Hilde
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nilsen
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Skorpen
authors.forename: Per Arne
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Aas
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hagen
authors.forename: Hans E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Krokan
authors.forename: Geir
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Slupphaug
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002417:Cattle; D002453:Cell Cycle; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D045647:DNA Glycosylases; D004260:DNA Repair; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D015636:Magnesium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008954:Models, Biological; D009699:N-Glycosyl Hydrolases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011485:Protein Binding; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012492:Salts / Q000494:pharmacology; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D014498:Uracil / Q000737:chemistry*; D051981:Uracil-DNA Glycosidase
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012492:Salts; D015636:Magnesium Chloride; D014498:Uracil; D045647:DNA Glycosylases; D009699:N-Glycosyl Hydrolases; D051981:Uracil-DNA Glycosidase