title: Activation induced deaminase: the importance of being specific.
abstract: Activation-induced deaminase (AID) is required for class switch recombination and somatic hypermutation in immunoglobulin genes. Although the preponderance of evidence suggests that AID functions by deaminating deoxycytidine in DNA, the question remains whether it can also deaminate cytidine in mRNA, as originally proposed based on its homology to RNA-editing enzymes. Recently, the biological relevance of assaying mammalian enzymes for DNA deaminase activity using Escherichia coli DNA as a reporter has been questioned, representing another round in the ongoing debate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, The James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, USA. harold_smith@urmc.rochester.edu
authors.forename: Harold C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bottaro
authors.forename: Mark P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Sowden
authors.forename: Joseph E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Wedekind
mesh_terms: D000071479:APOBEC-1 Deaminase; D003564:Cytidine Deaminase / Q000502:physiology*; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000378:metabolism*; D003641:Deamination; D006801:Humans; D012313:RNA / Q000378:metabolism; D012323:RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional; D027041:Somatic Hypermutation, Immunoglobulin; D000098830:AICDA (Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase)
chemical_list: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D012313:RNA; D000098830:AICDA (Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase); D000071479:APOBEC-1 Deaminase; C000605089:APOBEC1 protein, human; D003564:Cytidine Deaminase