Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.1.1.37 (DNA methyltransferase)
4,983 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

EcoRI DNA methyltransferase contains tryptophans at positions 183 and 225. Tryptophan 225 is adjacent to residues previously implicated in S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) binding and to cysteine 223, previously shown to be the site of N-ethyl maleimide-mediated inactivation of the enzyme (Reich, N. O., and Everett, E. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 8929-8934; Everett, E. A., Falick, A. M., and Reich, N. O. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 17713-17719). The fluorescence spectra of the wild-type enzyme is centered at 338 nm indicating partial tryptophan solvent accessibility. Substitution of tryptophan 183 with phenylalanine results in a 45% drop in fluorescence intensity, but no shift in lambda max. DNA binding to the wild-type methyltransferase caused an increase in the fluorescence intensity, while binding to the tryptophan 183 mutant had a quenching effect, suggesting that DNA binding induces a conformational change near both tryptophans. Binding of AdoMet and various AdoMet analogs to the wild-type methyltransferase results in no change in the fluorescence spectrum when excitation occurs at 295 nm, suggesting that no conformational change occurs, and AdoMet does not interact with either tryptophan. In contrast, quenching was observed when excitation occurred at 280 nm, suggesting that AdoMet and its analogs may be quenching tyrosine to tryptophan energy transfer. Protein-ligand complexes were titrated with acrylamide, and the data also implicate conformational changes upon DNA binding but not upon AdoMet binding, consistent with previous limited proteolysis results (Reich, N. O., Maegley, K. A., Shoemaker, D.D., and Everett, E. (1991) Biochemistry 30, 2940-2946).
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PMID:Cofactor and DNA interactions in EcoRI DNA methyltransferase. Fluorescence spectroscopy and phenylalanine replacement for tryptophan 183. 152 89

HTLV-I infection is characterized by low viremia and restricted viral expression. While the mechanisms regulating viral latency are poorly understood, it is believed that interactions between viral and host cellular factor(s) are involved. Several lines of evidence indicate that HTLV-I provirus may be methylated in primary ATL leukemic cells. To determine whether methylation of the viral promoting sequences was sufficient to inhibit gene transcription, we methylated the HTLV-I LTR enzymatically at the HpaII (CCGG) sites. HTLV-I LTR contains several HpaII methylase-sensitive sites, and some involve one of the three 21-bp motifs, responsible for tax induction, as well as sequences that respond to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). We found that CpG site-specific methylation of HTLV-I LTR sequences inhibits their transcriptional activation mediated by both tax product and PMA. This transcriptional block, however, was overcome when tax product and PMA were added together, thus indicating that tax and PMA act synergistically in bypassing the transcriptional block exerted by methylation.
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PMID:Transcriptional block of HTLV-I LTR by sequence-specific methylation. 202 80

We describe here the cloning, characterization and expression in E. coli of the gene coding for a DNA methylase from Spiroplasma sp. strain MQ1 (M.SssI). This enzyme methylates completely and exclusively CpG sequences. The Spiroplasma gene was transcribed in E. coli using its own promoter. Translation of the entire message required the use of an opal suppressor, suggesting that UGA triplets code for tryptophan in Spiroplasma. Sequence analysis of the gene revealed several UGA triplets, in a 1158 bp long open reading frame. The deduced amino acid sequence revealed in M.SssI all common domains characteristic of bacterial cytosine DNA methylases. The putative sequence recognition domain of M.SssI showed no obvious similarities with that of the mouse DNA methylase, in spite of their common sequence specificity. The cloned enzyme methylated exclusively CpG sequences both in vivo and in vitro. In contrast to the mammalian enzyme which is primarily a maintenance methylase, M.SssI displayed de novo methylase activity, characteristic of prokaryotic cytosine DNA methylases.
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PMID:Cloning, characterization, and expression in Escherichia coli of the gene coding for the CpG DNA methylase from Spiroplasma sp. strain MQ1(M.SssI). 218

A possible role of DNA methylation as a factor in HIV latency was studied by methylating a HIV1-LTR-CAT plasmid in vitro and measuring its expression after transfection on Vero cells. Methylation with a eukaryotic DNA methylase resulted in a 70% inhibition of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase expression, in the absence as well as in the presence of the HIV1 trans-activator protein TAT in the cell. A similar degree of transcription inhibition was obtained by methylation of the only Hpa II site at position-143 in the HIV1-LTR with the bacterial Hpa II methylase. In contrast to the effect by eukaryotic methylation, the inhibition by Hpa II methylation could be partially reversed by cotransfection of the TAT gene. The reason may lie in an about 40% demethylation at the Hpa II site which was concomitantly observed.
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PMID:Transcription of HIV1 is inhibited by DNA methylation. 232 94

EcoP15I DNA methyltransferase recognizes the sequence 5'-CAGCAG-3' and transfers a methyl group to N-6 of the second adenine residue in the recognition sequence. All N-6 adenine methyltransferases contain two highly conserved sequences, FxGxG (motif I), postulated to form part of the S-adenosyl-L-methionine binding site and (D/N/S)PP(Y/F) (motif IV) involved in catalysis. We have altered the second glycine residue in motif I to arginine and serine, and substituted tyrosine in motif IV with tryptophan in EcoP15I DNA methyltransferase, using site-directed mutagenesis. The mutant enzymes were overexpressed, purified and characterized by biochemical methods. The mutations in motif I completely abolished AdoMet binding but left target DNA recognition unaltered. Although the mutation in motif IV resulted in loss of enzyme activity, we observed enhanced crosslinking of S-adenosyl-L-methionine and DNA. This implies that DNA and AdoMet binding sites are close to motif IV. Taken together, these results reinforce the importance of motif I in AdoMet binding and motif IV in catalysis. Additionally, limited proteolysis and UV crosslinking experiments with EcoP15I DNA methyltransferase imply that DNA binds in a cleft formed by two domains in the protein. Methylation protection analysis provides evidence for the fact that EcoP15I DNA MTase makes contacts in the major groove of its substrate DNA. Interestingly, hypermethylation of the guanine residue next to the target adenine residue indicates that the protein probably flips out the target adenine residue.
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PMID:Functional analysis of conserved motifs in EcoP15I DNA methyltransferase. 865 25

Structural studies of the proteins of the BstVI restriction-modification system of Bacillus stearothermophilus V were carried out using intrinsic fluorescence techniques. The exposure and environments of their tryptophanyl residues were determined using collisional quenchers. Quenching of BstVI endonuclease by iodide suggested a heterogeneous class of tryptophan residues, while the results obtained with M.BstVI methylase were consistent with a rather exposed tryptophan population. A comparison of the quenching efficiencies at 20 degrees C and 55 or 60 degrees C showed that their structures are more flexible and open at the temperature at which they exhibit maximal activity. The endonuclease reached its active conformation only after 1 h of incubation at 60 degrees C. Fluorescence changes were observed upon Mn2+ and Mg2+ binding, with Kd values in the range 3-5 microM. The binding of S-adenosyl-L-methionine to the methylase produced conformational changes, which were consistent with binding to a single site of Kd 550 and 680 microM at 20 degrees C and 55 degrees C, respectively. Quenching experiments with iodide showed that the presence of S-adenosyl-L-methionine leads to different conformational states at 20 degrees C and 55 degrees C. These results were interpreted in terms of differences in the structural characteristics of these restriction-modification proteins as well as in terms of differences in the conformational states that these enzymes exhibit at 20 degrees C and at the temperature at which they are most active.
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PMID:Structural studies of the BstVI restriction-modification proteins by fluorescence spectroscopy. 1042 88

RSR:I [N:6-adenine] DNA methyltransferase (M.RSR:I), which recognizes GAATTC and is a member of a restriction-modification system in Rhodobacter sphaeroides, was purified to >95% homogeneity using a simplified procedure involving two ion exchange chromatographic steps. Electrophoretic gel retardation assays with purified M.RSR:I were performed on unmethylated, hemimethylated, dimethylated or non-specific target DNA duplexes (25 bp) in the presence of sinefungin, a potent inhibitory analog of AdoMet. M. RSR:I binding was affected by the methylation status of the DNA substrate and was enhanced by the presence of the cofactor analog. M. RSR:I bound DNA substrates in the presence of sinefungin with decreasing affinities: hemimethylated > unmethylated > dimethylated >> non-specific DNA. Gel retardation studies with DNA substrates containing an abasic site substituted for the target adenine DNA provided evidence consistent with M.RSR:I extruding the target base from the duplex. Consistent with such base flipping, an approximately 1.7-fold fluorescence intensity increase was observed upon stoichiometric addition of M.RSR:I to hemimethylated DNA containing the fluorescent analog 2-aminopurine in place of the target adenine. Pre-steady-state kinetic and isotope- partitioning experiments revealed that the enzyme displays burst kinetics, confirmed the catalytic competence of the M.RSR:I-AdoMet complex and eliminated the possibility of an ordered mechanism where DNA is required to bind first. The equilibrium dissociation constants for AdoMet, AdoHcy and sinefungin were determined using an intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence-quenching assay.
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PMID:Substrate binding in vitro and kinetics of RsrI [N6-adenine] DNA methyltransferase. 1102 76

Overexpression of O(6)-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) can protect hematopoietic cells from O(6)-alkylation damage. To identify possible clinical applications of this technology we compared the effect of MGMT gene transfer on the hematotoxicity induced by different O(6)-alkylating agents in clinical use: the chloroethylnitrosoureas ACNU, BCNU, CCNU and the tetrazine derivative temozolomide. In addition, various retroviral vectors expressing the MGMT-cDNA were investigated to identify optimal viral backbones for hematoprotection by MGMT expression. Protection from ACNU, BCNU, CCNU or temozolomide toxicity was evaluated utilizing a Moloney murine leukemia virus-based retroviral vector (N2/Zip-PGK-MGMT) to transduce primary murine bone marrow cells. Increased resistance in murine colony-forming units (CFU) was demonstrated for all four drugs. In comparison to mock-transduced controls, after transduction with N2/Zip-PGK-MGMT the IC50 for CFU increased on average 4.7-fold for ACNU, 2.5-fold for BCNU, 6.3-fold for CCNU and 1.5-fold for temozolomide. To study the effect of the retroviral backbone on hematoprotection various vectors expressing the human MGMT-cDNA from a murine embryonic sarcoma virus LTR (MSCV-MGMT) or a hybrid spleen focus-forming/murine embryonic sarcoma virus LTR (SF1-MGMT) were compared with the N2/Zip-PGK-MGMT vector. While all vectors increased resistance of transduced human CFU to ACNU, the SF1-MGMT construct was most efficient especially at high ACNU concentrations (8-12 microg/ml). Similar results were obtained for protection of murine high-proliferative-potential colony-forming cells. These data may help to optimize treatment design and retroviral constructs in future clinical studies aiming at hematoprotection by MGMT gene transfer.
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PMID:Protection of hematopoietic cells from O(6)-alkylation damage by O(6)-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase gene transfer: studies with different O(6)-alkylating agents and retroviral backbones. 1155 61

The production of mature germ cells capable of generating totipotent zygotes is a highly specialized and sexually dimorphic process. The transition from diploid primordial germ cell to haploid spermatozoa requires genome-wide reprogramming of DNA methylation, stage- and testis-specific gene expression, mitotic and meiotic division, and the histone-protamine transition, all requiring unique epigenetic control. Dnmt3L, a DNA methyltransferase regulator, is expressed during gametogenesis, and its deletion results in sterility. We found that during spermatogenesis, Dnmt3L contributes to the acquisition of DNA methylation at paternally imprinted regions, unique nonpericentric heterochromatic sequences, and interspersed repeats, including autonomous transposable elements. We observed retrotransposition of an LTR-ERV1 element in the DNA from Dnmt3L-/- germ cells, presumably as a result of hypomethylation. Later in development, in Dnmt3L-/- meiotic spermatocytes, we detected abnormalities in the status of biochemical markers of heterochromatin, implying aberrant chromatin packaging. Coincidentally, homologous chromosomes fail to align and form synaptonemal complexes, spermatogenesis arrests, and spermatocytes are lost by apoptosis and sloughing. Because Dnmt3L expression is restricted to gonocytes, the presence of defects in later stages reveals a mechanism whereby early genome reprogramming is linked inextricably to changes in chromatin structure required for completion of spermatogenesis.
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PMID:Meiotic and epigenetic defects in Dnmt3L-knockout mouse spermatogenesis. 1575 13

Small-molecule inhibitors of DNA methyltransferases such as RG108 represent promising candidates for cancer drug development. We report the synthesis and in vitro analysis of a biotinylated RG108 conjugate, 2-(1,3-dioxo-1,3-dihydro-isoindol-2-yl)-3-(5-[3-[5-(2-oxo-hexahydro-thieno[3,4-d]imidazol-4-yl)pentanoylamino]propoxy]-1H-indol-3-yl)propionic acid (bio-RG108), for the evaluation of interactions with DNA methyltransferase enzymes. The structural design of the chemically modified inhibitor was aided by molecular modeling, which suggested the possibility for extensive chemical modifications at the 5-position of the tryptophan moiety in RG108. The inhibitory activity of the corresponding derivative was confirmed in a cell-free biochemical assay, where bio-RG108 showed an undiminished inhibition of DNA methyltransferase activity (IC50 = 40 nM). Bio-RG108 therefore represents a suitable bioconjugate for the elucidation of inhibitory mechanisms and for the affinity purification of RG108-associated proteins.
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PMID:Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of biotinylated RG108: a high affinity compound for studying binding interactions with human DNA methyltransferases. 1653 54


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