Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound   Target Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound

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Query: EC:2.7.7.7 (DNA polymerase)
17,007 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A method is described for distinguishing deoxyuridine and deoxythymidine di- and triphosphate pools. The method utilizes a DNA polymerase assay for triphosphate determination and a coupled assay in which the disphosphate is converted to its corresponding triphosphate by nucleoside-diphosphate kinase and the triphosphate is measured by the DNA polymerase assay. By including deoxyruidine-triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase in the reaction mixture, dUTP is removed as a substrate for the polymerase. By determining differences in labelled acid-insoluble product formed in the reaction it is possible to determine dUTP, dUDP, dTDP and dTTP pools. Ribonucleotide reductase activity was determined by converting either CDP or ADP to its corresponding deoxyribonucleoside disphosphate and then using the diphosphate assay described for deoxyribonucleoside pools.
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PMID:An enzymatic method for distinguishing deoxyuridine and deoxythymidine nucleotide pools and its application for determining ribonucleotide reductase activity. 39 11

Enzymes of deoxyribonucleotide and DNA biosynthesis, which are little known in plants, were studied in root tips of germinating broad beans (Vicia faba) and in fast-growing cultures of soybean cells (Glycine max). The plant cells contain a ribonucleoside 5'-diphosphate reductase which is detected in vitro only during a limited period of growth, viz. 30--32 h after inhibition of Vicia seeds, and between the second and third day after inoculation of soybean cultures. In both species ribonucleotide reductase activity precedes maximum DNA synthesis. The reductases could be precipitated with ammonium sulfate but were not purified further due to the extremely low enzyme content of the plant extracts. Therefore the reductive pathway of deoxyribotide formation was also established in Vicia root tips by efficient labeling of the plant DNA with a ribonucleoside, [5-3H]cytidine, which reaches a maximum at the same time as the reductase activity measured in vitro. Cycloheximide inhibits this process, indicating the need for de novo enzyme induction. In contrast, DNA polymerase is present in the tissue throughout the entire development and rises only 2-fold in activity during the S phase. The soluble polymerases were partially characterized in both legume species and were found very similar to the DNA polymerase of pea seedlings. Ribonucleotide reductase is more likely a limiting component of DNA formation during the plant cell cycle than DNA polymerase.
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PMID:Deoxyribonucleotide synthesis and DNA polymerase activity in plant cells (Vicia faba and Glycine max). 42 Aug 54

Ribonucleotide reductase which catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the de novo synthesis of dNTPs is composed of two non-identical protein subunits which are not under coordinate control in terms of synthesis and degradation. The mRNAs for the effector-binding (EB) and non-heme iron (NHI) subunits are likewise not under coordinate control during cell cycle traverse. Inhibitors directed at the specific subunits of ribonucleotide reductase block DNA synthesis. These current studies show that drugs such as IMPY or hydroxyurea which specifically inhibit the NHI subunit cause a marked increase in the steady-state level of the mRNA for the NHI subunit while resulting in a decrease in the level of mRNA for the EB subunit. In cells treated with deoxyadenosine, the patterns of the mRNAs for the NHI and EB subunits were different from those seen in the IMPY- or hydroxyurea-treated cells. Control experiments utilizing inhibitors (aphidicolin or araC) directed at DNA polymerase showed that the pattern of changes in the mRNA levels for the NHI and EB subunits were specific for the reductase inhibitors. These changes in the mRNAs for the NHI and EB subunits may be due to drug-induced alterations in transcription rates and/or degradation rates for the specific mRNAs.
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PMID:Factors affecting the mRNA levels for the non-heme iron and effector-binding subunits of ribonucleotide reductase. 149 19

Ribonucleotide reductase, because of the critical role that it plays in DNA replication and the specific properties of the protein subunits, provides a unique metabolic target for chemotherapeutic approaches to cancer treatment. Combinations of ribonucleotide reductase inhibitors resulted in synergistic inhibition of cell growth with concurrent cytotoxicity. The drugs in this combination were targeted at the individual subunits (non-heme iron and effector-binding) of ribonucleotide reductase and at the differential sensitivities of the substrate reductions to these agents. The reduction of the intracellular pools of all four dNTPs through the direct inhibition of ribonucleotide reductase has the effect of reducing DNA polymerase activity in a sigmoidal manner rather than in a hyperbolic fashion due to the requirement of DNA polymerase for all four substrates. As a result relatively small decreases in the intracellular concentrations of the dNTPs cause remarkably large decreases in DNA synthesis and hence cell replication. It appears that there may be a relationship between the capability of the cell to synthesize DNA at a minimal absolute rate and cell viability. That is, if DNA synthesis is decreased to or below a specific level, then the processes leading to cell death takes precedence over the tendency of the cell to complete DNA replication leading to cell division.
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PMID:Ribonucleotide reductase as a chemotherapeutic target. 307 32

Ribonucleotide reductase is a key enzyme in DNA replication and, as such, has been a target for antitumor agents. This enzyme is composed of two nonidentical protein subunits which can be specifically and independently inhibited. Combinations of drugs directed at the effector-binding and non-heme iron subunits of ribonucleotide reductase resulted in the synergistic inhibition of L1210 cell growth and synergistic L1210 cell kill. These combinations included dAdo/EHNA/IMPY/Desferal; dAdo/EHNA/hydroxyurea/Desferal (the EHNA was required to protect dAdo from deamination while Desferal modulated the effects of IMPY or hydroxyurea); 2-F-araA/IMPY/Desferal and 2-F-2'-dAdo/IMPY/Desferal (EHNA was not required to protect 2-F-araA or 2-F-2'-dAdo from deamination); and dGuo/8-AGuo/IMPY/Desferal (8-AGuo was required to protect dGuo from phosphorolysis). Although thymidine alone inhibited L1210 cell growth, it was not possible to potentiate the effects of thymidine with the pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylase inhibitors, acyclothymidine, 5-chlorouracil and 2,6-dihydroxypyridine. Combinations of drugs directed at the ribonucleotide reductase and DNA polymerase sites were studied for their effects on L1210 cell growth. With these combinations, no synergistic inhibition of L1210 cell growth was observed. The combinations of aphidicolin and IMPY/Desferal and aphidicolin and dAdo/EHNA inhibited L1210 cell growth in an additive manner; the combinations of IMPY/Desferal and BuAU or IMPY/Desferal and BuPdG resulted in antagonistic inhibition of L1210 cell growth. From these results it is clear that combination chemotherapy directed at independent sites of the same key target enzyme can result in strong synergistic inhibition of cell growth and cytotoxicity offering a clear therapeutic advantage. In contrast, the combinations directed at sequential key enzymes (e.g. ribonucleotide reductase and DNA polymerase) did not result in synergistic inhibition of cell growth. The utility of combinations of drugs directed at specific but independent sites of the target enzyme (e.g. ribonucleotide reductase) has been demonstrated in tumor cell systems in culture and now must be demonstrated in vivo.
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PMID:The utility of combinations of drugs directed at specific sites of the same target enzyme--ribonucleotide reductase as the model. 390 3

Ribonucleotide reductase catalyzes the rate-limiting step in DNA synthesis. It represents a key metabolic site at which specific inhibitors have been directed as potential antitumor agents. Several different classes of ribonucleotide reductase inhibitors have been generated and studied. Because of the nature of the DNA polymerase reaction in which all four dNTPs are required, the initial velocity vs dNTP concentration curve gives sigmoidal rather than hyperbolic kinetics. As a result, a 50 per cent decrease in ribonucleotide reductase activity causes a decrease in DNA polymerase activity of 75 per cent or greater depending on the ratio of [dNTP] to its Km. This has been demonstrated with theoretical calculations, actual DNA polymerase determinations and precursor studies in intact tumor cells. The structural requirements for a compound to serve as a specific inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase, either as the non-heme iron or effector-binding subunit, are stringent. Each protein subunit comprising the active enzyme can be specifically and independently inhibited. When combinations of agents, each directed at one of the subunits of ribonucleotide reductase, are used, strong synergistic inhibition of L1210 cell growth and synergistic cytotoxicity result.
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PMID:Drug action on ribonucleotide reductase. 391 89

Ribonucleotide reductase is an essential enzyme in mammalian DNA replication. In quiescent BHK-21/C13 cells exhibiting a low level of ribonucleotide reductase activity, infection with herpes simplex virus (HSV) resulted in the early induction of an altered ribonucleotide reductase. The extent of the induction was dependent upon the m.o.i. and could be diminished or prevented by u.v. treatment of the viral stock, or by inhibitors of mRNA synthesis or protein synthesis. The induction followed the same course of synthesis as viral thymidine kinase and DNA polymerase, and could thus be classified with them as a beta polypeptide. These results suggested that the new activity was produced as a consequence of the virus genome expression. Comparisons of the properties of ribonucleotide reductase extracted from exponentially growing BHK-21/C13 cells showed that the HSV-induced enzyme differed from the cellular isozyme by its insensitivity to inhibition by dTTP, dATP or araATP and its resistance to high salt concentrations. On the other hand, the virus-induced enzyme and the cellular isozyme exhibited a similar sensitivity to hydroxyurea. Therefore, the reported inhibition of HSV DNA replication by hydroxyurea could be the result of inhibition of both HSV-induced and cellular reductase activities.
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PMID:Characterization of ribonucleotide reductase induction in BHK-21/C13 Syrian hamster cell line upon infection by herpes simplex virus (HSV). 617 49

There is rapid and specific channeling of ribonucleoside diphosphates into DNA through reactions beginning with ribonucleotide reductase and terminating with DNA polymerase. Lysolecithin-permeabilized Chinese hamster embryo fibroblasts in culture rapidly reduced ribonucleoside diphosphates by ribonucleotide reductase action when dithiothreitol was provided as a reducing agent and incorporated these deoxynucleotides into DNA. The radioactive label provided in ribo-CDP was not diluted by added deoxyribo-CTP during its incorporation into DNA, showing that the ribo-CDP does not pass through a deoxy-CTP pool. Under the conditions that permitted rapid incorporation of ribonucleoside diphosphates, deoxynucleoside triphosphates were very poorly incorporated. Ribonucleotide reductase with the rate-limiting enzyme for the overall process. The Km values for the reductase reaction and the overall process were similar and low enough for saturation by in vivo pools. Natural feedback inhibitors dATP or dTTP inhibited incorporation of labeled ribo-CDP into deoxyribonucleotides and into DNA to the same extent. Ribonucleotide reductase behaved like other enzymes that are associated in a rapidly sedimenting form. It was concentrated in the nucleus during S phase, and most of the enzyme activity in these nuclear extracts was co-sedimented with DNA polymerase on sucrose density gradients. These data support the hypotheses that a physically associated complex of enzymes (replitase) catalyzes the production of deoxynucleotides and their incorporation into DNA in S phase cells.
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PMID:Coupled ribonucleoside diphosphate reduction, channeling, and incorporation into DNA of mammalian cells. 675 37

2',2'-Difluorodeoxycytidine (Gemcitabine, dFdCyd) is a cytotoxic agent which is active toward a variety of tumor cells. It has been shown that there are multiple intracellular sites of action which include ribonucleotide reductase and DNA polymerase. In these studies, the effects of dFdCyd on wild-type mouse leukemia L1210 cells and variant L1210 cell lines which had alterations at the ribonucleotide reductase site or at the deoxyribonucleoside kinase site were studied. For cell growth, the IC50 value for dFdCyd in wild-type L1210 cells was 3.1 nM. In the variant cell lines, the IC50 values were: hydroxyurea-resistant (HU), 3.3 nM; deoxyadenosine-resistant (Y8), 1.8 nM; pyrazoloimidazole/deoxyadenosine-resistant (ED2), 1.9 nM; and deoxyguanosine-resistant (dGuo-R), 44.7 nM. The dGuo-R cell line had a relatively specific loss of the deoxyribonucleoside kinase responsible for phosphorylating deoxyguanosine and cytosine arabinoside with little loss of the deoxycytidine kinase activity. DFdCyd had no effect on the total uptake of [14C]cytidine into the cells or incorporation into RNA. DFdCyd inhibited the conversion of [14C]cytidine to deoxycytidine nucleotides and incorporation into DNA. However, the incorporation of cytidine into DNA was inhibited to a greater extent than was the inhibition of in situ ribonucleotide reductase activity. Ribonucleotide reductase activity in cell-free extracts prepared from L1210 cells treated with dFdCyd (20 nM) overnight was reduced by 50%. These results show that cell lines which have increased levels of ribonucleotide reductase activity (HU and ED2) or loss of feedback inhibition by dATP (ED2 and Y8) are still sensitive to dFdCyd. The findings indicate that ribonucleotide reductase is not the primary site of inhibition by dFdCyd.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Effects of 2',2'-difluorodeoxycytidine (Gemcitabine) on wild type and variant mouse leukemia L1210 cells. 836 54

Ribonucleotide reductase (RR) is a key regulatory enzyme in the DNA synthesis pathway and is the target of the cancer chemotherapeutic agent hydroxyurea. The study of RR is significantly hindered by the tedious and labor-intensive nature of enzymatic assay. In this report, we present a novel RR assay in which detection of the deoxyribonucleotides produced by RR occurs via coupling to the DNA polymerase reaction, and is enhanced by using RNase to degrade endogenous RNA. Cell extracts from various cell lines were treated with RNase and then reacted with ATP and radioactive ribonucleotide diphosphate as the substrate. Incorporation of the radioactive substrate [14C]CDP into DNA was linear over 30 min and was linear with the amount of extract, which provided RR activity. The reaction was inhibited by hydroxyurea and required Mg2+ and ATP, suggesting that the assay is specific to RR activity. While RR activities determined by our method and by a conventional method were comparable, this novel method proved to be simpler, faster, more sensitive and less expensive. In addition, assay of the RR activity for multiple samples can easily be performed simultaneously. It is superior to other RR assays in all aspects.
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PMID:A simple and sensitive ribonucleotide reductase assay. 957 May 15


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