The alpha-glycosidic bonds of poly(ADP-ribose) are acid-labile

The poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation system of higher eukaryotes produces multiple ADP-ribose polymers of distinct sizes which exhibit different binding affinities for histones. Although precipitation with trichloroacetic acid (TCA) is the standard procedure for isolation of poly(ADP-ribose) from biological material, we show here that poly(ADP-ribose) is not stable under acidic conditions. Storage of poly(ADP-ribose) as TCA pellets results in acid hydrolysis of polymers, the extent of which is dependent on storage time and temperature. The alpha-glycosidic, inter-residue bonds are the preferred sites of attack, thus reducing polymer sizes by integral numbers of ADP-ribose to yield artefactually more and smaller polymers than originally present. Therefore, poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation studies involving TCA precipitation, histone extraction with acids, or acidic incubations of ADP-ribose polymers must account for the impact of acids on resulting polymer populations.