Modulation of the turnover of formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase

In recent years, significant progress has been made in determining the catalytic mechanisms by which base excision repair (BER) DNA glycosylases and glycosylase-abasic site (AP) lyases cleave the glycosyl bond. While these investigations have identified active site residues and active site architectures, few investigations have analyzed postincision turnover events. Previously, we identified a critical residue (His16) in the T4-pyrimidine dimer glycosylase (T4-Pdg) that, when mutated, interferes with enzyme turnover [Meador et al. (2004) J. Biol. Chem. 279, 3348-3353]. To test whether comparable residues and mechanisms might be operative for other BER glycosylase:AP-lyases, molecular modeling studies were conducted comparing the active site regions of T4-Pdg and the Escherichia coli formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase (Fpg). These analyses revealed that His71 in Fpg might perform a similar function to His16 in T4-Pdg. Site-directed mutagenesis of the Fpg gene and analyses of the reaction mechanism of the mutant enzyme revealed that the H71A enzyme retained activity on a DNA substrate containing an 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG) opposite cytosine and DNA containing an AP site. The H71A Fpg mutant was severely compromised in enzyme turnover on the 8-oxoG-C substrate but had turnover rates comparable to that of wild-type Fpg on AP-containing DNA. The similar mutant phenotypes for these two enzymes, despite a complete lack of structural or sequence homology between them, suggest a common mechanism for the rate-limiting step catalyzed by BER glycosylase:AP-lyases.