[Effectiveness of complex-formation of nucleotides with human DNA polymerase alpha from data of enzyme modification...

The modification of the human placenta DNA polymerase alpha by the imidazolides of dNMP was investigated. The modification was shown to occur only in the simultaneous presence of the template and the primer. This process, however, doesn't depend on the complementary interaction of the nucleotide base with the template. The Kd values of the complexes between the different nucleotides and DNA polymerase alpha were estimated. The affinity of Im-dTMP was determined from the dependence of the Kapp of the enzyme inactivation rate on the reagent concentration. The Kd values for dNMP, dNDP, dNTP were estimated using the protective effect of these nucleotides under the enzyme modification by Im-dTMP. The comparison of the interaction efficiency between the polymerase and dNMP, dNDP, dNTP (complementary or non-complementary to the template) allow to conclude that the nucleotide discrimination occurs on the dNTP level, i. e. dNMP and dNDP upon forming the complex with the enzyme, don't interact complementarily with the template. The additional contacts between the enzyme and the nucleotide terminal phosphate were supposed to form only for the complementary dNTP. The studies allowed to put forward a hypothetical model of the template complementary dNTP binding to the polymerases. The role of the hydrophobic interaction of the nucleotides with the enzyme as well as the possible influence of the nucleotide gamma-phosphate group on the template--dNTP complement formation. The Watson-Crick bound formation of the nucleotide with the template was supposed to be followed by the additional conformational rearrangement of the nucleotide triphosphate chain. The latter process leads to the formation of additional contacts between the enzyme and the nucleotide gamma-phosphate.