• Deletion mutation analysis of the mutS gene in Escherichia coli

      Wu, Te-hui; Marinus, Martin G. (1999-02-20)
      The MutS protein is part of the dam-directed MutHLS mismatch repair pathway in Escherichia coli. We have constructed deletion derivatives in the mutS gene, which retain the P-loop coding region for ATP binding. The mutant proteins were assayed for ATP hydrolysis, heteroduplex DNA binding, heterodimer MutS formation, and the ability to interact with MutL. Dimerization was assayed by expressing His6-tagged wild-type and non-tagged deletion mutant proteins in the same cell and isolating the His6-tagged protein followed by MutS immunoblotting after SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. MutS-MutL interaction was measured using the same technique except that the MutL protein carried the His6 tag. Our results indicate that DNA binding ability resides in the N-terminal end of MutS, and dimerization and MutL interactions are located in the C-terminal end. Given the extensive amino acid homology in the MutS family our results with E. coli should be applicable to MutS homologues in other prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
    • Dominant negative mutator mutations in the mutL gene of Escherichia coli

      Aronshtam, Alexander; Marinus, Martin G. (1996-07-01)
      The mutL gene product is part of the dam-directed mismatch repair system of Escherichia coli but has no known enzymatic function. It forms a complex on heteroduplex DNA with the mismatch recognition MutS protein and with MutH, which has latent endonuclease activity. An N-terminal hexahistidine-tagged MutL was constructed which was active in vivo. As a first stop to determine the functional domains of MutL, we have isolated 72 hydroxylamine-induced plasmid-borne mutations which impart a dominant-negative phenotype to the wild-type strain for increased spontaneous mutagenesis. None of the mutations complement a mutL deletion mutant, indicating that the mutant proteins by themselves are inactive. All the dominant mutations but one could be complemented by the wild-type mutL at about the same gene dosage. DNA sequencing indicated that the mutations affected 22 amino acid residues located between positions 16 and 549 of the 615 amino acid protein. In the N-terminal half of the protein, 12 out of 15 amino acid replacements occur at positions conserved in various eukaryotic MutL homologs. All but one of the sequence changes affecting the C-terminal end of the protein are nonsense mutations.
    • Reduced isotype switching in splenic B cells from mice deficient in mismatch repair enzymes

      Schrader, Carol E.; Edelmann, Winifred; Kucherlapati, R.; Stavnezer, Janet (1999-08-02)
      Mice deficient in various mismatch repair (MMR) enzymes were examined to determine whether this repair pathway is involved in antibody class switch recombination. Splenic B cells from mice deficient in Msh2, Mlh1, Pms2, or Mlh1 and Pms2 were stimulated in culture with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce immunoglobulin (Ig)G2b and IgG3, LPS and interleukin (IL)-4 to induce IgG1, or LPS, anti-delta-dextran, IL-4, IL-5, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 to induce IgA. After 4 d in culture, cells were surface stained for IgM and non-IgM isotypes and analyzed by FACS((R)). B cells from MMR-deficient mice show a 35-75% reduction in isotype switching, depending on the isotype and on the particular MMR enzyme missing. IgG2b is the most affected, reduced by 75% in Mlh1-deficient animals. The switching defect is not due to a lack of maturation of the B cells, as purified IgM(+)IgD(+) B cells show the same reduction. MMR deficiency had no effect on cell proliferation, viability, or apoptosis, as detected by [(3)H]thymidine incorporation and by propidium iodide staining. The reduction in isotype switching was demonstrated to be at the level of DNA recombination by digestion-circularization polymerase chain reaction (DC-PCR). A model of the potential role for MMR enzymes in class switch recombination is presented.
    • Structure of the gamma heavy chain of the outer arm dynein from Chlamydomonas flagella

      King, Stephen M.; Witman, George B. (1988-11-01)
      We describe here the vanadate-dependent photocleavage of the gamma heavy chain from the Chlamydomonas outer arm dynein and the pathways by which this molecule is degraded by endoproteases. UV irradiation in the presence of ATP, Mg2+, and vanadate cleaves the gamma chain at a single site (termed V1) to yield fragments of Mr 235,000 and 180,000. Irradiation in the presence of vanadate and Mn2+ results in cleavage of the gamma chain at two other sites (termed V2a and V2b) to yield fragment pairs of Mr 215,000/200,000 and 250,000/165,000. The mass of the intact chain is therefore estimated to be 415,000 D. We have located the major tryptic and staphylococcal protease cleavage sites in the gamma chain, determined the origins of the resulting fragments, and identified the regions which contain the epitopes recognized by two different monoclonal antibodies. Both antibodies react with the smaller V1 fragment; the epitope recognized by antibody 25-8 is within 9,000-52,000 D of the original gamma-chain terminus contained in that fragment, whereas that recognized by antibody 12 gamma B is within 16,000 D of the V1 site. The data permit the construction of a linear map showing the structural organization of the polypeptide. The substructure of the gamma chain is similar to that of the alpha and beta chains of the outer arm dynein with regard to polarity as defined by the sites of vanadate-dependent photocleavage, and to that of the beta chain with regard to a highly sensitive protease site located approximately 10,000 D from the original terminus contained in the smaller V1 fragment.
    • The Escherichia coli MutL protein stimulates binding of Vsr and MutS to heteroduplex DNA

      Drotschmann, Karin; Aronshtam, Alexander; Fritz, Hans-Joachim; Marinus, Martin G. (1998-03-21)
      Vsr DNA mismatch endonuclease is the key enzyme of very short patch (VSP) DNA mismatch repair and nicks the T-containing strand at the site of a T-G mismatch in a sequence-dependent manner. MutS is part of the mutHLS repair system and binds to diverse mismatches in DNA. The function of the mutL gene product is currently unclear but mutations in the gene abolish mutHLS -dependent repair. The absence of MutL severely reduces VSP repair but does not abolish it. Purified MutL appears to act catalytically to bind Vsr to its substrate; one-hundredth of an equivalent of MutL is sufficient to bring about a significant effect. MutL enhances binding of MutS to its substrate 6-fold but does so in a stoichiometric manner. Mutational studies indicate that the MutL interaction region lies within the N-terminal 330 amino acids and that the MutL multimerization region is at the C-terminal end. MutL mutant monomeric forms can stimulate MutS binding.