Stimulation of topoisomerase II-mediated DNA damage via a mechanism involving protein thiolation

H. Wang, Y. Mao, A. Y. Chen, N. Zhou, E. J. Lavoie, Leroy-Fong Liu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

148 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The breakage/reunion reaction of DNA topoisomerase II (TOP2) can be interrupted by DNA intercalators (e.g., doxorubicin), enzyme binders (e.g., etoposide), or DNA lesions (e.g., abasic sites) to produce TOP2-mediated DNA damage. Here, we demonstrate that thiol alkylation of TOP2 can also produce TOP2-mediated DNA damage. This conclusion is supported by the following observations using purified TOP2: (1) Thiol-reactive quinones were shown to induce TOP2-mediated DNA cleavage. (2) Thiol-reactive compounds such as N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), disulfiram, and organic disulfides [e.g., 2,2′-dithiobis(5-nitropyridine)] were also shown to induce TOP2-mediated DNA cleavage with similar reaction characteristics as thiol-reactive quinones. (3) TOP2-mediated DNA cleavage induced by thiol-reactive quinones was completely abolished using mutant yeast TOP2 with all cysteine residues replaced with alanine (cysteineless TOP2). These results suggest the possibility that cellular DNA damage could occur indirectly through thiolation of a nuclear protein, TOP2. The implications of this reaction in carcinogenesis and apoptotic cell death are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3316-3323
Number of pages8
JournalBiochemistry
Volume40
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 20 2001
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry

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