Monoclonal anti-DNA autoantibody BV 04-01 catalyzed hydrolysis of DNA in th
e presence of Mg2+. Catalysis was associated with BV 04-01 IgG, Fab, and si
ngle-chain-antibody (SCA) proteins. Cleavage of both ss and dsDNA was obser
ved with efficient hydrolysis of the C-rich region of A(7)C(7)ATATAGCGCGT(2
), as well as a preference for cleaving within CG-rich regions of dsDNA. Da
ta on specificity of ssDNA hydrolysis and kinetic data obtained from wild-t
ype SCA, and two SCA mutants were used to model the catalytically active an
tibody site using the previously resolved X-ray structure of BV 04-01. The
resulting model suggested that the target phosphodiester bond is activated
by induction of conformational strain. In addition, the antibody-DNA comple
x contained a Mg2+ coordination site composed of the L32Tyr and L27dHis sid
e chains and a DNA 3'-phosphodiester group. Induction of strain along with
the metal coordination could be part of the mechanism by which this antibod
y catalyzes DNA hydrolysis. Sequence data for BV 04-01 V-H and V-L genes su
ggested that the proposed catalytic-antibody active site was germline-encod
ed. This observation suggests that catalytic activity might represent an im
portant-rarely examined-function for some antibody molecules.