DEGLYCOSYLATION SUSCEPTIBILITY AND BASE-PAIRING STABILITY OF 2'-DEOXYOXANOSINE IN OLIGODEOXYNUCLEOTIDE

We have demonstrated recently that nitrous acid or nitric oxide conver ts 2'-deoxyguanosine (dGuo) into 2'-deoxyoxanosine (dOxo) [Suzuki, T., Yamaoka, R., Nishi, M., Ide, H., & Makino, K. (1996) J. Am. Chem. Sec . 118, 2515-2516]. In the present study, we have measured susceptibili ty of the N-glycosidic bond of dOxo to spontaneous hydrolysis and its base-pairing stability to evaluate the biological significance of dOxo as a new lesion in DNA. When oligodeoxynucleotide d(T5OT6) (O = dOxo) , isolated from nitrous acid-treated d(T(5)GT(6)), was incubated at pH 4.0 and 70 degrees C, hydrolysis of the N-glycosidic bond of dOxo occ urred with a first-order rate constant. Comparison of the rate constan ts with those of dGuo and dXao indicates that the N-glycosidic bond of dOxo was as stable as that of dGuo in d(T(5)GT(6)) and hydrolyzed 44- fold more slowly than that of 2'-deoxyxanthosine (dXao), a simultaneou sly generated damage by nitrous acid and nitric oxide. For the estimat ion of the base-pairing stability, UV melting curves were measured for the duplexes of d(T5OT6).d(A(6)NA(5)) (N = A, G, C, and T) at neutral pH. The T-m values obtained were 15.3, 14.1, 19.3, and 16.3 degrees C for N = A, G, C, and T, respectively, which are much lower than that of the intact duplex containing a G . C pair at the same position [d(T (5)GT(6)).d(A(6)CA(5)), T-m = 32.8 degrees C] but comparable with thos e of d(T5XT6).d(A(6)NA(5)) (X = dXao, T-m = 14.8-22.3 degrees C). CD s pectra of the four duplexes containing dOxo showed preservation of the structure of the intact duplex at low temperature. UV and NMR pH-titr ation studies indicated the pK(a) for the ring-opening and -closing eq uilibrium to be 9.4, implying that dOxo is in the ring-closed form at physiological pH. This structure appears to be not suitable geometrica lly for the hydrogen bond formation with a specific counter base, thus causing equally low T-m values for all the counter bases. Consequentl y, these results imply that dOxo, a novel DNA lesion, may have an impo rtant and unique role in mutagenic events in cells.