Cross-Linking of 2-Deoxyribonolactone and Its β-Elimination Product by Base Excision Repair Enzymes

2-Deoxyribonolactone (3) is produced in DNA as a result of reaction with a variety of DNA damaging agents. The lesion undergoes β-elimination to form a second metastable electrophilic product (4). In this study, DNA containing 2-deoxyribonolactone (3) and its β-elimination product (4) are generated at specific sites using a photolabile nucleotide precursor. 2-Deoxyribonolactone is not incised by any of the 8 AP lyases tested. One enzyme, Escherichia coli endonuclease III, cross-links to 3, and the lesion strongly inhibits excision of typical abasic sites by this enzyme. Two of the enzymes, FPG and NEIL1 known to cleave normal abasic sites (1) by effecting β,δ-elimination form cross-links to the butenolide lesion (4). The observed results are ascribable to characteristics of the enzymes and the lesions. These enzymes are also important for the removal of oxidative base lesions. These results suggest that high concentrations of 3 and 4 may exert significant effects on the repair of normal AP site and oxidative base lesions in cells by reducing the cellular activity of these BER enzymes either via cross-linking or competing with binding to the BER enzymes.