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Division of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Chemistry and Physics, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, China
Correspondence: Address reprint requests to Xiaogang Qu, Division of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Chemistry and Physics, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin 130022, China. Tel.: 86-431-526-2656; Fax: 86-431-5262656; E-mail: xqu{at}ciac.jl.cn.
| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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AD is a neurodegenerative disorder of complex origin. The mechanism of Aß neurotoxicity is controversial. Previous studies found that intracellular aggregates of Aß were toxic and that neurotoxicity was related to the degree of Aß aggregation (7
9
). Furthermore, it was recently reported that soluble oligomeric species of Aß were more toxic than nonsoluble species (10
,11
).
Aß aggregate formation is influenced by various experimental conditions (12
14
), including pH, ionic strength, metal ions, membrane-like surface, incubation time, temperature, and hydration forces. In vitro studies (15
17
) have demonstrated that low concentrations of Aß induce neuronal apoptosis with DNA condensation, and using fluorescence microscopy, DNA condensation was observed in cells treated with Aß (15
,17
). Furthermore, studies of DNA conformation in the hippocampus of AD brains (18
) showed Z-DNA conformation, and supercoiled DNA treated with Aß was more compact and condensed than nontreated DNA (19
). However, the mechanism of condensation is obscure. DNA condensation is important in the cell cycle. It is involved in many biological processes, including gene expression (20
) and chromosomal changes (21
), and it is crucial for successful gene therapy. Thus, examining interactions of Aß and DNA will be helpful for understanding Aß neurotoxicity.
Aß undergoes a time-dependent structural transition (13
,22
) from random coil to ß-sheet in aqueous solutions, and this transition is thought to be related to its neurotoxicity. In this study, we studied the interactions between Aß and DNA using circular dichroism, fluorescence spectroscopy, a replacement binding assay, electrophoresis, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and metal ion inhibition. We found that low concentrations of Aß induced DNA condensation in a time-dependent manner. Additionally, Aß-sheets, serving as condensation nuclei, were crucial for DNA condensation, and both Cu2+ and Zn2+ ions inhibited Aß sheet-induced DNA condensation.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Reagents
PolydGdC:polydGdC was a product of Pharmacia (Uppsala, Sweden, lot No. 2087910021) and calf thymus DNA was purchased from Sigma and purified as described earlier (23
). HFIP was obtained from Acros Organics (Geel, Belgium). Ethidium bromide (EB) was purchased from USB (Cleveland, OH). (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) was purchased from Aldrich (St. Louis, MO). Solutions were all prepared in ultrapure water purified through a Milli-Q system (Millipore, Billerica, MA).
Circular dichroism measurements
Circular dichroism (CD) spectra of polydGdC:polydGdC with Aß40 at different incubation time were measured from 200 nm to 380 nm on a JASCO (Tokyo, Japan) J-810 spectropolarimeter with a computer-controlled water bath (24
,25
). The optical chamber of CD spectrometer was deoxygenated with dry purified nitrogen (99.99%) for 45 min before use and kept the nitrogen atmosphere during experiments. Three scans were accumulated and automatically averaged.
Ethidium bromide displacement and light scattering measurements
We used EB as a fluorescent probe to characterize DNA condensation because EB would be excluded out of their DNA binding sites when DNA condensed and its fluorescence would become comparable to that of free EB molecules (23
). Fluorescence measurements were carried out on a JASCO FP-6500 spectrofluorometer at 20°C (25
). Fluorescence spectra were monitored at different incubation time. The EB emission signal at 585 nm was translated as a relative value as (F-F0)/(Fmax-F0), where F0 and Fmax are the EB fluorescence intensity of free and bound with DNA.
The DNA condensation was monitored by light scattering on a JASCO FP-6500 spectrofluorimeter. The increasing intensity of light scattered at 90° from the incident beam was measured at 330 nm along with the increased incubation time.
UV-Vis absorption measurements
Absorbance measurements and melting experiments were made on a Cary 300 (Varian, Palo Alto, CA) UV/Vis spectrophotometer, equipped with a Peltier temperature control accessory (23
,24
). All UV/Vis spectra were measured from 190 nm and 340 nm in 1.0 cm-path length cell.
An AFM (Nanoscope IIIa, Digital Instruments, Santa Barbara, CA) was used to image polydGdC:polydGdC in the presence or absence of Aß peptide at different incubation time. The sample solution was deposited onto a piece of freshly cleaved mica and rinsed with water and dried before measurements (23
). Tapping mode was used to acquire the images under ambient condition.
Gel retarded assay
DNA and DNA/Aß40 samples were prepared at room temperature with different incubation time. The samples were then loaded on 0.8% agarose electrophoresis (with TAE buffer) at 8 V/cm during the room temperature for 30 min. After EB stained DNA was visualized and photographed (25
).
| RESULTS AND DISCUSSION |
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Fig. 4 shows changes in DNA absorption at 260 nm. After incubation with Aß, absorption decreased, and the band had a red shift from 260 nm to 270 nm. The decrease in absorption at 260 nm and the corresponding increase in scattering at 320 nm imply the formation of condensates (33
). DNA UV spectral changes also suggest that DNA was condensed in the presence of Aß.
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-helix to ß-sheet. Regarding the interaction of prion protein (or its fragment PrP106126) and DNA, previous studies have shown that DNA promotes prion protein polymerization and induces time-dependent DNA condensation (37
-helix and ß-sheet structures of proteins interact with DNA. The ß-sheet structure interacts favorably with DNA, and H-bonds may form between peptide NH groups and deoxyribose O-3' atoms (39
Aß is the major constituent of senile plaques, and although the mechanisms that lead to Aß accumulation are not clear, Aß is involved in AD pathogenesis, and may be the predominant causative factor of AD (2
). A link has been made between AD and nucleic acid through the identification of mRNA in senile plaques. As shown by acridine orange histochemistry, RNA is one of the nonproteinaceous components of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques (40
,41
). High affinity RNA aptamers against Aß were isolated, and ß-sheet conformation was thought to be the RNA binding form (42
). Previous results indicate that intracellular accumulation of Aß rather than extracellular deposition of Aß induce apoptosis (43
, 44
). Aß localized in the nuclear region of AD cells (19
) enable structural alteration of DNA.
Oxidative damage to DNA in AD brains may play a role in cell death (45
). Previous studies have also shown changes in chromatin from a normal euchromatin structure to a condensed heterochromatin structure (46
). Recently, rigid, non-B DNA conformations were observed in severely affected AD brains (18
), and it was shown that Aß can modulate helical properties of DNA, especially supercoiled DNA (19
). Interactions among biomolecules are often modulated by their conformation. Aß exists in several conformations (47
), based on incubation time and temperature in vitro. Our results indicate that in the presence of Aß, DNA was condensed and its structure was disturbed with increasing incubation time. DNA condensation can influence gene expression and transcription in AD cells. Previous studies (15
17
) have shown that low concentrations of Aß induced neuronal apoptosis with DNA condensation. Therefore, the interactions of Aß and DNA are important and may have a role in the pathogenesis of AD (18
,19
,45
,46
), the mechanisms of which need further clarification.
In summary, our results indicate that Aß induces double-stranded DNA condensation in vitro, and the condensation is time-dependent, as examined with circular dichroism, fluorescence spectroscopy, a replacement binding assay, electrophoresis, AFM, and metal ion inhibition. ß-sheets, serving as condensation nuclei, are crucial for inducing DNA condensation.
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
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This project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (20225102, 20331020, 20325101, 20473084), funds from Jilin Province and Hundred People Program from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Submitted on July 17, 2006; accepted for publication September 14, 2006.
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