Transcript cleavage by RNA polymerase II arrested by a cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer in the DNA template.

Abstract

A current model for transcription-coupled DNA repair is that RNA polymerase, arrested at a DNA lesion, directs the repair machinery to the transcribed strand of an active gene. To help elucidate this role of RNA polymerase, we constructed DNA templates containing the major late promoter of adenovirus and a cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) at a specific site. CPDs, the predominant DNA lesions formed by ultraviolet radiation, are good substrates for transcription-coupled repair. A CPD located on the transcribed strand of the template was a strong block to polymerase movement, whereas a CPD located on the nontranscribed strand had no effect on transcription. Furthermore, the arrested polymerase shielded the CPD from recognition by photolyase, a bacterial DNA repair protein. Transcription elongation factor SII (also called TFIIS) facilitates read-through of a variety of transcriptional pause sites by a process in which RNA polymerase II cleaves the nascent transcript before elongation resumes. We show that SII induces nascent transcript cleavage by RNA polymerase II stalled at a CPD. However, this cleavage does not remove the arrested polymerase from the site of the DNA lesion, nor does it facilitate translesional bypass by the polymerase. The arrested ternary complex is stable and competent to resume elongation, demonstrating that neither the polymerase nor the RNA product dissociates from the DNA template.

Authors and Affiliations

B A Donahue, S Yin, J S Taylor, D Reines, P C Hanawalt

Keywords

Related Articles

Creatine kinase activity in the Torpedo electrocyte and in the nonreceptor, peripheral v proteins from acetylcholine receptor-rich membranes.

The nonreceptor, peripheral v proteins (Mr 43,000 proteins) are conspicuous components of the acetylcholine receptor-rich membranes and the Torpedo electrocyte, so far devoid of any known enzymatic function. Creatine kin...

Quantitation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 during pregnancy: relationship of viral titer to mother-to-child transmission and stability of viral load.

To develop strategies to prevent mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), it is important to define the factors determining it. We examined the relationship between maternal HIV-1 tite...

Correlation of peptide specificity and IgG subclass with pathogenic and nonpathogenic autoantibodies in pemphigus vulgaris: a model for autoimmunity.

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a rare, potentially fatal, autoimmune disease that affects the skin and mucous membranes. The PV antigen (PVA) has been characterized as desmoglein 3. PV patients carry HLA-DR4- or HLA-DR6-bear...

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) plays a pivotal role in immunity against Salmonella typhimurium.

The cytokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) exerts a multitude of biological functions. Notably, it induces inflammation at the interface between the immune system and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal str...

Tauroursodeoxycholic acid, a bile acid, is neuroprotective in a transgenic animal model of Huntington's disease.

Huntington's disease (HD) is an untreatable neurological disorder caused by selective and progressive degeneration of the caudate nucleus and putamen of the basal ganglia. Although the etiology of HD pathology is not ful...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP84125
  • DOI -
  • Views 52
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

B A Donahue, S Yin, J S Taylor, D Reines, P C Hanawalt (1994). Transcript cleavage by RNA polymerase II arrested by a cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer in the DNA template.. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 91(18), 8502-8506. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-84125