Tools to Study the Role of Architectural Protein HMGB1 in the Processing of Helix Distorting, Site-specific DNA Interstrand Crosslinks

Summary

Targeted DNA damage can be achieved by tethering a DNA damaging agent to a triplex-forming oligonucleotide (TFO). Using modified TFOs, DNA damage-specific protein association, and DNA topology modification can be studied in human cells by the utilization of modified chromatin immunoprecipitation assays and DNA supercoiling assays described herein.

Abstract

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein is a non-histone architectural protein that is involved in regulating many important functions in the genome, such as transcription, DNA replication, and DNA repair. HMGB1 binds to structurally distorted DNA with higher affinity than to canonical B-DNA. For example, we found that HMGB1 binds to DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICLs), which covalently link the two strands of the DNA, cause distortion of the helix, and if left unrepaired can cause cell death. Due to their cytotoxic potential, several ICL-inducing agents are currently used as chemotherapeutic agents in the clinic. While ICL-forming agents show preferences for certain base sequences (e.g., 5'-TA-3' is the preferred crosslinking site for psoralen), they largely induce DNA damage in an indiscriminate fashion. However, by covalently coupling the ICL-inducing agent to a triplex-forming oligonucleotide (TFO), which binds to DNA in a sequence-specific manner, targeted DNA damage can be achieved. Here, we use a TFO covalently conjugated on the 5' end to a 4'-hydroxymethyl-4,5',8-trimethylpsoralen (HMT) psoralen to generate a site-specific ICL on a mutation-reporter plasmid to use as a tool to study the architectural modification, processing, and repair of complex DNA lesions by HMGB1 in human cells. We describe experimental techniques to prepare TFO-directed ICLs on reporter plasmids, and to interrogate the association of HMGB1 with the TFO-directed ICLs in a cellular context using chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. In addition, we describe DNA supercoiling assays to assess specific architectural modification of the damaged DNA by measuring the amount of superhelical turns introduced on the psoralen-crosslinked plasmid by HMGB1. These techniques can be used to study the roles of other proteins involved in the processing and repair of TFO-directed ICLs or other targeted DNA damage in any cell line of interest.

Introduction

Triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) bind duplex DNA in a sequence-specific fashion via Hoogsteen-hydrogen bonding to form triple-helical structures^1-5. Triplex technology has been used to interrogate a variety of biomolecular mechanisms, such as transcription, DNA damage repair, and gene targeting (reviewed in references^6-8). TFOs have been used extensively to induce site-specific damage on reporter plasmids^9,10. Our lab and others have previously used a TFO, AG30, tethered to a psoralen molecule to induce site-specific DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICLs) in the supF gene on the plasmid pSupFG1^5,10-12. ICLs are hi....

Protocol

1. Preparation of TFO-directed ICLs on Plasmid Substrates

1. Incubate equimolar amounts of plasmid pSupFG1^10,11 DNA (5 µg plasmid DNA is a good starting point) with psoralen-conjugated TFO AG30 in 8 µl of triplex binding buffer [50% glycerol, 10 mM Tris (pH 7.6), 10 mM MgCl₂] and dH₂O to a final volume of 40 µl in an amber tube. Mix thoroughly by pipetting up and down. Incubate the reaction at 37 °C water bath for 12 hr.
2. Warm up the UVA lamp to ensure full power output. Place the triplex reaction on paraffin film, and place the paraffin film on ice under the UVA (365 nM) lamp. Place a Mylar filter....

Results

Formation of the TFO-directed ICL is critical for the plasmid based assays, which are used to interrogate the roles of architectural proteins in ICL processing in human cells. Denaturing agarose gel electrophoresis is a facile way to determine the efficiency of TFO-directed ICL formation. The plasmids harboring TFO-directed ICLs migrate with a slower mobility through the agarose gel matrix (Figure 1A, lane 3) when compared to the un-crosslinked control plasmids (F.......

Discussion

The efficient formation of TFO-directed ICLs is dependent upon two crucial factors: First, proper buffer components (e.g., MgCl₂) and time of incubation of the TFO with its target DNA substrate (dependent upon the binding affinity of the TFO to its target duplex, and the concentrations used); and second, the proper dose of UVA (365 nm) irradiation to form psoralen crosslinks efficiently. Optimal triplex formation can be achieved by using HPLC or gel purified TFOs. Impurities contaminating the TFO may .......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
5'HMT Psoralen-AG30	Midland Certified Reagent Co., Midland, TX	Custom order	HPLC (or gel) purified
Simple ChIP Enzymatic Chromatin IP Kit	Cell signaling Inc.	9003	Manufacturer suggested protocol is optimized for chromatin IP and not for plasmid IP. The control IgG and H3 antibodies as well as the Protein G beads and micrococcal nuclease are supplied by the manufacturer.
GoTaq Green	Promega	M7122	PCR master mix
HMGB1 antibody	Abcam	Ab18256
Wizard Gel and PCR cleanup kit	Promega	A9281
Chloroquine-diphosphate salt	Sigma	C6628-50G	For two-dimensional agarose gel electrophoresis
EcoRI	New England BioLabs	R0101S
GenePORTER transfection reagent	Genlantis	T201015
Vaccinia Topoisomerase I	Invitrogen	38042-024
Blak-Ray long wave ultraviolet lamp	Upland, CA	B 100 AP	UVA lamp
EpiSonic Multi-Functional Bioprocessor 1100	Epigentek	EQC-1100	Water bath sonicator
Mylar filter	GE Healthcare Life Sciences	80112939
Agarose	Sigma-Aldrich	A6111
BIO-RAD Chemidoc	BIO-RAD	XRS+ system	DNA imaging system
Glycine	Fisher Scientific	BP381-500
37% Formaldehyde	Sigma-Aldrich	F8775-25ML	Used for crosslinking
Proteinase K	New England Biolabs	P8107S
DMEM	ThermoFisher	11965092	Cell culture media
PBS	ThermoFisher	70013073	Cell culture
Trypsin-EDTA	ThermoFisher	25200056	Cell culture
Bromocresol green	Sigma-Aldrich	114-359	DNA loading dye
Siliconized tubes	Fisher Scientific	02-681-320	Low retention microfuge tube
Tris base	Fisher Scientific	BP152-1
Boric Acid	Fisher Scientific	A74-1
EDTA	Fisher Scientific	BP24731
Photometer	InternationalLight Technologies	ILT1400-A	UVA dose measurement
Cell lines
Human U2OS osteosarcoma	ATCC	ATCC HTB-96	Cultured according to supplier’s recommendation
Human cervical adenocarcinoma HeLa	ATCC	ATCC-CCL-2	Cultured according to supplier’s recommendation
Proximal forward primer	5′-gcc ccc ctg acg agc atc ac
Proximal reverse primer	5′-tag tta ccg gat aag gcg cag cgg
Distal forward primer	5′-aat acc gcg cca cat agc ag
Distal reverse primer	5′-agt att caa cat ttc cgt gtc gcc