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Electrons as catalysts for the repair of DNA photolesions
UV-irradiation of cells induces the formation of cyclobutane photoproducts of thymines (T-dimers),
which are highly mutagenic and responsible for UV-induced cell death. In many organisms the enzyme
photolyase repairs these photolesions by electron injection from a light-excited, reduced and
deprotonated flavin coenzym. We have developed a system where the electron is injected into DNA by
a modified nucleotide, which can be site selectively incorporated into the DNA strands.
Using this assay we demonstrated that one electron can cleave more than one photolesion by long
distance electron transfer through DNA, and that this process has a preferred direction, which is
caused by T-dimer induced conformational changes of the DNA.
Excess Electron Transport Through DNA: A Single Electron Repairs More than One UV-Induced Lesion
Bernd Giese, Barbara Carl, Thomas Carl, Thomas Carell, Christoph Behrens, Ulrich Hennecke, Olav Schiemann, Emiliano Feresin
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Volume 43, Issue 14 , Pages 1848 - 1851
Contact:
Bernd Giese |
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Department of Chemistry
University of Basel
Switzerland
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