Synthesis and characterization of oligodeoxyribonucleotides containing a site-specifically incorporated N6-carboxymethyl-2'-deoxyadenosine or N4-carboxymethyl-2'-deoxycytidine

Abstract

Humans are exposed to both endogenous and exogenous N-nitroso compounds (NOCs), and many NOCs can be metabolically activated to generate a highly reactive species, diazoacetate, which is capable of inducing carboxymethylation of nucleobases in DNA. Here we report, for the first time, the chemical syntheses of authentic N6-carboxymethyl-2′-deoxyadenosine (N6-CMdA) and N4-carboxymethyl-2′-deoxycytidine (N4-CMdC), liquid chromatography-ESI tandem MS confirmation of their formation in calf thymus DNA upon diazoacetate exposure, and the preparation of oligodeoxyribonucleotides containing a site-specifically incorporated N6-CMdA or N4-CMdC. Additionally, thermodynamic studies showed that the substitutions of a dA with N6-CMdA and dC with N4-CMdC in a 12-mer duplex increased Gibbs free energy for duplex formation at 25°C by 5.3 and 6.8 kcal/mol, respectively. Moreover, primer extension assay revealed that N4-CMdC was a stronger blockade to Klenow fragment-mediated primer extension than N6-CMdA. The polymerase displayed substantial frequency of misincorporation of dAMP opposite N6-CMdA and, to a lesser extent, misinsertion of dAMP and dTMP opposite N4-CMdC. The formation and the mutagenic potential of N6-CMdA and N4-CMdC suggest that these lesions may bear important implications in the etiology of NOC-induced tumor development. © The Author(s) 2010. Published by Oxford University Press.