Direct conjugation of peptides and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in DNA

Bioconjug Chem. 2015 Jun 17;26(6):1008-12. doi: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.5b00165. Epub 2015 May 22.

Abstract

Recent discovery of functional 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in vertebrate genomes prompted for elaboration of methods to localize this modification at the nucleotide resolution level. Among several covalent modification-based approaches, atypical activity of cytosine-5 DNA methyltransferases to couple small molecules to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine stands out for acceptance of broad range of ligands. We went further to explore the possibility for methyltransferase-maintained coupling of compounds possessing autonomous functions. Functionalization of DNA was achieved by direct conjugation of chemically synthesized peptides of regular structure. Sequence, residue, and position-specific coupling of DNA containing 5-hydroxymethylcytosine and different peptides has been demonstrated, with the nature of the resulting conjugates confirmed by protease treatment and mass spectrometry. Coupling products were compatible with affinity-driven separation from the unmodified DNA. This approach highlights an emerging avenue toward the enzymatic, sequence-specific DNA functionalization, enabling a single step merge of the DNA and peptide moieties into a bifunctional entity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • 5-Methylcytosine / analogs & derivatives
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Cytosine / analogs & derivatives*
  • Cytosine / chemical synthesis
  • Cytosine / chemistry
  • Cytosine / metabolism
  • DNA / chemistry*
  • DNA / metabolism
  • DNA-Cytosine Methylases / metabolism
  • Models, Molecular
  • Peptides / chemical synthesis
  • Peptides / chemistry*
  • Peptides / metabolism
  • Spiroplasma / enzymology

Substances

  • Peptides
  • 5-hydroxymethylcytosine
  • 5-Methylcytosine
  • Cytosine
  • DNA
  • DNA modification methylase HhaI
  • DNA modification methylase SssI
  • DNA-Cytosine Methylases