👤 Steven A Akman

Higher-order nucleic acid structures called G-quadruplexes (G4s, G4 structures) can form in guanine-rich regions of both DNA and RNA and are highly thermally stable. There are >375,000 putative G4-forming sequences in the human genome, and they are enriched in promoter regions, untranslated regions (UTRs), and within the telomeric repeat. Due to the potential for these structures to affect cellular processes, such as replication and transcription, the cell has evolved enzymes to manage them. One such enzyme is G4 Resolvase 1 (G4R1), which was biochemically co-characterized by our laboratory and Nagamine et al. and found to bind extremely tightly to both G4-DNA and G4-RNA (Kd in the low-pM range). G4R1 is the source of the majority of G4-resolving activity in HeLa cell lysates and has since been implicated to play a role in telomere metabolism, lymph development, gene transcription, hematopoiesis, and immune surveillance. The ability to efficiently express and purify catalytically active G4R1 is of importance for laboratories interested in gaining further insight into the kinetic interaction of G4 structures and G4-resolving enzymes. Here, we describe a detailed method for the purification of recombinant G4R1 (rG4R1). The described procedure incorporates the traditional affinity-based purification of a C-terminal histidine-tagged enzyme expressed in human codon-optimized bacteria with the utilization of the ability of rG4R1 to bind and unwind G4-DNA to purify highly active enzyme in an ATP-dependent elution step. The protocol also includes a quality-control step where the enzymatic activity of rG4R1 is measured by examining the ability of the purified enzyme to unwind G4-DNA. A method is also described that allows for the quantification of purified rG4R1. Alternative adaptations of this protocol are discussed. Show less

Ends of human chromosomes consist of the six nucleotide repeat d[pTTAGGG]n known as telomeric DNA, which protects chromosomes. We have previously shown that the DHX36 gene product, G4 Resolvase 1 (G4R1), binds parallel G-quadruplex (G4) DNA with an unusually tight apparent Kd. Recent work associates G4R1 with the telomerase holoenzyme, which may allow it to access telomeric G4-DNA. Here we show that G4R1 can tightly bind telomeric G4-DNA, and in the context of the telomeric sequence, we determine length, sequence, and structural requirements sufficient for tight G4R1 telomeric binding. Specifically, G4R1 binds telomeric DNA in the K+-induced "3+1" G4-topology with an apparent Kd = 10 ± 1.9 pM, a value similar as previously found for binding to unimolecular parallel G4-DNA. G4R1 binds to the Na+-induced "2+2" basket G4-structure formed by the same DNA sequence with an apparent Kd = 71 ± 2.2 pM. While the minimal G4-structure is not sufficient for G4R1 binding, a 5' G4-structure with a 3' unstructured tail containing a guanine flanked by adenine(s) is sufficient for maximal binding. Mutations directed to disrupt G4-structure similarly disrupt G4R1 binding; secondary mutations that restore G4-structure also restore G4R1 binding. We present a model showing that a replication fork disrupting a T-loop could create a 5' quadruplex with an opened 3'tail structure that is recognized by G4R1. Show less

Yin Yang 1 (YY1) is a multifunctional protein with regulatory potential in tumorigenesis. Ample studies demonstrated the activities of YY1 in regulating gene expression and mediating differential protein modifications. However, the mechanisms underlying YY1 gene expression are relatively understudied. G-quadruplexes (G4s) are four-stranded structures or motifs formed by guanine-rich DNA or RNA domains. The presence of G4 structures in a gene promoter or the 5'-UTR of its mRNA can markedly affect its expression. In this report, we provide strong evidence showing the presence of G4 structures in the promoter and the 5'-UTR of YY1. In reporter assays, mutations in these G4 structure forming sequences increased the expression of Gaussia luciferase (Gluc) downstream of either YY1 promoter or 5'-UTR. We also discovered that G4 Resolvase 1 (G4R1) enhanced the Gluc expression mediated by the YY1 promoter, but not the YY1 5'-UTR. Consistently, G4R1 binds the G4 motif of the YY1 promoter in vitro and ectopically expressed G4R1 increased endogenous YY1 levels. In addition, the analysis of a gene array data consisting of the breast cancer samples of 258 patients also indicates a significant, positive correlation between G4R1 and YY1 expression. Show less

Guanine-quadruplexes (G4) consist of non-canonical four-stranded helical arrangements of guanine-rich nucleic acid sequences. The bulky and thermodynamically stable features of G4 structures have been shown in many respects to affect normal nucleic acid metabolism. In vivo conversion of G4 structures to single-stranded nucleic acid requires specialized proteins with G4 destabilizing/unwinding activity. RHAU is a human DEAH-box RNA helicase that exhibits G4-RNA binding and resolving activity. In this study, we employed RIP-chip analysis to identify en masse RNAs associated with RHAU in vivo. Approximately 100 RNAs were found to be associated with RHAU and bioinformatics analysis revealed that the majority contained potential G4-forming sequences. Among the most abundant RNAs selectively enriched with RHAU, we identified the human telomerase RNA template TERC as a true target of RHAU. Remarkably, binding of RHAU to TERC depended on the presence of a stable G4 structure in the 5'-region of TERC, both in vivo and in vitro. RHAU was further found to associate with the telomerase holoenzyme via the 5'-region of TERC. Collectively, these results provide the first evidence that intramolecular G4-RNAs serve as physiologically relevant targets for RHAU. Furthermore, our results suggest the existence of alternatively folded forms of TERC in the fully assembled telomerase holoenyzme. Show less

It has been previously shown that the DHX36 gene product, G4R1/RHAU, tightly binds tetramolecular G4-DNA with high affinity and resolves these structures into single strands. Here, we test the ability of G4R1/RHAU to bind and unwind unimolecular G4-DNA. Gel mobility shift assays were used to measure the binding affinity of G4R1/RHAU for unimolecular G4-DNA-formed sequences from the Zic1 gene and the c-Myc promoter. Extremely tight binding produced apparent K(d)'s of 6, 3 and 4 pM for two Zic1 G4-DNAs and a c-Myc G4-DNA, respectively. The low enzyme concentrations required for measuring these K(d)'s limit the precision of their determination to upper boundary estimates. Similar tight binding was not observed in control non-G4 forming DNA sequences or in single-stranded DNA having guanine-rich runs capable of forming tetramolecular G4-DNA. Using a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) trap assay, we show that G4R1/RHAU catalyzes unwinding of unimolecular Zic1 G4-DNA into an unstructured state capable of hybridizing to a complementary PNA. Binding was independent of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), but the PNA trap assay showed that unwinding of G4-DNA was ATP dependent. Competition studies indicated that unimolecular Zic1 and c-Myc G4-DNA structures inhibit G4R1/RHAU-catalyzed resolution of tetramolecular G4-DNA. This report provides evidence that G4R1/RHAU tightly binds and unwinds unimolecular G4-DNA structures. Show less

Under physiological conditions, guanine-rich sequences of DNA and RNA can adopt stable and atypical four-stranded helical structures called G-quadruplexes (G4). Such G4 structures have been shown to occur in vivo and to play a role in various processes such as transcription, translation and telomere maintenance. Owing to their high-thermodynamic stability, resolution of G4 structures in vivo requires specialized enzymes. RHAU is a human RNA helicase of the DEAH-box family that exhibits a unique ATP-dependent G4-resolvase activity with a high affinity and specificity for its substrate in vitro. How RHAU recognizes G4-RNAs has not yet been established. Here, we show that the amino-terminal region of RHAU is essential for RHAU to bind G4 structures and further identify within this region the evolutionary conserved RSM (RHAU-specific motif) domain as a major affinity and specificity determinant. G4-resolvase activity and strict RSM dependency are also observed with CG9323, the Drosophila orthologue of RHAU, in the amino terminal region of which the RSM is the only conserved motif. Thus, these results reveal a novel motif in RHAU protein that plays an important role in recognizing and resolving G4-RNA structures, properties unique to RHAU among many known RNA helicases. Show less

Quadruplex structures that result from stacking of guanine quartets in nucleic acids possess such thermodynamic stability that their resolution in vivo is likely to require specific recognition by specialized enzymes. We previously identified the major tetramolecular quadruplex DNA resolving activity in HeLa cell lysates as the gene product of DHX36 (Vaughn, J. P., Creacy, S. D., Routh, E. D., Joyner-Butt, C., Jenkins, G. S., Pauli, S., Nagamine, Y., and Akman, S. A. (2005) J. Biol Chem. 280, 38117-38120), naming the enzyme G4 Resolvase 1 (G4R1). G4R1 is also known as RHAU, an RNA helicase associated with the AU-rich sequence of mRNAs. We now show that G4R1/RHAU binds to and resolves tetramolecular RNA quadruplex as well as tetramolecular DNA quadruplex structures. The apparent K(d) values of G4R1/RHAU for tetramolecular RNA quadruplex and tetramolecular DNA quadruplex were exceptionally low: 39 +/- 6 and 77 +/- 6 Pm, respectively, as measured by gel mobility shift assay. In competition studies tetramolecular RNA quadruplex structures inhibited tetramolecular DNA quadruplex structure resolution by G4R1/RHAU more efficiently than tetramolecular DNA quadruplex structures inhibited tetramolecular RNA quadruplex structure resolution. Down-regulation of G4R1/RHAU in HeLa T-REx cells by doxycycline-inducible short hairpin RNA caused an 8-fold loss of RNA and DNA tetramolecular quadruplex resolution, consistent with G4R1/RHAU representing the major tetramolecular quadruplex helicase activity for both RNA and DNA structures in HeLa cells. This study demonstrates for the first time the RNA quadruplex resolving enzymatic activity associated with G4R1/RHAU and its exceptional binding affinity, suggesting a potential novel role for G4R1/RHAU in targeting in vivo RNA quadruplex structures. Show less

G4-DNA is a highly stable alternative DNA structure that can form spontaneously in guanine-rich regions of single-stranded DNA under physiological conditions. Since a number of biological processes create such single-stranded regions, G4-DNA occurrence must be regulated. To date, resolution of tetramolecular G4-DNA into single strands (G4-resolvase activity) has been observed only in recombinant RecQ DNA helicases. We previously reported that human cell lysates possess tetramolecular G4-DNA resolving activity (Harrington, C., Lan, Y., and Akman, S. (1997) J. Biol Chem. 272, 24631-24636). Here we report the first complete purification of a major non-RecQ, NTP-dependent G4-DNA resolving enzyme from human cell lysates. This enzyme is identified as the DEXH helicase product of gene DHX36 (also known as RHAU). G4-DNA resolving activity was captured from HeLa cell lysates on G4-DNA affinity beads and further purified by gel filtration chromatography. The DHX36 gene product was identified by mass spectrometric sequencing of a tryptic digest from the protein band on SDS-PAGE associated with activity. DHX36 was cloned within a His(6)-tagging vector, expressed, and purified from Escherichia coli. Inhibition and substrate resolution assays showed that recombinant DHX36 protein displayed robust, highly specific G4-DNA resolving activity. Immunodepletion of HeLa lysates by a monoclonal antibody to the DHX36 product removed ca. 77% of the enzyme from lysates and reduced G4-DNA resolving activity to 46.0 +/- 0.4% of control, demonstrating that DHX36 protein is responsible for the majority of tetramolecular G4-DNA resolvase activity. Show less