G
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T transversion mutations in the
p53 tumor suppressor gene are characteristic ofsmoking-related lung tumors, suggesting that these genetic changes may result from exposureto tobacco carcinogens. It has been previously demonstrated that the diol epoxide metabolitesof bay region polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons present in tobacco smoke, e.g., benzo[
a]pyrenediol epoxide (BPDE), preferentially bind to the most frequently mutated guanine nucleotideswithin
p53 codons 157, 158, 248, and 273 [Denissenko, M. F., Pao, A., Tang, M., and Pfeifer,G. P. (1996)
Science 274, 430-432]. However, the methodology used in that work (ligation-mediated polymerase chain reaction in combination with the UvrABC endonuclease incisionassay) cannot establish the chemical structures and stereochemical identities of BPDE-guaninelesions. In the present study, we employ a stable isotope-labeling HPLC-MS/MS approach[Tretyakova, N., Matter, B., Jones, R., and Shallop, A. (2002)
Biochemistry 41, 9535-9544] toanalyze the formation of diastereomeric
N2-BPDE-dG lesions within double-stranded oligodeoxynucleotides representing
p53 lung cancer mutational hotspots and their surrounding
DNAsequences.
15N-labeled dG was placed at defined positions within DNA duplexes containing5-methylcytosine at all physiologically
methylated sites, followed by (±)-
anti-BPDE treatmentand enzymatic hydrolysis of the adducted DNA to 2'-deoxynucleosides. Capillary HPLC-ESI
+-MS/MS was used to establish the amounts of (-)-
trans-
N2-BPDE-dG, (+)-
cis-
N2-BPDE-dG,(-)-
cis-
N2-BPDE-dG, and (+)-
trans-
N2-BPDE-dG originating from the
15N-labeled bases. Wefound that all four
N2-BPDE-dG diastereomers were formed preferentially at the
methylatedCG dinucleotides, including the frequently mutated
p53 codons 157, 158, 245, 248, and 273.The contributions of individual diastereomers to the total
adducts number at a given site variedbetween 70.8 and 92.9% for (+)
-trans-N2-BPDE-dG, 5.6 and 16.7% for (-)-
trans-
N2-BPDE-dG,2.1 and 8.5% for (-)
-cis-N2-BPDE-dG, and 0.5 and 8.3% for (+)
-cis-N2-BPDE-dG. The relativeyields of the minor
N2-BPDE-dG stereoisomers were elevated at the sites of inefficientadduction, while the major (+)-
trans-BPDE lesion was even more dominant at the frequentlyadducted sites. The introduction of 5-methyl groups at adjacent cytosine bases increased theyields of
N2-BPDE-dG diastereomers, probably a result of favorable hydrophobic interactionsbetween BPDE and 5-methylcytosine. The targeted formation of
N2-BPDE-dG at
MeCGdinucleotides within the
p53 gene is consistent with the high prevalence of G
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T transversionsat these sites in smoking-induced lung cancer.