Nucleic Acids Research, Vol 24, Issue 6 1059-1064, Copyright © 1996 by Oxford University Press
X Gu, A Matsuda, KM Ivanetich and DV Santi
tRNA in which uracil is completely replaced by 5-nitro-uracil was prepared
by substituting 5-nitro-UTP for UTP in an in vitro transcription reaction.
The rationale was that the 5-nitro substituent activates the 6-carbon of
the Ura heterocycle towards nucleophiles, and hence could provide
mechanism-based inhibitors of enzymes which utilize this feature in their
catalytic mechanism. When assayed shortly after mixing, the tRNA analog,
NO2Ura-tRNA, is a potent competitive inhibitor of tRNA-Ura methyl
transferase (RUMT). Upon incubation, the analog causes a time-dependent
inactivation of RUMT which could be reversed by dilution into a large
excess of tRNA substrate. Covalent RUMT-NO2Ura- tRNA complexes could be
isolated on nitrocellulose filters or by SDS- PAGE. The interaction of RUMT
and NO2Ura-tRNA was deduced to involve formation of a reversible complex,
followed by formation of a reversible covalent complex in which Cys 324 of
RUMT is linked to the 6- position of NO2Ura 54 in NO2Ura-tRNA.
ARTICLES
Interaction of tRNA (uracil-5-)-methyltransferase with NO2Ura-tRNA
Department of Biochemistry, University of California, San Francisco 94143-0448 USA.
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