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S R Malkhosyan

Publications and source records attributed to S R Malkhosyan.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Functional significance of concomitant inactivation of hMLH1 and hMSH6 in tumor cells of the microsatellite mutator phenotype.

Genetic or epigenetic inactivation of one of the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes in tumor precursor cells causes a profound mutator phenotype, known as the microsatellite mutator phenotype (MMP). This mutator phenotype induces mutations not only in cancer genes that drive tumorigenesis but also in other DNA repair genes. The functional significance of these successive DNA repair gene mutations, however, has not been substantiated. Here we show that the concomitant inactivation of two DNA MMR genes (hMLH1 and hMSH6) increases the mutator phenotype. We isolated cell clones of the SW48 MMP-positive cell line with either active or inactive hMSH6. All of these clones lacked expression of hMLH1 because of promoter hypermethylation. Compared with inactivation of hMLH1 alone, the additional inactivation of hMSH6 produced a higher mutation rate and a different spectrum of mutations in the endogenous hprt gene. These results confirm our model that the mutator phenotype can increase during tumorigenesis by the consecutive inactivation of different members of the DNA MMR system. Thus, a stronger mutator phenotype accelerates the accumulation of mutations in target cancer genes, which, in turn, speeds up tumor progression. The results of this study also have significant impact on our understanding of the mechanism of DNA MMR.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2001

Germline and somatic mutations in hMSH6 and hMSH3 in gastrointestinal cancers of the microsatellite mutator phenotype.

Hereditary and sporadic gastrointestinal cancer of the microsatellite mutator phenotype (MMP) is characterized by a remarkable genomic instability at simple repeated sequences. The genomic instability is often caused by germline and somatic mutations in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes hMSH2 and hMLH1. The MMP can be also caused by epigenetic inactivation of hMLH1. The MMP generates many somatic frameshift mutations in genes containing mononucleotide repeats. We previously reported that in MMP tumors the hMSH6 and hMSH3 MMR genes often carry frameshift mutations in their (C)(8) and (A)(8) tracks, respectively. We proposed that these 'secondary mutator mutations' contribute to a gradual manifestation of the MMP. Here we report the detection of other frameshift, nonsense, and missense mutations in these genes in colon and gastric cancers of the MMP. A germline frameshift mutation was found in hMSH6 in a colon tumor harboring another somatic frameshift mutation. Several germline sequence variants and somatic missense mutations at conserved residues were detected in hMSH6 and only one was detected in hMSH3. Of the three hMSH6 germline variants in conserved residues, one coexisted with a somatic mutation at the (C)(8) track and another had a somatic missense mutation. We suggest that some of these germline and somatic missense variants are pathogenic. While biallelic hMSH6 and hMSH3 frameshift mutations were found in some tumors, many tumors seemed to contain only monoallelic mutations. In some tumors, these somatic monoallelic frameshift mutations at the (C)(8) and (A)(8) tracks were found to coexist with other somatic mutations in the other allele, supporting their functionality during tumorigenesis. However, the low incidence of these additional somatic mutations in hMSH6 and hMSH3 leaves many tumors with only monoallelic mutations. The impact of the frameshift mutations in gene expression was studied by comparative analysis of RNA and protein expression in different tumor cell clones with different genotypes. The results show that the hMSH6 (C)(8) frameshift mutation abolishes protein expression, ruling out a dominant negative effect by a truncated protein. We suggest the functionality of these secondary monoallelic mutator mutations in the context of an accumulative haploinsufficiency model.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Intramolecular dG.dG.dC triplex detected in Escherichia coli cells.

The formation of an intramolecular dG.dG.dC triplex in Escherichia coli cells is demonstrated at single-base resolution. The intramolecular dG.dG.dC triplex structure was probed in situ for E. coli cells containing plasmid DNAs with varying lengths of poly(dG).poly(dC) tracts employing chloroacetaldehyde. This chemical probe reacts specifically with unpaired DNA bases. The triplex structure formed with the poly(dG).poly(dC) tracts of 35 and 44 base-pairs, but not with 25 base-pairs. The triplex was detected only one to two hours after the chloramphenicol treatment: the period at which the extracted plasmid DNA revealed the maximal superhelical density.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1991

A physiological role for DNA supercoiling in the anaerobic regulation of colicin gene expression.

The mechanism of anaerobic regulation of synthesis of colicins E1, E2, E3, K and D was studied. It was found that anaerobiosis significantly increases expression of the genes for colicins E1, E2, E3, K, and D. Experiments with novobiocin (a DNA gyrase inhibitor) showed that colicin synthesis in minicells and derepressed colicin synthesis in cells are dramatically reduced by relaxation of DNA supercoiling. A good correlation was observed between the levels of colicin synthesis and plasmid DNA supercoiling and the degree of aeration of the cultures. Thus, the regulation of colicin gene expression in response to a change in aeration appears to be mediated by environmentally induced variations in DNA supercoiling.

Anaerobiosis↗
PubMed1990

DNA linking potential generated by gyrase.

Whether or not DNA gyrase can supercoil DNA so that alternative structures will arise in it is the major question of this work. We have shown gyrase to produce in pAO3 DNA a superhelix density sufficient for cruciform formation. However, the transition does not take place because of too slow kinetics. A change of ionic conditions in favour of more intense DNA supercoiling by gyrase shifts the midpoint of the equilibrium transition to the cruciform structure toward more supercoiled topoisomers. The width of the equilibrium transition to the cruciform as a function of linking number has been revealed to be an order of magnitude larger in buffers containing magnesium and spermidine than in buffers with monovalent cations only. We ascribe this effect to the influence that the counter ions surrounding the DNA molecule have on its elasticity, the coefficient of elasticity being dependent on superhelix density sigma. Thus, the free energy of supercoiling (a) depends on the ionic conditions and (b) is not a quadratic function of sigma in the physiological range of parameters. We propose a description of DNA as a system of links that can be either closed or open; we also introduce a new concept of the DNA linking potential akin to the chemical and electric potentials. The linking potential is a suitable parameter for describing the equilibrium distribution of links in heterogeneous DNA, the coexistence of various DNA structures, the equilibrium input and output of DNA links by enzymes, and the nonequilibrium movement of links along DNA chains. Within the framework of this approach DNA gyrase is considered as the source of the DNA linking potential.

DNA Topoisomerases, Type I↗
PubMed1989

The effect of nonreceptor adsorption on the lethal action of colicin E1.

The survivability of Escherichia coli K12s cells has been studied after treatment with 125I-labeled colicin E1. It has been shown that for low amounts of adsorbed colicin the survivability follows single-hit kinetics. When the number of colicin molecules adsorbed exceeds approx. 50 per cell, deviation from single-hit kinetics occurs towards higher survivability. Colicin E1 adsorbed nonreceptorwise by the cell's surface has been shown to inhibit the lethal action of colicin E1 molecules adsorbed at specific receptors. This fact has been used in accounting for the elevated survivability of cells at high colicin doses. The functional significance of the phenomenon is discussed.

Adsorption↗