patrick o. brown and nicholas r. cozzarelli- a sign inversion mechanism for enzymatic supercoiling...

3
A Sign Inversion Mechanism f o r Enzymatic Supercoiling o f DNA Abstract. Both t he introduction a n d th e removal o f supertwists b y DNA gyrase change the linking number o f DNA i n steps o two. This surprisingfinding provides strong evidence that gyrase acts b y a mechanism, called inversion, whereby a positive supercoil i s directly inverted into a negative o n e v i a a transient double- strand break. Superimposed o n the right-handed coiling o f t he t w o strands o f the DNA double helix around their axis is a higher order coiling of the helix axis itself, called supercoiling (1). Supercoils c a n b e positive (right-handed) o r negative (left- handed). Virtually all naturally occurring duplex DNA i s negatively supercoiled, a nd this supercoiling plays a n important role i n i t s replication, transcription, a nd recombination. T h e algebraic s u m o f t h e number o f supercoils a n d the number o f double-helical turns i n a closed circular duplex DNA, that i s , t h e total number revolutions o f o n e single strand about t h e other, i s a n integer called the linking number (2). Th e linking number cannot b e changed without breaking o n e o r both strands o f the double helix. DNA mole- cules that differ only i n linking number a re called topoisomers, a nd enzymes that alter t h e linking number o f DNA a r e called topoisomerases ( 3 , 4 ) . DNA gyrase ( 5 ) i s a unique topoiso- merase that reduces the linking number o f DNA a n d thus introduces negative supercoils, i n a reaction coupled t o t h e hydrolysis o f adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The gyrase of Escherichia coli, the subject of this report, i s composed of t w o copies each f t h e gyrA gyrB gene products, a nd plays a major role i n maintaining t h e negative supercoiling o f E . coli DNA (6). Most models (7-9) f o r the mechanism o f DNA gyrase postulate a n energy-dependent segregation o f DNA into positively a n d negatively s u - percoiled domains (with n o change i n linking number), b y a selective relaxation o f t h e positive supercoils (which reduces the linking number). This relaxation h a s usually been viewed i n terms o f a topoisomerase model f o r which the o protein o f E . coli (10) i s t h e archetype, entailing nicking of o n e strand of t h e double helix, rotation o f th e free ends around the helix axis t o relieve t h e supercoiling, a nd resealing of the nick (11). W e propose that gyrase acts b y a cate- gorically different mechanism. This mod- el w a s initially developed t o explain t w o observations. First, when a complex o f gyrase with DNA is treated under certain conditions with a protein denaturant, double-strand breaks a r e introduced i n the DNA with a gyrase protomer a t - tached covalently t o each 5 ' phosphoryl SCIENCE, VOL. 206, 3 0 NOVEMBER 1979 e n d (7, 1 2 , 13). This implicates a tran- sient double-strand break i n t he gyrase reaction mechanism, i n contrast t o t h e proposed nicked intermediate i n the r e - actions o f t h e prokaryotic w protein (14) a n d t h e eukaryotic topoisomerases (4). Second, when gyrase binds t o DNA i n t h e absense o f ATP, positively super- coiled regions a r e generated i n t h e DNA (8, 15). These positive supercoils must b e stabilized by t h e bound enzyme, since they cannot b e relaxed. O ur model, called sign inversion, is i l - lustrated i n I an d consists o f th e fol- lowing steps. 1) Gyrase binds t o a DNA molecule a t t w o points such that t h e t w o bound seg- ments cross t o form a right-handed node (the upper o f the t w o nodes depicted i n Fig. 1 ) . This i s sufficient to stabilize a positive supercoil a nd induce a counter- posing negative supercoil [represented b y the lower ( - ) node]. 2 ) Gyrase introduces a double-strand break i n the DNA a t t h e back of t h e right-handed node and passes t h e front segment through t h e break, inverting t h e handedness a n d thus t h e sign o f t h e node. 3 ) T h e break i s resealed o n t h e front side o f t he now left-handed node. Th e ne t result o f this procedure is to reduce t he linking number of t h e DNA b y t wo (16). Reversal of these steps, that is, starting with a left-handed node a nd inverting i t to a right-handed one, would lead t o a n increase o f t wo i n t h e linking number. W e propose that this reverse process i s t h e path b y which gyrase, in t h e absense o f ATP, relaxes negatively supercoiled DNA. Th e simplest w a y t o convert t h e sequence shown i n Fig. I in - t o a cycle is t o release o n e o f th e seg- ments of DNA from th e enzyme after t h e third step a n d return t o the initial config- uration, bu t with t he linking number r e - duced b y two. T h e sign inversion model provides a natural explanation f o r critical existing data a n d makes a unique prediction that w e have verified experimentally-both supercoiling a n d relaxation b y gyrase change the linking number of DNA i n steps o f two. Another essential predic- tion, that gyrase can introduce a double- strand break, pass DNA through t he break, a n d reseal t h e break, i n a n effi- cient, concerted reaction, h a s also been verified-gyrase c a n catenate (interlock) a nd uncatenate DNA circles (17). L i u e t a l . (18) have also obtained evidence f o r transient double-strand breaks i n some topoisomerase reactions. Th e usual DNA substrate for gyrase reactions i s a heterogeneous se t o f t o - poisomers a Gaussian dis- tribution o f linking numbers (19). Th e observed effect o f gyrase i s simply t o shift the center o f this broad distribution such that th e unit o f change i n linking number cannot b e discerned. T o deter- mine this unit, w e therefore used a sub- strate that w a s uniform with respect t o linking number, a purified relaxed t o - poisomer of t h e plasmid pl5A (20). Th e small size o f this plasmid enhanced t h e electrophoretic resolution o f its topoiso- mers. DNA supercoiling b y gyrase under optimal conditions i s both processive a nd fast. Therefore, t o observe th e initial reaction products, t he rate w as reduced b y limiting the AT P concentration to 3 0 M M , about one-tenth the K m (21), a nd t h e reaction products were sampled a t early times. T o synchronize t h e reaction, gyrase, i n roughly twofold molar excess over DNA, w a s bound t o t h e DNA i n a 3-minute preliminary incubation a t 30°C before the addition o f ATP. Reaction products were deproteinized (22) a n d displayed b y electrophoresis through a 1 .2 percent agarose g e l (5). Th e only products o f the reaction were topoisomers differing i n linking number (Lk) from t h e starting material b y multi- ples of 2 (Fig. 2 ) . This w a s most clearly seen after 5 seconds (lane c) , when t h e major product ha d a linking number r e - duced b y 2 (ALk = -2), a n d products with AL k = - 4 a n d - 6 were also vis- ible. Bands corresponding t o odd-num- bered ALk's, which a re present i n t h e reference s e t (lanes d , g , a n d 1 ) , were strikingly absent. A t later times (lanes e , f , a n d h t o j) , t h e linking number of t h e products w a s progressively reduced, b u t t h e every-other-band distribution w a s maintained. I n another experiment (not shown), with t h e AT P concentration fur- ther reduced t o 1 0 1AM, t h e AL k = - 2 topoisomer w as virtually th e only dis- cernible product o f a 10-second reaction. Thus, when DNA is supercoiled by g y - rase, t h e quantum of change i n t h e link- i n g number i s 2 . T h e quantum of change i n linking number i s also 2 f o r relaxation by gyrase. After a 5-minute incubation with gyrase i n t he presence o f ATP, t h e DNA w a s highly supercoiled (lane j ) . A t this time, novobiocin, which inhibits supertwisting b u t n o t relaxation b y gyrase ( 7 , 1 2) w a s added t o t h e reaction mixture, a n d t h e incubation w a s continued f o r 3 0 minutes. 0036-8075/79/1130-1081$00.50/0 Copyright K 1979 AAAS 1081

Upload: uylrikk

Post on 06-Apr-2018

219 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Patrick O. Brown and Nicholas R. Cozzarelli- A Sign Inversion Mechanism for Enzymatic Supercoiling of DNA

8/3/2019 Patrick O. Brown and Nicholas R. Cozzarelli- A Sign Inversion Mechanism for Enzymatic Supercoiling of DNA

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/patrick-o-brown-and-nicholas-r-cozzarelli-a-sign-inversion-mechanism-for 1/3

A S i g n I n v e r s i o n Mechanism f o r E n z y m a t i c S u p e r c o i l i n g o f DNA

A b s t r a c t . B o t h t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n a n d t h e r e m o v a l o f s u p e r t w i s t s b y DNA g y r a s e

c h a n g e t h e l i n k i n g n u m b e r o f DNA i n s t e p s o f t w o . T h i s s u r p r i s i n g f i n d i n g p r o v i d e s

s t r o n g e v i d e n c e t h a t g y r a s e a c t s b y a m e c h a n i s m , c a l l e d s i g n i n v e r s i o n , w h e r e b y a

p o s i t i v e s u p e r c o i l i s d i r e c t l y i n v e r t e d i n t o a n e g a t i v e o n e v i a a t r a n s i e n t d o u b l e -

s t r a n d b r e a k .

S u p e r i m p o s e d o n t h e r i g h t - h a n d e dc o i l i n g o f t h e t w o s t r a n d s o f t h e DNA

d o u b l e h e l i x a r o u n d t h e i r a x i s i s a h i g h e ro r d e r c o i l i n g o f t h e h e l i x a x i s i t s e l f ,c a l l e d s u p e r c o i l i n g ( 1 ) . S u p e r c o i l s c a n b e

p o s i t i v e ( r i g h t - h a n d e d ) o r n e g a t i v e ( l e f t -h a n d e d ) . V i r t u a l l y a l l n a t u r a l l y o c c u r r i n g

d u p l e x DNA i s n e g a t i v e l y s u p e r c o i l e d ,a n d t h i s s u p e r c o i l i n g p l a y s a n i m p o r t a n t

r o l e i n i t s r e p l i c a t i o n , t r a n s c r i p t i o n , a n d

r e c o m b i n a t i o n . T h e a l g e b r a i c sum o f t h en u m b e r o f s u p e r c o i l s a n d t h e n u m b e r o f

d o u b l e - h e l i c a l t u r n s i n a c l o s e d c i r c u l a rd u p l e x DNA, t h a t i s , t h e t o t a l n u m b e r o f

r e v o l u t i o n s o f o n e s i n g l e s t r a n d a b o u t

t h e o t h e r , i s a n i n t e g e r c a l l e d t h e l i n k i n gn u m b e r ( 2 ) . T h e l i n k i n g n u m b e r c a n n o t

b e c h a n g e d w i t h o u t b r e a k i n g o n e o r b o t h

s t r a n d s o f t h e d o u b l e h e l i x . DNA m o l e -

c u l e s t h a t d i f f e r o n l y i n l i n k i n g n u m b e r

a r e c a l l e d t o p o i s o m e r s , a n d e n z y m e s

t h a t a l t e r t h e l i n k i n g n u m b e r o f DNA a r ec a l l e d t o p o i s o m e r a s e s ( 3 , 4 ) .DNA g y r a s e ( 5 ) i s a u n i q u e t o p o i s o -

m e r a s e t h a t r e d u c e s t h e l i n k i n g n u m b e r

o f DNA a n d t hu s i n tr o du c e s n e g a t i v es u p e r c o i l s , i n a r e a c t i o n c o u p l e d t o t h eh y d r o l y s i s o f a d e n o s i n e t r i p h o s p h a t e

( A T P ) . T h e g y r a s e o f E s c h e r i c h i a c o l i ,t h e s u b j e c t o f t h i s r e p o r t , i s c o m p o s e d o f

t w o c o p i e s e a c h o f t h e g y r A a n d g y r B

g e n e p r o d u c t s , a n d p l a y s a m a j o r r o l e i nm a i n t a i n i n g t h e n e g a t i v e s u p e r c o i l i n g o fE . c o l i DNA ( 6 ) . M o s t m o d e l s ( 7 - 9 ) f o rt h e m e c h a n i s m o f DNA g y r a s e p o s t u l a t ea n e n e r g y - d e p e n d e n t s e g r e g a t i o n o fDNA i n t o p o s i t i v e l y a n d n e g a t i v e l y s u -p e r c o i l e d d o m a i n s ( w i t h n o c h a n g e i nl i n k i n g n u m b e r ) , f o l l o w e d b y a s e l e c t i v er e l a x a t i o n o f t h e p o s i t i v e s u p e r c o i l s( w h i c h r e d u c e s t h e l i n k i n g n u m b e r ) . T h i s

r e l a x a t i o n h a s u s u a l l y b e e n v i e w e d i nt e r m s o f a t o p o i s o m e r a s e m o d e l f o rw h i c h t h e o p r o t e i n o f E . c o l i ( 1 0 ) i s t h ea r c h e t y p e , e n t a i l i n g n i c k i n g o f o n e

s t r a n d o f t h e d o u b l e h e l i x , r o t a t i o n o f t h ef r e e e n d s a r o u n d t h e h e l i x a x i s t o r e l i e v et h e s u p e r c o i l i n g , a n d r e s e a l i n g o f t h en i c k ( 1 1 ) .

We p r o p o s e t h a t g y r a s e a c t s b y a c a t e -g o r i c a l l y d i f f e r e n t m e c h a n i s m . T h i s m o d -

e l was i n i t i a l l y d e v e l o p e d t o e x p l a i n t w o

o b s e r v a t i o n s . F i r s t , w h e n a c o m p l e x o fg y r a s e w i t h DNA i s t r e a t e d u n d e r c e r t a i nc o n d i t i o n s w i t h a p r o t e i n d e n a t u r a n t ,d o u b l e - s t r a n d b r e a k s a r e i n t r o d u c e d i nt h e DNA w i t h a g y r a s e p r o t o m e r a t -t a c h e d c o v a l e n t l y t o e a c h 5 ' p h o s p h o r y l

S C I E N C E , VOL. 2 0 6 , 3 0 NOVEMBER 1 9 7 9

e n d ( 7 , 1 2 , 1 3 ) . T h i s i m p l i c a t e s a t r a n -s i e n t d o u b l e - s t r a n d b r e a k i n t h e g y r a s e

r e a c t i o n m e c h a n i s m , i n c o n t r a s t t o t h ep r o p o s e d n i c k e d i n t e r m e d i a t e i n t h e r e -a c t i o n s o f t h e p r o k a r y o t i c w p r o t e i n ( 1 4 )a n d t h e e u k a r y o t i c t o p o i s o m e r a s e s ( 4 ) .

S e c o n d , w h e n g y r a s e b i n d s t o DNA i nt h e a b s e n s e o f A T P , p o s i t i v e l y s u p e r -c o i l e d r e g i o n s a r e g e n e r a t e d i n t h e DNA( 8 , 1 5 ) . T h e s e p o s i t i v e s u p e r c o i l s m u s t

b e s t a b i l i z e d b y t h e b o u n d e n z y m e , s i n c et h e y c a n n o t b e r e l a x e d .

O u r m o d e l , c a l l e d s i g n i n v e r s i o n , i s i l -l u s t r a t e d i n F i g . I a n d c o n s i s t s o f t h e f o l -l o w i n g s t e p s .

1 ) G y r a s e b i n d s t o a DNA m o l e c u l e a tt w o p o i n t s s u c h t h a t t h e t w o b o u n d s e g -m e n t s c r o s s t o f o r m a r i g h t - h a n d e d n o d e

( t h e u p p e r o f t h e t w o n o d e s d e p i c t e d i nF i g . 1 ) . T h i s i s s u f f i c i e n t t o s t a b i l i z e a

p o s i t i v e s u p e r c o i l a n d i n d u c e a c o u n t e r -

p o s i n g n e g a t i v e s u p e r c o i l [ r e p r e s e n t e db y t h e l o w e r ( - ) n o d e ] .

2 ) G y r a s e i n t r o d u c e s a d o u b l e - s t r a n d

b r e a k i n t h e DNA a t t h e b a c k o f t h er i g h t - h a n d e d n o d e a n d p a s s e s t h e f r o n ts e g m e n t t h r o u g h t h e b r e a k , i n v e r t i n g t h eh a n d e d n e s s a n d t h u s t h e s i g n o f t h e

n o d e .3 ) T h e b r e a k i s r e s e a l e d o n t h e f r o n ts i d e o f t h e n ow l e f t - h a n d e d n o d e .

T h e n e t r e s u l t o f t h i s p r o c e d u r e i s t or e d u c e t h e l i n k i n g n u m b e r o f t h e DNAb y t w o ( 1 6 ) . R e v e r s a l o f t h e s e s t e p s , t h a ti s , s t a r t i n g w i t h a l e f t - h a n d e d n o d e a n d

i n v e r t i n g i t t o a r i g ht - ha n de d o n e , w o u l d

l e a d t o a n i n c r e a s e o f t w o i n t h e l i n k i n gn u m b e r . We p r o p o s e t h a t t h i s r e v e r s e

p r o c e s s i s t h e p a t h b y w h i c h g y r a s e , i nt h e a b s e n s e o f A T P , r e l a x e s n e g a t i v e l ys u p e r c o i l e d DNA. T h e s i m p l e s t way t oc o n v e r t t h e s e q u e n c e s h o w n i n F i g . I i n -t o a c y c l e i s t o r e l e a s e o n e o f t h e s e g -m e n t s o f DNA f r o m t h e e n z y m e a f t e r t h et h i r d s t e p a n d r e t u r n t o t h e i n i t i a l c o n f i g -u r a t i o n , b u t w i t h t h e l i n k i n g n u m b e r r e -d u c e d b y t w o .

T h e s i g n i n v e r s i o n m o d e l p r o v i d e s a

n a t u r a l e x p l a n a t i o n f o r c r i t i c a l e x i s t i n gd a t a a n d m a k e s a u n i q u e p r e d i c t i o n t h a tw e h a v e v e r i f i e d e x p e r i m e n t a l l y - b o t h

s u p e r c o i l i n g a n d r e l a x a t i o n b y g y r a s e

c h a n g e t h e l i n k i n g n u m b e r o f DNA i ns t e p s o f t w o . A n o t h e r e s s e n t i a l p r e d i c -t i o n , t h a t g y r a s e c a n i n tr o du c e a d o u b l e -

s t r a n d b r e a k , p a s s DNA t h r o u g h t h eb r e a k , a n d r e s e a l t h e b r e a k , i n a n e f f i -

c i e n t , c o n c e r t e d r e a c t i o n , h a s a l s o b e e n

v e r i f i e d - g y r a s e c a n c a t e n a t e ( i n t e r l o c k )a n d u n c a t e n a t e DNA c i r c l e s ( 1 7 ) . L i u e ta l . ( 1 8 ) h a v e a l s o o b t a i n e d e v i d e n c e f o rt r a n s i e n t d o u b l e - s t r a n d b r e a k s i n s o m e

t o p o i s o m e r a s e r e a c t i o n s .T h e u s u a l DNA s u b s t r a t e f o r g y r a s e

r e a c t i o n s i s a h e t e r o g e n e o u s s e t o f t o -p o i s o m e r s w i t h a r o u g h l y G a u s s i a n d i s -t r i b u t i o n o f l i n k i n g n u m b e r s ( 1 9 ) . T h e

o b s e r v e d e f f e c t o f g y r a s e i s s i m p l y t o

s h i f t t he c e n t e r o f t h i s b r o a d d i s t r i b u t i o ns u c h t h a t t h e u n i t o f c h a n g e i n l i n k i n gn u m b e r c a n n o t b e d i s c e r n e d . To d e t e r -m i n e t h i s u n i t , w e t h e r e f o r e u s e d a s u b -s t r a t e t h a t w a s u n i f o r m w i t h r e s p e c t t ol i n k i n g n u m b e r , a p u r i f i e d r e l a x e d t o -p o i s o m e r o f t h e p l a s m i d p l 5 A ( 2 0 ) . T h e

s m a l l s i z e o f t h i s p l a s m i d e n h a n c e d t h ee l e c t r o p h o r e t i c r e s o l u t i o n o f i t s t o p o i s o -m e r s . DNA s u p e r c o i l i n g b y g y r a s e u n d e r

o p t i m a l c o n d i t i o n s i s b o t h p r o c e s s i v ea n d f a s t . T h e r e f o r e , t o o b s e r v e t h e i n i t i a lr e a c t i o n p r o d u c t s , t h e r a t e w a s r e d u c e d

b y l i m i t i n g t h e AT P c o n c e n t r a t i o n t o3 0 M M , a b o u t o n e - t e n t h t h e Km ( 2 1 ) , a n d

t h e r e a c t i o n p r o d u c t s w e r e s a m p l e d a te a r l y t i m e s . To s y n c h r o n i z e t h e r e a c t i o n ,g y r a s e , i n r o u g h l y t w o f o l d m o l a r e x c e s s

o v e r DNA, w a s b o u n d t o t h e DNA i n a

3 - m i n u t e p r e l i m i n a r y i n c u b a t i o n a t 3 0 ° C

b e f o r e t h e a d d i t i o n o f A T P . R e a c t i o n

p r o d u c t s w e r e d e p r o t e i n i z e d ( 2 2 ) a n d

d i s p l a y e d b y e l e c t r o p h o r e s i s t h r o u g h a

1 . 2 p e r c e n t a g a r o s e g e l ( 5 ) .T h e o n l y p r o d u c t s o f t h e r e a c t i o n w e r e

t o p o i s o m e r s d i f f e r i n g i n l i n k i n g n u m b e r

( L k ) f r o m t h e s t a r t i n g m a t e r i a l b y m u l t i -p l e s o f 2 ( F i g . 2 ) . T h i s w a s m o s t c l e a r l ys e e n a f t e r 5 s e c o n d s ( l a n e c ) , w h e n t h em a j o r p r o d u c t h a d a l i n k i n g n u m b e r r e -d u c e d b y 2 ( A L k = - 2 ) , a n d p r o d u c t s

w i t h AL k = -4 a n d -6 w e r e a l s o v i s -i b l e . B a n d s c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o o d d - n u m -

b e r e d A L k ' s , w h i c h a r e p r e s e n t i n t h er e f e r e n c e s e t ( l a n e s d , g , a n d 1 ) , w e r e

s t r i k i n g l y a b s e n t . A t l a t e r t i m e s ( l a n e s e ,f , a n d h t o j ) , t h e l i n k i n g n u m b e r o f t h ep r o d u c t s w a s p r o g r e s s i v e l y r e d u c e d , b u t

t h e e v e r y - o t h e r - b a n d d i s t r i b u t i o n w a s

m a i n t a i n e d . I n a n o t h e r e x p e r i m e n t ( n o ts h o w n ) , w i t h t h e AT P c o n c e n t r a t i o n f u r -t h e r r e d u c e d t o 1 0 1 A M , t h e AL k = -2

t o p o i s o m e r w a s v i r t u a l l y t h e o n l y d i s -c e r n i b l e p r o d u c t o f a 1 0 - s e c o n d r e a c t i o n .T h u s , w h e n DNA i s s u p e r c o i l e d b y g y -

r a s e , t h e q u a n t u m o f c h a n g e i n t h e l i n k -i n g n u m b e r i s 2 .

T h e q u a n t u m o f c h a n g e i n l i n k i n gn u m b e r i s a l s o 2 f o r r e l a x a t i o n b y g y r a s e .A f t e r a 5 - m i n u t e i n c u b a t i o n w i t h g y r a s e

i n t h e p r e s e n c e o f A T P , t h e DNA w a s

h i g h l y s u p e r c o i l e d ( l a n e j ) . A t t h i s t i m e ,n o v o b i o c i n , w h i c h i n h i b i t s s u p e r t w i s t i n gb u t n o t r e l a x a t i o n b y g y r a s e ( 7 , 1 2 ) w a s

a d d e d t o t h e r e a c t i o n m i x t u r e , a n d t h ei n c u b a t i o n w a s c o n t i n u e d f o r 3 0 m i n u t e s .

0 0 3 6 - 8 0 7 5 / 7 9 / 1 1 3 0 - 1 0 8 1 $ 0 0 . 5 0 / 0 C o p y r i g h t K 1 9 7 9 AAAS 1 0 8 1

Page 2: Patrick O. Brown and Nicholas R. Cozzarelli- A Sign Inversion Mechanism for Enzymatic Supercoiling of DNA

8/3/2019 Patrick O. Brown and Nicholas R. Cozzarelli- A Sign Inversion Mechanism for Enzymatic Supercoiling of DNA

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/patrick-o-brown-and-nicholas-r-cozzarelli-a-sign-inversion-mechanism-for 2/3

T h e DNA w a s r e l a x e d , g i v i n g a s e t o f t o -p o i s o m e r s d i f f e r i n g i n l i n k i n g n u m b e r

f r o m t h e s t a r t i n g m a t e r i a l b y m u l t i p l e s o f

2 ( l a n e k ) . T h i s " r e c a l l " e x p e r i m e n t a l s os h o w e d t h a t t h e u n r e s o l v e d t o p o i s o m e r s

i n t h e h i g h l y s u p e r c o i l e d b a n d d i f f e r e d i nl i n k i n g n u m b e r f r o m t h e s t a r t i n g m a t e r i a lb y m u l t i p l e s o f 2 . T h e c o n s e q u e n c e o f

t h e d o u b l e - s t r a n d b r e a k i n t h e s i g n i n -v e r s i o n m e c h a n i s m i s a q u a s i - l i n e a r

DNA m o l e c u l e m ai n ta i n e d a s a c i r c l eo n l y b y n o n c o v a l e n t b o n d s b e t w e e n g y -

r a s e p r o t o m e r s , t w o o f w h i c h a r e c o v a -

l e n t l y a t t a c h e d t o t h e 5 ' t e r m i n i . T h e

DNA e n d s m u s t b e p r e v e n t e d f r o m r o t a t -i n g r e l a t i v e t o o n e a n o t h e r d u r i n g s i g ni n v e r s i o n , l e s t s u p e r c o i l s b e d i s s i p a t e d .T h e r e c a l l e x p e r i m e n t i s a s t r i n g e n t t e s tf o r s u c h s l i p p a g e . I t c l e a r l y s h o w e d

t h a t n o n e o c c u r r e d ( u n l e s s b y s t e p s o f

2 ) , s i n c e t h e r e w e r e n o b a n d s d i f f e r -i n g i n l i n k i n g n u m b e r f r o m t h e s t a r t i n g

m a t e r i a l b y a n o d d n u m b e r e v e n a f t e ra c y c l e o f s u p e r t w i s t i n g a n d r e l a x a t i o n .

As a c o n t r o l ( n o t s h o w n ) , t h e s u p e r -

t w i s t e d DNA s h o w n i n l a n e j w a s r e l a x e db y a d d i n g E . c o l i ) p r o t e i n a f t e r h e a t - i n -a c t i v a t i n g g y r a s e . T h e p r o d u c t c o n s i s t e do f a d i s t r i b u t i o n o f r e l a x e d t o p o i s o m e r s

d i f f e r i n g i n l i n k i n g n u m b e r b y 1 r a t h e rt h a n 2 .

G y r a s e c h a n g e s t h e l i n k i n g n u m b e r o f

DNA i n s t e p s o f t w o . T h i s p r o p e r t y , t h eo b s e r v a t i o n t h a t g y r a s e m a k e s d o u b l e -

s t r a n d b r e a k s r a t h e r t h a n n i c k s i n DNA,a n d t h e d e m o n s t r a t i o n t h a t g y r a s e c a n

c a t e n a t e DNA a n d t h e r e f o r e c a n p a s s a

DNA d u p l e x t h r o u g h a t r a n s i e n t d o u b l e -

s t r a n d b r e a k c o n s t i t u t e s t r o n g e v i d e n c e

t h a t s i g n i n v e r s i o n i s t h e e s s e n t i a l f e a t u r eo f t h e m e c h a n i s m o f DNA g y r a s e . C a t e -

n a t i o n f o l l o w s d i r e c t l y f r o m s i g n i n v e r -s i o n w h e n t h e t w o c r o s s i n g s e g m e n t s o f

t h e n o d e a r e c o n t r i b u t e d b y d i f f e r e n t

Fig. 1. The s i g n i n -

v e r s i o n m o d e l f o r e n -

z y n i a t i c s u p e r c o i l i n g st ab il iz e break r e s e a l

ofDNA.The enzyme po sit iv e

maintains and acts at

the upper node; the , 2 3

( + ) a n d ( - ) s y m b o l s (-

r e f e r t o t h e s i g n s o f

t h e n o d e s ( 2 7 ) . S i n c e

t h e s e c o n d a n d f o u r t h

s t r u c t u r e s i n t h e s e q u e n c e e a c h h a v e a v e r t i c a l d y a d a x i s o f symmetry w h i c h passes t h r o u g h t h e

t w o n o d e s , b r e ak i n g t h e f r o n t segment a n d r e s e a l i n g i t on t h e b a c k s i d e i s a n o p e r at i o n e q u i v a -

l e n t t o t h e o n e s h o w n .

a b c d e f g h i i k I, A L k

-+2 ( a n d n i c k e d )

-+1

I-0

|"

(linear)

1 - - I

-2

-3-4

-5

-6

F i g . 2 . G y r a s e c h a n g e s t h e l i n k i n g n u m b e r o f DNA i n s t e p s o f t w o . T h e 1 5 0 S - l I gyras e r e a c t i o nm i x t u r e c o n t a i n e d 3 0 mM t r i s - H C l ( p H 7 . 4 ) , 2 5 mM K C I , 8 mM M g C l 2 , 2 mM s p e r m i d i n e - H C I ,5 mM d i t h i o t h r e i t o l , 5 0 , u g o f b o v i n e s e r u m a l b u m i n per m i l l i l i t e r , DNA gyras e r e c o n s t i t u t e df r o m 3 0 0 u n i t s e a c h o f s u b u n i ts A a n d B o f E . c o l i DNA gyras e ( t h e g y r A a n d g y r B g e n e p r o d -

u c t s , r e s p e c t i v e l y ) , a n d I , g o f t h e p u r i f i e d p l 5 A t o p o i s o m e r . A f t e r 3 m i n u t e s a t 3 0 ° C ( a ) t o

a l l o w gyrase t o b i n d t o t h e DNA, AT P was a d d e d , a n d 1 7 - , u l s a m p l e s w e r e r e m o v e d a t t h e s t a r t( b ) , a t 5( c ) , 1 0 ( e ) , 2 0 ( f ) , 4 0 ( h ) , 8 0 ( i ) , a n d 3 0 0 s e c o n d s ( j ) . A f t e r 3 0 0 s e c o n d s , 1 0 P . M n o v o b i o c i nwas a d d e d a n d t h e i n c u b a t i o n was c o n t i n u e d f o r 3 0 m i n u t e s t o a l l o w g y r a s e t o r e l a x t h e DNA( k ) . T h e r e a c t i o n s were s t o p p e d , d e p r o t e i n i z e d , a n d s u b j e c t e d t o e l e c t r o p h o r e s i s t h r o u g h a 1 . 2p e r c e n t agarose g e l t o r e s o l v e t o p o i s o m e r s . As a r e f e r e n c e , a m i x t u r e o f t o p o i s o m e r s o f p l S Ar a n g i n g f r o m f u l l y r e l a x e d t o h i g h l y n e g a t i v e l y s u p e r c o i l e d ( 2 8 ) was ru n i n l a n e s d , g , a n d 1 .

A d j a c e n t b a n d s i n t h e s e c h a n n e l s r e p r e s e n t t o p o i s o m e r s d i f f e r i n g i n l i n k i n g n u m b e r b y o n e . T h ed i f f e r e n c e i n l i n k i n g nu mb er ( , A L k ) r e l a t i v e t o t h e s u b s t r a t e t o p o i s o m e r i s i n d i c a t e d t o t h e r i g h to f l a n e 1 . S m a l l amounts o f l i n e a r a n d n i c k e d c i r c u l a r DNA w e r e p r o d u c e d d u r i n g t h e p u r i f i c a -t i o n o f t h e s u b s t r a t e .

1 0 8 2

DNA m o l e c u l e s . A l t e r n a t i v e e x p l a n a -

t i o n s f o r s u p e r t w i s t i n g i n s t e p s o f t w o ,

s u c h a s t h e s e g r e g a t i o n o f t w o p o s i t i v et w i s t s f o l l o w e d b y t h e i r r e l a x a t i o n , f a i l t oe x p l a i n why r e l a x a t i o n o f n e g a t i v e s u -p e r c o i l s s h o u l d a l t e r t h e l i n k i n g n u m b e r

o n l y b y m u l t i p l e s o f 2 a n d d o n o t a c c o u n t

f o r d o u b l e - s t r a n d b r e a k s o r c a t e n a t i o n .T h e c r i t i c a l f i r s t s t e p i n t h e s i g n i n -

v e r s i o n m e c h a n i s m i s t h e g e n e r a t i o n o f a

r i g h t - h a n d e d n o d e . We c o n s i d e r t w on o n e x c l u s i v e w a y s o f e n s u r i n g t h a t t h en o d e h a s t h e p r o p e r h a n d e d n e s s . T h e

f i r s t i s p o s i t i v e w r a p p i n g o f t h e DNA

a r o u n d t h e e n z y m e ; t h e w r a p p e d DNA

c o u l d b e t h e u p p e r l o o p i n F i g . 1 . S u c h a

s t r u c t u r e h a s b e e n p r o p o s e d b y L i u a n d

Wang ( 8 ) t o a c c o u n t f o r t h e s t a b i l i z a t i o no f p o s i t i v e s u p e r c o i l s b y b o u n d g y r a s e .S u p p o r t i n g e v i d e n c e f o r t h e c o i l i n g o fDNA a r o u n d g y r a s e i s p r o v i d e d b y t h es i m i l a r i t y i n t h e p a t t e r n o f p r o t e c t i o nf r o m n u c l e a s e s a f f o r d e d b y g y r a s e t o t h a t

o b t a i n e d w i t h n u c l e o s o m e s w h e r e w r a p -p i n g h a s b e e n e s t a b l i s h e d ( 2 3 ) .A m o r e s p e c u l a t i v e a l t e r n a t i v e m e a n s

f o r d e t e r m i n i n g n o d e h a n d e d n e s s r e -q u i r e s t w o a s y m m e t r i c s e q u e n c e s i n t h es u b s t r a t e DNA-on e t o o r i e n t t h e s e g -m e n t o f t h e n o d e t h a t w i l l b e t r a n s i e n t l yb r o k e n a n d t h e o t h e r t o o r i e n t t h e s e g -m e n t t h a t w i l l b e p a s s e d t h r o u g h t h eb r e a k . G y r a s e p u r i f i e d f r o m d i v e r s e b a c -t e r i a l s p e c i e s b i n d s t o a n d c a n c l e a v eDNA a t t h e s a m e l i m i t e d s e t o f a s y m m e t -

r i c s e q u e n c e s ( 2 4 ) . T h e u s e o f DNA s e -

q u e n c e s i n d e t e r m i n i n g h a n d e d n e s sw o u l d o f f e r a r e a s o n a b l e e x p l a n a t i o n f o rt h i s p u z z l i n g s i t e s p e c i f i c i t y . A c o n s e -

q u e n c e o f t h i s s c h e m e f o r d e t e r m i n i n gh a n d e d n e s s i s t h a t c a t e n a t e d p r o d u c t s

w o u l d h a v e a u n i q u e h a n d e d n e s s . F u r -

t h e r m o r e , t h i s s c h e m e p r e d i c t s t h a t r e -v e r s i n g t h e r e l a t i v e o r i e n t a t i o n o n a

DNA m o l e c u l e o f t h e t w o n o d e - o r i e n t i n gs e q u e n c e s c o u l d " t r i c k " g y r a s e i n t o i n -t r o d u c i n g p o s i t i v e s u p e r c o i l s b y i n -v e r t i n g a l e f t - h a n d e d n o d e .

T h e i n i t i a l p o s i t i v e n o d e i s c o n v e r t e d

b ys i g n

i n v e r s i o n i n t o a

n e g a t i v en o d e .

T h e r e a r e a t l e a s t t w o p o s s i b l e r o u t e s b y

w h i c h t h e g y r a s e - D N A c o m p l e x c o u l d

r e t u r n t o i t s o r i g i n a l c o n f o r m a t i o n . T h e

s i m p l e s t i s f o r g y r a s e t o r e l e a s e o n e o f

t h e t w o s e g m e n t s c o m p r i s i n g t h e n o d e

b e f o r e r e t u r n i n g t o t h e p o s i t i v e n o d e -

b i n d i n g c o n f o r m a t i o n . S i n c e g y r a s e

b i n d s s t a b l y a t t h e s i t e s a t w h i c h i t c a n

c l e a v e DNA ( 2 5 ) t h e s e g m e n t t h a t w a s

p a s s e d t h r o u g h t h e b r e a k w o u l d l i k e l y b e

t h e o n e r e l e a s e d . An a l t e r n a t i v e i s t o r e -g e n e r a t e a p o s i t i v e n o d e d i r e c t l y b y r o -t a t i n g t h e f r o n t s e g m e n t o f t h e n e g a t i v en o d e 1 8 0 0 c o u n t e r c l o c k w i s e r e l a t i v e t ot h e b a c k s e g m e n t , a b o u t t h e a x i s o f t h en o d e ( 2 6 ) . R e g a r d l e s s o f t h e r e s e t m e c h a -

S C I E N C E , VOL. 2 0 6

Page 3: Patrick O. Brown and Nicholas R. Cozzarelli- A Sign Inversion Mechanism for Enzymatic Supercoiling of DNA

8/3/2019 Patrick O. Brown and Nicholas R. Cozzarelli- A Sign Inversion Mechanism for Enzymatic Supercoiling of DNA

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/patrick-o-brown-and-nicholas-r-cozzarelli-a-sign-inversion-mechanism-for 3/3

n i s m u s e d , t h e r e i s e v i d e n c e t h a t g y r a s e

r e m a i n s b o u n d a t t h e s a m e s i t e o n t h eDNA, a c t i n g p r o c e s s i v e l y t h r o u g h c y -c l e s o f s i g n i n v e r s i o n u n t i l b i n d i n g i s s u f -f i c i e n t l y w e a k e n e d b y t h e i n c r e a s e d s u -p e r t w i s t d e n s i t y t h a t t h e e n z y m e i s r e -l e a s e d ( 2 5 ) .

I n c o n t r a s t t o o t h e r m o d e l s , s u p e r -c o i l i n g i s n e c e s s a r i l y q u a n t i z e d i n t h es i g n i n v e r s i o n s c h e m e . T h e c h a n g e i n

l i n k i n g n u m b e r p e r c y c l e i s a l w a y s t w o ,e v e n t h o u g h t h e w o r k r e q u i r e d t o c h a n g e

i t i n c r e a s e s w i t h i n c r e a s i n g s u p e r t w i s td e n s i t y . T h e r e f o r e , i f t h e n u m b e r o f AT Pm o l e c u l e s b o u n d p e r c y c l e i s c o n s t a n t ,t h e t h e r m o d y n a m i c e f f i c i e n c y o f t h e r e -a c t i o n m u s t p r o g r e s s i v e l y i n c r e a s e . A

l o w e r l i m i t o n t h e n u m b e r o f AT P m o l e -

c u l e s h y d r o l y z e d p e r c y c l e c a n b e e s t i -m a t e d f r o m t h e w o r k ( 1 9 ) r e c 4 u i r e d t o r e -d u c e b y t w o t h e l i n k i n g n u m b e r o f t h em o s t n e g a t i v e l y s u p e r c o i l e d DNA m o l e -

c u l e w h i c h c a n b e f u r t h e r s u p e r c o i l e d b y

g y r a s e . S u c h a n a n a l y s i s s u g g e s t s t h a t a tl e a s t t w o A T P ' s m u s t b e h y d r o l y z e d f o re a c h r o u n d o f s i g n i n v e r s i o n .

M o s t o t h e r m o d e l s f o r s u p e r t w i s t i n gi n v o k e a n i n i t i a l e n e r g y - r e q u i r i n g s e g r e -g a t i o n o f p o s i t i v e s u p e r c o i l s f o l l o w e d b y

t h e i r p a s s i v e r e l a x a t i o n . S i g n i n v e r s i o n i sa n a c t i v e p r o c e s s i n w h i c h b r e a k a g e - a n d -

r e j o i n i n g i s i n t r i n s i c a l l y c o u p l e d w i t h t h em e c h a n i c a l e n e r g y - r e q u i r i n g s t e p o fDNA t r a v e r s a l . T h e f o l l o w i n g i s p r e s e n t -e d a s a p l a u s i b l e s e q u e n c e o f e v e n t s l i n k -i n g AT P b i n d i n g a n d h y d r o l y s i s ( 6 ) t o s u -

p e r t w i s t i n g . G y r a s e b i n d s t o DNA f o r m -i n g a r i g h t - h a n d e d n o d e . T h e s u b s e q u e n t

b i n d i n g o f AT P b y t h e g y r B p r o t o m e r s

c h a n g e s t h e c o n f o r m a t i o n o f g y r a s e ( 2 1 )t o o n e t h a t s t a b i l i z e s i n s t e a d a l e f t - h a n d -e d n o d e . To r e l i e v e t h e r e s u l t a n t s t r a i n ,g y r a s e p e r f o r m s t h e r e m a r k a b l e f e a t o fp a s s i n g t h e f r o n t s e g m e n t o f DNA

t h r o u g h a d o u b l e - s t r a n d b r e a k i n t h eb a c k s e g m e n t , a n d p e r h a p s t h r o u g h t h ee n z y m e i t s e l f , w h i l e h o l d i n g b o th e n d s o f

t h e b r e a k s o t h a t t h e y c a n n o t r o t a t e . T h e

e n e r g y o f t h e b r o k e n p h o s p h o d i e s t e rb o n d s , c o n s e r v e d a s a p r o t e i n - D N A

b o n d , i s u s e d t o r e s e a l t h e b r e a k a f t e rs i g n i n v e r s i o n . A f t e r r e s e a l i n g t h e b r e a k ,g y r a s e c a t a l y z e s t h e h y d r o l y s i s o f A T P .

R e l e a s e o f a d e n o s i n e d i p h o s p h a t e ( A D P )

a n d P i a l l o w s t h e e n z y m e t o r e t u r n t o i t si n i t i a l c o n f o r m a t i o n s o t h a t a new c y c l eo f s i g n i n v e r s i o n c a n b e g i n .

P A T R I C K 0 . BROWN

D e p a r t m e n t o f B i o c h e m i s t r y ,

U n i v e r s i t y o f C h i c a g o ,

C h i c a g o , I l l i n o i s 6 0 6 3 7

NICHOLAS R . C O Z Z A R E L L I

D e p a r t m e n t s o f B i o c h e m i s t r y a n d

B i o p h y s i c s a n d T h e o r e t i c a l B i o l o g y

a n d C o m m i t t e e o n G e n e t i c s ,U n i v e r s i t y o f C h i c a g o

S C I E N C E , VOL. 2 0 6 , 3 0 NOVEMBER 1 9 7 9

R e f e r e n c e s a n d N o t e s

1 . W. R . B a u e r , A n n u . R e v . B i o p hy s . B i o e n g . 7 ,2 8 7 ( 1 9 7 8 ) .

2 . F o r a m o r e t h o r o u g h d i s c u s s i o n o f l i n k i n g n u m -b e r , s e e F . H . C . C r i c k , P r o c . N a t l . A c a d . S c i .U . S . A . 7 3 , 2 9 3 9 ( 1 9 7 6 ) .

3 . J . C . Wang a n d L . F . L i u , i n M o l e c u l a r G e -n e t i c s , J . M . T a y l o r , E d . ( A c a d e m i c P r e s s , Ne wY o r k , 1 9 7 9 ) , p a r t 3 , p p . 6 5 - 8 8 .

4 . J . J . C h a m p o u x , A n n u . R e v . B i o c h e m . 7 , 4 4 9( 1 9 7 8 ) .

5 . M . G e l l e r t , K . M i z u u c hi , M . H . O ' D e a , H . A .N a s h , P r o c . N a t l . A c a d . S c i . U . S . A . 7 3 , 3 8 7 2( 1 9 7 6 ) .

6 . F o r r e v i e w , s e e D . T . D e n h a r d t [ N a t u r e ( L o n -

d o n ) 2 8 0 , 1 9 6 ( 1 9 7 9 ) ] a n d N . R . C o z z a r e l l i ( i np r e p a r a t i o n ) .7 . A . S u g i n o , C . L . P e e b l e s , K . N . K r e u z e r , N . R .

C o z z a r e l l i , P r o c . N a t l . A c a d . S c i . U . S . A . 7 4 ,4 7 6 7 ( 1 9 7 7 ) .

8 . L . F . L i u a n d J . C . W a n g , i b i d . 7 5 , 2 0 9 8 ( 1 9 7 8 ) .9 . K . M i z u u c h i , M . H . O ' D e a , M . G e l l e r t , i b i d . , p .

5 9 6 0 .1 0 . J . C . W a n g , J . M o l . B i o l . 5 5 , 5 2 3 ( 1 9 7 1 ) .1 1 . An i n t e r e s t i n g e x c e p t i o n t o t h i s g e n e r a l f o r m i s

s u g g e s t e d b y P . F o r t e r r e ( i n p r e p a r a t i o n ) .1 2 . M . G e l l e r t , K . M i z u u c h i , M . H . O ' D e a , T . I t o h ,

J . T o m i z a w a , P r o c . N a t l . A c a d . S c i . U . S . A . 7 4 ,4 7 7 2 ( 1 9 7 7 ) .

1 3 . A . M o r r i s o n a n d N . R . C o z z a r e l l i , C e l l 1 7 , 1 7 5( 1 9 7 9 ) .

1 4 . R . E . D e p e w , L . F . L i u , J . C . W a n g , J . B i o l .C h e m . 2 5 3 , 5 1 1 ( 1 9 7 8 ) .

1 5 . C . L . P e e b l e s , N . P . H i g g i n s , K . N . K r e u z e r , A .M o r r i s o n , P . 0 . B r o w n , A . S u g i n o , N . R . C o z -z a r e l l i , C o l d S p r i n g H a r b o r S y m p . Q u a n t . B i o l .

4 3 , 4 1 ( 1 9 7 8 ) .1 6 . T h e t o p o l o g y o f s u c h a t r a n s i t i o n i s d i s c u s s e db y F . B . F u l l e r , P r o c . N a t l . A c a d . S c i . U . S . A .7 5 , 3 5 5 7 ( 1 9 7 8 ) .

1 7 . K . N . K r e u z e r a n d N . R . C o z z a r e l l i , i n p r e p a r a -t i o n .

1 8 . L . F . L i u , C . C . L i u , B . M . A l b e r t s , p e r s o n a lc o m m u n i c a t i o n .

1 9 . R . E . Depew a n d J . C . W a n g , P r o c . N a t l . A c a d .S c i . U . S . A . 7 2 , 4 2 7 5 ( 1 9 7 5 ) ; D . E . P u l l e y b l a n k ,M. S h u r e , D . T a n g , J . V i n o g r a d , H . - P . V o s b e r g ,i b i d . , p . 4 2 8 0 .

2 0 . F i f t y m i c r o g r a m s o f p 1 5 A DNA [ N . R . C o z z a -r e l l i , R . B . K e l l y , A . K o r n b e r g , i b i d . 6 0 , 9 9 2

T h e e n d o t h e l i a l c e l l s l i n i n g t h e c e r e -b r a l b l o o d v e s s e l s a r e j o i n e d b y t i g h tj u n c t i o n s a n d c o n t a i n f e w , i f a n y , p i n o -c y t o t i c v e s i c l e s ( 1 ) . T h i s c o n t i n u o u s

e n d o t h e l i a l m e m b r a n e f o r m s a l i m i t i n gb a r r i e r , r e s t r i c t i n g t h e m o v e m e n t o f

many s o l u t e s b e t w e e n b l o o d a n d b r a i n .T h e s t u d y o f m o v e m e n t o f s o l u t e st h r o u g h t h i s b a r r i e r h a s b e e n a d v a n c e d

b y t h e r e c e n t d e v e l o p m e n t o f t e c h n i q u e s

f o r i s o l a t i o n o f m e t a b o l i c a l l y a c t i v e b r a i nm i c r o v e s s e l s ( 2 , 3 ) . E x p e r i m e n t s w i t h

p r e p a r a t i o n s o f t h e s e i s o l a t e d v e s s e l sh a v e s h o w n t h a t t h e y c o n t a i n s p e c i f i ct r a n s p o r t s y s t e m s f o r c e r t a i n a m i n o

a c i d s a n d s u g a r s ( 4 , 5 ) . T h e m e c h a n i s m

b y w h i c h t h e m a j o r c a t i o n s Na + a n d K+

c r o s s t h i s b a r r i e r h a s n o t b e e n e x p e r i -

( 1 9 6 8 ) ] w a s r e l a x e d w i t h p u r i f i e d E . c o l i w p r o -t e i n ( p r o v i d e d b y J . C . W a n g ) , a n d t o p o i s o m e r so f t h e r e l a x e d p l a s m i d w e r e r e s o l v e d b y e l e c -t r o p h o r e s i s t h r o u g h a 1 . 2 - m m - t h i c k , 1 p e r c e n ta g a r o s e g e l ( 4 ) . A f t e r e l e c t r o p h o r e s i s , t h e g e lw a s s t a i n e d w i t h e t h i d i u m b r o m i d e a n d p h o t o -g r a p h e d u n d e r u l t r a v i o l e t l i g h t . W i t h t h e p h o t o -g r a p h a s a g u i d e , a s e c t i o n o f t h e g e l c o n t a i n i n gt h e p r e d o m i n a n t t o p o i s o m e r w a s c u t o u t . T h eDNA w a s e l u t e d f r o m t h e g e l ( 1 7 ) a n d t h e e t h -i d i u m b r o m i d e e x t r a c t e d w i t h 2 - b u t a n o l .

2 1 . A . S u g i n o , N . P . H i g g i n s , P . 0 . B r o w n , C . L .P e e b l e s , N . R . C o z z a r e l l i , P r o c . N a t l . A c a d .S c i . U . S . A . 7 5 , 4 8 3 8 ( 1 9 7 8 ) .

2 2 . R e a c t i o n s w e r e s t o p p e d b y m i x i n g t h e 1 7 - A ls a m p l e w i t h 5 1 . u o f a s o l u t i o n c o n t a i n i n g 5 p e r -

c e n t s o d i u m d o d e c y l s u l f a t e , 2 5 p e r c e n t g l y c e r -o l , 0 . 2 5 p e r c e n t b r o m o p h e n o l b l u e , a n d 1 , u g o fp r o t e i n a s e K a n d t h e n i n c u b a t i n g f o r 1 5 m i n u t e sa t 3 7 ° C t o a l l o w p r o t e o l y s i s .

2 3 . L . F . L i u a n d J . C . W a n g , C e l l 1 5 , 9 7 9 ( 1 9 7 8 ) .2 4 . P . 0 . B r o w n , C . L . P e e b l e s , N . R . C o z z a r e l l i ,

P r o c . N a t l . A c a d . S c i . U . S . A . , i n p r e s s ; A . S u -g i n o a n d K . B o t t , u n p u b l i s h e d d a t a .

2 5 . A . M o r r i s o n , N . P . H i g g i n s , N . R . C o z z a r e l l i , i np r e p a r a t i o n .

2 6 . I n F i g . 1 , t h e a x i s i s a l i n e t h r o u g h t h e n o d e p e r -p e n d i c u l a r t o t h e p l a n e o f t h e p a p e r .

2 7 . T h e s i z e a n d s t r u c t u r e o f t h e l o o p s o f DNA d e -t e r m i n e d b y t h e n o d e h a v e n o e f f e c t o n t h ec h a n g e i n l i n k i n g n u m b e r b y s i g n i n v e r s i o n .H o w e v e r , i f t h e l o o p s a r e i n t e r t w i n e d s o t h a tt h e y a r e t o p o l o g i c a l l y l i n k e d , a k n o t i s p r o d u c e di n t h e DNA b y t h e p r o c e s s o f s i g n i n v e r s i o n .

2 8 . T o p o i s o m e r s t a n d a r d s w e r e p r e p a r e d b y r e l a x -i n g n a t i v e p l S A DNA i n t w o s e p a r a t e r e a c t i o n s ,e a c h c o n t a i n i n g 0 . 5

, go f DNA a n d e i t h e r 5 o r 1 0

n g o f w p r o t e i n . A f t e r i n c u b a t i o n f o r 2 5 m i n u t e sa t 3 r C , t h e r e a c t i o n s w e r e s t o p p e d a n d c o m -b i n e d w i t h 0 . 1 s g o f n a t i v e p l 5 A DNA, t o y i e l da m i x t u r e o f r e l a x e d a n d n e g a t i v e l y s u p e r c o i l e dt o p o i s o m e r s c o v e r i n g t h e r a n g e r e s o l v a b l e b ye l e c t r o p h o r e s i s t h r o u g h a 1 . 2 p e r c e n t a g a r o s eg e l .

2 9 . T h e s i g n i n v e r s i o n m o d e l w a s d e v e l o p e d d u r i n gc o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h o u r f o r m e r c o l l e a g u e N . P a t -r i c k H i g g i n s ; we t h a n k h i m f o r h i s h e l p . S u p -p o r t e d b y NI H g r a n t G M - 2 1 3 9 7 a n d ( t o P . O . B . )NI H f e l l o w s h i p G M - 0 7 2 8 1 .

1 4 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 9 ; r e v i s e d 2 7 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 9

m e n t a l l y d e f i n e d ; h o w e v e r , t h e p r e s e n c e

o f a s p e c i f i c t r a n s p o r t s y s t e m m a y b e i n -f e r r e d .

C e r e b r o s p i n a l f l u i d ( C S F ) a n d b r a i ne x t r a c e l l u l a r f l u i d ( E C F ) a r e i d e n t i c a l o r

v i r t u a l l y i d e n t i c a l ( 6 ) . T h e c o n c e n t r a t i o no f Na + a n d K+ i n t h e n a s c e n t C SF s e -c r e t e d b y t h e c h o r o i d p l e x u s h a s b e e n

s h o w n t o b e d e p e n d e n t o n a o u a b a i n -

s e n s i t i v e p r o c e s s , i n d i c a t i n g t h a t N a + ,

K + - a d e n o s i n e t r i p h o s p h a t a s e i s i n v o l v e d

i n t h e t r a n s p o r t ( 7 , 8 ) a n d t h a t t r a n s p o r to f Na + i s a m a j o r e n e r g y - d e p e n d e n t s t e pi n t h e f o r m a t i o n o f t h e f l u i d . A l t h o u g h

t h e C SF a n d b r a i n EC F a r e c o n t i g u o u s a t

t h e v e n t r i c u l a r w a l l , w h e r e movement o f

e v e n l a r g e s o l u t e s i s n o t i m p e d e d ( 9 ) , i t i s

u n l i k e l y t h a t t h e s e c r e t o r y m e c h a n i s m s

0 0 3 6 - 8 0 7 5 / 7 9 / 1 1 3 0 - 1 0 8 3 $ 0 0 . 5 0 / 0 C o p y r i g h t X ) 1 9 7 9 AAAS

C e r e b r a l V e s s e l s Have t h e C a p a c i t y t oT r a n s p o r t S o d i u m a n d P o t a s s i u m

A b s t r a c t . T h e a c t i v i t y o f N a + , K + - a ct i v a te d a d e n o s i n e t r i p h o s p h a t a s e a n d t h e u p -

t a k e o f a p o t a s s i u m a n al o g , r u b i d i u m , w e r e f o u n d t o b e s i m i l a r i n c e r e b r a l m i c r o -

v e s s e l s a n d c h o r o i d p l e x u s w h e n m e a s u r e d i n v i t r o . T h i s s i m i l a r i t y s u g g e s t s t h a ts o d i u m a n d p o t a s s i u m c o n c e n t r a t i o n s i n t h e n a s c e n t b r a i n e x t r a c e l l u l a r f l u i d a r e

d e t e r m i n e d b y t h e same a c t i v e p r o c e s s t h a t r e g u l a t e s t h e i r c o n c e n t r a t i o n i n n a s c e n t

c e r e b r o s p i n a l f l u i d . T h e b r a i n m i c r o v e s s e l s m a y t h e r e b y p l a y a n a c t i v e r o l e i n b r a i n

p o t a s s i u m h o m e o s t a s i s a n d b r a i n e x t r a c e l l u l a r f l u i d f o r m a t i o n .

1 0 8 3