The DNA guanyl radical: kinetics and mechanisms of generation and repair.

The one-electron oxidation of DNA bases and single-stranded DNA was studied by pulse radiolysis of aqueous solutions from pH 7-7.4 at 20 degrees C. Thallic ions, Tl(II), were found to rapidly oxidize the purine nucleotides, deoxyguanosine 5'-monophosphate, k[Tl(II) + dGMP2-] = 3.4.10(9) M-1.s-1, and deoxyadenosine 5'-monophosphate, k[Tl(II) + dAMP2-] = 1.3.10(8) M-1.s-1. The reactivities of Tl(II) ions with model pyrimidine DNA bases, 1-methylcytosine and 1-methylthymine, were too low to be measured by pulse radiolysis, k less than 10(7) M-1.s-1. The Tl(II)-mediated oxidation of ssDNA, k = 2.8.10(8) M-1.s-1, produces DNA-guanyl radical, DNA-G.(-H), exclusively. The DNA-guanyl radical is found to be a potent oxidant in neutral media, E7 = 1.04 +/- 0.05 V. It rapidly oxidizes the aromatic amino acids in glycyl-tryptophan and tyrosine methyl ester, k = 3.6.10(7) M-1.s-1 and k = 1.7.10(8) M-1.s-1, respectively. These electron transfer processes indicate that a positive 'hole' may be transferred from DNA to a DNA-associated protein. The positive 'hole' in DNA can also be repaired by antioxidants, which are electron donors. The chemical repair of the DNA-guanyl radical by negatively charged antioxidants is slower than that by positively charged and neutral antioxidants.