Neocarzinostatin chromophore-DNA adducts: evidence for a covalent linkage to the oxidized C-5' of deoxyribose.

The nonprotein chromophore of neocarzinostatin forms a variety of adducts with DNA. The predominant adduct recovered from nuclease digests of chromophore-treated poly(dA-dT). poly(dA-dT) is a compound with structure chromophore-d(TpApT). Mild acid hydrolysis of this compound released free adenine, while snake venom exonuclease (pH 6.5) released 5'-dTMP leaving in both cases adducts of slightly altered chromatographic mobility. These results eliminate adenine and 5'-dTMP as possible sites of covalent chromophore attachment. Electrophoresis data suggest that the adduct is not a phosphotriester. At pH 8.6, chromophore-d(TpApT) spontaneously hydrolyzed, releasing chromophore and 3'-dTMP, leaving a modified d(ApT) which contained deoxyadenosine-5'-aldehyde. Deoxyadenosine-5'-aldehyde was released from the modified d(ApT) by snake venom exonuclease, and identified by a series of derivatizations including 1) mild oxidation to deoxyadenosine-5'-carboxylic acid, 2) NaBH4 reduction to deoxyadenosine, and 3) formation of a hydrazone with phenylhydrazine. Since deoxyadenosine-5'-aldehyde cannot exist as such in the chromophore-d(TpApT) adduct, we suggest that the chromophore may be covalently attached to the C-5' of deoxyadenosine as a phosphorylacetal or similar structure. Hydrolysis of the chromophore-acetal bond at pH 8.6 would leave a phosphorylhemiacetal on C-5', which would be expected to spontaneously decompose to yield the observed 3'-phosphate and 5'-aldehyde groups.