Structure of DNA enzyme that repairs UV-damaged DNA

A research group led by Dr. Tatsuya Iwata of Toho University and Special Professor Hideki Kandori of the Nagoya Institute of Technology has discovered some sodium-ion-concentration-dependent structural changes in DNA sequences that demonstrate enzymatic activity (DNA enzymes) for the photorepair of UV-damaged DNA. They have also successfully measured the conformational changes that occur during the photorepair of damaged DNA by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The enzyme that repairs UV-damaged DNA was named DNA photolyase, and sunscreen products containing DNA photolyases have now been commercialized. Taking advantage of the high stability of DNA against drying , the improvement in this DNA enzyme is expected to provide clues to the development of sunscreen agents that repair UV-damaged DNA in vivo.

The results were published in the journal ACS Omega on September 29, 2023.

Key Points:

The group succeeded in measuring the structural changes that occur during the photorepair of damaged DNA by finding a sodium-ion-concentration-dependent structural change from a parallel to a hybrid guanine quadruplex in a DNA sequence that demonstrated enzymatic activity (DNAzyme) for the photorepair of UV-damaged DNA.
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was applied to obtain the structural information of the DNA enzyme.
The high stability of DNA against drying and heat is expected to provide clues to enable the development of sunscreen agents using DNA enzymes.

Journal
ACS Omega, September 29 2023 issue

Title
Spectroscopic investigation of Na+-dependent conformational changes of a cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer-repairing deoxyribozyme

Authors
Tatsuya Iwata*, Yuhi Kurahashi, I Made Mahaputra Wijaya, and Hideki Kanodri（*Responsible author）

DOI No.
acsomega.3c05083

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