Physiological consequences and potential role of uracil substitution in genomes of model organisms

Conventionally, deoxyuridine incorporation into DNA is regarded to represent erroneous lesions, however chemical features of the uracil base does not show a remarkable difference from thymine except from a single methyl group at  the 5th position of the pyrimidine ring. As the balance of the cellular nucleotide pool is deterministic in the quality of DNA synthesis, dUTPase catalyzing the hydrolysis of dUTP is a major player in the maintenance of this balance and uracil-free genome. Our research is focused on the genome metabolism of uracil substituted DNA in the framework of a new paradigm, suggesting that deoxyuridine lesions might assign unique fate for DNA in special cases. These cases are extensively studied recently by a set of research groups including ours.  The special instances in which the presence of uracil was verified to have a unique role are the following:

- Immunoglobuline gene diversification

- Transcriptional regulation

- HIV life cycle

- and developmental biology

We focus on some of the above mentioned or other examples of uracil-DNA mediated cellular events. We employ this paradigm on model organisms such as mammalian or tumor-derived cell lines and Drosophila melanogaster. The physiological role of uracil substituted DNA is studied either genome scale by methods of molecular and cell biology. In Drosophila, complex developmental consequences are also examined in our lab.


Muha et al, 2012 PLoS Genetics




Interconnections of thymineless cell death with cellular signaling pathways

Almost all organisms employ a cluster of metabolic enzymes devoted for thymine biosynthesis in order to utilize thymine bases instead of uracil in their genome. The medical significance of this metabolic pathway is marked by the fact that nearly one-third of anti-cancer drugs used in clinics are targeted against thymidilate biosynthesis (such as fluoro-pyrimidines, anti folates) potentially inducing the so called thymine-less cell death. Personalized medicine aiming to minimize side effects and maximize the efficiency of chemotherapies requires prior knowledge about the characteristics of tumorous cells in order to predict the desired effect of a particular drug. Detailed mapping of protein networks participating or being affected by thymine-less cell death help us to estimate the receptivity of tumorous cells for drugs targeting thymidilate biosynthesis. We would like to contribute for this knowledge through our research that includes the characterization of thymine-less cell death. We especially aim to explore the involvement of dUTPase in the cellular process of thymine-less cell death. 




Study of a molecular switch: Structural and molecular biological research on the Staphylococcus aureus pathogenicity island regulation

The bacterial genom frequently contains mobile genetic elements, which can replicate more or less independently from the bacterial chromosome. Some of these are phage related such as the pathogenicity islands (PIs), which have significant biomedical importance, since these are responsible for horizontal transfer of several toxins and virulence factors (for eg. the toxic shock syndrome).

Phage mediated mobilisation of some Staphylococcus aureus PIs are induced by formation of a repressor:derepressor complex of the Staphylococcal repressor protein (Stl) with a phage-related dUTPase. Studying the detailed mechanism of this interaction can provide much needed deep insight into bacterial gene expression regulation pathways, and potentially facilitates the design of new anti-bacterial compounds. In this project we investigate this system using various in vitro techniques ( native gel electrophoresis, electrophoretic mobility shift assay, steady-state and transient kinetics, VIS and fluorescence spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and X-ray crystallography).




dNTP metabolism in genotoxic stress tolerance

Cells maintain a fine-tuned concentration balance in the pool of deoxyribonucleoside 5’-triphosphates (dNTPs). The perturbation of this balance results in "mutator" phenotypes characterized by increased mutation frequencies. Genotoxic stress acts upon the dNTP pool directly and also via the SOS response to DNA damage. Our model is Mycobacterium smegmatis that shares the DNA metabolic and repair pathways with the tuberculosis bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This intracellular pathogen is exposed to harsh genotoxic conditions by the host immune defense against them. It is therefore of major importance for these bacteria to develop strategies for the adaptation to genotoxic environmental conditions. We hope to understand how the changes in the dNTP pool possibly promote drug resistance as part of the adaptation to genotoxic stress.

dntp 1

Figure 1. dNTP metabolism in mycobacteria.

Red arrows indicate reactions catlyzed by specific enzymes while all other enzymes are non-specific for the nucleobase. In addititon to the four canonical dNTPs, dUTP, damaged dNTPs and the NTPs can also be incorporated into DNA to a lesser extent.




Design of novel molecular tools

 Coming soon...




Structural and mechanistic insights into antimalarial drug target CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase (CCT) from Plasmodium falciparum

Despite the intensive antimalarial research, malaria is still one of the deadliest infectious diseases today. Among the causative agents, Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for the vast majority of mortal outcomes. The recent challenges include the spread of multidrug resistant strains, urging the discovery of novel antimalarial targets. CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase (CCT) catalyzes the rate-limiting step within de novo phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis, a novel validated antimalarial drug target. We perform biochemical and structural characterization of CCT from Plasmodium falciparum to gain insights in mechanism of action and characterize parasite-specific functional elements. This study was published in FEBS J (PMID: 23578277)

lifecycle CCT5

We have identified key ligand interactions to the choline moiety provided by aromatic and negatively charged residues. This kind of ligand binding site architecture, termed as composite aromatic box is characteristic for the vast majority of enzymes performing catalysis using quaternary ammonium substrates or products. These enzymes play important role in essential biological processes such as neurotransmission and gene expression regulation. Thus the general feature of this discovery allows prediction of enzymatic function for cognate ligand binding sites and provides a framework for rational protein design. Our results may contribute to in-depth understanding of the mechanism of action of an emerging class of antimalarials. The results were published in Angewandte Chemie (PMID: 25283789), leading international journal of the field.

angewandte cct 

Figure 1. Architecture of the investigated enzyme binding site corresponds to a general quaternary ammonium ligand site that is utilized by additional enzymes involved in key biological processes.

Currently we are investigating the mechanistic details of PfCCT membrane binding-induced regulation mechanism including conformational changes of segments and molecular effectors of enzyme activity modulation.




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Genome Metabolism and Biostruct Laboratory

Budapest University of Technology, Ch building
Szt. Gellért square 4.

RCNS HAS Institute of Enzymology
Magyar tudosok korutja 2.