Skip to main content
Log in

Preparation of DNA substrates for in vitro mismatch repair

  • Research
  • Published:
Molecular Biotechnology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Analyses in vitro of correction of DNA mismatches have been pivotal in biochemical dissection of mismatch repair pathways. However, the complex procedures needed to prepare DNA substrates for mismatch repair have posed substantial barriers to investigators who wish to pursue such analyses. Here we describe a simple, efficient way to prepare a variety of mismatched DNA substrates. We use in our procedure high-copy-number pUC19-derived plasmids, and a newly commercially available endonuclease N.BstNBI that makes site-specific single-strand nicks. The ability to prepare large substrate quantities in a relatively short time and to construct wider ranges of different mismatches in various sequence contexts will facilitate future research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Potter, D. (1999) Colorectal cancer: molecules and populations. J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 91, 916–932.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Branch, P., Aquilina, G., Bignami, M., and Karran, P. (1993) Defective mismatch binding and a mutator phenotype in cells tolerant to DNA damage. Nature 362, 652–654.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Kat, A., Thilly, W. G., Fang, W.-H., Longley, M.J., Li, G.-M., and Modrich, P. (1993) An alkylation-tolerant, mutator human cell line is deficient in strand-specific mismatch repair. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90, 6424–6428.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Koi, M., Umar, A., Chauhan, D., Cherian, S. P., Carethers, J. M., Kunkel, T. A. and Boland, C. R. (1994) Human chromosome 3 corrects mismatch repair deficiency and microsatellite instability and reduces N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrososguanidine tolerance in colon tumor cells with homozygous hMLH1 mutation. Cancer Res. 54, 4308–4312.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Risinger, J. I., Umar, A., Barrett, J. C., and Kunkel, T. A. (1995) A hPMS2 mutant cell line is defective in strand-specific mismatch repair. J. Biol. Chem. 270, 18183–18186.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Aquilina, G., Hess, P., Fiumicino, S., Ceccotti, S. and Bignami, M. (1993) A mutator phenotype characterizes one of two complementation groups in human cells tolerant to methylation damage. Cancer Res. 55, 2569–2575.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Hampson, R., Humbert, O., MacPherson, P., Aquilina, G., and Karran, P. (1997) Mismatch repair defects and 0 6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase expression in acquired resistance to methylating agents in human cells. J. Biol. Chem. 272, 28596–28606.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Umar, A., Koi, M., Risinger, J. I., Glaab, W. E., Tindall, K. R., Kolodner, R. D., et al. (1997) Correction of hypermutability, MNNG resistance and defective DNA mismatch repair by introducing chromosome 2 into tumor cells with mutations in MSH2 and MSH6. Cancer Res. 57, 3949–3955.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Corrette-Bennett, S. E. and Lahue, R. S. (1999) Mismatch repair assay. In DNA Repair Protocols: Eukaryotic Systems (Henderson, D.S., ed), Totowa, NJ; Humana Press, pp 121–132.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  10. Holmes, J., Clark, S., and Modrich, P. (1990) Strand-specific mismatch correction in nuclear extracts of human and Drosophila melanogaster cell lines. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87, 5837–5841.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Modrich, P. (1997) Strand-specific mismatch repair in mammalian cells. J. Biol. Chem. 272, 24727–24730.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Lanue, R. S. and Modrich, F. (1989) DNA mismatch correction in a defined system. Science 245, 160–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Parsons, R., Li, G-M., Longley, M. J., Fang, W-H., Rapadopoulos, N., Jen, J., et al. (1993) Hypermutability and mismatch repair deficiency in RER+ tumor cells. Cell 75, 1227–1236

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John B. Hays.

Additional information

Supported in part by NIH grant ESO94848 to J.B.H. This is Technical Report No. 11680 from the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wang, H., Hays, J.B. Preparation of DNA substrates for in vitro mismatch repair. Mol Biotechnol 15, 97–104 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1385/MB:15:2:97

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/MB:15:2:97

Index Entries

Navigation