The Escherichia coli (E. coli) AlkB protein and its functional human homologues belong to a subfamily of 2-oxoglutarate (2OG) dependent oxygenases (2OG oxygenases for simplicity) that enable the repair of cytotoxic methylation damage in nucleic acids and that catalyze t-RNA oxidations. DNA alkylation is a major mechanism of action for cytotoxic anticancer drugs. Thus, the inhibition of oxidative demethylation, catalyzed by these enzymes, has the potential to improve the efficacy of chemotherapies. Here we report that oligonucleotide aptamers constitute a new class of potent inhibitors of 2OG oxygenases. DNA aptamers can selectively bind to AlkB, with nanomolar affinity, and efficiently inhibit catalysis. The mechanism of inhibition was studied by capillary electrophoresis (CE) with laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection. Inhibition constants of the aptamers were determined and shown to correlate well with K(d) values. The results of kinetic analyses imply that the aptamers bind AlkB away from the active site. Our findings should stimulate the development of oligonucleotide aptamers for human homologues of AlkB and further their study as potential enhancers of chemotherapy efficiency.
© 2012 American Chemical Society