Adenovirus coded deoxyribonucleic acid binding protein. Isolation, physical properties, and effects of proteolytic digestion.

A procedure has been developed for the purification of adenovirus type 2 DNA-binding protein (DBP) from nuclei of infected HeLa cells. This procedure routinely yields 0.2 to 0.6 mg of protein per 10/sup 9/ cells that is greater than 98% DBP. Binding protein so prepared does not precipitate at low ionic strength, interacts with both single- and double-stranded DNA, and complements Ad5 ts125 function in an in vitro DNA synthesizing system dependent upon exogenous DBP. An examination of the hydrodynamic properties of Ad2 DBP indicated that DBP undergoes a concentration-dependent self-association process. In high ionic strength solutions (1.0 M NaCl), self-association is a limited process observed at DBP concentrations above about 0.1 mg/mL; the product is a unit having a molecular weight of a trimer. At low ionic strengths (0.1 M NaCl), self-association is more extensive and is observed at lower protein concentrations. Our findings suggest that units other than the 72,000 molecular weight monomer may interact with DNA in the cell. Purified Ad2 DBP was digested with several proteolytic enzymes to determine if smaller DNA-binding products could be generated that resemble the 48,000 molecular weight species observed in extracts of infected cells. Digestion of purified DBP with Pronase ormore » chymotrypsin produced relatively stable fragments with molecular weights of 45,000 and 53,000, respectively. Trypsin cleavage produced a 51,000 molecular weight fragment that upon continued incubation was further digested to produce a 35,000-M/sub r/ peptide. The production of the 35,000-M/sub r/ peptide by trypsin cleavage of the 51,000-M/sub r/ fragment was not observed if a sufficient amount of DNA was added to the DBP solution prior to trypsin digestion. This result indicates that bound DNA protects a trypsin-sensitive site(s) in the 51,000-M/sub r/ fragment, and it suggests that the 51,000-M/sub r/ fragment contains at least a part of the binding site for single-stranded DNA.« less