Issue August 2001

category image Volume 19
No. 1 (p 1-192)
August 2001
ISSN 0739-1102

RADACK, a Stochastic Simulation of Hydroxyl Radical Attack to DNA (p. 141-158)

RADACK was conceived to simulate the radiation-induced attack to different DNA forms and complexes. It allows to separately calculate the probability of attack to each reactive atom of the sugar and of the base and takes into account the sequence-dependent structure of DNA as known from crystallographic or NMR studies or resulting from molecular modelling. The calculations are aimed to assess sequence-, structure- and ligand-dependent modulation of damages of sugar and bases, leading to single strand breaks (frank strand breaks, FSB) and alkali-labile base modifications (alkali-revealed breaks, ARB), respectively. The modelling procedure and the results of simulations for some representative structures (B, Z and quadruplex forms) are here described and discussed. The calculated relative probabilities of OH· radical attack to all reaction sites are compared to experimental FSB and ARB values. By a fitting procedure, the relative efficiencies of conversion of the C4? and C5?- centred radicals into FSB, ε (C4?) : ε (C5?), and the relative efficiencies of base radicals - to - ARB conversion, ε(T) : ε(A) : ε(C) : ε(G), are then deduced for each DNA form. The ability of the model to account for the distribution of damages in DNA-ligand complexes is proven by its successful application to two DNA-protein systems: the lac repressor-lac operator complex and the nucleosome core.

Marie Begusova1
Melanie Spotheim-Maurizot
Denise Sy
Veslav Michalik1
Michel Charlier*

Centre de Biophysique Moleculaire
CNRS, rue Charles-Sadron
F-45071 Orléans Cedex 2, France
1Nuclear Physics Institute
Radiation Dosimetry Department
Na Truhlarce 39
CZ-18086 Prague 8, Czech Republic
*micharli@cnrs-orleans.fr

Purchase Downloadable Full Text PDF of Articles

Corporate User

$100.00

University/Academic User

$50.00

Subscription is more cost effective than purchasing PDFs on-the-fly.  Click here for details.