Mass spectrometric analysis of the active site tryptic peptide of recombinant O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase following incubation with human colorectal DNA reveals the presence of an O6-alkylguanine adductome

Human exposure to DNA alkylating agents is poorly characterized, partly because only a limited range of specific alkyl DNA adducts have been quantified. The human DNA repair protein, O6-methylguanine O6-methyltransferase (MGMT), irreversibly transfers the alkyl group from DNA O6-alkylguanines (O6-alkGs) to an acceptor cysteine, allowing the simultaneous detection of multiple O6-alkG modifications in DNA by mass spectrometric analysis of the MGMT active site peptide (ASP). Recombinant MGMT was incubated with oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ODNs) containing different O6-alkGs, Temozolomide-methylated calf thymus DNA (Me-CT-DNA), or human colorectal DNA of known O6-MethylG (O6-MeG) levels. It was digested with trypsin, and ASPs were detected and quantified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. ASPs containing S-methyl, S-ethyl, S-propyl, S-hydroxyethyl, S-carboxymethyl, S-benzyl, and S-pyridyloxobutyl cysteine groups were detected by incubating MGMT with ODNs containing the corresponding O6-alkGs. The LOQ of ASPs containing S-methylcysteine detected after MGMT incubation with Me-CT-DNA was <0.05 pmol O6-MeG per mg CT-DNA. Incubation of MGMT with human colorectal DNA produced ASPs containing S-methylcysteine at levels that correlated with those of O6-MeG determined previously by HPLC-radioimmunoassay (r2 = 0.74; p = 0.014). O6-CMG, a putative O6-hydroxyethylG adduct, and other potential unidentified MGMT substrates were also detected in human DNA samples. This novel approach to the identification and quantitation of O6-alkGs in human DNA has revealed the existence of a human DNA alkyl adductome that remains to be fully characterized. The methodology establishes a platform for characterizing the human DNA O6-alkG adductome and, given the mutagenic potential of O6-alkGs, can provide mechanistic information about cancer pathogenesis.