DNA cleavage and religation by human topoisomerase IIα at high temperature

A common DNA religation assay for topoisomerase II takes advantage of the fact that the enzyme can rejoin cleaved nucleic acids but cannot mediate DNA scission at suboptimal temperatures (either high or low). Although temperature-induced DNA religation assays have provided valuable mechanistic information for several type II enzymes, high-temperature shifts have not been examined for human topoisomerase II alpha. Therefore, the effects of temperature on the DNA cleavage/religation activity of the enzyme were characterized. Human topoisomerase II alpha undergoes two distinct transitions at high temperatures. The first transition occurs between 45 and 55 degreesC and is accompanied by a 6-fold increase in the level of DNA cleavage at 60 degreesC. It also leads to a loss of DNA strand passage activity, due primarily to an inability of ATP to convert the enzyme to a protein clamp. The enzyme alterations that accompany the first transition appear to be stable and do not revert at lower temperature. The second transition in human topoisomerase II alpha occurs between 65 and 70 degreesC and correlates with a precipitous drop in the level of DNA scission. At 75 degreesC, cleavage falls well below amounts seen at 37 degreesC, This loss of DNA scission appears to result from a decrease in the forward rate of DNA cleavage rather than an increase in the religation rate. Finally, similar high-temperature alterations were observed for yeast topoisomerase II and human topoisomerase II beta suggesting that parallel heat-induced transitions may be widespread among type II topoisomerases.