Inhibition of Euglena gracilis and wheat germ zinc RNA polymerases II by 1,10-phenanthroline acting as a chelating agent.

Copper complexes of 1,10-phenanthroline (OP-Cu) hydrolyze DNA [D'Aurora, V., Stern, A. M., & Sigman, D. S. (1978) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 80, 1025-1032; Marshall Pope, L., Reich, K. A., Graham, D. R., & Sigman, D. S. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 12121-12128]. This reaction has been studied to determine whether the 1,10-phenanthroline (OP) inhibition of the activity of RNA and DNA polymerases is the result of template hydrolysis or the chelation of a metal associated with and essential to the function of these enzymes. Addition of 4',6-diamino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride (DAPI) to DNA generates a fluorescence signal with a linear increase of the intensity over a broad range of DNA concentrations from 0 to 100 micrograms/mL. The progress of hydrolysis of DNA by DNase I or OP (2 mM) is monitored by the time-dependent decrease in DAPI-induced fluorescence. In the presence of OP, the rate of hydrolysis increases as the Cu2+ concentration in the reaction mixture rises from 10(-8) to 10(-5) M. The rate differs for each nucleic acid template used; hydrolysis of poly(dA-dT) greater than denatured DNA greater than double-stranded DNA. However, millimolar amounts of OP do not hydrolyze the template even in the presence of Cu2+ (10(-6) M) when DNA is complexed with either Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I or Euglena gracilis or wheat germ RNA polymerase II. Under the same conditions, OP inhibits the activity of both varieties of RNA polymerase II with pKi's of 3.4 and 3.0, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)