Oxidative intermediates captured during demethylation of DNA and RNA

School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University, No. 92 Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300072, P.R. China

^* Corresponding author: Jianyu.Zhang@tju.edu.cn

Abstract

DNA and RNA have various methylation modifications or damage that are directly related to some human diseases and physiological regulation. Most of these methylation modifications are reversible and can be dynamically repaired by RNA or DNA demethylases. Over the past few decades, enzymes from the ALKB and TET families have been shown to have the ability to demethylate nucleic acids, which involves intermediates in the oxidative repair process. These intermediates can be accurately captured by advanced methods such as HPLC, LC-MS, TLC, and crystallization, which can significantly promote our understanding of the dynamic mechanism of demethylation. In this review, we discuss recent research advances in this area and raise open questions and constructive opinions about the capture of nucleic acid demethylation intermediates.