5 research outputs found
Resolving the Ligand-Binding Specificity in c‑MYC G‑Quadruplex DNA: Absolute Binding Free Energy Calculations and SPR Experiment
We
report the absolute binding free energy calculation and surface
plasmon resonance (SPR) experiment for ligand binding with the c-MYC
G-quadruplex DNA. The unimolecular parallel DNA G-quadruplex formed
in nuclease hypersensitivity element III<sub>1</sub> of the c-MYC
gene promoter regulates the c-MYC transcription and is recognized
as an emerging drug target for cancer therapy. Quindoline derivatives
have been shown to stabilize the G-quadruplex and inhibit the c-MYC
expression in cancer cells. NMR revealed two binding sites located
at the 5′ and 3′ termini of the G-quadruplex. Questions
about which site is more favored and the basis for the ligand-induced
binding site formation remain unresolved. Here, we employ two absolute
binding free energy methods, the double decoupling and the potential
of mean force methods, to dissect the ligand-binding specificity in
the c-MYC G-quadruplex. The calculated absolute binding free energies
are in general agreement with the SPR result and suggest that quindoline
has a slight preference for the 5′ site. The flanking residues
around the two sites undergo significant reorganization as the ligand
unbinds, which provides evidence for ligand-induced binding pocket
formation. The results help interpret experimental data and inform
rational design of small molecules targeting the c-MYC G-quadruplex
The Major G‑Quadruplex Formed in the Human BCL‑2 Proximal Promoter Adopts a Parallel Structure with a 13-nt Loop in K<sup>+</sup> Solution
The human BCL-2 gene contains a 39-bp
GC-rich region upstream of
the P1 promoter that has been shown to be critically involved in the
regulation of BCL-2 gene expression. Inhibition of BCL-2 expression
can decrease cellular proliferation and enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy.
Here we report the major G-quadruplex formed in the Pu39 G-rich strand
in this BCL-2 promoter region. The 1245G4 quadruplex adopts a parallel
structure with one 13-nt and two 1-nt chain-reversal loops. The 1245G4
quadruplex involves four nonsuccessive G-runs, I, II, IV, V, unlike
the previously reported bcl2 MidG4 quadruplex formed on the central
four G-runs. The parallel 1245G4 quadruplex with the 13-nt loop, unexpectedly,
appears to be more stable than the mixed parallel/antiparallel MidG4.
Parallel-stranded structures with two 1-nt loops and one variable-length
middle loop are found to be prevalent in the promoter G-quadruplexes;
the variable middle loop is suggested to determine the specific overall
structure and potential ligand recognition site. A limit of 7 nt in
loop length is used in all quadruplex-predicting software. Thus, the
formation and high stability of the 1245G4 quadruplex with a 13-nt
loop is significant. The presence of two distinct interchangeable
G-quadruplexes in the overlapping region of the BCL-2 promoter is
intriguing, suggesting a novel mechanism for gene transcriptional
regulation and ligand modulation
Selective Lighting Up of Epiberberine Alkaloid Fluorescence by Fluorophore-Switching Aptamer and Stoichiometric Targeting of Human Telomeric DNA G‑Quadruplex Multimer
Aptamers, that exist naturally in
living cells as functional elements
and can switch nonfluorescent natural targets to fluorophores, are
very useful in developing highly sensitive and selective biosensors
and screening functional agents. This work demonstrates that human
telomeric G-quadruplex (HTG) can serve as a potential fluorophore-switching
aptamer (FSA) to target a natural isoquinoline alkaloid. We found
that, among the G-quadruplexes studied here and the various structurally
similar alkaloids including epiberberine (EPI), berberine (BER), palmatine
(PAL), jatrorrhizine (JAT), coptisine (COP), worenine (WOR), sanguinarine
(SAN), chelerythrine (CHE), and nitidine (NIT), only the HTG DNA,
especially with a 5′-TA-3′ residue at the 5′
end of the G-quadruplex tetrad (5′-TAG<sub>3</sub>(TTAG<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub>-3′, TAÂ[Q]) as the minimal sequence, is
the most efficient FSA to selectively light up the EPI fluorescence.
Compared to the 5′ end flanking sequences, the 3′ end
flanking sequences of the tetrad contribute significantly less to
the recognition of EPI. The binding affinity of EPI to TAÂ[Q] (<i>K</i><sub>d</sub> = 37 nM) is at least 20 times tighter than
those of the other alkaloids. The steady-state absorption, steady-state/time-resolved
fluorescence, and NMR studies demonstrate that EPI most likely interact
with the 5′ end flanking sequence substructure beyond the core
[Q] and the G-quadruplex tetrad in a much more specific manner than
the other alkaloids. The highly selective and tight binding of EPI
with the FSA and significantly enhanced fluorescence suggest the potential
development of a selective EPI sensor (detection limit of 10 nM).
More importantly, EPI, as the brightest FSA emitter among the alkaloids,
can also serve as an efficient conformation probe for HTG DNA and
discriminate the DNA G-quadruplex from the RNA counterpart. Furthermore,
EPI can bind stoichiometrically to each G-quadruplex unit of long
HTG DNA multimer with the most significant fluorescence enhancement,
which has not been achieved by the previously reported probes. Our
work suggests the potential use of EPI as a bioimaging probe and a
therapeutic DNA binder
A Series of β‑Carboline Alkaloids from the Seeds of <i>Peganum harmala</i> Show G‑Quadruplex Interactions
In this study, we
screened 17 medicinal plants for binding activity
to G-quadruplex dÂ(TTGGGTT)<sub>4</sub> by <sup>1</sup>H NMR spectroscopy
and found that the crude extract of <i>Peganum harmala</i> L. seeds showed the most potential binding activity. Subsequently, <sup>1</sup>H NMR- and bioassay-guided isolation of the extract of <i>P. harmala</i> L. was performed to obtain four pairs of partially
racemized β-carboline alkaloids, pegaharmines A–D (<b>1</b>–<b>4</b>). Their structures and absolute configurations
were determined by extensive NMR analyses, X-ray crystallography,
ECD calculations, and CD exciton chirality approaches. Interestingly,
pegaharmine D (<b>4</b>), which showed the strongest G-quadruplex
interaction, exhibited significant cytotoxic activity against three
cancer cell lines. This work contributed a practical strategy for
the discovery of novel G-quadruplex ligands from natural products
and provided potential insights for using β-carboline alkaloids
as anticancer lead compounds specifically targeting G-quadruplexes
Structurally Diverse Alkaloids from the Seeds of Peganum harmala
Investigation of the alkaloids from Peganum harmala seeds yielded two pairs of unique
racemic pyrroloindole alkaloids,
(±)-peganines A–B (<b>1</b>–<b>2</b>); two rare thiazole derivatives, peganumals A–B (<b>3</b>–<b>4</b>); six new β-carboline alkaloids, pegaharmines
F–K (<b>5</b>–<b>10</b>); and 12 known analogues.
Their structures, including stereochemistry, were elucidated through
spectroscopic analyses, quantum chemistry calculations, and single-crystal
X-ray diffraction. Notably, the incorporation of pyrrole and indole
moieties in peganines A–B, thiazole fragments in peganumals
A–B, and a C-1 α,β-unsaturated ester motif in pegaharmine
F (<b>5</b>) are all rare, and their presence in the genus <i>Peganum</i> were demonstrated for the first time. All isolates
were tested for antiproliferative activities against the HL-60, PC-3,
and SGC-7901 cancer cell lines, and compounds <b>9</b>, <b>11</b>, <b>12</b>, and <b>13</b> exhibited moderate
cytotoxicity against HL-60 cancer cell lines with IC<sub>50</sub> values
in the range of 4.36–9.25 μM