Junctions between i-motif tetramers in supramolecular structures

The symmetry of i-motif tetramers gives to cytidine-rich oligonucleotides the capacity to associate into supramolecular structures (sms). In order to determine how the tetramers are linked together in such structures, we have measured by gel filtration chromatography and NMR the formation and dissociation kinetics of sms built by oligonucleotides containing two short C stretches separated by a non-cytidine-base. We show that a stretch of only two cytidines either at the 3′- or 5′-end is long enough to link the tetramers into sms. The analysis of the properties of sms formed by oligonucleotides differing by the length of the oligo-C stretches, the sequence orientation and the nature of the non-C base provides a model of the junction connecting the tetramers in sms

Crystal structures of B-DNA dodecamer containing the epigenetic modifications 5-hydroxymethylcytosine or 5-methylcytosine

5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) was recently identified as a relatively frequent base in eukaryotic genomes. Its physiological function is still unclear, but it is supposed to serve as an intermediate in DNA de novo demethylation. Using X-ray diffraction, we solved five structures of four variants of the d(CGCGAATTCGCG) dodecamer, containing either 5-hmC or 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) at position 3 or at position 9. The observed resolutions were between 1.42 and 1.99 Å. Cytosine modification in all cases influences neither the whole B-DNA double helix structure nor the modified base pair geometry. The additional hydroxyl group of 5-hmC with rotational freedom along the C5-C5A bond is preferentially oriented in the 3′ direction. A comparison of thermodynamic properties of the dodecamers shows no effect of 5-mC modification and a sequence-dependent only slight destabilizing effect of 5-hmC modification. Also taking into account the results of a previous functional study [Münzel et al. (2011) (Improved synthesis and mutagenicity of oligonucleotides containing 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, 5-formylcytosine and 5-carboxylcytosine. Chem. Eur. J., 17, 13782−13788)], we conclude that the 5 position of cytosine is an ideal place to encode epigenetic information. Like this, neither the helical structure nor the thermodynamics are changed, and polymerases cannot distinguish 5-hmC and 5-mC from unmodified cytosine, all these effects are making the former ones non-mutageni

Ligand selectivity in stabilising tandem parallel folded G-quadruplex motifs in human telomeric DNA sequences

Biophysical studies of ligand interactions with three human telomeric repeat sequences (d(AGGG(TTAGGG)n, n = 3, 7 and 11)) show that an oxazole-based ‘click’ ligand, which induces parallel folded quadruplexes, preferentially stabilises longer telomeric repeats providing evidence for selectivity in binding at the interface between tandem quadruplex motifs

Development of a series of bis-triazoles as G-quadruplex ligands

Maintenance of telomeres – specialized complexes that protect the ends of chromosomes – is provided by the enzyme complex telomerase, which is a key factor that is activated in more than 80% of cancer cells, but absent in most normal cells. Targeting telomere maintenance mechanisms could potentially halt tumour growth across a broad spectrum of cancer types. Telomeric ends of chromosomes consist of noncoding repeat sequences of guanine-rich DNA. These G-rich ends can fold into structures called G-quadruplexes. Stabilization of G-quadruplexes by small binding molecules called G4 ligands can prevent telomerase enzyme from maintaining telomere integrity in cancer cells. G quadruplexes can exist in other parts of the genome too, especially within promoter sequences of oncogenes, and also be interesting drug targets. Here, we describe the development of a new series of novel bis-triazoles, designed to stabilize G-quadruplex structures selectively as G4 ligands. FRET assays showed two compounds to be moderately effective G4 binders, with particular affinity for the quadruplex formed by the Hsp90a promoter sequence, and good selectivity for G-quadruplex DNA vs. duplex DNA. However, CD spectroscopy failed to provide any information about the folding topology of the human telomeric G-quadruplex resulting from its interaction with one of the ligands. All the new ligands showed potent cell growth inhibitory properties against human colon and pancreatic cancer cell lines, as evidenced by the MTT assay; notably, they were more potent against cancer cells than in fetal lung fibroblasts. Docking studies were performed to rationalize the affinity of these ligands for binding to the telomeric parallel G-quadruplex DNA

5-Formylcytosine alters the structure of the DNA double helix.

The modified base 5-formylcytosine (5fC) was recently identified in mammalian DNA and might be considered to be the 'seventh' base of the genome. This nucleotide has been implicated in active demethylation mediated by the base excision repair enzyme thymine DNA glycosylase. Genomics and proteomics studies have suggested an additional role for 5fC in transcription regulation through chromatin remodeling. Here we propose that 5fC might affect these processes through its effect on DNA conformation. Biophysical and structural analysis revealed that 5fC alters the structure of the DNA double helix and leads to a conformation unique among known DNA structures including those comprising other cytosine modifications. The 1.4-Å-resolution X-ray crystal structure of a DNA dodecamer comprising three 5fCpG sites shows how 5fC changes the geometry of the grooves and base pairs associated with the modified base, leading to helical underwinding.E.-A.R. is supported as a Herchel Smith Fellow. The Balasubramanian laboratory is supported by a Senior Investigator Award from the Wellcome Trust (099232/Z/12/Z to S.B.), and it also receives core funding from Cancer Research UK (C9681/A11961 to S.B.). D.Y.C. is supported by the Crystallographic X-ray Facility (CXF) at the Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, and B.F.L. is supported by the Wellcome Trust (076846/Z/05/A to B.F.L.). We thank the staff of Soleil and Diamond Light Source for use of facilities. We thank C. Calladine for stimulating discussions.This is the accepted manuscript for a paper published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 22, 44–49 (2015) doi: 10.1038/nsmb.293

Translation of the FMR1 mRNA is not influenced by AGG interruptions

The fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene contains a CGG-repeat element within its 5′ untranslated region (5′UTR) which, for alleles with more than ∼40 repeats, increasingly affects both transcription (up-regulation) and translation (inhibition) of the repeat-containing RNA with increasing CGG-repeat length. Translational inhibition is thought to be due to impaired ribosomal scanning through the CGG-repeat region, which is postulated to form highly stable secondary/tertiary structure. One striking difference between alleles in the premutation range (55–200 CGG repeats) and those in the normal range (<∼40 repeats) is the reduced number/absence of ‘expansion stabilizing’ AGG interruptions in the larger alleles. Such interruptions, which generally occur every 9–11 repeats in normal alleles, are thought to disrupt the extended CGG-repeat hairpin structure, thus facilitating translational initiation. To test this hypothesis, we have measured the translational efficiency of CGG-repeat mRNAs with 0–2 AGG interruptions, both in vitro (rabbit reticulocyte lysates) and in cell culture (HEK-293 cells). We demonstrate that the AGG interruptions have no detectable influence on translational efficiency in either a cell-free system or cell culture, indicating that any AGG-repeat-induced alterations in secondary/tertiary structure, if present, do not involve the rate-limiting step(s) in translational initiation

Genetic instability triggered by G-quadruplex interacting Phen-DC compounds in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

G-quadruplexes are nucleic acid secondary structures for which many biological roles have been proposed but whose existence in vivo has remained elusive. To assess their formation, highly specific G-quadruplex ligands are needed. Here, we tested Phen-DC3 and Phen-DC6, two recently released ligands of the bisquinolinium class. In vitro, both compounds exhibit high affinity for the G4 formed by the human minisatellite CEB1 and inhibit efficiently their unwinding by the yeast Pif1 helicase. In vivo, both compounds rapidly induced recombination-dependent rearrangements of CEB1 inserted in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome, but did not affect the stability of other tandem repeats lacking G-quadruplex forming sequences. The rearrangements yielded simple-deletion, double-deletion or complex reshuffling of the polymorphic motif units, mimicking the phenotype of the Pif1 inactivation. Treatment of Pif1-deficient cells with the Phen-DC compounds further increased CEB1 instability, revealing additional G4 formation per cell. In sharp contrast, the commonly used N-methyl-mesoporphyrin IX G-quadruplex ligand did not affect CEB1 stability. Altogether, these results demonstrate that the Phen-DC bisquinolinium compounds are potent molecular tools for probing the formation of G-quadruplexes in vivo, interfere with their processing and elucidate their biological roles

Interaction of human telomeric DNA with N-methyl mesoporphyrin IX

The remarkable selectivity of N-methyl mesoporphyrin IX (NMM) for G-quadruplexes (GQs) is long known, however its ability to stabilize and bind GQs has not been investigated in detail. Through the use of circular dichroism, UV-visible spectroscopy and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) melting assay we have shown that NMM stabilizes human telomeric DNA dAG3(TTAG3)3 (Tel22) and is selective for its parallel conformation to which it binds in 1:1 stoichiometry with a binding constant of ∼1.0 × 105 M−1. NMM does not interact with an antiparallel conformation of Tel22 in sodium buffer and is the second example in the literature, after TOxaPy, of a ligand with an excellent selectivity for a specific GQ structure. NMM's stabilizing ability toward predominantly parallel GQ conformation is universal: it stabilizes a variety of biologically relevant G-rich sequences including telomeres and oncogene promoters. The N-methyl group is integral for selectivity and stabilization, as the unmethylated analogue, mesoporphyrin IX, does not stabilize GQ DNA in FRET melting assays. Finally, NMM induces the isomerization of Tel22 into a structure with increased parallel component in K+ but not in Na+ buffer. The ability of NMM to cause structural rearrangement and efficient stabilization of Tel22 may bear biological significance

Circular dichroism and conformational polymorphism of DNA

Here we review studies that provided important information about conformational properties of DNA using circular dichroic (CD) spectroscopy. The conformational properties include the B-family of structures, A-form, Z-form, guanine quadruplexes, cytosine quadruplexes, triplexes and other less characterized structures. CD spectroscopy is extremely sensitive and relatively inexpensive. This fast and simple method can be used at low- as well as high-DNA concentrations and with short- as well as long-DNA molecules. The samples can easily be titrated with various agents to cause conformational isomerizations of DNA. The course of detected CD spectral changes makes possible to distinguish between gradual changes within a single DNA conformation and cooperative isomerizations between discrete structural states. It enables measuring kinetics of the appearance of particular conformers and determination of their thermodynamic parameters. In careful hands, CD spectroscopy is a valuable tool for mapping conformational properties of particular DNA molecules. Due to its numerous advantages, CD spectroscopy significantly participated in all basic conformational findings on DNA

Stacking of G-quadruplexes: NMR structure of a G-rich oligonucleotide with potential anti-HIV and anticancer activity†

G-rich oligonucleotides T30695 (or T30923), with the sequence of (GGGT)4, and T40214, with the sequence of (GGGC)4, have been reported to exhibit anti-HIV and anticancer activity. Here we report on the structure of a dimeric G-quadruplex adopted by a derivative of these sequences in K+ solution. It comprises two identical propeller-type parallel-stranded G-quadruplex subunits each containing three G-tetrad layers that are stacked via the 5′-5′ interface. We demonstrated control over the stacking of the two monomeric subunits by sequence modifications. Our analysis of possible structures at the stacking interface provides a general principle for stacking of G-quadruplexes, which could have implications for the assembly and recognition of higher-order G-quadruplex structures