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Ciaco S, Aronne R, Fiabane M, Mori M. The Rise of Bacterial G-Quadruplexes in Current Antimicrobial Discovery. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:24163-24180. [PMID: 38882119 PMCID: PMC11170735 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.4c01731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2024] [Revised: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a silent critical issue that poses several challenges to health systems. While the discovery of novel antibiotics is currently stalled and prevalently focused on chemical variations of the scaffolds of available drugs, novel targets and innovative strategies are urgently needed to face this global threat. In this context, bacterial G-quadruplexes (G4s) are emerging as timely and profitable targets for the design and development of antimicrobial agents. Indeed, they are expressed in regulatory regions of bacterial genomes, and their modulation has been observed to provide antimicrobial effects with translational perspectives in the context of AMR. In this work, we review the current knowledge of bacterial G4s as well as their modulation by small molecules, including tools and techniques suitable for these investigations. Finally, we critically analyze the needs and future directions in the field, with a focus on the development of small molecules as bacterial G4s modulators endowed with remarkable drug-likeness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Ciaco
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Rossella Aronne
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Martina Fiabane
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Mattia Mori
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy
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Authentication of Covid-19 Vaccines Using Synchronous Fluorescence Spectroscopy. J Fluoresc 2023; 33:1165-1174. [PMID: 36609659 PMCID: PMC9825072 DOI: 10.1007/s10895-022-03136-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The present study demonstrates the potential of synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis for authentication of COVID-19 vaccines from various manufacturers. Synchronous scanning fluorescence spectra were recorded for DNA-based and mRNA-based vaccines obtained through the NHS Central Liverpool Primary Care Network. Fluorescence spectra of DNA and DNA-based vaccines as well as RNA and RNA-based vaccines were identical to one another. The application of principal component analysis (PCA), PCA-Gaussian Mixture Models (PCA-GMM)) and Self-Organising Maps (SOM) methods to the fluorescence spectra of vaccines is discussed. The PCA is applied to extract the characteristic variables of fluorescence spectra by analysing the major attributes. The results indicated that the first three principal components (PCs) can account for 99.5% of the total variance in the data. The PC scores plot showed two distinct clusters corresponding to the DNA-based vaccines and mRNA-based vaccines respectively. PCA-GMM clustering complemented the PCA clusters by further classifying the mRNA-based vaccines and the GMM clusters revealed three mRNA-based vaccines that were not clustered with the other vaccines. SOM complemented both PCA and PCA-GMM and proved effective with multivariate data without the need for dimensions reduction. The findings showed that fluorescence spectroscopy combined with machine learning algorithms (PCA, PCA-GMM and SOM) is a useful technique for vaccination verification and has the benefits of simplicity, speed and reliability.
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Thienoguanosine, a unique non-perturbing reporter for investigating rotational dynamics of DNA duplexes and their complexes with proteins. Int J Biol Macromol 2022; 213:210-225. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.05.162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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Ciaco S, Gavvala K, Greiner V, Mazzoleni V, Didier P, Ruff M, Martinez-Fernandez L, Improta R, Mely Y. Thienoguanosine brightness in DNA duplexes is governed by the localization of its ππ* excitation in the lowest energy absorption band. Methods Appl Fluoresc 2022; 10. [PMID: 35472854 DOI: 10.1088/2050-6120/ac6ab6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Thienoguanosine (thG) is an isomorphic fluorescent guanosine (G) surrogate, which almost perfectly mimics the natural G in DNA duplexes and may therefore be used to sensitively investigate for example protein-induced local conformational changes. To fully exploit the information given by the probe, we carefully re-investigated the thG spectroscopic properties in 12-bp duplexes, when the Set and Ring Associated (SRA) domain of UHRF1 flips its 5' flanking methylcytosine (mC). The SRA-induced flipping of mC was found to strongly increase the fluorescence intensity of thG, but this increase was much larger when thG was flanked in 3' by a C residue as compared to an A residue. Surprisingly, the quantum yield and fluorescence lifetime values of thG were nearly constant, regardless of the presence of SRA and the nature of the 3' flanking residue, suggesting that the differences in fluorescence intensities might be related to changes in absorption properties. We evidenced that thG lowest energy absorption band in the duplexes can be deconvoluted into two bands peaking at ~350 nm and ~310 nm, respectively red-shifted and blue-shifted, compared to the spectrum of thG monomer. Using quantum mechanical calculations, we attributed the former to a nearly pure * excitation localized on thG and the latter to excited states with charge transfer character. The amplitude of thG red-shifted band strongly increased when its 3' flanking C residue was replaced by an A residue in the free duplex, or when its 5' flanking mC residue was flipped by SRA. As only the species associated with the red-shifted band were found to be emissive, the highly unusual finding of this work is that the brightness of thG in free duplexes as well as its changes on SRA-induced mC flipping almost entirely depend on the relative population and/or absorption coefficient of the red-shifted absorbing species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Ciaco
- UMR 7021, University of Strasbourg, 74 route du Rhin, CS 60024, 67401 ILLKIRCH Cedex, Strasbourg, Grand Est, 67070, FRANCE
| | - Krishna Gavvala
- UMR 7021, University of Strasbourg, 74 route du Rhin, CS 60024, 67401 ILLKIRCH Cedex, Strasbourg, Grand Est, 67070, FRANCE
| | - Vanille Greiner
- UMR 7021, University of Strasbourg, 74 route du Rhin, CS 60024, 67401 ILLKIRCH Cedex, Strasbourg, Grand Est, 67070, FRANCE
| | - Viola Mazzoleni
- UMR 7021, University of Strasbourg, 74 route du Rhin, CS 60024, 67401 ILLKIRCH Cedex, Strasbourg, Grand Est, 67070, FRANCE
| | - Pascal Didier
- UMR 7021, University of Strasbourg, 74 route du Rhin, CS 60024, 67401 ILLKIRCH Cedex, Strasbourg, Grand Est, 67070, FRANCE
| | - Marc Ruff
- IGBMC, University of Strasbourg, 1 Rue Laurent Fries, 67400 ILLKIRCH Cedex, Strasbourg, Grand Est, 67070, FRANCE
| | - Lara Martinez-Fernandez
- Departamento de Química, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias and Institute for Advanced Research in Chemistry, Madrid, Madrid, 28049, SPAIN
| | - Roberto Improta
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Napoli, Campania, 80134, ITALY
| | - Yves Mely
- UMR 7021, University of Strasbourg, 74 route du Rhin, CS 60024, 67401 ILLKIRCH Cedex, Strasbourg, Grand Est, 67070, FRANCE
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Dziuba D, Didier P, Ciaco S, Barth A, Seidel CAM, Mély Y. Fundamental photophysics of isomorphic and expanded fluorescent nucleoside analogues. Chem Soc Rev 2021; 50:7062-7107. [PMID: 33956014 DOI: 10.1039/d1cs00194a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Fluorescent nucleoside analogues (FNAs) are structurally diverse mimics of the natural essentially non-fluorescent nucleosides which have found numerous applications in probing the structure and dynamics of nucleic acids as well as their interactions with various biomolecules. In order to minimize disturbance in the labelled nucleic acid sequences, the FNA chromophoric groups should resemble the natural nucleobases in size and hydrogen-bonding patterns. Isomorphic and expanded FNAs are the two groups that best meet the criteria of non-perturbing fluorescent labels for DNA and RNA. Significant progress has been made over the past decades in understanding the fundamental photophysics that governs the spectroscopic and environmentally sensitive properties of these FNAs. Herein, we review recent advances in the spectroscopic and computational studies of selected isomorphic and expanded FNAs. We also show how this information can be used as a rational basis to design new FNAs, select appropriate sequences for optimal spectroscopic response and interpret fluorescence data in FNA applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmytro Dziuba
- Laboratoire de Bioimagerie et Pathologies, UMR 7021, Université de Strasbourg, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch, France.
| | - Pascal Didier
- Laboratoire de Bioimagerie et Pathologies, UMR 7021, Université de Strasbourg, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch, France.
| | - Stefano Ciaco
- Laboratoire de Bioimagerie et Pathologies, UMR 7021, Université de Strasbourg, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch, France. and Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Anders Barth
- Institut für Physikalische Chemie, Lehrstuhl für Molekulare Physikalische Chemie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Claus A M Seidel
- Institut für Physikalische Chemie, Lehrstuhl für Molekulare Physikalische Chemie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Yves Mély
- Laboratoire de Bioimagerie et Pathologies, UMR 7021, Université de Strasbourg, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch, France.
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Kuchlyan J, Martinez-Fernandez L, Mori M, Gavvala K, Ciaco S, Boudier C, Richert L, Didier P, Tor Y, Improta R, Mély Y. What Makes Thienoguanosine an Outstanding Fluorescent DNA Probe? J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:16999-17014. [PMID: 32915558 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c06165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Thienoguanosine (thG) is an isomorphic guanosine (G) surrogate that almost perfectly mimics G in nucleic acids. To exploit its full potential and lay the foundation for future applications, 20 DNA duplexes, where the bases facing and neighboring thG were systematically varied, were thoroughly studied using fluorescence spectroscopy, molecular dynamics simulations, and mixed quantum mechanical/molecular mechanics calculations, yielding a comprehensive understanding of its photophysics in DNA. In matched duplexes, thG's hypochromism was larger for flanking G/C residues but its fluorescence quantum yield (QY) and lifetime values were almost independent of the flanking bases. This was attributed to high duplex stability, which maintains a steady orientation and distance between nucleobases, so that a similar charge transfer (CT) mechanism governs the photophysics of thG independently of its flanking nucleobases. thG can therefore replace any G residue in matched duplexes, while always maintaining similar photophysical features. In contrast, the local destabilization induced by a mismatch or an abasic site restores a strong dependence of thG's QY and lifetime values on its environmental context, depending on the CT route efficiency and solvent exposure of thG. Due to this exquisite sensitivity, thG appears ideal for monitoring local structural changes and single nucleotide polymorphism. Moreover, thG's dominant fluorescence lifetime in DNA is unusually long (9-29 ns), facilitating its selective measurement in complex media using a lifetime-based or a time-gated detection scheme. Taken together, our data highlight thG as an outstanding emissive substitute for G with good QY, long fluorescence lifetimes, and exquisite sensitivity to local structural changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jagannath Kuchlyan
- Laboratoire de Bioimagerie et Pathologies, UMR 7021 CNRS Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch, France
| | - Lara Martinez-Fernandez
- Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias and Institute for Advanced Research in Chemistry (IADCHEM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Campus de Excelencia UAM-CSIC, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Mattia Mori
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Krishna Gavvala
- Laboratoire de Bioimagerie et Pathologies, UMR 7021 CNRS Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch, France
| | - Stefano Ciaco
- Laboratoire de Bioimagerie et Pathologies, UMR 7021 CNRS Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch, France.,Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Christian Boudier
- Laboratoire de Bioimagerie et Pathologies, UMR 7021 CNRS Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch, France
| | - Ludovic Richert
- Laboratoire de Bioimagerie et Pathologies, UMR 7021 CNRS Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch, France
| | - Pascal Didier
- Laboratoire de Bioimagerie et Pathologies, UMR 7021 CNRS Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch, France
| | - Yitzhak Tor
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0358, United States
| | - Roberto Improta
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto Biostrutture e Bioimmagini, Via Mezzocannone 16, 80134 Napoli, Italy
| | - Yves Mély
- Laboratoire de Bioimagerie et Pathologies, UMR 7021 CNRS Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch, France
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Sanches de Araújo AV, Valverde D, Canuto S, Borin AC. Solvation Structures and Deactivation Pathways of Luminescent Isothiazole-Derived Nucleobases: tzA, tzG, and tzI. J Phys Chem A 2020; 124:6834-6844. [PMID: 32786984 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.0c03398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
The photophysical relaxation pathways of tzA, tzG, and tzI luminescent nucleobases were investigated with the MS-CASPT2 quantum-chemical method and double-ζ basis sets (cc-pVDZ) in gas and condensed phases (1,4-dioxane and water) with the sequential Monte Carlo/CASPT2 and free energy gradient (FEG) methods. Solvation shell structures, in the ground and excited states, were examined with the pairwise radial distribution function (G(r)) and solute-solvent hydrogen-bond networks. Site-specific hydrogen bonding analysis evidenced relevant changes between both electronic states. The three luminescent nucleobases share a common photophysical pattern, summarized as the lowest-lying 1(ππ*) bright state that is populated directly after the absorption of radiation and evolves barrierless to the minimum energy structure, from where the excess of energy is released by fluorescence. From the 1(ππ*)min region, the conical intersection with the ground state ((ππ*/GS)CI) is not accessible due to the presence of high energetic barriers. By combining the present results with those reported earlier by us for the pyrimidine fluorescent nucleobases, we present a comprehensive description of the photophysical properties of this important class of new fluorescent nucleosides.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Danillo Valverde
- Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão 1371, 05508-090 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Sylvio Canuto
- Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão 1371, 05508-090 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Antonio Carlos Borin
- Department of Fundamental Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes 748, 05508-000 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Didier P, Kuchlyan J, Martinez-Fernandez L, Gosset P, Léonard J, Tor Y, Improta R, Mély Y. Deciphering the pH-dependence of ground- and excited-state equilibria of thienoguanine. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:7381-7391. [PMID: 32211689 DOI: 10.1039/c9cp06931c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The thienoguanine nucleobase (thGb) is an isomorphic fluorescent analogue of guanine. In aqueous buffer at neutral pH, thGb exists as a mixture of two ground-state H1 and H3 keto-amino tautomers with distinct absorption and emission spectra and high quantum yield. In this work, we performed the first systematic photophysical characterization of thGb as a function of pH (2 to 12). Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopies, supplemented with theoretical calculations, enabled us to identify three additional thGb forms, resulting from pH-dependent ground-state and excited-state reactions. Moreover, a thorough analysis allowed us to retrieve their individual absorption and emission spectra as well as the equilibrium constants which govern their interconversion. From these data, the complete photoluminescence pathway of thGb in aqueous solution and its dependence as a function of pH was deduced. As the identified forms differ by their spectra and fluorescence lifetime, thGb could be used as a probe for sensing local pH changes under acidic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Didier
- Laboratoire de Bioimagerie et Pathologies, UMR 7021 CNRS Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch, France.
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