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Lyu W, Zhu J, Huang X, Chinappi M, Garoli D, Gui C, Yang T, Wang J. Localization and discrimination of GG mismatch in duplex DNA by synthetic ligand-enhanced protein nanopore analysis. Nucleic Acids Res 2024:gkae884. [PMID: 39413157 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2024] [Revised: 09/20/2024] [Accepted: 09/28/2024] [Indexed: 10/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Mismatched base pairs in DNA are the basis of single-nucleotide polymorphism, one of the major issues in genetic diseases. However, the changes of physical and chemical properties of DNA caused by single-site mismatches are often influenced by the sequence and the structural flexibility of the whole duplex, resulting in a challenge of direct detection of the types and location of mismatches sensitively. In this work, we proposed a synthetic ligand-enhanced protein nanopore analysis of GG mismatch on DNA fragment, inspired by in silico investigation of the specific binding of naphthyridine dimer (ND) on GG mismatch. We demonstrated that both the importing and unzipping processes of the ligand-bound DNA duplex can be efficiently slowed down in α-hemolysin nanopore. This ligand-binding induced slow-down effect of DNA in nanopore is also sensitive to the relative location of the mismatch on DNA duplex. Especially, the GG mismatch close to the end of a DNA fragment, which is hard to be detected by either routine nanopore analysis or tedious nanopore sequencing, can be well differentiated by our ND-enhanced nanopore experiment. These findings provide a promising strategy to localize and discriminate base mismatches in duplex form directly at the single-molecule level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenping Lyu
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Environmentally Functional Materials and Technology, Guangzhou University, 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, P.R. China
- Department of Physics, RWTH Aachen University, Templergraben 55, 52062 Aachen, Germany
| | - Jianji Zhu
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Environmentally Functional Materials and Technology, Guangzhou University, 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, P.R. China
| | - XiaoQin Huang
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Environmentally Functional Materials and Technology, Guangzhou University, 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, P.R. China
| | - Mauro Chinappi
- Univ Roma Tor Vergata, Dept Ind Engn, Via Politecn 1, I-00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Denis Garoli
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, 16136 Genova, Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Metodi dell'Ingegneria, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, via Amendola 2, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Cenglin Gui
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Environmentally Functional Materials and Technology, Guangzhou University, 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, P.R. China
| | - Tao Yang
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Environmentally Functional Materials and Technology, Guangzhou University, 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, P.R. China
| | - Jiahai Wang
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Environmentally Functional Materials and Technology, Guangzhou University, 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, P.R. China
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2
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Mackowiak M, Adamczyk B, Szachniuk M, Zok T. RNAtango: Analysing and comparing RNA 3D structures via torsional angles. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1012500. [PMID: 39374268 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2024] [Revised: 10/17/2024] [Accepted: 09/18/2024] [Indexed: 10/09/2024] Open
Abstract
RNA molecules, essential for viruses and living organisms, derive their pivotal functions from intricate 3D structures. To understand these structures, one can analyze torsion and pseudo-torsion angles, which describe rotations around bonds, whether real or virtual, thus capturing the RNA conformational flexibility. Such an analysis has been made possible by RNAtango, a web server introduced in this paper, that provides a trigonometric perspective on RNA 3D structures, giving insights into the variability of examined models and their alignment with reference targets. RNAtango offers comprehensive tools for calculating torsion and pseudo-torsion angles, generating angle statistics, comparing RNA structures based on backbone torsions, and assessing local and global structural similarities using trigonometric functions and angle measures. The system operates in three scenarios: single model analysis, model-versus-target comparison, and model-versus-model comparison, with results output in text and graphical formats. Compatible with all modern web browsers, RNAtango is accessible freely along with the source code. It supports researchers in accurately assessing structural similarities, which contributes to the precision and efficiency of RNA modeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Mackowiak
- Institute of Computing Science, Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland
| | - Bartosz Adamczyk
- Institute of Computing Science, Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland
| | - Marta Szachniuk
- Institute of Computing Science, Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland
- Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznan, Poland
| | - Tomasz Zok
- Institute of Computing Science, Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland
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3
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Ramachandran V, Brown W, Potoyan DA. Nucleoprotein phase-separation affinities revealed via atomistic simulations of short peptide and RNA fragments. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.09.24.614800. [PMID: 39386696 PMCID: PMC11463516 DOI: 10.1101/2024.09.24.614800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/12/2024]
Abstract
Liquid-liquid phase separation of proteins and nucleic acids into condensate phases is a versatile mechanism for ensuring compartmentalization of cellular biochemistry. RNA molecules play critical roles in these condensates, particularly in transcriptional regulation and stress responses, exhibiting a wide range of thermodynamic and dynamic behaviors. However, deciphering the molecular grammar that governs the stability and dynamics of protein-RNA condensates remains challenging due to the multicomponent and heterogeneous nature of these biomolecular mixtures. In this study, we employ atomistic simulations of twenty distinct mixtures containing minimal RNA and peptide fragments to dissect the phase-separating affinities of all twenty amino acids in the presence of RNA. Our findings elucidate chemically specific interactions, hydration profiles, and ionic effects that synergistically promote or suppress protein-RNA phase separation. We map a ternary phase diagram of interactions, identifying four distinct groups of residues that promote, maintain, suppress, or disrupt protein-RNA clusters.
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Urwin DJ, Tran E, Alexandrova AN. Relative genotoxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons inferred from free energy perturbation approaches. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2322155121. [PMID: 39226345 PMCID: PMC11406254 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2322155121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 06/27/2024] [Indexed: 09/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Utilizing molecular dynamics and free energy perturbation, we examine the relative binding affinity of several covalent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon - DNA (PAH-DNA) adducts at the central adenine of NRAS codon-61, a mutational hotspot implicated in cancer risk. Several PAHs classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as probable, possible, or unclassifiable as to carcinogenicity are found to have greater binding affinity than the known carcinogen, benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P). van der Waals interactions between the intercalated PAH and neighboring nucleobases, and minimal disruption of the DNA duplex drive increases in binding affinity. PAH-DNA adducts may be repaired by global genomic nucleotide excision repair (GG-NER), hence we also compute relative free energies of complexation of PAH-DNA adducts with RAD4-RAD23 (the yeast ortholog of human XPC-RAD23) which constitutes the recognition step in GG-NER. PAH-DNA adducts exhibiting the greatest DNA binding affinity also exhibit the least RAD4-RAD23 complexation affinity and are thus predicted to resist the GG-NER machinery, contributing to their genotoxic potential. In particular, the fjord region PAHs dibenzo[a,l]pyrene, benzo[g]chrysene, and benzo[c]phenanthrene are found to have greater binding affinity while having weaker RAD4-RAD23 complexation affinity than their respective bay region analogs B[a]P, chrysene, and phenanthrene. We also find that the bay region PAHs dibenzo[a,j]anthracene, dibenzo[a,c]anthracene, and dibenzo[a,h]anthracene exhibit greater binding affinity and weaker RAD4-RAD23 complexation affinity than B[a]P. Thus, the study of PAH genotoxicity likely needs to be substantially broadened, with implications for public policy and the health sciences. This approach can be broadly applied to assess factors contributing to the genotoxicity of other unclassified compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek J Urwin
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Elise Tran
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Anastassia N Alexandrova
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
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5
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Benvenuti JL, Casa PL, Pessi de Abreu F, Martinez GS, de Avila E Silva S. From straight to curved: A historical perspective of DNA shape. PROGRESS IN BIOPHYSICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2024; 193:46-54. [PMID: 39260792 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2024.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2024] [Revised: 07/30/2024] [Accepted: 09/04/2024] [Indexed: 09/13/2024]
Abstract
DNA is the macromolecule responsible for storing the genetic information of a cell and it has intrinsic properties such as deformability, stability and curvature. DNA Curvature plays an important role in gene transcription and, consequently, in the subsequent production of proteins, a fundamental process of cells. With recent advances in bioinformatics and theoretical biology, it became possible to analyze and understand the involvement of DNA Curvature as a discriminatory characteristic of gene-promoting regions. These regions act as sites where RNAp (ribonucleic acid-polymerase) binds to initiate transcription. This review aims to describe the formation of Curvature, as well as highlight its importance in predicting promoters. Furthermore, this article provides the potential of DNA Curvature as a distinguishing feature for promoter prediction tools, as well as outlining the calculation procedures that have been described by other researchers. This work may support further studies directed towards the enhancement of promoter prediction software.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean Lucas Benvenuti
- Universidade de Caxias do Sul. Petrópolis, Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
| | - Pedro Lenz Casa
- Universidade de Caxias do Sul. Petrópolis, Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Fernanda Pessi de Abreu
- Universidade de Caxias do Sul. Petrópolis, Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; Instituto de Biociências, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Genética e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
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6
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Davies JG, Menzies GE. Utilizing biological experimental data and molecular dynamics for the classification of mutational hotspots through machine learning. BIOINFORMATICS ADVANCES 2024; 4:vbae125. [PMID: 39239360 PMCID: PMC11377099 DOI: 10.1093/bioadv/vbae125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2024] [Revised: 08/06/2024] [Accepted: 08/23/2024] [Indexed: 09/07/2024]
Abstract
Motivation Benzo[a]pyrene, a notorious DNA-damaging carcinogen, belongs to the family of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons commonly found in tobacco smoke. Surprisingly, nucleotide excision repair (NER) machinery exhibits inefficiency in recognizing specific bulky DNA adducts including Benzo[a]pyrene Diol-Epoxide (BPDE), a Benzo[a]pyrene metabolite. While sequence context is emerging as the leading factor linking the inadequate NER response to BPDE adducts, the precise structural attributes governing these disparities remain inadequately understood. We therefore combined the domains of molecular dynamics and machine learning to conduct a comprehensive assessment of helical distortion caused by BPDE-Guanine adducts in multiple gene contexts. Specifically, we implemented a dual approach involving a random forest classification-based analysis and subsequent feature selection to identify precise topological features that may distinguish adduct sites of variable repair capacity. Our models were trained using helical data extracted from duplexes representing both BPDE hotspot and nonhotspot sites within the TP53 gene, then applied to sites within TP53, cII, and lacZ genes. Results We show our optimized model consistently achieved exceptional performance, with accuracy, precision, and f1 scores exceeding 91%. Our feature selection approach uncovered that discernible variance in regional base pair rotation played a pivotal role in informing the decisions of our model. Notably, these disparities were highly conserved among TP53 and lacZ duplexes and appeared to be influenced by the regional GC content. As such, our findings suggest that there are indeed conserved topological features distinguishing hotspots and nonhotpot sites, highlighting regional GC content as a potential biomarker for mutation. Availability and implementation Code for comparing machine learning classifiers and evaluating their performance is available at https://github.com/jdavies24/ML-Classifier-Comparison, and code for analysing DNA structure with Curves+ and Canal using Random Forest is available at https://github.com/jdavies24/ML-classification-of-DNA-trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- James G Davies
- Molecular Bioscience Division, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, United Kingdom
| | - Georgina E Menzies
- Molecular Bioscience Division, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, United Kingdom
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7
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Masuda K, Abdullah AA, Pflughaupt P, Sahakyan AB. Quantum mechanical electronic and geometric parameters for DNA k-mers as features for machine learning. Sci Data 2024; 11:911. [PMID: 39174574 PMCID: PMC11341866 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-03772-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 08/13/2024] [Indexed: 08/24/2024] Open
Abstract
We are witnessing a steep increase in model development initiatives in genomics that employ high-end machine learning methodologies. Of particular interest are models that predict certain genomic characteristics based solely on DNA sequence. These models, however, treat the DNA as a mere collection of four, A, T, G and C, letters, dismissing the past advancements in science that can enable the use of more intricate information from nucleic acid sequences. Here, we provide a comprehensive database of quantum mechanical (QM) and geometric features for all the permutations of 7-meric DNA in their representative B, A and Z conformations. The database is generated by employing the applicable high-cost and time-consuming QM methodologies. This can thus make it seamless to associate a wealth of novel molecular features to any DNA sequence, by scanning it with a matching k-meric window and pulling the pre-computed values from our database for further use in modelling. We demonstrate the usefulness of our deposited features through their exclusive use in developing a model for A->C mutation rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kairi Masuda
- MRC WIMM Centre for Computational Biology, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Adib A Abdullah
- MRC WIMM Centre for Computational Biology, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Patrick Pflughaupt
- MRC WIMM Centre for Computational Biology, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Aleksandr B Sahakyan
- MRC WIMM Centre for Computational Biology, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DS, UK.
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8
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Taghavi A, Chen JL, Wang Z, Sinnadurai K, Salthouse D, Ozon M, Feri A, Fountain MA, Choudhary S, Childs-Disney JL, Disney MD. NMR structures and magnetic force spectroscopy studies of small molecules binding to models of an RNA CAG repeat expansion. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.08.20.608150. [PMID: 39229124 PMCID: PMC11370455 DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.20.608150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2024]
Abstract
RNA repeat expansions fold into stable structures and cause microsatellite diseases such as Huntington's disease (HD), myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), and spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs). The trinucleotide expansion of r(CAG), or r(CAG)exp, causes both HD and SCA3, and the RNA's toxicity has been traced to its translation into polyglutamine (polyQ; HD) as well as aberrant pre-mRNA alternative splicing (SCA3 and HD). Previously, a small molecule, 1, was discovered that binds to r(CAG)exp and rescues aberrant pre-mRNA splicing in patient-derived fibroblasts by freeing proteins bound to the repeats. Here, we report the structures of single r(CAG) repeat motif (5'CAG/3'GAC where the underlined adenosines form a 1×1 nucleotide internal loop) in complex with 1 and two other small molecules via nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy combined with simulated annealing. Compound 2 was designed based on the structure of 1 bound to the RNA while 3 was selected as a diverse chemical scaffold. The three complexes, although adopting different 3D binding pockets upon ligand binding, are stabilized by a combination of stacking interactions with the internal loop's closing GC base pairs, hydrogen bonds, and van der Waals interactions. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations performed with NMR-derived restraints show that the RNA is stretched and bent upon ligand binding with significant changes in propeller-twist and opening. Compound 3 has a distinct mode of binding by insertion into the helix, displacing one of the loop nucleotides into the major groove and affording a rod-like shape binding pocket. In contrast, 1 and 2 are groove binders. A series of single molecule magnetic force spectroscopy studies provide a mechanistic explanation for how bioactive compounds might rescue disease-associated cellular phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amirhossein Taghavi
- Department of Chemistry, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Jonathan L Chen
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Center for RNA Biology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
- Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Zhen Wang
- Depixus SAS, 3-5 Impasse Reille, 75014, Paris, France
| | | | | | - Matthew Ozon
- Depixus SAS, 3-5 Impasse Reille, 75014, Paris, France
| | - Adeline Feri
- Depixus SAS, 3-5 Impasse Reille, 75014, Paris, France
| | - Matthew A Fountain
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, State University of New York at Fredonia, Fredonia, NY 14063, USA
| | - Shruti Choudhary
- Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Jessica L Childs-Disney
- Department of Chemistry, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Matthew D Disney
- Department of Chemistry, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
- Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
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9
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Soczek KM, Cofsky JC, Tuck OT, Shi H, Doudna JA. CRISPR-Cas12a bends DNA to destabilize base pairs during target interrogation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.07.31.606079. [PMID: 39131396 PMCID: PMC11312533 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.31.606079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/13/2024]
Abstract
RNA-guided endonucleases are involved in processes ranging from adaptive immunity to site-specific transposition and have revolutionized genome editing. CRISPR-Cas9, -Cas12 and related proteins use guide RNAs to recognize ~20-nucleotide target sites within genomic DNA by mechanisms that are not yet fully understood. We used structural and biochemical methods to assess early steps in DNA recognition by Cas12a protein-guide RNA complexes. We show here that Cas12a initiates DNA target recognition by bending DNA to induce transient nucleotide flipping that exposes nucleobases for DNA-RNA hybridization. Cryo-EM structural analysis of a trapped Cas12a-RNA-DNA surveillance complex and fluorescence-based conformational probing show that Cas12a-induced DNA helix destabilization enables target discovery and engagement. This mechanism of initial DNA interrogation resembles that of CRISPR-Cas9 despite distinct evolutionary origins and different RNA-DNA hybridization directionality of these enzyme families. Our findings support a model in which RNA-mediated DNA engineering begins with local helix distortion by transient CRISPR-Cas protein binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna M. Soczek
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley, CA, USA
- Innovative Genomics Institute; University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Joshua C. Cofsky
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley, CA, USA
- Innovative Genomics Institute; University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Owen T. Tuck
- Innovative Genomics Institute; University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Honglue Shi
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley, CA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley CA, USA
| | - Jennifer A. Doudna
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley, CA, USA
- Innovative Genomics Institute; University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley, CA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley CA, USA
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology; San Francisco, CA, USA
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Berkeley, CA, USA
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El-Khoury R, Cabrero C, Movilla S, Kaur H, Friedland D, Domínguez A, Thorpe J, Roman M, Orozco M, González C, Damha MJ. Formation of left-handed helices by C2'-fluorinated nucleic acids under physiological salt conditions. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:7414-7428. [PMID: 38874502 PMCID: PMC11260457 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent findings in cell biology have rekindled interest in Z-DNA, the left-handed helical form of DNA. We report here that two minimally modified nucleosides, 2'F-araC and 2'F-riboG, induce the formation of the Z-form under low ionic strength. We show that oligomers entirely made of these two nucleosides exclusively produce left-handed duplexes that bind to the Zα domain of ADAR1. The effect of the two nucleotides is so dramatic that Z-form duplexes are the only species observed in 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer and neutral pH, and no B-form is observed at any temperature. Hence, in contrast to other studies reporting formation of Z/B-form equilibria by a preference for purine glycosidic angles in syn, our NMR and computational work revealed that sequential 2'F…H2N and intramolecular 3'H…N3' interactions stabilize the left-handed helix. The equilibrium between B- and Z- forms is slow in the 19F NMR time scale (≥ms), and each conformation exhibited unprecedented chemical shift differences in the 19F signals. This observation led to a reliable estimation of the relative population of B and Z species and enabled us to monitor B-Z transitions under different conditions. The unique features of 2'F-modified DNA should thus be a valuable addition to existing techniques for specific detection of new Z-binding proteins and ligands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto El-Khoury
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Cristina Cabrero
- Instituto de Química Física Blas Cabrera, CSIC, Serrano 119, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Santiago Movilla
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Harneesh Kaur
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - David Friedland
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Arnau Domínguez
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada
- IQAC-CSIC, Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - James D Thorpe
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Morgane Roman
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Modesto Orozco
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carlos González
- Instituto de Química Física Blas Cabrera, CSIC, Serrano 119, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Masad J Damha
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada
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11
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Tipo J, Gottipati K, Choi KH. High-resolution RNA tertiary structures in Zika virus stem-loop A for the development of inhibitory small molecules. RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2024; 30:609-623. [PMID: 38383158 PMCID: PMC11098461 DOI: 10.1261/rna.079796.123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Flaviviruses such as Zika (ZIKV) and dengue virus (DENV) are positive-sense RNA viruses belonging to Flaviviridae The flavivirus genome contains a 5' end stem-loop promoter sequence known as stem-loop A (SLA) that is recognized by the flavivirus polymerase NS5 during viral RNA synthesis and 5' guanosine cap methylation. The crystal structures of ZIKV and DENV SLAs show a well-defined fold, consisting of a bottom stem, side loop, and top stem-loop, providing unique interaction sites for small molecule inhibitors to disrupt the promoter function. To facilitate the identification of small molecule binding sites in flavivirus SLA, we determined high-resolution structures of the bottom and top stems of ZIKV SLA, which contain a single U- or G-bulge, respectively. Both bulge nucleotides exhibit multiple orientations, from folded back on the adjacent nucleotide to flipped out of the helix, and are stabilized by stacking or base triple interactions. These structures suggest that even a single unpaired nucleotide can provide flexibility to RNA structures, and its conformation is mainly determined by the stabilizing chemical environment. To facilitate discovery of small molecule inhibitors that interfere with the functions of ZIKV SLA, we screened and identified compounds that bind to the bottom and top stems of ZIKV SLA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerricho Tipo
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas 77555, USA
| | - Keerthi Gottipati
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Sealy Center for Structural Biology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas 77555, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
| | - Kyung H Choi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Sealy Center for Structural Biology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas 77555, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
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12
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Manghrani A, Rangadurai AK, Szekely O, Liu B, Guseva S, Al-Hashimi HM. Quantitative and systematic NMR measurements of sequence-dependent A-T Hoogsteen dynamics uncovers unique conformational specificity in the DNA double helix. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.15.594415. [PMID: 38798635 PMCID: PMC11118333 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.15.594415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
The propensities to form lowly-populated short-lived conformations of DNA could vary with sequence, providing an important source of sequence-specificity in biochemical reactions. However, comprehensively measuring how these dynamics vary with sequence is challenging. Using 1H CEST and 13C R 1 ρ NMR, we measured Watson-Crick to Hoogsteen dynamics for an A-T base pair in thirteen trinucleotide sequence contexts. The Hoogsteen population and exchange rate varied 4-fold and 16-fold, respectively, and were dependent on both the 3'- and 5'-neighbors but only weakly dependent on monovalent ion concentration (25 versus 100 mM NaCl) and pH (6.8 versus 8.0). Flexible TA and CA dinucleotide steps exhibited the highest Hoogsteen populations, and their kinetics rates strongly depended on the 3'-neighbor. In contrast, the stiffer AA and GA steps had the lowest Hoogsteen population, and their kinetics were weakly dependent on the 3'-neighbor. The Hoogsteen lifetime was especially short when G-C neighbors flanked the A-T base pair. The Hoogsteen dynamics had a distinct sequence-dependence compared to duplex stability and minor groove width. Thus, our results uncover a unique source of sequence-specificity hidden within the DNA double helix in the form of A-T Hoogsteen dynamics and establish the utility of 1H CEST to quantitively measure sequence-dependent DNA dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akanksha Manghrani
- Department of Biochemistry, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina 27705, United States
| | - Atul Kaushik Rangadurai
- Department of Biochemistry, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina 27705, United States
- Program in Molecular Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Or Szekely
- Department of Biochemistry, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina 27705, United States
| | - Bei Liu
- Department of Biochemistry, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina 27705, United States
| | - Serafima Guseva
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, United States
| | - Hashim M. Al-Hashimi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, United States
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13
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Orndorff PB, van der Vaart A. Systematic assessment of the flexibility of uracil damaged DNA. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024; 42:3958-3968. [PMID: 37261803 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2217683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Uracil is a common DNA lesion which is recognized and removed by uracil DNA-glycosylase (UDG) as a part of the base excision repair pathway. Excision proceeds by base flipping, and UDG efficiency is thought to depend on the ease of deformability of the bases neighboring the lesion. We used molecular dynamics simulations to assess the flexibility of a large library of dsDNA strands, containing all tetranucleotide motifs with U:A, U:G, T:A or C:G base pairs. Our study demonstrates that uracil damaged DNA largely follows trends in flexibility of undamaged DNA. Measured bending persistence lengths, groove widths, step parameters and base flipping propensities demonstrate that uracil increases the flexibility of DNA, and that U:G base paired strands are more flexible than U:A strands. Certain sequence contexts are more deformable than others, with a key role for the 3' base next to uracil. Flexibilities are large when this base is an A or G, and repressed for a C or T. A 5' T adjacent to the uracil strongly promotes flexibility, but other 5' bases are less influential. DNA bending is correlated to step deformations and base flipping, and bending aids flipping. Our study implies that the link between substrate flexibility and UDG efficiency is widely valid, helps explain why UDG prefers to bind U:G base paired strands, and suggests that the DNA bending angle of the UDG-substrate complex is optimal for base flipping.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul B Orndorff
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
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14
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Lombardo Z, Mukerji I. Site-Specific Investigation of DNA Holliday Junction Dynamics and Structure with 6-Methylisoxanthopterin, a Fluorescent Guanine Analog. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.19.590264. [PMID: 38659790 PMCID: PMC11042373 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.19.590264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
DNA Holliday Junction (HJ) formation and resolution is requisite for maintaining genomic stability in processes such as replication fork reversal and double-strand break repair. If HJs are not resolved, chromosome disjunction and aneuploidy result, hallmarks of tumor cells. To understand the structural features that lead to processing of these four-stranded joint molecule structures, we seek to identify structural and dynamic features unique to the central junction core. We incorporate the fluorescent guanine analog 6-methylisoxanthopterin (6-MI) at ten different locations throughout a model HJ structure to obtain site-specific information regarding the structure and dynamics of bases relative to those in a comparable sequence context in duplex DNA. These comparisons were accomplished through measuring fluorescence lifetime, relative brightness, fluorescence anisotropy, and thermodynamic stability, along with fluorescence quenching assays. These time-resolved and steady-state fluorescence measurements demonstrate that the structural distortions imposed by strand crossing result in increased solvent exposure, less stacking of bases and greater extrahelical nature of bases within the junction core. The 6-MI base analogs in the junction reflect these structural changes through an increase in intensity relative to those in the duplex. Molecular dynamics simulations performed using a model HJ indicate the primary sources of deformation are in the shift and twist parameters of the bases at the central junction step. These results suggest that junction-binding proteins may use the unique structure and dynamics of the bases at the core for recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zane Lombardo
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Molecular Biophysics Program, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Ave, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, United States
| | - Ishita Mukerji
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Molecular Biophysics Program, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Ave, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, United States
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15
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Meger AT, Spence MA, Sandhu M, Matthews D, Chen J, Jackson CJ, Raman S. Rugged fitness landscapes minimize promiscuity in the evolution of transcriptional repressors. Cell Syst 2024; 15:374-387.e6. [PMID: 38537640 PMCID: PMC11299162 DOI: 10.1016/j.cels.2024.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
How a protein's function influences the shape of its fitness landscape, smooth or rugged, is a fundamental question in evolutionary biochemistry. Smooth landscapes arise when incremental mutational steps lead to a progressive change in function, as commonly seen in enzymes and binding proteins. On the other hand, rugged landscapes are poorly understood because of the inherent unpredictability of how sequence changes affect function. Here, we experimentally characterize the entire sequence phylogeny, comprising 1,158 extant and ancestral sequences, of the DNA-binding domain (DBD) of the LacI/GalR transcriptional repressor family. Our analysis revealed an extremely rugged landscape with rapid switching of specificity, even between adjacent nodes. Further, the ruggedness arises due to the necessity of the repressor to simultaneously evolve specificity for asymmetric operators and disfavors potentially adverse regulatory crosstalk. Our study provides fundamental insight into evolutionary, molecular, and biophysical rules of genetic regulation through the lens of fitness landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony T Meger
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Matthew A Spence
- Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Mahakaran Sandhu
- Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Dana Matthews
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Jackie Chen
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Colin J Jackson
- Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide & Protein Science, Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Synthetic Biology, Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
| | - Srivatsan Raman
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
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16
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Rihon J, Mattelaer CA, Montalvão RW, Froeyen M, Pinheiro VB, Lescrinier E. Structural insights into the morpholino nucleic acid/RNA duplex using the new XNA builder Ducque in a molecular modeling pipeline. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:2836-2847. [PMID: 38412249 PMCID: PMC11014352 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
The field of synthetic nucleic acids with novel backbone structures [xenobiotic nucleic acids (XNAs)] has flourished due to the increased importance of XNA antisense oligonucleotides and aptamers in medicine, as well as the development of XNA processing enzymes and new XNA genetic materials. Molecular modeling on XNA structures can accelerate rational design in the field of XNAs as it contributes in understanding and predicting how changes in the sugar-phosphate backbone impact on the complementation properties of the nucleic acids. To support the development of novel XNA polymers, we present a first-in-class open-source program (Ducque) to build duplexes of nucleic acid analogs with customizable chemistry. A detailed procedure is described to extend the Ducque library with new user-defined XNA fragments using quantum mechanics (QM) and to generate QM-based force field parameters for molecular dynamics simulations within standard packages such as AMBER. The tool was used within a molecular modeling workflow to accurately reproduce a selection of experimental structures for nucleic acid duplexes with ribose-based as well as non-ribose-based nucleosides. Additionally, it was challenged to build duplexes of morpholino nucleic acids bound to complementary RNA sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jérôme Rihon
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Herestraat 49, Box 1030, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Charles-Alexandre Mattelaer
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Herestraat 49, Box 1030, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Quantum Chemistry and Physical Chemistry, Celestijnenlaan 200f, Box 2404, B-3001, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Rinaldo Wander Montalvão
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Herestraat 49, Box 1030, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Gain Therapeutics sucursal en España, Barcelona Science Park, Baldiri Reixac 4-10, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mathy Froeyen
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Herestraat 49, Box 1030, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Vitor Bernardes Pinheiro
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Herestraat 49, Box 1030, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Eveline Lescrinier
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Herestraat 49, Box 1030, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
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17
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Mir B, Serrano-Chacón I, Medina P, Macaluso V, Terrazas M, Gandioso A, Garavís M, Orozco M, Escaja N, González C. Site-specific incorporation of a fluorescent nucleobase analog enhances i-motif stability and allows monitoring of i-motif folding inside cells. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:3375-3389. [PMID: 38366792 PMCID: PMC11014255 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The i-motif is an intriguing non-canonical DNA structure, whose role in the cell is still controversial. Development of methods to study i-motif formation under physiological conditions in living cells is necessary to study its potential biological functions. The cytosine analog 1,3-diaza-2-oxophenoxazine (tCO) is a fluorescent nucleobase able to form either hemiprotonated base pairs with cytosine residues, or neutral base pairs with guanines. We show here that when tCO is incorporated in the proximity of a G:C:G:C minor groove tetrad, it induces a strong thermal and pH stabilization, resulting in i-motifs with Tm of 39ºC at neutral pH. The structural determination by NMR methods reveals that the enhanced stability is due to a large stacking interaction between the guanines of the tetrad with the tCO nucleobase, which forms a tCO:C+ in the folded structure at unusually-high pHs, leading to an increased quenching in its fluorescence at neutral conditions. This quenching is much lower when tCO is base-paired to guanines and totally disappears when the oligonucleotide is unfolded. By taking profit of this property, we have been able to monitor i-motif folding in cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bartomeu Mir
- Instituto de Química Física ‘Blas Cabrera’. CSIC. Serrano 119. 28006 Madrid. Spain
- Inorganic and Organic Chemistry Department. Organic Chemistry Section and IBUB. University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1-11, 08028 Barcelona. Spain
| | - Israel Serrano-Chacón
- Instituto de Química Física ‘Blas Cabrera’. CSIC. Serrano 119. 28006 Madrid. Spain
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST). 08028 Barcelona. Spain
| | - Pedro Medina
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST). 08028 Barcelona. Spain
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biomedicina. Facultat de Biologia. Universitat de Barcelona. 08028 Barcelona. Spain
| | - Veronica Macaluso
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST). 08028 Barcelona. Spain
| | - Montserrat Terrazas
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST). 08028 Barcelona. Spain
- Inorganic and Organic Chemistry Department. Organic Chemistry Section and IBUB. University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1-11, 08028 Barcelona. Spain
| | - Albert Gandioso
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST). 08028 Barcelona. Spain
| | - Miguel Garavís
- Instituto de Química Física ‘Blas Cabrera’. CSIC. Serrano 119. 28006 Madrid. Spain
| | - Modesto Orozco
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST). 08028 Barcelona. Spain
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biomedicina. Facultat de Biologia. Universitat de Barcelona. 08028 Barcelona. Spain
| | - Núria Escaja
- Inorganic and Organic Chemistry Department. Organic Chemistry Section and IBUB. University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1-11, 08028 Barcelona. Spain
| | - Carlos González
- Instituto de Química Física ‘Blas Cabrera’. CSIC. Serrano 119. 28006 Madrid. Spain
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18
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Garavís M, Edwards PJB, Serrano-Chacón I, Doluca O, Filichev V, González C. Understanding intercalative modulation of G-rich sequence folding: solution structure of a TINA-conjugated antiparallel DNA triplex. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:2686-2697. [PMID: 38281138 PMCID: PMC10954471 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2024] [Indexed: 01/30/2024] Open
Abstract
We present here the high-resolution structure of an antiparallel DNA triplex in which a monomer of para-twisted intercalating nucleic acid (para-TINA: (R)-1-O-[4-(1-pyrenylethynyl)phenylmethyl]glycerol) is covalently inserted as a bulge in the third strand of the triplex. TINA is a potent modulator of the hybridization properties of DNA sequences with extremely useful properties when conjugated in G-rich oligonucleotides. The insertion of para-TINA between two guanines of the triplex imparts a high thermal stabilization (ΔTM = 9ºC) to the structure and enhances the quality of NMR spectra by increasing the chemical shift dispersion of proton signals near the TINA location. The structural determination reveals that TINA intercalates between two consecutive triads, causing only local distortions in the structure. The two aromatic moieties of TINA are nearly coplanar, with the phenyl ring intercalating between the flanking guanine bases in the sequence, and the pyrene moiety situated between the Watson-Crick base pair of the two first strands. The precise position of TINA within the triplex structure reveals key TINA-DNA interactions, which explains the high stabilization observed and will aid in the design of new and more efficient binders to DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Garavís
- Instituto de Química Física ‘Blas Cabrera’, (IQF-CSIC), Madrid 28006, Spain
| | - Patrick J B Edwards
- School of Natural Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North 4412, New Zealand
| | | | - Osman Doluca
- School of Natural Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North 4412, New Zealand
| | | | - Carlos González
- Instituto de Química Física ‘Blas Cabrera’, (IQF-CSIC), Madrid 28006, Spain
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19
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Patra P, Gao YQ. Structural and dynamical aspect of DNA motif sequence specific binding of AP-1 transcription factor. J Chem Phys 2024; 160:115103. [PMID: 38506297 DOI: 10.1063/5.0196508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Activator protein-1 (AP-1) comprises one of the largest and most evolutionary conserved families of ubiquitous eukaryotic transcription factors that act as a pioneer factor. Diversity in DNA binding interaction of AP-1 through a conserved basic-zipper (bZIP) domain directs in-depth understanding of how AP-1 achieves its DNA binding selectivity and consequently gene regulation specificity. Here, we address the structural and dynamical aspects of the DNA target recognition process of AP-1 using microsecond-long atomistic simulations based on the structure of the human AP-1 FosB/JunD bZIP-DNA complex. Our results show the unique role of DNA shape features in selective base specific interactions, characteristic ion population, and solvation properties of DNA grooves to form the motif sequence specific AP-1-DNA complex. The TpG step at the two terminals of the AP-1 site plays an important role in the structural adjustment of DNA by modifying the helical twist in the AP-1 bound state. We addressed the role of intrinsic motion of the bZIP domain in terms of opening and closing gripper motions of DNA binding helices, in target site recognition and binding of AP-1 factors. Our observations suggest that binding to the cognate motif in DNA is mainly accompanied with the precise adjustment of closing gripper motion of DNA binding helices of the bZIP domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piya Patra
- Institute of Systems and Physical Biology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, 518107 Shenzhen, China
| | - Yi Qin Gao
- Institute of Systems and Physical Biology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, 518107 Shenzhen, China
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, 100871 Beijing, China
- Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center, Peking University, 100871 Beijing, China
- Changping Laboratory, Beijing 102200, China
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20
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Feng H, Lu XJ, Maji S, Liu L, Ustianenko D, Rudnick ND, Zhang C. Structure-based prediction and characterization of photo-crosslinking in native protein-RNA complexes. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2279. [PMID: 38480694 PMCID: PMC10937933 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46429-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
UV-crosslinking of protein and RNA in direct contacts has been widely used to study protein-RNA complexes while our understanding of the photo-crosslinking mechanisms remains poor. This knowledge gap is due to the challenge of precisely mapping the crosslink sites in protein and RNA simultaneously in their native sequence and structural contexts. Here we systematically analyze protein-RNA interactions and photo-crosslinking by bridging crosslinked nucleotides and amino acids mapped using different assays with protein-RNA complex structures. We developed a computational method PxR3D-map which reliably predicts crosslink sites using structural information characterizing protein-RNA interaction interfaces. Analysis of the informative features revealed that photo-crosslinking is facilitated by base stacking with not only aromatic residues, but also dipeptide bonds that involve glycine, and distinct mechanisms are utilized by different RNA-binding domains. Our work suggests protein-RNA photo-crosslinking is highly selective in the cellular environment, which can guide data interpretation and further technology development for UV-crosslinking-based assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huijuan Feng
- Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Xiang-Jun Lu
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Suvrajit Maji
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Linxi Liu
- Department of Statistics, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
- Department of Statistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
| | - Dmytro Ustianenko
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Noam D Rudnick
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
| | - Chaolin Zhang
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
- Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
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21
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Roldán-Piñero C, Luengo-Márquez J, Assenza S, Pérez R. Systematic Comparison of Atomistic Force Fields for the Mechanical Properties of Double-Stranded DNA. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:2261-2272. [PMID: 38411091 PMCID: PMC10938644 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c01089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
The response of double-stranded DNA to external mechanical stress plays a central role in its interactions with the protein machinery in the cell. Modern atomistic force fields have been shown to provide highly accurate predictions for the fine structural features of the duplex. In contrast, and despite their pivotal function, less attention has been devoted to the accuracy of the prediction of the elastic parameters. Several reports have addressed the flexibility of double-stranded DNA via all-atom molecular dynamics, yet the collected information is insufficient to have a clear understanding of the relative performance of the various force fields. In this work, we fill this gap by performing a systematic study in which several systems, characterized by different sequence contexts, are simulated with the most popular force fields within the AMBER family, bcs1 and OL15, as well as with CHARMM36. Analysis of our results, together with their comparison with previous work focused on bsc0, allows us to unveil the differences in the predicted rigidity between the newest force fields and suggests a roadmap to test their performance against experiments. In the case of the stretch modulus, we reconcile these differences, showing that a single mapping between sequence-dependent conformation and elasticity via the crookedness parameter captures simultaneously the results of all force fields, supporting the key role of crookedness in the mechanical response of double-stranded DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Roldán-Piñero
- Departamento
de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Luengo-Márquez
- Departamento
de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
- Instituto
Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma
de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Salvatore Assenza
- Departamento
de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
- Instituto
Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma
de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
- Condensed
Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC), Universidad
Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Rubén Pérez
- Departamento
de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
- Condensed
Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC), Universidad
Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
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22
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Argoubi W, Algethami FK, Raouafi N. Enhanced sensitivity in electrochemical detection of ochratoxin A within food samples using ferrocene- and aptamer-tethered gold nanoparticles on disposable electrodes. RSC Adv 2024; 14:8007-8015. [PMID: 38454949 PMCID: PMC10918640 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra08567h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Ensuring food security is crucial for public health, and the presence of mycotoxins, produced by fungi in improperly stored processed or unprocessed food, poses a significant threat. This research introduces a novel approach - a disposable aptasensing platform designed for the detection of ochratoxin A (OTA). The platform employs gold-nanostructured screen-printed carbon electrodes functionalized with a ferrocene derivative, serving as an integrated faradaic transducing system, and an anti-OTA aptamer as a bioreceptor site. Detection relies on the ferrocene electrochemical signal changes induced by the aptamer folding in the presence of the target molecule. Remarkably sensitive, the platform detects OTA within the range of 0.5 to 70 ng mL-1 and a detection limit of 11 pg mL-1. This limit is approximately 200 times below the levels stipulated by the European Commission for agricultural commodities. Notably, the sensing device exhibits efficacy in detecting OTA in complex media, such as roasted coffee beans and wine, without the need for sample pretreatment, yielding accurate recoveries. Furthermore, while label-free electrochemical aptasensors have proliferated, this study addresses a gap in understanding the binding mechanisms of some aptasensors. To enhance the experimental findings, a theoretical study was conducted to underscore the specificity of the anti-OTA aptamer as a donor for OTA detection. The molecular docking technique was employed to unveil the key binding region of the aptamer, providing valuable insights into the aptasensor specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wicem Argoubi
- Sensors and Biosensors Group, ACE-Lab (LR99ES15), Faculty of Science, University of Tunis El Manar 2092 Tunis El Manar Tunisia
| | - Faisal K Algethami
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) P.O. Box 90950 Riyadh 11623 Saudi Arabia
| | - Noureddine Raouafi
- Sensors and Biosensors Group, ACE-Lab (LR99ES15), Faculty of Science, University of Tunis El Manar 2092 Tunis El Manar Tunisia
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23
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Coshic K, Maffeo C, Winogradoff D, Aksimentiev A. The structure and physical properties of a packaged bacteriophage particle. Nature 2024; 627:905-914. [PMID: 38448589 PMCID: PMC11196859 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07150-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
A string of nucleotides confined within a protein capsid contains all the instructions necessary to make a functional virus particle, a virion. Although the structure of the protein capsid is known for many virus species1,2, the three-dimensional organization of viral genomes has mostly eluded experimental probes3,4. Here we report all-atom structural models of an HK97 virion5, including its entire 39,732 base pair genome, obtained through multiresolution simulations. Mimicking the action of a packaging motor6, the genome was gradually loaded into the capsid. The structure of the packaged capsid was then refined through simulations of increasing resolution, which produced a 26 million atom model of the complete virion, including water and ions confined within the capsid. DNA packaging occurs through a loop extrusion mechanism7 that produces globally different configurations of the packaged genome and gives each viral particle individual traits. Multiple microsecond-long all-atom simulations characterized the effect of the packaged genome on capsid structure, internal pressure, electrostatics and diffusion of water, ions and DNA, and revealed the structural imprints of the capsid onto the genome. Our approach can be generalized to obtain complete all-atom structural models of other virus species, thereby potentially revealing new drug targets at the genome-capsid interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kush Coshic
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Christopher Maffeo
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - David Winogradoff
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Aleksei Aksimentiev
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.
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24
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Antolínez S, Jones PE, Phillips JC, Hadden-Perilla JA. AMBERff at Scale: Multimillion-Atom Simulations with AMBER Force Fields in NAMD. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:543-554. [PMID: 38176097 PMCID: PMC10806814 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
All-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are an essential structural biology technique with increasing application to multimillion-atom systems, including viruses and cellular machinery. Classical MD simulations rely on parameter sets, such as the AMBER family of force fields (AMBERff), to accurately describe molecular motion. Here, we present an implementation of AMBERff for use in NAMD that overcomes previous limitations to enable high-performance, massively parallel simulations encompassing up to two billion atoms. Single-point potential energy comparisons and case studies on model systems demonstrate that the implementation produces results that are as accurate as running AMBERff in its native engine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santiago Antolínez
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - Peter Eugene Jones
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - James C. Phillips
- National
Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Jodi A. Hadden-Perilla
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
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25
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Kalsan M, Jabeen A, Ahmad S. Incorporating Sequence-Dependent DNA Shape and Dynamics into Transcriptome Data Analysis. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2812:317-343. [PMID: 39068371 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3886-6_18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
Differentially expressed genes in a cellular context may be co-regulated by the same transcription factor. However, in the absence of a concurrent transcription factor binding data, such interactions are difficult to detect, especially at the single cell expression level. Motif enrichments in such genes can be used to gain insight into differential expressions caused by the shared upstream TFs. However, it is now established that many genes are co-regulated by the same TF due to a shared DNA shape or sequence-dependent conformational dynamics instead of sequence motif. In this work, we demonstrate how, starting from a gene expression data, such DNA shape and dynamics signatures can be potentially detected using publicly available tools, including DynaSeq, developed in our group for predicting the sequence-dependent components of these DNA shape features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manisha Kalsan
- School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Almas Jabeen
- School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Shandar Ahmad
- School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.
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26
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Campolattano N, D'Abrosca G, Russo L, De Siena B, Della Gala M, De Chiara I, Marasco R, Goff A, Waddell SJ, Sacco M, Muscariello L. Insight into the on/off switch that regulates expression of the MSMEG-3762/63 efflux pump in Mycobacterium smegmatis. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20332. [PMID: 37989843 PMCID: PMC10663510 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47695-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Drug resistance is one of the most difficult challenges facing tuberculosis (TB) control. Drug efflux is among the mechanisms leading to drug resistance. In our previous studies, we partially characterized the ABC-type MSMEG-3762/63 efflux pump in Mycobacterium smegmatis, which shares high percentage of identity with the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Rv1687/86c pump. MSMEG-3762/63 was shown to have extrusion activity for rifampicin and ciprofloxacin, used in first and second-line anti-TB treatments. Moreover, we described the functional role of the TetR-like MSMEG-3765 protein as a repressor of the MSMEG_3762/63/65 operon and orthologous Rv1687/86/85c in M. tuberculosis. Here we show that the operon is upregulated in the macrophage environment, supporting a previous observation of induction triggered by acid-nitrosative stress. Expression of the efflux pump was also induced by sub-inhibitory concentrations of rifampicin or ciprofloxacin. Both these drugs also prevented the binding of the MSMEG-3765 TetR repressor protein to its operator in the MSMEG_3762/63/65 operon. The hypothesis that these two drugs might be responsible for the induction of the efflux pump operon was assessed by bioinformatics analyses. Docking studies using a structural model of the regulator MSMEG-3765 showed that both antibiotics abolished the ability of this transcriptional repressor to recognize the efflux pump operon by interacting with the homodimer at different binding sites within the same binding pocket. Reduced binding of the repressor leads to induction of the efflux pump in M. smegmatis, and reduced efficacy of these two anti-mycobacterial drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicoletta Campolattano
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy
| | - Gianluca D'Abrosca
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
| | - Luigi Russo
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy
| | - Barbara De Siena
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy
| | - Milena Della Gala
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy
| | - Ida De Chiara
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy
| | - Rosangela Marasco
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy
| | - Aaron Goff
- Department of Global Health and Infection, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9PX, UK
| | - Simon J Waddell
- Department of Global Health and Infection, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9PX, UK
| | - Margherita Sacco
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy
| | - Lidia Muscariello
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy.
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27
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Lamghari Y, Lu H, Bentourkia M. DNA damage by radiation as a function of electron energy and interaction at the atomic level with Monte Carlo simulation. Z Med Phys 2023; 33:489-498. [PMID: 35973908 PMCID: PMC10751702 DOI: 10.1016/j.zemedi.2022.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
In radiotherapy, X-ray or heavy ion beams target tumors to cause damage to their cell DNA. This damage is mainly induced by secondary low energy electrons. In this paper, we report the DNA molecular breaks at the atomic level as a function of electron energy and types of electron interactions using of Monte Carlo simulation. The number of DNA single and double strand breaks are compared to those from experimental results based on electron energies. In recent years, DNA atomistic models were introduced but still the simulations consider energy deposition in volumes of DNA or water equivalent material. We simulated a model of atomistic B-DNA in vacuum, forming 1122 base pairs of 30 nm in length. Each atom has been represented by a sphere whose radius equals the radius of van der Waals. We repeatedly simulated 10 million electrons for each energy from 4 eV to 500 eV and counted each interaction type with its position x, y, z in the volume of DNA. Based on the number and types of interactions at the atomic level, the number of DNA single and double strand breaks were calculated. We found that the dissociative electron attachment has the dominant effect on DNA strand breaks at energies below 10 eV compared to excitation and ionization. In addition, it is straightforward with our simulation to discriminate the strand and base breaks as a function of radiation interaction type and energy. In conclusion, the knowledge of DNA damage at the atomic level helps design direct internal therapeutic agents of cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youssef Lamghari
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiobiology, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
| | - Huizhong Lu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiobiology, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
| | - M'hamed Bentourkia
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiobiology, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
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28
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Masi A, Capobianco A, Bobrowski K, Peluso A, Chatgilialoglu C. Hydroxyl Radical vs. One-Electron Oxidation Reactivities in an Alternating GC Double-Stranded Oligonucleotide: A New Type Electron Hole Stabilization. Biomolecules 2023; 13:1493. [PMID: 37892175 PMCID: PMC10605094 DOI: 10.3390/biom13101493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
We examined the reaction of hydroxyl radicals (HO•) and sulfate radical anions (SO4•-), which is generated by ionizing radiation in aqueous solutions under anoxic conditions, with an alternating GC doubled-stranded oligodeoxynucleotide (ds-ODN), i.e., the palindromic 5'-d(GCGCGC)-3'. In particular, the optical spectra of the intermediate species and associated kinetic data in the range of ns to ms were obtained via pulse radiolysis. Computational studies by means of density functional theory (DFT) for structural and time-dependent DFT for spectroscopic features were performed on 5'-d(GCGC)-3'. Comprehensively, our results suggest the addition of HO• to the G:C pair moiety, affording the [8-HO-G:C]• detectable adduct. The previous reported spectra of one-electron oxidation of a variety of ds-ODN were assigned to [G(-H+):C]• after deprotonation. Regarding 5'-d(GCGCGC)-3' ds-ODN, the spectrum at 800 ns has a completely different spectral shape and kinetic behavior. By means of calculations, we assigned the species to [G:C/C:G]•+, in which the electron hole is predicted to be delocalized on the two stacked base pairs. This transient species was further hydrated to afford the [8-HO-G:C]• detectable adduct. These remarkable findings suggest that the double-stranded alternating GC sequences allow for a new type of electron hole stabilization via delocalization over the whole sequence or part of it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annalisa Masi
- Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 40129 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Amedeo Capobianco
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Biologia “A. Zambelli”, Università di Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; (A.C.); (A.P.)
| | - Krzysztof Bobrowski
- Centre of Radiation Research and Technology, Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, 03-195 Warsaw, Poland;
| | - Andrea Peluso
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Biologia “A. Zambelli”, Università di Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; (A.C.); (A.P.)
| | - Chryssostomos Chatgilialoglu
- Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 40129 Bologna, Italy;
- Center for Advanced Technologies, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
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29
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Erban R, Togashi Y. Asymmetric Periodic Boundary Conditions for All-Atom Molecular Dynamics and Coarse-Grained Simulations of Nucleic Acids. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:8257-8267. [PMID: 37713594 PMCID: PMC10544013 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c03887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023]
Abstract
Periodic boundary conditions are commonly applied in molecular dynamics simulations in the microcanonical (NVE), canonical (NVT), and isothermal-isobaric (NpT) ensembles. In their simplest application, a biological system of interest is placed in the middle of a solvation box, which is chosen 'sufficiently large' to minimize any numerical artifacts associated with the periodic boundary conditions. This practical approach brings limitations to the size of biological systems that can be simulated. Here, we study simulations of effectively infinitely long nucleic acids, which are solvated in the directions perpendicular to the polymer chain, while periodic boundary conditions are also applied along the polymer chain. We study the effects of these asymmetric periodic boundary conditions (APBC) on the simulated results, including the mechanical properties of biopolymers and the properties of the surrounding solvent. To get some further insights into the advantages of using the APBC, a coarse-grained worm-like chain model is first studied, illustrating how the persistence length can be extracted from the local properties of the polymer chain, which are less affected by the APBC than some global averages. This is followed by all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of DNA in ionic solutions, where we use the APBC to investigate sequence-dependent properties of DNA molecules and properties of the surrounding solvent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radek Erban
- Mathematical
Institute, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock
Road, Oxford OX2 6GG, U.K.
| | - Yuichi Togashi
- Department
of Bioinformatics, College of Life Sciences, Ritsumeikan University, 1-1-1 Noji-higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga 525-8577, Japan
- RIKEN
Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 2-2-3 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan
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30
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Orun A, Shields ET, Dmytriw S, Vajapayajula A, Slaughter CK, Snow CD. Modular Protein-DNA Cocrystals as Precise, Programmable Assembly Scaffolds. ACS NANO 2023; 17:13110-13120. [PMID: 37407546 PMCID: PMC10373652 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c07282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
High-precision nanomaterials to entrap DNA-binding molecules are sought after for applications such as controlled drug delivery and scaffold-assisted structural biology. Here, we engineered protein-DNA cocrystals to serve as scaffolds for DNA-binding molecules. The designed cocrystals, isoreticular cocrystals, contain DNA-binding protein and cognate DNA blocks where the DNA-DNA junctions stack end-to-end. Furthermore, the crystal symmetry allows topology preserving (isoreticular) expansion of the DNA stack without breaking protein-protein contacts, hence providing larger solvent channels for guest diffusion. Experimentally, the resulting designed isoreticular cocrystal adopted an interpenetrating I222 lattice, a phenomenon previously observed in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The interpenetrating lattice crystallized dependably in the same space group despite myriad modifications at the DNA-DNA junctions. Assembly was modular with respect to the DNA inserted for expansion, providing an interchangeable DNA sequence for guest-specified scaffolding. Also, the DNA-DNA junctions were tunable, accommodating varied sticky base overhang lengths and terminal phosphorylation. As a proof of concept, we used the interpenetrating scaffold crystals to separately entrap three distinct guest molecules during crystallization. Isoreticular cocrystal design offers a route to a programmable scaffold for DNA-binding molecules, and the design principles may be applied to existing cocrystals to develop scaffolding materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail
R. Orun
- Department
of Chemistry, Colorado State University, 1301 Center Ave., Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Ethan T. Shields
- Department
of Biomedical Engineering, Colorado State
University, 1376 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Sara Dmytriw
- Department
of Biomedical Engineering, Colorado State
University, 1376 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State University, 1370 Campus Delivery, Fort
Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Ananya Vajapayajula
- Department
of Biomedical Engineering, Colorado State
University, 1376 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State University, 1370 Campus Delivery, Fort
Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Caroline K. Slaughter
- Department
of Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado
State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Christopher D. Snow
- Department
of Chemistry, Colorado State University, 1301 Center Ave., Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
- Department
of Biomedical Engineering, Colorado State
University, 1376 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State University, 1370 Campus Delivery, Fort
Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
- Department
of Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado
State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
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31
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Torkan E, Salmani-Tehrani M. Conformational dynamics and mechanical properties of biomimetic RNA, DNA, and RNA-DNA hybrid nanotubes: an atomistic molecular dynamics study. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023. [PMID: 37309220 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp01028g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
With the nanotechnology boom, artificially designed nucleic acid nanotubes have aroused interest due to their practical applications in nanorobotics, vaccine design, membrane channels, drug delivery, and force sensing. In this paper, computational study was performed to investigate the structural dynamics and mechanical properties of RNA nanotubes (RNTs), DNA nanotubes (DNTs), and RNA-DNA hybrid nanotubes (RDHNTs). So far, the structural and mechanical properties of RDHNTs have not been examined in experiments or theoretical calculations, and there is limited knowledge regarding these properties for RNTs. Here, the simulations were carried out using the equilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) and steered molecular dynamics (SMD) approaches. Using in-house scripting, we modeled hexagonal nanotubes composed of six double-stranded molecules connected by four-way Holliday junctions. Classical MD analyses were performed on the collected trajectory data to investigate structural properties. Analyses of the microscopic structural parameters of RDHNT indicated a structural transition from the A-form to a conformation between the A- and B-forms, which may be attributable to the increased rigidity of RNA scaffolds compared to DNA staples. Comprehensive research on the elastic mechanical properties was also conducted based on spontaneous thermal fluctuations of nanotubes and employing the equipartition theorem. The Young's modulus of RDHNT (E = 165 MPa) and RNT (E = 144 MPa) was found to be almost the same and nearly half of that found for DNT (E = 325 MPa). Furthermore, the results showed that RNT was more resistant to bending, torsional, and volumetric deformations than DNT and RDHNT. We also used non-equilibrium SMD simulations to acquire comprehensive knowledge of the mechanical response of nanotubes to tensile stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ehsan Torkan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, 84156-83111, Iran.
| | - Mehdi Salmani-Tehrani
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, 84156-83111, Iran.
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32
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Ozden B, Boopathi R, Barlas AB, Lone IN, Bednar J, Petosa C, Kale S, Hamiche A, Angelov D, Dimitrov S, Karaca E. Molecular Mechanism of Nucleosome Recognition by the Pioneer Transcription Factor Sox. J Chem Inf Model 2023. [PMID: 37307148 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c01520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Pioneer transcription factors (PTFs) have the remarkable ability to directly bind to chromatin to stimulate vital cellular processes. In this work, we dissect the universal binding mode of Sox PTF by combining extensive molecular simulations and physiochemistry approaches, along with DNA footprinting techniques. As a result, we show that when Sox consensus DNA is located at the solvent-facing DNA strand, Sox binds to the compact nucleosome without imposing any significant conformational changes. We also reveal that the base-specific Sox:DNA interactions (base reading) and Sox-induced DNA changes (shape reading) are concurrently required for sequence-specific nucleosomal DNA recognition. Among three different nucleosome positions located on the positive DNA arm, a sequence-specific reading mechanism is solely satisfied at the superhelical location 2 (SHL2). While SHL2 acts transparently for solvent-facing Sox binding, among the other two positions, SHL4 permits only shape reading. The final position, SHL0 (dyad), on the other hand, allows no reading mechanism. These findings demonstrate that Sox-based nucleosome recognition is essentially guided by intrinsic nucleosome properties, permitting varying degrees of DNA recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Burcu Ozden
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, Dokuz Eylul University Health Campus, Izmir 35340, Turkey
- Izmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir 35340, Turkey
| | - Ramachandran Boopathi
- Institut for Advanced Biosciences, Inserm U 1209, CNRS UMR 5309, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble 38000, France
- Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS), Université Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, Grenoble 38044, France
- Laboratoire de Biologie et de Modélisation de la Cellule (LBMC), Université de Lyon, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, CNRS, 46 Allée d'Italie, Lyon 69007, France
| | - Ayşe Berçin Barlas
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, Dokuz Eylul University Health Campus, Izmir 35340, Turkey
- Izmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir 35340, Turkey
| | - Imtiaz N Lone
- Izmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir 35340, Turkey
| | - Jan Bednar
- Institut for Advanced Biosciences, Inserm U 1209, CNRS UMR 5309, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble 38000, France
| | - Carlo Petosa
- Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS), Université Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, Grenoble 38044, France
| | - Seyit Kale
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, Dokuz Eylul University Health Campus, Izmir 35340, Turkey
| | - Ali Hamiche
- Département de Génomique Fonctionnelle et Cancer, Institut de Génétique et Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC)/Université de Strasbourg/CNRS/INSERM, Illkirch Cedex 67404, France
| | - Dimitar Angelov
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, Dokuz Eylul University Health Campus, Izmir 35340, Turkey
- Laboratoire de Biologie et de Modélisation de la Cellule (LBMC), Université de Lyon, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, CNRS, 46 Allée d'Italie, Lyon 69007, France
| | - Stefan Dimitrov
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, Dokuz Eylul University Health Campus, Izmir 35340, Turkey
- Institut for Advanced Biosciences, Inserm U 1209, CNRS UMR 5309, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble 38000, France
- Roumen Tsanev Institute of Molecular Biology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Ezgi Karaca
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, Dokuz Eylul University Health Campus, Izmir 35340, Turkey
- Izmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir 35340, Turkey
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33
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Orndorff PB, Poddar S, Owens AM, Kumari N, Ugaz BT, Amin S, Van Horn WD, van der Vaart A, Levitus M. Uracil-DNA glycosylase efficiency is modulated by substrate rigidity. Sci Rep 2023; 13:3915. [PMID: 36890276 PMCID: PMC9995336 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30620-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Uracil DNA-glycosylase (UNG) is a DNA repair enzyme that removes the highly mutagenic uracil lesion from DNA using a base flipping mechanism. Although this enzyme has evolved to remove uracil from diverse sequence contexts, UNG excision efficiency depends on DNA sequence. To provide the molecular basis for rationalizing UNG substrate preferences, we used time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, NMR imino proton exchange measurements, and molecular dynamics simulations to measure UNG specificity constants (kcat/KM) and DNA flexibilities for DNA substrates containing central AUT, TUA, AUA, and TUT motifs. Our study shows that UNG efficiency is dictated by the intrinsic deformability around the lesion, establishes a direct relationship between substrate flexibility modes and UNG efficiency, and shows that bases immediately adjacent to the uracil are allosterically coupled and have the greatest impact on substrate flexibility and UNG activity. The finding that substrate flexibility controls UNG efficiency is likely significant for other repair enzymes and has major implications for the understanding of mutation hotspot genesis, molecular evolution, and base editing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul B Orndorff
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA
| | - Souvik Poddar
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
- The Biodesign Institute Center for Single Molecule Biophysics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Aerial M Owens
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
- The Biodesign Institute Virginia G. Piper Center for Personalized Diagnostics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Nikita Kumari
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
- The Biodesign Institute Center for Single Molecule Biophysics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Bryan T Ugaz
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
- The Biodesign Institute Center for Single Molecule Biophysics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Samrat Amin
- Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Wade D Van Horn
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA.
- The Biodesign Institute Virginia G. Piper Center for Personalized Diagnostics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA.
| | - Arjan van der Vaart
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA.
| | - Marcia Levitus
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA.
- The Biodesign Institute Center for Single Molecule Biophysics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA.
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34
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Sharma D, Sharma K, Mishra A, Siwach P, Mittal A, Jayaram B. Molecular dynamics simulation-based trinucleotide and tetranucleotide level structural and energy characterization of the functional units of genomic DNA. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:7323-7337. [PMID: 36825435 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp04820e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
Genomes of most organisms on earth are written in a universal language of life, made up of four units - adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C), and understanding the way they are put together has been a great challenge to date. Multiple efforts have been made to annotate this wonderfully engineered string of DNA using different methods but they lack a universal character. In this article, we have investigated the structural and energetic profiles of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes by considering two essential genomic sites, viz., the transcription start sites (TSS) and exon-intron boundaries. We have characterized these sites by mapping the structural and energy features of DNA obtained from molecular dynamics simulations, which considers all possible trinucleotide and tetranucleotide steps. For DNA, these physicochemical properties show distinct signatures at the TSS and intron-exon boundaries. Our results firmly convey the idea that DNA uses the same dialect for prokaryotes and eukaryotes and that it is worth going beyond sequence-level analyses to physicochemical space to determine the functional destiny of DNA sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dinesh Sharma
- Supercomputing Facility for Bioinformatics & Computational Biology, Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India
| | - Kopal Sharma
- Supercomputing Facility for Bioinformatics & Computational Biology, Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India
| | - Akhilesh Mishra
- Supercomputing Facility for Bioinformatics & Computational Biology, Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India
| | - Priyanka Siwach
- Department of Biotechnology, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, Haryana, India
| | - Aditya Mittal
- Supercomputing Facility for Bioinformatics & Computational Biology, Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India
| | - B Jayaram
- Supercomputing Facility for Bioinformatics & Computational Biology, Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India.,Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India.
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35
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Shukla MS, Hoshika S, Benner SA, Georgiadis MM. Crystal structures of 'ALternative Isoinformational ENgineered' DNA in B-form. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220028. [PMID: 36633282 PMCID: PMC9835606 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The first structural model of duplex DNA reported in 1953 by Watson & Crick presented the double helix in B-form, the form that genomic DNA exists in much of the time. Thus, artificial DNA seeking to mimic the properties of natural DNA should also be able to adopt B-form. Using a host-guest system in which Moloney murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase serves as the host and DNA as the guests, we determined high-resolution crystal structures of three complexes including 5'-CTTBPPBBSSZZSAAG, 5'-CTTSSPBZPSZBBAAG and 5'-CTTZZPBSBSZPPAAG with 10 consecutive unnatural nucleobase pairs in B-form within self-complementary 16 bp duplex oligonucleotides. We refer to this ALternative Isoinformational ENgineered (ALIEN) genetic system containing two nucleobase pairs (P:Z, pairing 2-amino-imidazo-[1,2-a]-1,3,5-triazin-(8H)-4-one with 6-amino-5-nitro-(1H)-pyridin-2-one, and B:S, 6-amino-4-hydroxy-5-(1H)-purin-2-one with 3-methyl-6-amino-pyrimidin-2-one) as ALIEN DNA. We characterized both position- and sequence-specific helical, nucleobase pair and dinucleotide step parameters of P:Z and B:S pairs in the context of B-form DNA. We conclude that ALIEN DNA exhibits structural features that vary with sequence. Further, Z can participate in alternative stacking modes within a similar sequence context as captured in two different structures. This finding suggests that ALIEN DNA may have a larger repertoire of B-form structures than natural DNA. This article is part of the theme issue 'Reactivity and mechanism in chemical and synthetic biology'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhura S. Shukla
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Shuichi Hoshika
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, 13709 Progress Boulevard, no. 7, Alachua, FL 32615, USA
| | - Steven A. Benner
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, 13709 Progress Boulevard, no. 7, Alachua, FL 32615, USA
| | - Millie M. Georgiadis
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
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36
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i-Motif folding intermediates with zero-nucleotide loops are trapped by 2'-fluoroarabinocytidine via F···H and O···H hydrogen bonds. Commun Chem 2023; 6:31. [PMID: 36797370 PMCID: PMC9935537 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-023-00831-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
G-quadruplex and i-motif nucleic acid structures are believed to fold through kinetic partitioning mechanisms. Such mechanisms explain the structural heterogeneity of G-quadruplex metastable intermediates which have been extensively reported. On the other hand, i-motif folding is regarded as predictable, and research on alternative i-motif folds is limited. While TC5 normally folds into a stable tetrameric i-motif in solution, we report that 2'-deoxy-2'-fluoroarabinocytidine (araF-C) substitutions can prompt TC5 to form an off-pathway and kinetically-trapped dimeric i-motif, thereby expanding the scope of i-motif folding landscapes. This i-motif is formed by two strands, associated head-to-head, and featuring zero-nucleotide loops which have not been previously observed. Through spectroscopic and computational analyses, we also establish that the dimeric i-motif is stabilized by fluorine and non-fluorine hydrogen bonds, thereby explaining the superlative stability of araF-C modified i-motifs. Comparative experimental findings suggest that the strength of these interactions depends on the flexible sugar pucker adopted by the araF-C residue. Overall, the findings reported here provide a new role for i-motifs in nanotechnology and also pose the question of whether unprecedented i-motif folds may exist in vivo.
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37
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Serrano-Chacón I, Mir B, Cupellini L, Colizzi F, Orozco M, Escaja N, González C. pH-Dependent Capping Interactions Induce Large-Scale Structural Transitions in i-Motifs. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:3696-3705. [PMID: 36745195 PMCID: PMC9936585 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c13043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
We study here a DNA oligonucleotide having the ability to form two different i-motif structures whose relative stability depends on pH and temperature. The major species at neutral pH is stabilized by two C:C+ base pairs capped by two minor groove G:C:G:C tetrads. The high pH and thermal stability of this structure are mainly due to the favorable effect of the minor groove tetrads on their adjacent positively charged C:C+ base pairs. At pH 5, we observe a more elongated i-motif structure consisting of four C:C+ base pairs capped by two G:T:G:T tetrads. Molecular dynamics calculations show that the conformational transition between the two structures is driven by the protonation state of key cytosines. In spite of large conformational differences, the transition between the acidic and neutral structures can occur without unfolding of the i-motif. These results represent the first case of a conformational switch between two different i-motif structures and illustrate the dramatic pH-dependent plasticity of this fascinating DNA motif.
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Affiliation(s)
- Israel Serrano-Chacón
- Instituto
de Química Física ”Rocasolano”, CSIC, Serrano 119, 28006Madrid, Spain
- Institute
for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), 08028Barcelona, Spain
| | - Bartomeu Mir
- Instituto
de Química Física ”Rocasolano”, CSIC, Serrano 119, 28006Madrid, Spain
- Inorganic
and Organic Chemistry Department, Organic Chemistry Section, and IBUB, University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1-11, 08028Barcelona, Spain
| | - Lorenzo Cupellini
- Institute
for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), 08028Barcelona, Spain
| | - Francesco Colizzi
- Institute
for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), 08028Barcelona, Spain
| | - Modesto Orozco
- Institute
for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), 08028Barcelona, Spain
- Departament
de Bioquímica i Biomedicina. Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028Barcelona, Spain
| | - Núria Escaja
- Inorganic
and Organic Chemistry Department, Organic Chemistry Section, and IBUB, University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1-11, 08028Barcelona, Spain
- BIOESTRAN
Associated Unit UB-CSIC, 08028Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carlos González
- Instituto
de Química Física ”Rocasolano”, CSIC, Serrano 119, 28006Madrid, Spain
- BIOESTRAN
Associated Unit UB-CSIC, 08028Barcelona, Spain
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38
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Parsons MF, Allan MF, Li S, Shepherd TR, Ratanalert S, Zhang K, Pullen KM, Chiu W, Rouskin S, Bathe M. 3D RNA-scaffolded wireframe origami. Nat Commun 2023; 14:382. [PMID: 36693871 PMCID: PMC9872083 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36156-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Hybrid RNA:DNA origami, in which a long RNA scaffold strand folds into a target nanostructure via thermal annealing with complementary DNA oligos, has only been explored to a limited extent despite its unique potential for biomedical delivery of mRNA, tertiary structure characterization of long RNAs, and fabrication of artificial ribozymes. Here, we investigate design principles of three-dimensional wireframe RNA-scaffolded origami rendered as polyhedra composed of dual-duplex edges. We computationally design, fabricate, and characterize tetrahedra folded from an EGFP-encoding messenger RNA and de Bruijn sequences, an octahedron folded with M13 transcript RNA, and an octahedron and pentagonal bipyramids folded with 23S ribosomal RNA, demonstrating the ability to make diverse polyhedral shapes with distinct structural and functional RNA scaffolds. We characterize secondary and tertiary structures using dimethyl sulfate mutational profiling and cryo-electron microscopy, revealing insight into both global and local, base-level structures of origami. Our top-down sequence design strategy enables the use of long RNAs as functional scaffolds for complex wireframe origami.
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Affiliation(s)
- Molly F Parsons
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Matthew F Allan
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Computational and Systems Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Shanshan Li
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
- MOE Key Laboratory for Cellular Dynamics and Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027, China
| | - Tyson R Shepherd
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Inscripta, Inc., Boulder, CO, 80027, USA
| | - Sakul Ratanalert
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Kaiming Zhang
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
- MOE Key Laboratory for Cellular Dynamics and Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027, China
| | - Krista M Pullen
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Wah Chiu
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
- CryoEM and Bioimaging Division, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA
| | - Silvi Rouskin
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mark Bathe
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
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39
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Ali Z, Goyal A, Jhunjhunwala A, Mitra A, Trant JF, Sharma P. Structural and Energetic Features of Base-Base Stacking Contacts in RNA. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:655-669. [PMID: 36635230 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c01116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Nucleobase π-π stacking is one of the crucial organizing interactions within three-dimensional (3D) RNA architectures. Characterizing the structural variability of these contacts in RNA crystal structures will help delineate their subtleties and their role in determining function. This analysis of different stacking geometries found in RNA X-ray crystal structures is the largest such survey to date; coupled with quantum-mechanical calculations on typical representatives of each possible stacking arrangement, we determined the distribution of stacking interaction energies. A total of 1,735,481 stacking contacts, spanning 359 of the 384 theoretically possible distinct stacking geometries, were identified. Our analysis reveals preferential occurrences of specific consecutive stacking arrangements in certain regions of RNA architectures. Quantum chemical calculations suggest that 88 of the 359 contacts possess intrinsically stable stacking geometries, whereas the remaining stacks require the RNA backbone or surrounding macromolecular environment to force their formation and maintain their stability. Our systematic analysis of π-π stacks in RNA highlights trends in the occurrence and localization of these noncovalent interactions and may help better understand the structural intricacies of functional RNA-based molecular architectures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zakir Ali
- Computational Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Centre for Advanced Studies in Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh160014, India
| | - Ambika Goyal
- Computational Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Centre for Advanced Studies in Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh160014, India
| | - Ayush Jhunjhunwala
- Center for Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, Telangana500032, India
| | - Abhijit Mitra
- Center for Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, Telangana500032, India
| | - John F Trant
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, OntarioN9B 3P4, Canada
- Binary Star Research Services, LaSalle, OntarioN9J 3X8, Canada
| | - Purshotam Sharma
- Computational Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Centre for Advanced Studies in Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh160014, India
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, OntarioN9B 3P4, Canada
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40
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Lombardo Z, Mukerji I. Site-specific investigation of DNA Holliday Junction dynamics and structure with 6-Methylisoxanthopterin, a fluorescent guanine analog. TRENDS IN PHOTOCHEMISTRY & PHOTOBIOLOGY 2023; 22:85-102. [PMID: 39371247 PMCID: PMC11450702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/08/2024]
Abstract
DNA Holliday Junction (HJ) formation and resolution is requisite for maintaining genomic stability in processes such as replication fork reversal and double-strand break repair. If HJs are not resolved, chromosome disjunction and aneuploidy result, hallmarks of tumor cells. To understand the structural features that lead to processing of these four-stranded joint molecule structures, we seek to identify structural and dynamic features unique to the central junction core. We incorporated the fluorescent guanine analog 6-methylisoxanthopterin (6-MI) at ten different locations throughout a model HJ structure to obtain site-specific information regarding the structure and dynamics of bases relative to those in a comparable sequence context in duplex DNA. These comparisons were accomplished through measuring fluorescence lifetime, relative brightness, fluorescence anisotropy, and quenching assays. These time-resolved and steady-state fluorescence measurements demonstrate that the structural distortions imposed by strand crossing result in increased solvent exposure, less stacking of bases and greater extrahelical nature of bases within the junction core. The 6-MI base analogs in the junction reflect these structural changes through an increase in intensity relative to those in the duplex. Molecular dynamics simulations performed using a model HJ indicate that the primary sources of deformation are in the shift and twist parameters of the bases at the central junction step. These results suggest that junction-binding proteins may use the unique structure and dynamics of the bases at the core for recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zane Lombardo
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Molecular Biophysics Program, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Ave, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, USA
| | - Ishita Mukerji
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Molecular Biophysics Program, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Ave, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, USA
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41
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Wang X, Liu Y, Li J, Wang G. StackCirRNAPred: computational classification of long circRNA from other lncRNA based on stacking strategy. BMC Bioinformatics 2022; 23:563. [PMID: 36575368 PMCID: PMC9793644 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-022-05118-7] [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: 07/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND CircRNAs are essential for the regulation of post-transcriptional gene expression, including as miRNA sponges, and play an important role in disease development. Some computational tools have been proposed recently to predict circRNA, since only one classifier is used, there is still much that can be done to improve the performance. RESULTS StackCirRNAPred was proposed, the computational classification of long circRNA from other lncRNA based on stacking strategy. In order to cope with the potential problem that a single feature might not be able to distinguish circRNA well from other lncRNA, we first extracted features from different sources, including nucleic acid composition, sequence spatial features and physicochemical properties, Alu and tandem repeats. We innovatively apply the stacking strategy to integrate the more advantageous classifiers of RF, LightGBM, XGBoost. This allows the model to incorporate these features more flexibly. StackCirRNAPred was found to be significantly better than other tools, with precision, accuracy, F1, recall and MCC of 0.843, 0.833, 0.831, 0.819 and 0.666 respectively. We tested it directly on the mouse dataset. StackCirRNAPred was still significantly better than other methods, with precision, accuracy, F1, recall and MCC of 0.837, 0.839, 0.839, 0.841, 0.677. CONCLUSIONS We proposed StackCirRNAPred based on stacking strategy to distinguish long circRNAs from other lncRNAs. With the test results demonstrating the validity and robustness of StackCirRNAPred, we hope StackCirRNAPred will complement existing circRNA prediction methods and is helpful in down-stream research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Wang
- grid.19373.3f0000 0001 0193 3564School of Computer Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
| | - Yadong Liu
- grid.19373.3f0000 0001 0193 3564School of Computer Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
| | - Jie Li
- grid.19373.3f0000 0001 0193 3564School of Computer Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
| | - Guohua Wang
- grid.19373.3f0000 0001 0193 3564School of Computer Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
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42
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Capobianco A, Landi A, Peluso A. Duplex DNA Retains the Conformational Features of Single Strands: Perspectives from MD Simulations and Quantum Chemical Computations. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232214452. [PMID: 36430930 PMCID: PMC9697240 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232214452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2022] [Revised: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulations and geometry optimizations carried out at the quantum level as well as by quantum mechanical/molecular mechanics methods predict that short, single-stranded DNA oligonucleotides adopt conformations very similar to those observed in crystallographic double-stranded B-DNA, with rise coordinates close to ≈3.3 Å. In agreement with the experimental evidence, the computational results show that DNA single strands rich in adjacent purine nucleobases assume more regular arrangements than poly-thymine. The preliminary results suggest that single-stranded poly-cytosine DNA should also retain a substantial helical order in solution. A comparison of the structures of single and double helices confirms that the B-DNA motif is a favorable arrangement also for single strands. Indeed, the optimal geometry of the complementary single helices is changed to a very small extent in the formation of the duplex.
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43
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Patra P, Gao YQ. Sequence-Specific Structural Features and Solvation Properties of Transcription Factor Binding DNA Motifs: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulation. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:9187-9206. [PMID: 36322688 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c05749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Sequence-specific recognition of transcription factor (TF) binding motifs in the target site of DNA over the vast amount of non-target DNA is of primary importance for the transcriptional regulation of gene expression by the TFs. Binding of TFs to the target site of DNA relies not only on the direct contact formation but also on the structural and conformational features of DNA. Recognition of DNA structural features or shape readout by proteins is an important factor in the context of TF-DNA interaction. Based on the atomistic molecular simulation, here we report the sequence-dependent unique structural features, solvation, and ion-binding properties of biologically relevant AT- and GC-rich human TF binding motifs in DNA. Counterion and water distribution around the motif is found to be sensitive to the motif sequence, which is accompanied with the DNA shape features. The motif sequence affects the electrostatic potential along the grooves, and cytosine methylation alters the DNA shape features. Characteristic solvation properties of TF binding motif DNA fragments infer that an ionic environment and hydration influences are essential to describe TF-DNA interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piya Patra
- Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Institute of Systems and Physical Biology, Shenzhen 518107, China
| | - Yi Qin Gao
- Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Institute of Systems and Physical Biology, Shenzhen 518107, China.,Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.,Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
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44
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Chung K, Xu L, Chai P, Peng J, Devarkar SC, Pyle AM. Structures of a mobile intron retroelement poised to attack its structured DNA target. Science 2022; 378:627-634. [PMID: 36356138 PMCID: PMC10190682 DOI: 10.1126/science.abq2844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Group II introns are ribozymes that catalyze their self-excision and function as retroelements that invade DNA. As retrotransposons, group II introns form ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes that roam the genome, integrating by reversal of forward splicing. Here we show that retrotransposition is achieved by a tertiary complex between a structurally elaborate ribozyme, its protein mobility factor, and a structured DNA substrate. We solved cryo-electron microscopy structures of an intact group IIC intron-maturase retroelement that was poised for integration into a DNA stem-loop motif. By visualizing the RNP before and after DNA targeting, we show that it is primed for attack and fits perfectly with its DNA target. This study reveals design principles of a prototypical retroelement and reinforces the hypothesis that group II introns are ancient elements of genetic diversification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Chung
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Ling Xu
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
| | - Pengxin Chai
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Junhui Peng
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Genetics and Genomics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Swapnil C. Devarkar
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Anna Marie Pyle
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
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45
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Nash JA, Manning MD, Gulyuk AV, Kuznetsov AE, Yingling YG. Gold nanoparticle design for RNA compaction. Biointerphases 2022; 17:061001. [PMID: 36323527 DOI: 10.1116/6.0002043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023] Open
Abstract
RNA-based therapeutics hold a great promise in treating a variety of diseases. However, double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) are inherently unstable, highly charged, and stiff macromolecules that require a delivery vehicle. Cationic ligand functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are able to compact nucleic acids and assist in RNA delivery. Here, we use large-scale all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to show that correlations between ligand length, metal core size, and ligand excess free volume control the ability of nanoparticles to bend dsRNA far below its persistence length. The analysis of ammonium binding sites showed that longer ligands that bind deep within the major groove did not cause bending. By limiting ligand length and, thus, excess free volume, we have designed nanoparticles with controlled internal binding to RNA's major groove. NPs that are able to induce RNA bending cause a periodic variation in RNA's major groove width. Density functional theory studies on smaller models support large-scale simulations. Our results are expected to have significant implications in packaging of nucleic acids for their applications in nanotechnology and gene delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica A Nash
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606
| | - Matthew D Manning
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606
| | - Alexey V Gulyuk
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606
| | - Aleksey E Kuznetsov
- Department of Chemistry, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa Maria, av. Santa Maria 6400, Vitacura 7660251, Santiago, Chile
| | - Yaroslava G Yingling
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606
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46
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Li H, Huang E, Zhang Y, Huang S, Xiao Y. HDOCK update for modeling protein-RNA/DNA complex structures. Protein Sci 2022; 31:e4441. [PMID: 36305764 PMCID: PMC9615301 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Revised: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Protein-nucleic acid interactions are involved in various cellular processes. Therefore, determining the structures of protein-nucleic acid complexes can provide insights into the mechanisms of the interactions and thus guide the rational drug design to modulate these interactions. Due to the high cost and technical difficulties of solving complex structures experimentally, computational modeling such as molecular docking has been playing an important role in the study of molecular interactions. In order to make it easier for researchers to obtain biomolecular complex structures through molecular docking, we developed the HDOCK server for protein-protein and protein-RNA/DNA docking (accessed at http://hdock.phys.hust.edu.cn/). Since its first release in 2017, HDOCK has been widely used in the scientific community. As nucleic acids may include single-stranded (ss) RNA/DNA and double-stranded (ds) RNA/DNA, we now present an updated version of HDOCK, which offers new options for structural modeling of ssRNA, ssDNA, dsRNA, and dsDNA. We hope this update will better help the scientific community solve important biological problems, thereby advancing the field. In this article, we describe the general protocol of HDOCK with emphasis on the new functions on RNA/DNA modeling. Several application examples are also given to illustrate the usage of the new functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Li
- School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanHubeiChina
| | | | - Yi Zhang
- School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanHubeiChina
| | - Sheng‐You Huang
- School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanHubeiChina
| | - Yi Xiao
- School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanHubeiChina
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47
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Alenaizan A. Helicene Structure between DNA and Cyanuric Acid: The Role of Noncovalent Interactions. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:8508-8514. [PMID: 36244003 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c04664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
The self-assembly between DNA and small organic molecules can expand the structural space of and introduce novel functionalities to DNA nanomaterials. In particular, it was demonstrated that poly(adenosine) DNA self-assembles with cyanuric acid (CA) to form a triplex helical structure. Previous molecular dynamics simulations showed that the DNA-CA assemblies adopt a novel noncovalent helicene structure that has a continuous helical hydrogen bond network. This article explores why the assemblies adopt the helicene geometry instead of an alternative planar hexameric rosette geometry. Analysis of the hydrogen bonding and stacking interaction energies indicates that constraining the system to the hexameric rosette geometry strains the hydrogen bonds without significantly improving the interaction energy. Molecular dynamics simulations for the assemblies between adenosine nucleosides and CA confirm that the formation of helicene structure is primarily driven by base-pair interactions and not because of the DNA backbone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asem Alenaizan
- Chemistry Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran31261, Saudi Arabia
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48
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Lee AJ, Rackers JA, Bricker WP. Predicting accurate ab initio DNA electron densities with equivariant neural networks. Biophys J 2022; 121:3883-3895. [PMID: 36057785 PMCID: PMC9674991 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2022.08.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the fundamental limitations of accurately modeling biomolecules like DNA is the inability to perform quantum chemistry calculations on large molecular structures. We present a machine learning model based on an equivariant Euclidean neural network framework to obtain accurate ab initio electron densities for arbitrary DNA structures that are much too large for conventional quantum methods. The model is trained on representative B-DNA basepair steps that capture both base pairing and base stacking interactions. The model produces accurate electron densities for arbitrary B-DNA structures with typical errors of less than 1%. Crucially, the error does not increase with system size, which suggests that the model can extrapolate to large DNA structures with negligible loss of accuracy. The model also generalizes reasonably to other DNA structural motifs such as the A- and Z-DNA forms, despite being trained on only B-DNA configurations. The model is used to calculate electron densities of several large-scale DNA structures, and we show that the computational scaling for this model is essentially linear. We also show that this machine learning electron density model can be used to calculate accurate electrostatic potentials for DNA. These electrostatic potentials produce more accurate results compared with classical force fields and do not show the usual deficiencies at short range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex J Lee
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Joshua A Rackers
- Center for Computing Research, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
| | - William P Bricker
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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49
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Rodríguez-Lumbreras LA, Jiménez-García B, Giménez-Santamarina S, Fernández-Recio J. pyDockDNA: A new web server for energy-based protein-DNA docking and scoring. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:988996. [PMID: 36275623 PMCID: PMC9582769 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.988996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Proteins and nucleic acids are essential biological macromolecules for cell life. Indeed, interactions between proteins and DNA regulate many biological processes such as protein synthesis, signal transduction, DNA storage, or DNA replication and repair. Despite their importance, less than 4% of total structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) correspond to protein-DNA complexes, and very few computational methods are available to model their structure. We present here the pyDockDNA web server, which can successfully model a protein-DNA complex with a reasonable predictive success rate (as benchmarked on a standard dataset of protein-DNA complex structures, where DNA is in B-DNA conformation). The server implements the pyDockDNA program, as a module of pyDock suite, thus including third-party programs, modules, and previously developed tools, as well as new modules and parameters to handle the DNA properly. The user is asked to enter Protein Data Bank files for protein and DNA input structures (or suitable models) and select the chains to be docked. The server calculations are mainly divided into three steps: sampling by FTDOCK, scoring with new energy-based parameters and the possibility of applying external restraints. The user can select different options for these steps. The final output screen shows a 3D representation of the top 10 models and a table sorting the model according to the scoring function selected previously. All these output files can be downloaded, including the top 100 models predicted by pyDockDNA. The server can be freely accessed for academic use (https://model3dbio.csic.es/pydockdna).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Brian Jiménez-García
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Barcelona, Spain
- Zymvol Biomodeling SL, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Juan Fernández-Recio
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Barcelona, Spain
- Instituto de Ciencias de la Vid y del Vino (ICVV), Logroño, Spain
- *Correspondence: Juan Fernández-Recio,
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50
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Dalla Pozza M, Abdullrahman A, Cardin CJ, Gasser G, Hall JP. Three's a crowd - stabilisation, structure, and applications of DNA triplexes. Chem Sci 2022; 13:10193-10215. [PMID: 36277639 PMCID: PMC9473520 DOI: 10.1039/d2sc01793h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA is a strikingly flexible molecule and can form a variety of secondary structures, including the triple helix, which is the subject of this review. The DNA triplex may be formed naturally, during homologous recombination, or can be formed by the introduction of a synthetic triplex forming oligonucleotide (TFO) to a DNA duplex. As the TFO will bind to the duplex with sequence specificity, there is significant interest in developing TFOs with potential therapeutic applications, including using TFOs as a delivery mechanism for compounds able to modify or damage DNA. However, to combine triplexes with functionalised compounds, a full understanding of triplex structure and chemical modification strategies, which may increase triplex stability or in vivo degradation, is essential - these areas will be discussed in this review. Ruthenium polypyridyl complexes, which are able to photooxidise DNA and act as luminescent DNA probes, may serve as a suitable photophysical payload for a TFO system and the developments in this area in the context of DNA triplexes will also be reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Dalla Pozza
- Chimie ParisTech, PSL University, CNRS, Institute of Chemistry for Life and Health Sciences, Laboratory for Inorganic Chemical Biology F-75005 Paris France www.gassergroup.com
| | - Ahmad Abdullrahman
- Department of Pharmacy, Chemistry and Pharmacy Building, University of Reading Whiteknights Campus Reading Berkshire RG6 6AD UK
| | - Christine J Cardin
- Department of Chemistry, University of Reading Whiteknights Reading RG6 6AD UK
| | - Gilles Gasser
- Chimie ParisTech, PSL University, CNRS, Institute of Chemistry for Life and Health Sciences, Laboratory for Inorganic Chemical Biology F-75005 Paris France www.gassergroup.com
| | - James P Hall
- Department of Pharmacy, Chemistry and Pharmacy Building, University of Reading Whiteknights Campus Reading Berkshire RG6 6AD UK
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