The residence time of the bound water in the hydrophobic minor groove of the carbocyclic-nucleoside analogs of Dickerson-Drew dodecamers

How RNase HI (Escherichia coli) promoted site-selective hydrolysis works on RNA in duplex with carba-LNA and LNA substituted antisense strands in an antisense strategy context?

A detailed kinetic study of 36 single modified AON-RNA heteroduplexes shows that substitution of a single native nucleotide in the antisense strand (AON) by locked nucleic acid (LNA) or by diastereomerically pure carba-LNA results in site-dependent modulation of RNase H promoted cleavage of complementary mRNA strands by 2 to 5 fold at 5'-GpN-3' cleavage sites, giving up to 70% of the RNA cleavage products. The experiments have been performed using RNase HI of Escherichia coli. The 2nd best cleavage site, being the 5'-ApN-3' sites, cleaves up to 23%, depending upon the substitution site in 36 isosequential complementary AONs. A comparison of the modified AON promoted RNA cleavage rates with that of the native AON shows that sequence-specificity is considerably enhanced as a result of modification. Clearly, relatively weaker 5'-purine (Pu)-pyrimidine (Py)-3' stacking in the complementary RNA strand is preferred (giving ∼90% of total cleavage products), which plays an important role in RNase H promoted RNA cleavage. A plausible mechanism of RNase H mediated cleavage of the RNA has been proposed to be two-fold, dictated by the balancing effect of the aromatic character of the purine aglycone: first, the locally formed 9-guanylate ion (pK_a 9.3, ∼18-20% N1 ionized at pH 8) alters the adjoining sugar-phosphate backbone around the scissile phosphate, transforming its sugar N/S conformational equilibrium, to preferential S-type, causing preferential cleavage at 5'-GpN-3' sites around the center of 20 mer complementary mRNA. Second, the weaker nearest-neighbor strength of 5'-Pu-p-Py-3' stacking promotes preferential 5'-GpN-3' and 5'-ApN-3' cleavage, providing ∼90% of the total products, compared to ∼50% in that of the native one, because of the cLNA/LNA substituent effect on the neighboring 5'-Pu-p-Py-3' sites, providing both local steric flexibility and additional hydration. This facilitates both the water and water/Mg²⁺ ion availability at the cleavage site causing sequence-specific hydrolysis of the phosphodiester bond of scissile phosphate. The enhancement of the total rate of cleavage of the complementary mRNA strand by up to 25%, presented in this work, provides opportunities to engineer a single modification site in appropriately substituted AONs to design an effective antisense strategy based on the nucleolytic stability of the AON strand versus RNase H capability to cleave the complementary RNA strand.

Crystallographic studies of chemically modified nucleic acids: a backward glance

Chemically modified nucleic acids (CNAs) are widely explored as antisense oligonucleotide or small interfering RNA (siRNA) candidates for therapeutic applications. CNAs are also of interest in diagnostics, high-throughput genomics and target validation, nanotechnology and as model systems in investigations directed at a better understanding of the etiology of nucleic acid structure, as well as the physicochemical and pairing properties of DNA and RNA, and for probing protein-nucleic acid interactions. In this article, we review research conducted in our laboratory over the past two decades with a focus on crystal-structure analyses of CNAs and artificial pairing systems. We highlight key insights into issues ranging from conformational distortions as a consequence of modification to the modulation of pairing strength, and RNA affinity by stereoelectronic effects and hydration. Although crystal structures have only been determined for a subset of the large number of modifications that were synthesized and analyzed in the oligonucleotide context to date, they have yielded guiding principles for the design of new analogs with tailor-made properties, including pairing specificity, nuclease resistance, and cellular uptake. And, perhaps less obviously, crystallographic studies of CNAs and synthetic pairing systems have shed light on fundamental aspects of DNA and RNA structure and function that would not have been disclosed by investigations solely focused on the natural nucleic acids.

Oxetane Locked Thymidine in the Dickerson-Drew Dodecamer Causes Local Base Pairing Distortions—An NMR Structure and Hydration Study

The introduction of a North-type sugar conformation constrained oxetane T block, 1-(1',3'-O-anhydro-beta-D-psicofuranosyl) thymine, at the T(7) position of the self-complementary Dickerson-Drew dodecamer, d[(5'-C(1)G(2)C(3)G(4)A(5)A(6)T(7)T(8)C(9)G(10)C(11)G(12)-3')](2), considerably perturbs the conformation of the four central base pairs, reducing the stability of the structure. UV spectroscopy and 1D NMR display a drop in melting temperature of approximately 10 degrees C per modification for the T(7) oxetane modified duplex, where the T(7) block has been introduced in both strands, compared to the native Dickerson-Drew dodecamer. The three dimensional structure has been determined by NMR spectroscopy and has subsequently been compared with the results of 2.4 ns MD simulations of the native and the T(7) oxetane modified duplexes. The modified T(7) residue is found to maintain its constrained sugar- and the related glycosyl torsion conformations in the duplex, resulting in staggered and stretched T(7).A(6) and A(6).T(7) non-linear base pairs. The stacking is less perturbed, but there is an increased roll between the two central residues compared to the native counterpart, which is compensated by tilts of the neighboring base steps. The one dimensional melting profile of base protons of the T(7) and T(8) residues reveals that the introduction of the North-type sugar constrained thymine destabilizes the core of the modified duplex, promoting melting to start simultaneously from the center as well as from the ends. Temperature dependent hydration studies by NMR demonstrate that the central T(7).A(6)/A(6).T(7) base pairs of the T(7) oxetane modified Dickerson-Drew dodecamer have at least one order of magnitude higher water exchange rates (correlated to the opening rate of the base pair) than the corresponding base pairs in the native duplex.

Local sequential minimization of double stranded B-DNA using Monte Carlo annealing

A software algorithm has been developed to investigate the folding process in B-DNA structures in vacuum under a simple and accurate force field. This algorithm models linear double stranded B-DNA sequences based on a local, sequential minimization procedure. The original B-DNA structures were modeled using initial nucleotide structures taken from the Brookhaven database. The models contain information at the atomic level allowing one to investigate as accurately as possible the structure and characteristics of the resulting DNA structures. A variety of DNA sequences and sizes were investigated containing coding and non-coding, random and real, homogeneous or heterogeneous sequences in the range of 2 to 40 base pairs. The force field contains terms such as angle bend, Lennard-Jones, electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding which are set up using the Dreiding II force field and defined to account for the helical parameters such as twist, tilt and rise. A close comparison was made between this local minimization algorithm and a global one (previously published) in order to find out advantages and disadvantages of the different methods. From the comparison, this algorithm gives better and faster results than the previous method, allowing one to minimize larger DNA segments. DNA segments with a length of 40 bases need approximately 4 h, while 2.5 weeks are needed with the previous method. After each minimization the angles between phosphate-oxygen-carbon A1, the oxygen-phosphate-oxygen A2 and the average helical twists were calculated. From the generated fragments it was found that the bond angles are A1=150 degrees +/-2 degrees and A2=130 degrees +/-10 degrees, while the helical twist is 36.6 degrees +/-2 degrees in the A strand and A1=150 degrees +/-6 degrees and A2=130+/-6 degrees with helical twist 39.6 degrees +/-2 degrees in the B strand for the DNA segment with the same sequence as the Dickerson dodecamer.

The first example of a Hoogsteen base-paired DNA duplex in dynamic equilibrium with a Watson-Crick base-paired duplex--a structural (NMR), kinetic and thermodynamic study

A single-point substitution of the O4' oxygen by a CH2 group at the sugar residue of A6 (i.e. 2'-deoxyaristeromycin moiety) in a self-complementary DNA duplex, 5'-d(C1G2C3G4A5A6T7T8C9G10C11G12)2(-3), has been shown to steer the fully Watson-Crick basepaired DNA duplex (1A), akin to the native counterpart, to a doubly A6:T7 Hoogsteen basepaired (1B) B-type DNA duplex, resulting in a dynamic equilibrium of (1A)<==>(1B): Keq = k1/k(-1) = 0.56+/-0.08. The dynamic conversion of the fully Watson-Crick basepaired (1A) to the partly Hoogsteen basepaired (1B) structure is marginally kinetically and thermodynamically disfavoured [k1 (298K) = 3.9 0.8 sec(-1); deltaHdegrees++ = 164+/-14 kJ/mol; -TdeltaS degrees++ (298K) = -92 kJ/mol giving a deltaG degrees++ 298 of 72 kJ/mol. Ea (k1) = 167 14 kJ/mol] compared to the reverse conversion of the Hoogsteen (1B) to the Watson-Crick (1A) structure [k-1 (298K) = 7.0 0.6 sec-1, deltaH degrees++ = 153 13 kJ/mol; -TdeltaSdegrees++ (298K) = -82 kJ/mol giving a deltaGdegrees++(298) of 71 kJ/mol. Ea (k-1) = 155 13 kJ/mol]. Acomparison of deltaGdegrees++(298) of the forward (k1) and backward (k-1) conversions, (1A)<==>(1B), shows that there is ca 1 kJ/mol preference for the Watson-Crick (1A) over the double Hoogsteen basepaired (1B) DNA duplex, thus giving an equilibrium ratio of almost 2:1 in favour of the fully Watson-Crick basepaired duplex. The chemical environments of the two interconverting DNA duplexes are very different as evident from their widely separated sets of chemical shifts connected by temperature-dependent exchange peaks in the NOESY and ROESY spectra. The fully Watson-Crick basepaired structure (1A) is based on a total of 127 intra, 97 inter and 17 cross-strand distance constraints per strand, whereas the double A6:T7 Hoogsteen basepaired (1B) structure is based on 114 intra, 92 inter and 15 cross-strand distance constraints, giving an average of 22 and 20 NOE distance constraints per residue and strand, respectively. In addition, 55 NMR-derived backbone dihedral constraints per strand were used for both structures. The main effect of the Hoogsteen basepairs in (1B) on the overall structure is a narrowing of the minor groove and a corresponding widening of the major groove. The Hoogsteen basepairing at the central A6:T7 basepairs in (1B) has enforced a syn conformation on the glycosyl torsion of the 2'-deoxyaristeromycin moiety, A6, as a result of substitution of the endocyclic 4'-oxygen in the natural sugar with a methylene group in A6. A comparison of the Watson-Crick basepaired duplex (1A) to the Hoogsteen basepaired duplex (1B) shows that only a few changes, mainly in alpha, sigma and gamma torsions, in the sugar-phosphate backbone seem to be necessary to accommodate the Hoogsteen basepair.

A critical survey of the structure-function of the antisense oligo/RNA heteroduplex as substrate for RNase H

The aim of this review is to draw a correlation between the structure of the DNA/RNA hybrid and its properties as a substrate for the RNase H, as well as to point the crucial structural requirements for the modified AONs to preserve their RNase H potency. The review is divided into the following parts: (1) mechanistic considerations, (2) target RNA folding-AON folding-RNase H assistance in AON/RNA hybrid formation, (3) carbohydrate modifications, (4) backbone modifications, (5) base modifications, (6) conjugated AONs, (7) importance of the tethered chromophore in AON for the AON/RNA hybrid interactions with the RNase H. The structural changes in the AON/RNA hybrid duplexes brought by different modifications of the sugar, backbone or base in the antisense strand, and the effect of these changes on the RNase H recognition of the modified substrates have been addressed. Only those AON modifications and the corresponding AON/RNA hybrids, which have been structurally characterized by spectroscopic means and functionally analyzed by their ability to elicit RNase H potency in comparison with the native counterpart have been presented here.