Structural insights into the binding of small ligand molecules to a G-quadruplex DNA located in the HIV-1 promoter

G-quadruplex ligands as therapeutic agents against cancer, neurological disorders and viral infections

G-quadruplexes (G4s) within the human genome have undergone extensive molecular investigation, with a strong focus on telomeres, gene promoters and repetitive regulatory sequences. G4s play central roles in regulating essential biological processes, including telomere maintenance, replication, transcription and translation. Targeting these molecular processes with G4-binding ligands holds substantial therapeutic potential in anticancer treatments and has also shown promise in treating neurological, skeletal and muscular disorders. The presence of G4s in bacterial and viral genomes also suggests that G4-binding ligands could be a critical tool in fighting infections. This review provides an overview of the progress and applications of G4-binding ligands, their proposed mechanisms of action, challenges faced and prospects for their utilization in anticancer treatments, neurological disorders and antiviral activities.

On the recognition of Yersinia protein tyrosine phosphatase by carboxylic acid derivatives

Some members of Yersinia (Y), a genus of bacteria in the family Yersiniaceae, are pathogenic in humans, causing a range of health problems, from gastrointestinal syndromes to the plague. The Y protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) YopH is a crucial virulence determinant, considering the vital roles of PTPs in the intracellular signal transduction pathways and cell cycle control. The structural understanding of YopH as a cellular target in pathogenic conditions caused by Y infection is a prerequisite for designing potent and selective YopH inhibitors. Thus, by using molecular docking simulations, the open and closed conformations of the so-called 'WPD loop' (352-Gly-Asn-Trp-Pro-Asp-Gln-Thr-Ala-Val-Ser-361), located nearby the active site (403-Cys-Arg-Ala-Gly-Val-Gly-Arg-Thr-410) in YopH structure, are shown to be relevant for recognition by carboxylic acid derivatives, and the closed conformation is a more preferable receptor in terms of the quantitative correlation with experimental data. In both cases, aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA) has the greatest affinity to YopH. Consequently, a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) molecular model is derived to see into the extent of the ATA-induced open-closed conformational change. Active site residues and the WPD loop, as well as ATA are treated using SCC-DFTB-D (QM level), while the rest of the complex is treated using AMBER force field (MM level). The active/inactive functional behavior of YopH is explored by observing the interaction mode of ATA with the wild-type (wt)/Cys403Ser receptor and evaluating the competitive inhibition parameters. Implications of the present study for experimental research are discussed. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Nitidine chloride induces cardiac hypertrophy in mice by targeting autophagy-related 4B cysteine peptidase

Nitidine chloride (NC) is a standard active component from the traditional Chinese medicine Zanthoxylum nitidum (Roxb.) DC. (ZN). NC has shown a variety of pharmacological activities including anti-tumor activity. As a number of anti-tumor drugs cause cardiotoxicity, herein we investigated whether NC exerted a cardiotoxic effect and the underlying mechanism. Aqueous extract of ZN (ZNE) was intraperitoneally injected into rats, while NC was injected into beagles and mice once daily for 4 weeks. Cardiac function was assessed using echocardiography. We showed that both ZNE administered in rats and NC administered in mice induced dose-dependent cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction, whereas administration of NC at the middle and high dose caused death in Beagles. Consistently, we observed a reduction of cardiac autophagy levels in NC-treated mice and neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, we demonstrated that autophagy-related 4B cysteine peptidase (ATG4B) may be a potential target of NC, since overexpression of ATG4B reversed the cardiac hypertrophy and reduced autophagy levels observed in NC-treated mice. We conclude that NC induces cardiac hypertrophy via ATG4B-mediated downregulation of autophagy in mice. Thus, this study provides guidance for the safe clinical application of ZN and the use of NC as an anti-tumor drug.

Non-canonical DNA structures: Diversity and disease association

A complete understanding of DNA double-helical structure discovered by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, unveil the importance and significance of DNA. For the last seven decades, this has been a leading light in the course of the development of modern biology and biomedical science. Apart from the predominant B-form, experimental shreds of evidence have revealed the existence of a sequence-dependent structural diversity, unusual non-canonical structures like hairpin, cruciform, Z-DNA, multistranded structures such as DNA triplex, G-quadruplex, i-motif forms, etc. The diversity in the DNA structure depends on various factors such as base sequence, ions, superhelical stress, and ligands. In response to these various factors, the polymorphism of DNA regulates various genes via different processes like replication, transcription, translation, and recombination. However, altered levels of gene expression are associated with many human genetic diseases including neurological disorders and cancer. These non-B-DNA structures are expected to play a key role in determining genetic stability, DNA damage and repair etc. The present review is a modest attempt to summarize the available literature, illustrating the occurrence of non-canonical structures at the molecular level in response to the environment and interaction with ligands and proteins. This would provide an insight to understand the biological functions of these unusual DNA structures and their recognition as potential therapeutic targets for diverse genetic diseases.