Nuclease resistance and RNase H sensitivity of oligonucleotides bridged by oligomethylenediol and oligoethylene glycol linkers

Enhancing Neuronal Cell Uptake of Therapeutic Nucleic Acids with Tetrahedral DNA Nanostructures

The successful translation of therapeutic nucleic acids (NAs) for the treatment of neurological disorders depends on their safe and efficient delivery to neural cells, in particular neurons. DNA nanostructures can be a promising NAs delivery vehicle. Nonetheless, the potential of DNA nanostructures for neuronal cell delivery of therapeutic NAs is unexplored. Here, tetrahedral DNA nanostructures (TDN) as siRNA delivery scaffolds to neuronal cells, exploring the influence of functionalization with two different reported neuronal targeting ligands: C4-3 RNA aptamer and Tet1 peptide are investigated. Nanostructures are characterized in vitro, as well as in silico using molecular dynamic simulations to better understand the overall TDN structural stability. Enhancement of neuronal cell uptake of TDN functionalized with the C4-3 Aptamer (TDN-Apt), not only in neuronal cell lines but also in primary neuronal cell cultures is demonstrated. Additionally, TDN and TDN-Apt nanostructures carrying siRNA are shown to promote silencing in a process aided by chloroquine-induced endosomal disruption. This work presents a thorough workflow for the structural and functional characterization of the proposed TDN as a nano-scaffold for neuronal delivery of therapeutic NAs and for targeting ligands evaluation, contributing to the future development of new neuronal drug delivery systems based on DNA nanostructures.

Bridged oligonucleotides as molecular probes for investigation of enzyme-substrate interaction and allele-specific analysis of DNA

The efficiency of enzymatic conversion of DNA complexes containing non-nucleotide inserts has been studied. T4 DNA ligase and Taq DNA polymerase have been included in the study as examples of widely used DNA-dependent enzymes. A series of substrate DNA complexes have been formed using native oligonucleotides and bridged ones bearing non-nucleotide inserts based on phosphodiesters of di-, tetra-, or hexaethylene glycol, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,10-decanediol, and 3-hydroxy-2(hydroxymethyl)-tetrahydrofuran. The perturbation in DNA located far from the site of the enzyme action had almost no influence on the substrate properties of the complex, while insertion near this site significantly deteriorated them. The use of a series of modified duplexes allows one to locate the position of the enzyme-binding site on DNA substrate with the accuracy of 1-2 nucleotides. The presence of a non-nucleotide insert in the complex has been also shown to enhance the efficiency of single mismatch discrimination upon both template-directed ligation and extension of oligonucleotides.

Induction of RNase H activity by Arabinose-peptide nucleic acid chimeras

We report the syntheses of chimeras of peptide nucleic acid (PNA) with DNA and 2'-deoxy 2'-fluoroarabinonucleic acid (2'-FANA). Chimeric oligomers possessing a single central PNA insert were capable of forming hybrid duplexes with complementary RNA, although with diminished thermal stability in comparison to the unmodified oligomers. We subsequently determined the ability of the DNA and 2'-FANA oligomers of mixed-base composition to elicit human RNase H1 degradation of complementary RNA that was either unstructured or as a hairpin. In the case of the more rigid FANA strand, a PNA insert led to a higher ability of the chimera to direct the degradation of both types of RNA targets. Generally, the enhancement observed was greater for a butanediol linker than for a more rigid PNA linker. Along with previous work, these studies suggest that the general flexibility associated with an acyclic insert (e.g., butyl vs PNA)--and not necessarily the presence of local structural imperfections in the heteroduplex--is beneficial for RNase H1 activity. As well, there are implications to the charge nature of non-nucleotide inserts (neutral vs negative) and their ability to maintain RNase H activity that may serve to direct further design considerations. Together, these studies support the notion that flexibility of antisense oligonucleotide (AON)/RNA hybrids is essential for high RNase H catalysis, in which an enzyme-induced altered trajectory of the bound AON/RNA substrate could facilitate optimal interaction with the catalytic site of RNase H.

Hybridization of the bridged oligonucleotides with DNA: thermodynamic and kinetic studies

Hybridization properties of oligonucleotides containing non-nucleotide inserts designed on the basis of synthetic abasic sites, oligomethylene diols or oligoethylene glycols have been characterized. The influence of the inserts which generate extrahelical anucleotidic bulges on thermodynamics, kinetics of hybridization of bridged oligonucleotide with DNA has been studied by UV-melting and stopped-flow techniques. Circular dichroism spectrometry data show that anucleotidic bulges in the middle of the duplex does not alter the B-form helix conformation. Nevertheless, the insert induces destabilization of the duplex structure, caused mostly by the considerable enhancement of the dissociation rates. Free energy increments for the extrahelical anucleotidic bulges can be described in the nearest-neighbor approximation. The thermodynamic effect of the insert lengthening obeys a simple Jacobson-Stockmayer entropy extrapolation. Independently of the insert type, the free energy term is directly proportional to the logarithm of the number of bonds between the oligonucleotide fragments. The behavior of hydrophobic inserts formed by 10-hydroxydecyl-1-phospate units is an exception to the rule.

A new class of DNA quadruplexes formed by oligodeoxyribonucleotides containing a 3'-3' or 5'-5' inversion of polarity site

Unprecedented DNA quadruplex structures containing a 3'-3' or 5'-5' inversion of polarity site in the G-tract are presented; the quadruplexes are characterized by different elements of symmetry and glycosidic angle conformations.

The influence of the non-nucleotide insert on the hybridization properties of oligonucleotides

The effect of different non-nucleotide inserts incorporated into oligonucleotide chains on their hybridization properties was studied by the method of thermal denaturation. Various types of alkyldiols and oligoethylene glycols were used as inserts modifying oligonucleotide backbone. Such modification of oligonucleotides caused the destabilization of their complementary complexes. It was shown that the hybridization properties of the modified oligonucleotides depend on several features of inserts: the type, number, length of insertions, and positions of interrupted dinucleotide steps in oligonucleotide chain.

Novel DNA/polymer conjugate for intelligent antisense reagent with improved nuclease resistance

Antisense technology provides an effective strategy to inhibit synthesis of the gene product. We prepared a novel antisense reagent comprised of oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) and a thermo responsive polymer, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm). The conjugate inhibited gene expression in a dose-dependent manner. The ODN-PNIPAAm conjugate demonstrated excellent resistance to S1 nuclease. In particular, PNIPAAm-modified antisense ODN at the 3',5'-ends of the ODN provided complete resistance against nuclease at 37 degrees C, which is above the phase transition temperature of the PNIPAAm side chain. These characteristics of the conjugate suggest it may have potential for use in a new gene delivery system as part of an antisense strategy.

A Modular Approach to the Synthesis of New Reagents Useful in the Chemical Synthesis of Modified DNA Probes: Derivatives of 3-(tert-Butyldimethylsiloxy)glutaric Anhydride as Versatile Building Blocks in the Synthesis of New Phosphoramidites and Modified Solid Supports

We present a flexible and cost-efficient synthetic strategy for the preparation of a new family of phosphoramidite and solid-support reagents that can introduce a broad range of modifications into DNA probes. The key intermediate material 3 is synthesized using the inexpensive and commercially available 3-(tert-butyldimethylsiloxy)glutaric anhydride 1 and can be used as common starting material for the preparation of new labeling reagents.

Efficient RNase H-directed cleavage of RNA promoted by antisense DNA or 2'F-ANA constructs containing acyclic nucleotide inserts

The ability of modified antisense oligonucleotides (AONs) containing acyclic interresidue units to support RNase H-promoted cleavage of complementary RNA is described. Manipulation of the backbone and sugar geometries in these conformationally labile monomers shows great benefits in the enzymatic recognition of the nucleic acid hybrids, while highlighting the importance of local strand conformation on the hydrolytic efficiency of the enzyme more conclusively. Our results demonstrate that the duplexes support remarkably high levels of enzymatic degradation when treated with human RNase HII, making them efficient mimics of the native substrates. Furthermore, interesting linker-dependent modulation of enzymatic activity is observed during in vitro assays, suggesting a potential role for this AON class in an RNase H-dependent pathway of controlling RNA expression. Additionally, the butyl-modified 2'F-ANA AONs described in this work constitute the first examples of a nucleic acid species capable of eliciting high RNase H activity while possessing a highly flexible molecular architecture at predetermined sites along the AON.