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Wang Z, Zhang D, Qiu X, Inuzuka H, Xiong Y, Liu J, Chen L, Chen H, Xie L, Kaniskan HÜ, Chen X, Jin J, Wei W. Structurally Specific Z-DNA Proteolysis Targeting Chimera Enables Targeted Degradation of Adenosine Deaminase Acting on RNA 1. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:7584-7593. [PMID: 38469801 PMCID: PMC10988290 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c13646] [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] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Given the prevalent advancements in DNA- and RNA-based PROTACs, there remains a significant need for the exploration and expansion of more specific DNA-based tools, thus broadening the scope and repertoire of DNA-based PROTACs. Unlike conventional A- or B-form DNA, Z-form DNA is a configuration that exclusively manifests itself under specific stress conditions and with specific target sequences, which can be recognized by specific reader proteins, such as ADAR1 or ZBP1, to exert downstream biological functions. The core of our innovation lies in the strategic engagement of Z-form DNA with ADAR1 and its degradation is achieved by leveraging a VHL ligand conjugated to Z-form DNA to recruit the E3 ligase. This ingenious construct engendered a series of Z-PROTACs, which we utilized to selectively degrade the Z-DNA-binding protein ADAR1, a molecule that is frequently overexpressed in cancer cells. This meticulously orchestrated approach triggers a cascade of PANoptotic events, notably encompassing apoptosis and necroptosis, by mitigating the blocking effect of ADAR1 on ZBP1, particularly in cancer cells compared with normal cells. Moreover, the Z-PROTAC design exhibits a pronounced predilection for ADAR1, as opposed to other Z-DNA readers, such as ZBP1. As such, Z-PROTAC likely elicits a positive immunological response, subsequently leading to a synergistic augmentation of cancer cell death. In summary, the Z-DNA-based PROTAC (Z-PROTAC) approach introduces a modality generated by the conformational change from B- to Z-form DNA, which harnesses the structural specificity intrinsic to potentiate a selective degradation strategy. This methodology is an inspiring conduit for the advancement of PROTAC-based therapeutic modalities, underscoring its potential for selectivity within the therapeutic landscape of PROTACs to target undruggable proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Wang
- Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Dingpeng Zhang
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Xing Qiu
- Mount Sinai Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Departments of Pharmacological Sciences, Oncological Sciences and Neuroscience, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, United States
| | - Hiroyuki Inuzuka
- Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Yan Xiong
- Mount Sinai Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Departments of Pharmacological Sciences, Oncological Sciences and Neuroscience, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, United States
| | - Jing Liu
- Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Li Chen
- Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - He Chen
- Mount Sinai Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Departments of Pharmacological Sciences, Oncological Sciences and Neuroscience, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, United States
| | - Ling Xie
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599 United States
| | - H Ümit Kaniskan
- Mount Sinai Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Departments of Pharmacological Sciences, Oncological Sciences and Neuroscience, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, United States
| | - Xian Chen
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599 United States
| | - Jian Jin
- Mount Sinai Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Departments of Pharmacological Sciences, Oncological Sciences and Neuroscience, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, United States
| | - Wenyi Wei
- Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
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Bhatt U, Cucchiarini A, Luo Y, Evans CW, Mergny JL, Iyer KS, Smith NM. Preferential formation of Z-RNA over intercalated motifs in long noncoding RNA. Genome Res 2024; 34:217-230. [PMID: 38355305 PMCID: PMC10984386 DOI: 10.1101/gr.278236.123] [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: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Secondary structure is a principal determinant of lncRNA function, predominantly regarding scaffold formation and interfaces with target molecules. Noncanonical secondary structures that form in nucleic acids have known roles in regulating gene expression and include G-quadruplexes (G4s), intercalated motifs (iMs), and R-loops (RLs). In this paper, we used the computational tools G4-iM Grinder and QmRLFS-finder to predict the formation of each of these structures throughout the lncRNA transcriptome in comparison to protein-coding transcripts. The importance of the predicted structures in lncRNAs in biological contexts was assessed by combining our results with publicly available lncRNA tissue expression data followed by pathway analysis. The formation of predicted G4 (pG4) and iM (piM) structures in select lncRNA sequences was confirmed in vitro using biophysical experiments under near-physiological conditions. We find that the majority of the tested pG4s form highly stable G4 structures, and identify many previously unreported G4s in biologically important lncRNAs. In contrast, none of the piM sequences are able to form iM structures, consistent with the idea that RNA is unable to form stable iMs. Unexpectedly, these C-rich sequences instead form Z-RNA structures, which have not been previously observed in regions containing cytosine repeats and represent an interesting and underexplored target for protein-RNA interactions. Our results highlight the prevalence and potential structure-associated functions of noncanonical secondary structures in lncRNAs, and show G4 and Z-RNA structure formation in many lncRNA sequences for the first time, furthering the understanding of the structure-function relationship in lncRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uditi Bhatt
- School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Anne Cucchiarini
- Laboratoire d'Optique et Biosciences, École Polytechnique, CNRS, INSERM, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91120 Palaiseau, France
| | - Yu Luo
- Laboratoire d'Optique et Biosciences, École Polytechnique, CNRS, INSERM, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91120 Palaiseau, France
| | - Cameron W Evans
- School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Jean-Louis Mergny
- Laboratoire d'Optique et Biosciences, École Polytechnique, CNRS, INSERM, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91120 Palaiseau, France
| | - K Swaminathan Iyer
- School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Nicole M Smith
- School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia;
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3
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Nichols PJ, Welty R, Krall JB, Henen MA, Vicens Q, Vögeli B. Zα Domain of ADAR1 Binds to an A-Form-like Nucleic Acid Duplex with Low Micromolar Affinity. Biochemistry 2024; 63:777-787. [PMID: 38437710 PMCID: PMC11168418 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.3c00636] [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] [Indexed: 03/06/2024]
Abstract
The left-handed Z-conformation of nucleic acids can be adopted by both DNA and RNA when bound by Zα domains found within a variety of viral and innate immune response proteins. While Z-form adoption is preferred by certain sequences, such as the commonly studied (CpG)n repeats, Zα has been reported to bind to a wide range of sequence contexts. Studying how Zα interacts with B-/A-form helices prior to their conversion to the Z-conformation is challenging as binding coincides with Z-form adoption. Here, we studied the binding of Zα fromHomo sapiens ADAR1 to a locked "A-type" version of the (CpG)3 construct (LNA (CpG)3) where the sugar pucker is locked into the C3'-endo/C2'-exo conformation, which prevents the duplex from adopting the alternating C2'/C3'-endo sugar puckers found in the Z-conformation. Using NMR and other biophysical techniques, we find that ZαADAR1 binds to the LNA (CpG)3 using a similar interface as for Z-form binding, with a dissociation constant (KD) of ∼4 μM. In contrast to Z-DNA/Z-RNA, where two ZαADAR1 bind to every 6 bp stretch, our data suggests that ZαADAR1 binds to multiple LNA molecules, indicating a completely different binding mode. Because ZαADAR1 binds relatively tightly to a non-Z-form model, its binding to B/A-form helices may need to be considered when experiments are carried out which attempt to identify the Z-form targets of Zα domains. The use of LNA constructs may be beneficial in experiments where negative controls for Z-form adoption are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parker J. Nichols
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, 80045, USA
| | - Robb Welty
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, 80045, USA
| | - Jeffrey B. Krall
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, 80045, USA
| | - Morkos A. Henen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, 80045, USA
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, 35516, Egypt
| | - Quentin Vicens
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, 80045, USA
- RNA Bioscience Initiative, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, 80045, USA
- Present address: Department of Biology and Biochemistry, Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA
| | - Beat Vögeli
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, 80045, USA
- RNA Bioscience Initiative, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, 80045, USA
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4
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Vögele J, Hymon D, Martins J, Ferner J, Jonker HA, Hargrove A, Weigand J, Wacker A, Schwalbe H, Wöhnert J, Duchardt-Ferner E. High-resolution structure of stem-loop 4 from the 5'-UTR of SARS-CoV-2 solved by solution state NMR. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:11318-11331. [PMID: 37791874 PMCID: PMC10639051 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
We present the high-resolution structure of stem-loop 4 of the 5'-untranslated region (5_SL4) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genome solved by solution state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. 5_SL4 adopts an extended rod-like structure with a single flexible looped-out nucleotide and two mixed tandem mismatches, each composed of a G•U wobble base pair and a pyrimidine•pyrimidine mismatch, which are incorporated into the stem-loop structure. Both the tandem mismatches and the looped-out residue destabilize the stem-loop structure locally. Their distribution along the 5_SL4 stem-loop suggests a role of these non-canonical elements in retaining functionally important structural plasticity in particular with regard to the accessibility of the start codon of an upstream open reading frame located in the RNA's apical loop. The apical loop-although mostly flexible-harbors residual structural features suggesting an additional role in molecular recognition processes. 5_SL4 is highly conserved among the different variants of SARS-CoV-2 and can be targeted by small molecule ligands, which it binds with intermediate affinity in the vicinity of the non-canonical elements within the stem-loop structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Vögele
- Institute for Molecular Biosciences, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 7, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
| | - Daniel Hymon
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 7, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
- Institute for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 7, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
| | - Jason Martins
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 7, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
- Institute for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 7, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
| | - Jan Ferner
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 7, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
- Institute for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 7, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
| | - Hendrik R A Jonker
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 7, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
- Institute for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 7, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
| | | | - Julia E Weigand
- Philipps-University Marburg, Department of Pharmacy, Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Marbacher Weg 6, 35037 Marburg, Germany
| | - Anna Wacker
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 7, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
- Institute for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 7, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
| | - Harald Schwalbe
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 7, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
- Institute for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 7, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
| | - Jens Wöhnert
- Institute for Molecular Biosciences, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 7, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
| | - Elke Duchardt-Ferner
- Institute for Molecular Biosciences, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 7, 60438 Frankfurt/M., Germany
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5
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Wu J, Kim A, Wu X, Ray S, Allende DS, Welch N, Bellar A, Dasarathy J, Dasarathy S, Nagy LE. 5S rRNA pseudogene transcripts are associated with interferon production and inflammatory responses in alcohol-associated hepatitis. Hepatology 2023; 77:1983-1997. [PMID: 36645226 PMCID: PMC10192046 DOI: 10.1097/hep.0000000000000024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Interferon (IFN) signaling is critical to the pathogenesis of alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH), yet the mechanisms for activation of this system are elusive. We hypothesize that host-derived 5S rRNA pseudogene (RNA5SP) transcripts regulate IFN production and modify immunity in AH. APPROACH AND RESULTS Mining of transcriptomic datasets revealed that in patients with severe alcohol-associated hepatitis (sAH), hepatic expression of genes regulated by IFNs was perturbed and gene sets involved in IFN production were enriched. RNA5SP transcripts were also increased and correlated with expression of type I IFNs. Interestingly, inflammatory mediators upregulated in sAH, but not in other liver diseases, were positively correlated with certain RNA5SP transcripts. Real-time quantitative PCR demonstrated that RNA5SP transcripts were upregulated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with sAH. In sAH livers, increased 5S rRNA and reduced nuclear MAF1 (MAF1 homolog, negative regulator of RNA polymerase III) protein suggested a higher activity of RNA polymerase III (Pol III); inhibition of Pol III reduced RNA5SP expression in monocytic THP-1 cells. Expression of several RNA5SP transcript-interacting proteins was downregulated in sAH, potentially unmasking transcripts to immunosensors. Indeed, siRNA knockdown of interacting proteins potentiated the immunostimulatory activity of RNA5SP transcripts. Molecular interaction and cell viability assays demonstrated that RNA5SP transcripts adopted Z-conformation and contributed to ZBP1-mediated caspase-independent cell death. CONCLUSIONS Increased expression and binding availability of RNA5SP transcripts was associated with hepatic IFN production and inflammation in sAH. These data identify RNA5SP transcripts as a potential target to mitigate inflammation and hepatocellular injury in AH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianguo Wu
- Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Adam Kim
- Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Xiaoqin Wu
- Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Semanti Ray
- Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | | | - Nicole Welch
- Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Annette Bellar
- Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Jaividhya Dasarathy
- Department of Family Medicine, MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Srinivasan Dasarathy
- Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Laura E. Nagy
- Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
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6
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Nichols PJ, Krall JB, Henen MA, Vögeli B, Vicens Q. Z-RNA biology: a central role in the innate immune response? RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2023; 29:273-281. [PMID: 36596670 PMCID: PMC9945438 DOI: 10.1261/rna.079429.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Z-RNA is a higher-energy, left-handed conformation of RNA, whose function has remained elusive. A growing body of work alludes to regulatory roles for Z-RNA in the immune response. Here, we review how Z-RNA features present in cellular RNAs-especially containing retroelements-could be recognized by a family of winged helix proteins, with an impact on host defense. We also discuss how mutations to specific Z-contacting amino acids disrupt their ability to stabilize Z-RNA, resulting in functional losses. We end by highlighting knowledge gaps in the field, which, if addressed, would significantly advance this active area of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parker J Nichols
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
| | - Jeffrey B Krall
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
| | - Morkos A Henen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, 35516, Egypt
| | - Beat Vögeli
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
- RNA Bioscience Initiative, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
| | - Quentin Vicens
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
- RNA Bioscience Initiative, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
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7
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Krall JB, Nichols PJ, Henen MA, Vicens Q, Vögeli B. Structure and Formation of Z-DNA and Z-RNA. Molecules 2023; 28:843. [PMID: 36677900 PMCID: PMC9867160 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28020843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 01/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite structural differences between the right-handed conformations of A-RNA and B-DNA, both nucleic acids adopt very similar, left-handed Z-conformations. In contrast to their structural similarities and sequence preferences, RNA and DNA exhibit differences in their ability to adopt the Z-conformation regarding their hydration shells, the chemical modifications that promote the Z-conformation, and the structure of junctions connecting them to right-handed segments. In this review, we highlight the structural and chemical properties of both Z-DNA and Z-RNA and delve into the potential factors that contribute to both their similarities and differences. While Z-DNA has been extensively studied, there is a gap of knowledge when it comes to Z-RNA. Where such information is lacking, we try and extend the principles of Z-DNA stability and formation to Z-RNA, considering the inherent differences of the nucleic acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey B. Krall
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Parker J. Nichols
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Morkos A. Henen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
| | - Quentin Vicens
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
- RNA Bioscience Initiative, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Beat Vögeli
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
- RNA Bioscience Initiative, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
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8
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Epstein RJ, Lin FPY, Brink RA, Blackburn J. Synonymous alterations of cancer-associated Trp53 CpG mutational hotspots cause fatal developmental jaw malocclusions but no tumors in knock-in mice. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0284327. [PMID: 37053216 PMCID: PMC10101519 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Intragenic CpG dinucleotides are tightly conserved in evolution yet are also vulnerable to methylation-dependent mutation, raising the question as to why these functionally critical sites have not been deselected by more stable coding sequences. We previously showed in cell lines that altered exonic CpG methylation can modify promoter start sites, and hence protein isoform expression, for the human TP53 tumor suppressor gene. Here we extend this work to the in vivo setting by testing whether synonymous germline modifications of exonic CpG sites affect murine development, fertility, longevity, or cancer incidence. We substituted the DNA-binding exons 5-8 of Trp53, the mouse ortholog of human TP53, with variant-CpG (either CpG-depleted or -enriched) sequences predicted to encode the normal p53 amino acid sequence; a control construct was also created in which all non-CpG sites were synonymously substituted. Homozygous Trp53-null mice were the only genotype to develop tumors. Mice with variant-CpG Trp53 sequences remained tumor-free, but were uniquely prone to dental anomalies causing jaw malocclusion (p < .0001). Since the latter phenotype also characterises murine Rett syndrome due to dysfunction of the trans-repressive MeCP2 methyl-CpG-binding protein, we hypothesise that CpG sites may exert non-coding phenotypic effects via pre-translational cis-interactions of 5-methylcytosine with methyl-binding proteins which regulate mRNA transcript initiation, expression or splicing, although direct effects on mRNA structure or translation are also possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Epstein
- University of New South Wales, St Vincent's Hospital Campus, Sydney, Australia
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, Australia
| | - Frank P Y Lin
- University of New South Wales, St Vincent's Hospital Campus, Sydney, Australia
- Centre for Clinical Genomics, The Kinghorn Cancer Centre, Sydney, Australia
| | - Robert A Brink
- University of New South Wales, St Vincent's Hospital Campus, Sydney, Australia
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, Australia
| | - James Blackburn
- University of New South Wales, St Vincent's Hospital Campus, Sydney, Australia
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, Australia
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9
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Mráziková K, Kruse H, Mlýnský V, Auffinger P, Šponer J. Multiscale Modeling of Phosphate···π Contacts in RNA U-Turns Exposes Differences between Quantum-Chemical and AMBER Force Field Descriptions. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:6182-6200. [PMID: 36454943 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c01064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Phosphate···π, also called anion···π, contacts occur between nucleobases and anionic phosphate oxygens (OP2) in r(GNRA) and r(UNNN) U-turn motifs (N = A,G,C,U; R = A,G). These contacts were investigated using state-of-the-art quantum-chemical methods (QM) to characterize their physicochemical properties and to serve as a reference to evaluate AMBER force field (AFF) performance. We found that phosphate···π interaction energies calculated with the AFF for dimethyl phosphate···nucleobase model systems are less stabilizing in comparison with double-hybrid DFT and that minimum contact distances are larger for all nucleobases. These distance stretches are also observed in large-scale AFF vs QM/MM computations and classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on several r(gcGNRAgc) tetraloop hairpins when compared to experimental data extracted from X-ray/cryo-EM structures (res. ≤ 2.5 Å) using the WebFR3D bioinformatic tool. MD simulations further revealed shifted OP2/nucleobase positions. We propose that discrepancies between the QM and AFF result from a combination of missing polarization in the AFF combined with too large AFF Lennard-Jones (LJ) radii of nucleobase carbon atoms in addition to an exaggerated short-range repulsion of the r-12 LJ repulsive term. We compared these results with earlier data gathered on lone pair···π contacts in CpG Z-steps occurring in r(UNCG) tetraloops. In both instances, charge transfer calculations do not support any significant n → π* donation effects. We also investigated thiophosphate···π contacts that showed reduced stabilizing interaction energies when compared to phosphate···π contacts. Thus, we challenge suggestions that the experimentally observed enhanced thermodynamic stability of phosphorothioated r(GNRA) tetraloops can be explained by larger London dispersion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaudia Mráziková
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65Brno, Czech Republic.,National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Holger Kruse
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Vojtěch Mlýnský
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Pascal Auffinger
- Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, Université de Strasbourg, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, Strasbourg67084, France
| | - Jiří Šponer
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65Brno, Czech Republic
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10
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Chawla M, Kalra K, Cao Z, Cavallo L, Oliva R. Occurrence and stability of anion-π interactions between phosphate and nucleobases in functional RNA molecules. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:11455-11469. [PMID: 36416268 PMCID: PMC9723503 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac1081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
We present a systematic structural and energetic characterization of phosphate(OP)-nucleobase anion…π stacking interactions in RNAs. We observed OP-nucleobase stacking contacts in a variety of structural motifs other than regular helices and spanning broadly diverse sequence distances. Apart from the stacking between a phosphate and a guanine or a uracil two-residue upstream in specific U-turns, such interactions in RNA have been scarcely characterized to date. Our QM calculations showed an energy minimum at a distance between the OP atom and the nucleobase plane centroid slightly below 3 Å for all the nucleobases. By sliding the OP atom over the nucleobase plane we localized the optimal mutual positioning of the stacked moieties, corresponding to an energy minimum below -6 kcal•mol-1, for all the nucleobases, consistently with the projections of the OP atoms over the different π-rings we observed in experimental occurrences. We also found that the strength of the interaction clearly correlates with its electrostatic component, pointing to it as the most relevant contribution. Finally, as OP-uracil and OP-guanine interactions represent together 86% of the instances we detected, we also proved their stability under dynamic conditions in model systems simulated by state-of-the art DFT-MD calculations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohit Chawla
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Mohit Chawla. ;
| | - Kanav Kalra
- Department of Research and Innovation, STEMskills Research and Education Lab Private Limited, Faridabad 121002, Haryana, India
| | - Zhen Cao
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, Kaust Catalysis Center, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Luigi Cavallo
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Luigi Cavallo. Tel: +966 02 8027566; Fax: +966 02 8021347;
| | - Romina Oliva
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +39 081 5476541; Fax: +39 081 5476514;
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11
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Zirbel CL, Auffinger P. Lone Pair…π Contacts and Structure Signatures of r(UNCG) Tetraloops, Z-Turns, and Z-Steps: A WebFR3D Survey. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27144365. [PMID: 35889236 PMCID: PMC9323530 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27144365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2022] [Revised: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Z-DNA and Z-RNA have long appeared as oddities to nucleic acid scientists. However, their Z-step constituents are recurrently observed in all types of nucleic acid systems including ribosomes. Z-steps are NpN steps that are isostructural to Z-DNA CpG steps. Among their structural features, Z-steps are characterized by the presence of a lone pair…π contact that involves the stacking of the ribose O4′ atom of the first nucleotide with the 3′-face of the second nucleotide. Recently, it has been documented that the CpG step of the ubiquitous r(UNCG) tetraloops is a Z-step. Accordingly, such r(UNCG) conformations were called Z-turns. It has also been recognized that an r(GAAA) tetraloop in appropriate conditions can shapeshift to an unusual Z-turn conformation embedding an ApA Z-step. In this report, we explore the multiplicity of RNA motifs based on Z-steps by using the WebFR3D tool to which we added functionalities to be able to retrieve motifs containing lone pair…π contacts. Many examples that underscore the diversity and universality of these motifs are provided as well as tutorial guidance on using WebFR3D. In addition, this study provides an extensive survey of crystallographic, cryo-EM, NMR, and molecular dynamics studies on r(UNCG) tetraloops with a critical view on how to conduct database searches and exploit their results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Craig L. Zirbel
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA;
| | - Pascal Auffinger
- Architecture et Réactivité de l’ARN, UPR 9002, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 67084 Strasbourg, France
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +33-3-8841-7049; Fax: +33-3-8860-2218
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12
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Mlýnský V, Janeček M, Kührová P, Fröhlking T, Otyepka M, Bussi G, Banáš P, Šponer J. Toward Convergence in Folding Simulations of RNA Tetraloops: Comparison of Enhanced Sampling Techniques and Effects of Force Field Modifications. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:2642-2656. [PMID: 35363478 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c01222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations represent an established technique for investigation of RNA structural dynamics. Despite continuous development, contemporary RNA simulations still suffer from suboptimal accuracy of empirical potentials (force fields, ffs) and sampling limitations. Development of efficient enhanced sampling techniques is important for two reasons. First, they allow us to overcome the sampling limitations, and second, they can be used to quantify ff imbalances provided they reach a sufficient convergence. Here, we study two RNA tetraloops (TLs), namely the GAGA and UUCG motifs. We perform extensive folding simulations and calculate folding free energies (ΔGfold°) with the aim to compare different enhanced sampling techniques and to test several modifications of the nonbonded terms extending the AMBER OL3 RNA ff. We demonstrate that replica-exchange solute tempering (REST2) simulations with 12-16 replicas do not show any sign of convergence even when extended to a timescale of 120 μs per replica. However, the combination of REST2 with well-tempered metadynamics (ST-MetaD) achieves good convergence on a timescale of 5-10 μs per replica, improving the sampling efficiency by at least 2 orders of magnitude. Effects of ff modifications on ΔGfold° energies were initially explored by the reweighting approach and then validated by new simulations. We tested several manually prepared variants of the gHBfix potential which improve stability of the native state of both TLs by ∼2 kcal/mol. This is sufficient to conveniently stabilize the folded GAGA TL while the UUCG TL still remains under-stabilized. Appropriate adjustment of van der Waals parameters for C-H···O5' base-phosphate interaction may further stabilize the native states of both TLs by ∼0.6 kcal/mol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vojtěch Mlýnský
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Janeček
- Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, tř. 17 listopadu 12, 771 46 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Kührová
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic.,Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Thorben Fröhlking
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, SISSA, via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy
| | - Michal Otyepka
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic.,IT4Innovations, VSB─Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 2172/15, 708 00 Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic
| | - Giovanni Bussi
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, SISSA, via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy
| | - Pavel Banáš
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic.,Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Šponer
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic.,Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
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13
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Li L, Zhang Y, Ma W, Chen H, Liu M, An R, Cheng B, Liang X. Nonalternating purine pyrimidine sequences can form stable left-handed DNA duplex by strong topological constraint. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 50:684-696. [PMID: 34967416 PMCID: PMC8789069 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab1283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In vivo, left-handed DNA duplex (usually refers to Z-DNA) is mainly formed in the region of DNA with alternating purine pyrimidine (APP) sequence and plays significant biological roles. It is well known that d(CG)n sequence can form Z-DNA most easily under negative supercoil conditions, but its essence has not been well clarified. The study on sequence dependence of Z-DNA stability is very difficult without modification or inducers. Here, by the strong topological constraint caused by hybridization of two complementary short circular ssDNAs, left-handed duplex part was generated for various sequences, and their characteristics were investigated by using gel-shift after binding to specific proteins, CD and Tm analysis, and restriction enzyme cleavage. Under the strong topological constraint, non-APP sequences can also form left-handed DNA duplex as stable as that of APP sequences. As compared with non-APP sequences, the thermal stability difference for APP sequences between Z-form and B-form is smaller, which may be the reason that Z-DNA forms preferentially for APP ones. This result can help us to understand why nature selected APP sequences to regulate gene expression by transient Z-DNA formation, as well as why polymer with chirality can usually form both duplexes with left- or right-handed helix.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Li
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
| | - Yaping Zhang
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
| | - Wanzhi Ma
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
| | - Hui Chen
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
| | - Mengqin Liu
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
| | - Ran An
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.,Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266235, China
| | - Bingxiao Cheng
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
| | - Xingguo Liang
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.,Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266235, China
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14
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Zhu Y, Li Z, Song W, Khan MA, Li H. Conformation Locking of the Pentose Ring in Nucleotide Monophosphate Coordination Polymers via π-π Stacking and Metal-Ion Coordination. Inorg Chem 2021; 61:818-829. [PMID: 34856096 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.1c02356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The conformation of the pentose ring in nucleotides is extremely important and a basic problem in biochemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry. In this study, we used a strategy to regulate the conformation of pentose rings of nucleotides via the synergistic effect of metal-ion coordination and π-π stacking. Seven types of coordination complexes were developed and characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. On the basis of two conformational parameters obtained from single-crystal structure analysis, i.e., the pseudorotation phase angle and degree of puckering, the exact conformation of the furanose ring in these coordination polymers was unequivocally determined. Crystallographic studies demonstrate that a short bridging ligand (4,4'-bipyridine) is conducive to the formation of a twist form, and long auxiliary ligands [1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethene and 4,4'-azopyridine] induce the formation of an envelope conformation. However, the longest auxiliary ligands [1,4-bis(4-pyridyl)-2,3-diaza-1,3-butadiene] cannot limit the flexibility of a nucleotide. Our results demonstrated that the proposed strategy is universal and controllable. Moreover, the chirality of these coordination polymers was examined by combining the explanation of their crystal structures with solid-state circular dichroism spectroscopy measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanhong Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, P. R. China
| | - Zhongkui Li
- Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, P. R. China
| | - Wenjing Song
- Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, P. R. China
| | - Maroof Ahmad Khan
- Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, P. R. China
| | - Hui Li
- Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, P. R. China
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15
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Mráziková K, Šponer J, Mlýnský V, Auffinger P, Kruse H. Short-Range Imbalances in the AMBER Lennard-Jones Potential for (Deoxy)Ribose···Nucleobase Lone-Pair···π Contacts in Nucleic Acids. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:5644-5657. [PMID: 34738826 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c01047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The lone-pair···π (lp···π) (deoxy)ribose···nucleobase stacking is a recurring interaction in Z-DNA and RNAs that is characterized by sub-van der Waals lp···π contacts (<3.0 Å). It is a part of the structural signature of CpG Z-step motifs in Z-DNA and r(UNCG) tetraloops that are known to behave poorly in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Although the exact origin of the MD simulation issues remains unclear, a significant part of the problem might be due to an imbalanced description of nonbonded interactions, including the characteristic lp···π stacking. To gain insights into the links between lp···π stacking and MD, we present an in-depth comparison between accurate large-basis-set double-hybrid Kohn-Sham density functional theory calculations DSD-BLYP-D3/ma-def2-QZVPP (DHDF-D3) and data obtained with the nonbonded potential of the AMBER force field (AFF) for NpN Z-steps (N = G, A, C, and U). Among other differences, we found that the AFF overestimates the DHDF-D3 lp···π distances by ∼0.1-0.2 Å, while the deviation between the DHDF-D3 and AFF descriptions sharply increases in the short-range region of the interaction. Based on atom-in-molecule polarizabilities and symmetry-adapted perturbation theory analysis, we inferred that the DHDF-D3 versus AFF differences partly originate in identical nucleobase carbon atom Lennard-Jones (LJ) parameters despite the presence/absence of connected electron-withdrawing groups that lead to different effective volumes or vdW radii. Thus, to precisely model the very short CpG lp···π contact distances, we recommend revision of the nucleobase atom LJ parameters. Additionally, we suggest that the large discrepancy between DHDF-D3 and AFF short-range repulsive part of the interaction energy potential may significantly contribute to the poor performances of MD simulations of nucleic acid systems containing Z-steps. Understanding where, and if possible why, the point-charge-type effective potentials reach their limits is vital for developing next-generation FFs and for addressing specific issues in contemporary MD simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaudia Mráziková
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic.,National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Šponer
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic.,Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacky University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 241/27, 783 71 Olomouc-Holice, Czech Republic
| | - Vojtěch Mlýnský
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic.,Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacky University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 241/27, 783 71 Olomouc-Holice, Czech Republic
| | - Pascal Auffinger
- Architecture and Reactivity of RNA, University of Strasbourg, Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology of the CNRS, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Holger Kruse
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
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16
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Recognition of non-CpG repeats in Alu and ribosomal RNAs by the Z-RNA binding domain of ADAR1 induces A-Z junctions. Nat Commun 2021; 12:793. [PMID: 33542240 PMCID: PMC7862695 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21039-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) editing of eukaryotic cellular RNAs is essential for protection against auto-immune disorders. Editing is carried out by ADAR1, whose innate immune response-specific cytoplasmic isoform possesses a Z-DNA binding domain (Zα) of unknown function. Zα also binds to CpG repeats in RNA, which are a hallmark of Z-RNA formation. Unexpectedly, Zα has been predicted — and in some cases even shown — to bind to specific regions within mRNA and rRNA devoid of such repeats. Here, we use NMR, circular dichroism, and other biophysical approaches to demonstrate and characterize the binding of Zα to mRNA and rRNA fragments. Our results reveal a broad range of RNA sequences that bind to Zα and adopt Z-RNA conformations. Binding is accompanied by destabilization of neighboring A-form regions which is similar in character to what has been observed for B-Z-DNA junctions. The binding of Zα to non-CpG sequences is specific, cooperative and occurs with an affinity in the low micromolar range. This work allows us to propose a model for how Zα could influence the RNA binding specificity of ADAR1. ADAR1 is an interferon-induced enzyme that catalyzes editing of adenine to inosine across the transcriptome as part of the immune response. Here the authors establish how ADAR1 recognizes non-CpG RNA sequences to facilitate the formation of A-Z junctions.
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17
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Chiang DC, Li Y, Ng SK. The Role of the Z-DNA Binding Domain in Innate Immunity and Stress Granules. Front Immunol 2021; 11:625504. [PMID: 33613567 PMCID: PMC7886975 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.625504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Both DNA and RNA can maintain left-handed double helical Z-conformation under physiological condition, but only when stabilized by Z-DNA binding domain (ZDBD). After initial discovery in RNA editing enzyme ADAR1, ZDBD has also been described in pathogen-sensing proteins ZBP1 and PKZ in host, as well as virulence proteins E3L and ORF112 in viruses. The host-virus antagonism immediately highlights the importance of ZDBD in antiviral innate immunity. Furthermore, Z-RNA binding has been shown to be responsible for the localization of these ZDBD-containing proteins to cytoplasmic stress granules that play central role in coordinating cellular response to stresses. This review sought to consolidate current understanding of Z-RNA sensing in innate immunity and implore possible roles of Z-RNA binding within cytoplasmic stress granules.
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Affiliation(s)
- De Chen Chiang
- Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kepala Batas, Malaysia
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor, Malaysia
| | - Yan Li
- Department of Biology, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Siew Kit Ng
- Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kepala Batas, Malaysia
- Department of Biology, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
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18
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Mráziková K, Mlýnský V, Kührová P, Pokorná P, Kruse H, Krepl M, Otyepka M, Banáš P, Šponer J. UUCG RNA Tetraloop as a Formidable Force-Field Challenge for MD Simulations. J Chem Theory Comput 2020; 16:7601-7617. [PMID: 33215915 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.0c00801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Explicit solvent atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations represent an established technique to study structural dynamics of RNA molecules and an important complement for diverse experimental methods. However, performance of molecular mechanical (MM) force fields (ff's) remains far from satisfactory even after decades of development, as apparent from a problematic structural description of some important RNA motifs. Actually, some of the smallest RNA molecules belong to the most challenging systems for MD simulations and, among them, the UUCG tetraloop is saliently difficult. We report a detailed analysis of UUCG MD simulations, depicting the sequence of events leading to the loss of the UUCG native state during MD simulations. The total amount of MD simulation data analyzed in this work is close to 1.3 ms. We identify molecular interactions, backbone conformations, and substates that are involved in the process. Then, we unravel specific ff deficiencies using diverse quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) and QM calculations. Comparison between the MM and QM methods shows discrepancies in the description of the 5'-flanking phosphate moiety and both signature sugar-base interactions. Our work indicates that poor behavior of the UUCG tetraloop in simulations is a complex issue that cannot be attributed to one dominant and straightforwardly correctable factor. Instead, there is a concerted effect of multiple ff inaccuracies that are coupled and amplifying each other. We attempted to improve the simulation behavior by some carefully tailored interventions, but the results were still far from satisfactory, underlying the difficulties in development of accurate nucleic acid ff's.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaudia Mráziková
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic.,National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Vojtěch Mlýnský
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Kührová
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Šlechtitelů 27, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Pavlína Pokorná
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic.,National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Holger Kruse
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Miroslav Krepl
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic.,Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Šlechtitelů 27, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Otyepka
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic.,Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Šlechtitelů 27, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Banáš
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic.,Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Šlechtitelů 27, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Šponer
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
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19
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Kalra K, Gorle S, Cavallo L, Oliva R, Chawla M. Occurrence and stability of lone pair-π and OH-π interactions between water and nucleobases in functional RNAs. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:5825-5838. [PMID: 32392301 PMCID: PMC7293021 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
We identified over 1000 instances of water-nucleobase stacking contacts in a variety of RNA molecules from a non-redundant set of crystal structures with resolution ≤3.0 Å. Such contacts may be of either the lone pair-π (lp-π) or the OH-π type, in nature. The distribution of the distances of the water oxygen from the nucleobase plane peaks at 3.5 Å for A, G and C, and approximately at 3.1-3.2 Å for U. Quantum mechanics (QM) calculations confirm, as expected, that the optimal energy is reached at a shorter distance for the lp-π interaction as compared to the OH-π one (3.0 versus 3.5 Å). The preference of each nucleobase for either type of interaction closely correlates with its electrostatic potential map. Furthermore, QM calculations show that for all the nucleobases a favorable interaction, of either the lp-π or the OH-π type, can be established at virtually any position of the water molecule above the nucleobase skeleton, which is consistent with the uniform projection of the OW atoms over the nucleobases ring we observed in the experimental occurrences. Finally, molecular dynamics simulations of a model system for the characterization of water-nucleobase stacking contacts confirm the stability of these interactions also under dynamic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanav Kalra
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, Kaust Catalysis Center, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Suresh Gorle
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Luigi Cavallo
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, Kaust Catalysis Center, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Romina Oliva
- Department of Sciences and Technologies, University Parthenope of Naples, Centro Direzionale Isola C4, I-80143 Naples, Italy
| | - Mohit Chawla
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, Kaust Catalysis Center, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
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20
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Kruse H, Mrazikova K, D'Ascenzo L, Sponer J, Auffinger P. Short but Weak: The Z‐DNA Lone‐Pair⋅⋅⋅π Conundrum Challenges Standard Carbon Van der Waals Radii. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.202004201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Holger Kruse
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences Královopolská 135 61265 Brno Czech Republic
| | - Klaudia Mrazikova
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences Královopolská 135 61265 Brno Czech Republic
- National Centre for Biomolecular ResearchFaculty of ScienceMasaryk University Kamenice 5 62500 Brno Czech Republic
| | - Luigi D'Ascenzo
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational BiologyThe Scripps Research Institute La Jolla CA 92037 USA
| | - Jiri Sponer
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences Královopolská 135 61265 Brno Czech Republic
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and MaterialsFaculty of SciencePalacký University Šlechtitelů 27 78371 Olomouc Czech Republic
| | - Pascal Auffinger
- Université de StrasbourgCNRS, Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, UPR9002 F-67000 Strasbourg France
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21
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Kruse H, Mrazikova K, D'Ascenzo L, Sponer J, Auffinger P. Short but Weak: The Z‐DNA Lone‐Pair⋅⋅⋅π Conundrum Challenges Standard Carbon Van der Waals Radii. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2020; 59:16553-16560. [DOI: 10.1002/anie.202004201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Holger Kruse
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences Královopolská 135 61265 Brno Czech Republic
| | - Klaudia Mrazikova
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences Královopolská 135 61265 Brno Czech Republic
- National Centre for Biomolecular Research Faculty of Science Masaryk University Kamenice 5 62500 Brno Czech Republic
| | - Luigi D'Ascenzo
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology The Scripps Research Institute La Jolla CA 92037 USA
| | - Jiri Sponer
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences Královopolská 135 61265 Brno Czech Republic
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials Faculty of Science Palacký University Šlechtitelů 27 78371 Olomouc Czech Republic
| | - Pascal Auffinger
- Université de Strasbourg CNRS, Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, UPR9002 F-67000 Strasbourg France
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22
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D'Ascenzo L, Vicens Q, Auffinger P. Identification of receptors for UNCG and GNRA Z-turns and their occurrence in rRNA. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 46:7989-7997. [PMID: 29986118 PMCID: PMC6125677 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In contrast to GNRA tetraloop receptors that are common in RNA, receptors for the more thermostable UNCG loops have remained elusive for almost three decades. An analysis of all RNA structures with resolution ≤3.0 Å from the PDB allowed us to identify three previously unnoticed receptors for UNCG and GNRA tetraloops that adopt a common UNCG fold, named ‘Z-turn’ in agreement with our previously published nomenclature. These receptors recognize the solvent accessible second Z-turn nucleotide in different but specific ways. Two receptors participating in a complex network of tertiary interactions are associated with the rRNA UUCG and GAAA Z-turns capping helices H62 and H35a in rRNA large subunits. Structural comparison of fully assembled ribosomes and comparative sequence analysis of >6500 rRNA sequences helped us recognize that these motifs are almost universally conserved in rRNA, where they may contribute to organize the large subunit around the subdomain-IV four-way junction. The third UCCG receptor was identified in a rRNA/protein construct crystallized at acidic pH. These three non-redundant Z-turn receptors are relevant for our understanding of the assembly of rRNA and other long-non-coding RNAs, as well as for the design of novel folding motifs for synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi D'Ascenzo
- Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, Université de Strasbourg, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, 67084 Strasbourg, France.,Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Quentin Vicens
- Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, Université de Strasbourg, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, 67084 Strasbourg, France.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, RNA Bioscience Initiative, University of Colorado, Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Pascal Auffinger
- Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, Université de Strasbourg, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, 67084 Strasbourg, France
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23
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Nikpour N, Salavati R. The RNA binding activity of the first identified trypanosome protein with Z-DNA-binding domains. Sci Rep 2019; 9:5904. [PMID: 30976048 PMCID: PMC6459835 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-42409-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
RNA-binding proteins play a particularly important role in regulating gene expression in trypanosomes. A map of the network of protein complexes in Trypanosoma brucei uncovered an essential protein (Tb927.10.7910) that is postulated to be an RNA-binding protein implicated in the regulation of the mitochondrial post-transcriptional gene regulatory network by its association with proteins that participate in a multi-protein RNA editing complex. However, the mechanism by which this protein interacts with its multiple target transcripts remained unknown. Using sensitive database searches and experimental data, we identify Z-DNA-binding domains in T. brucei in the N- and C-terminal regions of Tb927.10.7910. RNA-binding studies of the wild-type protein, now referred to as RBP7910 (RNA binding protein 7910), and site-directed mutagenesis of residues important for the Z-DNA binding domains show that it preferentially interacts with RNA molecules containing poly(U) and poly(AU)-rich sequences. The interaction of RBP7910 with these regions may be involved in regulation of RNA editing of mitochondrial transcripts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Najmeh Nikpour
- Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, Quebec, H9X3V9, Canada
| | - Reza Salavati
- Department of Biochemistry, McGill University, McIntyre Medical Building, 3655 Promenade Sir William Osler, Montreal, Quebec, H3G 1Y6, Canada.
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24
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Hartwick EW, Costantino DA, MacFadden A, Nix JC, Tian S, Das R, Kieft JS. Ribosome-induced RNA conformational changes in a viral 3'-UTR sense and regulate translation levels. Nat Commun 2018; 9:5074. [PMID: 30498211 PMCID: PMC6265322 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07542-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Structured RNA elements, programmed RNA conformational changes, and interactions between different RNA domains underlie many modes of regulating gene expression, mandating studies to understand the foundational principles that govern these phenomena. Exploring the structured 3' untranslated region (UTR) of a viral RNA, we discovered that different contexts of the 3'-UTR confer different abilities to enhance translation of an associated open reading frame. In one context, ribosome-induced conformational changes in a 'sensor' RNA domain affect a separate RNA 'functional' domain, altering translation efficiency. The structure of the entire 3'-UTR reveals that structurally distinct domains use a spine of continuously stacked bases and a strut-like linker to create a conduit for communication within the higher-order architecture. Thus, this 3'-UTR RNA illustrates how RNA can use programmed conformational changes to sense the translation status of an upstream open reading frame, then create a tuned functional response by communicating that information to other RNA elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik W Hartwick
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.,RNA BioScience Initiative, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - David A Costantino
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Andrea MacFadden
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Jay C Nix
- Molecular Biology Consortium, Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Siqi Tian
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Rhiju Das
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Jeffrey S Kieft
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. .,RNA BioScience Initiative, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
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25
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Krepl M, Vögele J, Kruse H, Duchardt-Ferner E, Wöhnert J, Sponer J. An intricate balance of hydrogen bonding, ion atmosphere and dynamics facilitates a seamless uracil to cytosine substitution in the U-turn of the neomycin-sensing riboswitch. Nucleic Acids Res 2018; 46:6528-6543. [PMID: 29893898 PMCID: PMC6061696 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2018] [Accepted: 05/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The neomycin sensing riboswitch is the smallest biologically functional RNA riboswitch, forming a hairpin capped with a U-turn loop-a well-known RNA motif containing a conserved uracil. It was shown previously that a U→C substitution of the eponymous conserved uracil does not alter the riboswitch structure due to C protonation at N3. Furthermore, cytosine is evolutionary permitted to replace uracil in other U-turns. Here, we use molecular dynamics simulations to study the molecular basis of this substitution in the neomycin sensing riboswitch and show that a structure-stabilizing monovalent cation-binding site in the wild-type RNA is the main reason for its negligible structural effect. We then use NMR spectroscopy to confirm the existence of this cation-binding site and to demonstrate its effects on RNA stability. Lastly, using quantum chemical calculations, we show that the cation-binding site is altering the electronic environment of the wild-type U-turn so that it is more similar to the cytosine mutant. The study reveals an amazingly complex and delicate interplay between various energy contributions shaping up the 3D structure and evolution of nucleic acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miroslav Krepl
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jennifer Vögele
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences and Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Holger Kruse
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Elke Duchardt-Ferner
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences and Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Jens Wöhnert
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences and Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Jiri Sponer
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacky University Olomouc, 17. listopadu 12, 771 46 Olomouc, Czech Republic
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26
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Nichols PJ, Henen MA, Born A, Strotz D, Güntert P, Vögeli B. High-resolution small RNA structures from exact nuclear Overhauser enhancement measurements without additional restraints. Commun Biol 2018; 1:61. [PMID: 30271943 PMCID: PMC6123705 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-018-0067-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2018] [Accepted: 05/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
RNA not only translates the genetic code into proteins, but also carries out important cellular functions. Understanding such functions requires knowledge of the structure and dynamics at atomic resolution. Almost half of the published RNA structures have been solved by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). However, as a result of severe resonance overlap and low proton density, high-resolution RNA structures are rarely obtained from nuclear Overhauser enhancement (NOE) data alone. Instead, additional semi-empirical restraints and labor-intensive techniques are required for structural averages, while there are only a few experimentally derived ensembles representing dynamics. Here we show that our exact NOE (eNOE) based structure determination protocol is able to define a 14-mer UUCG tetraloop structure at high resolution without other restraints. Additionally, we use eNOEs to calculate a two-state structure, which samples its conformational space. The protocol may open an avenue to obtain high-resolution structures of small RNA of unprecedented accuracy with moderate experimental efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parker J Nichols
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, 12801 East 17th Avenue, Aurora,, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Morkos A Henen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, 12801 East 17th Avenue, Aurora,, CO, 80045, USA
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, 35516, Egypt
| | - Alexandra Born
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, 12801 East 17th Avenue, Aurora,, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Dean Strotz
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, ETH Zürich, ETH-Hönggerberg, Zürich, 8093, Switzerland
| | - Peter Güntert
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, ETH Zürich, ETH-Hönggerberg, Zürich, 8093, Switzerland
- Institute of Biophysical Chemistry, Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main, 60438, Germany
- Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397, Japan
| | - Beat Vögeli
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, 12801 East 17th Avenue, Aurora,, CO, 80045, USA.
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27
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Mineral Surface-Templated Self-Assembling Systems: Case Studies from Nanoscience and Surface Science towards Origins of Life Research. Life (Basel) 2018; 8:life8020010. [PMID: 29738443 PMCID: PMC6027067 DOI: 10.3390/life8020010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2018] [Revised: 04/26/2018] [Accepted: 05/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
An increasing body of evidence relates the wide range of benefits mineral surfaces offer for the development of early living systems, including adsorption of small molecules from the aqueous phase, formation of monomeric subunits and their subsequent polymerization, and supramolecular assembly of biopolymers and other biomolecules. Each of these processes was likely a necessary stage in the emergence of life on Earth. Here, we compile evidence that templating and enhancement of prebiotically-relevant self-assembling systems by mineral surfaces offers a route to increased structural, functional, and/or chemical complexity. This increase in complexity could have been achieved by early living systems before the advent of evolvable systems and would not have required the generally energetically unfavorable formation of covalent bonds such as phosphodiester or peptide bonds. In this review we will focus on various case studies of prebiotically-relevant mineral-templated self-assembling systems, including supramolecular assemblies of peptides and nucleic acids, from nanoscience and surface science. These fields contain valuable information that is not yet fully being utilized by the origins of life and astrobiology research communities. Some of the self-assemblies that we present can promote the formation of new mineral surfaces, similar to biomineralization, which can then catalyze more essential prebiotic reactions; this could have resulted in a symbiotic feedback loop by which geology and primitive pre-living systems were closely linked to one another even before life’s origin. We hope that the ideas presented herein will seed some interesting discussions and new collaborations between nanoscience/surface science researchers and origins of life/astrobiology researchers.
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28
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Chawla M, Chermak E, Zhang Q, Bujnicki JM, Oliva R, Cavallo L. Occurrence and stability of lone pair-π stacking interactions between ribose and nucleobases in functional RNAs. Nucleic Acids Res 2017; 45:11019-11032. [PMID: 28977572 PMCID: PMC5737201 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkx757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2017] [Accepted: 08/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The specific folding pattern and function of RNA molecules lies in various weak interactions, in addition to the strong base-base pairing and stacking. One of these relatively weak interactions, characterized by the stacking of the O4' atom of a ribose on top of the heterocycle ring of a nucleobase, has been known to occur but has largely been ignored in the description of RNA structures. We identified 2015 ribose-base stacking interactions in a high-resolution set of non-redundant RNA crystal structures. They are widespread in structured RNA molecules and are located in structural motifs other than regular stems. Over 50% of them involve an adenine, as we found ribose-adenine contacts to be recurring elements in A-minor motifs. Fewer than 50% of the interactions involve a ribose and a base of neighboring residues, while approximately 30% of them involve a ribose and a nucleobase at least four residues apart. Some of them establish inter-domain or inter-molecular contacts and often implicate functionally relevant nucleotides. In vacuo ribose-nucleobase stacking interaction energies were calculated by quantum mechanics methods. Finally, we found that lone pair-π stacking interactions also occur between ribose and aromatic amino acids in RNA-protein complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohit Chawla
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.,Kaust Catalysis Center, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Edrisse Chermak
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.,Kaust Catalysis Center, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Qingyun Zhang
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Janusz M Bujnicki
- Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Protein Engineering, International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, ul. Ks. Trojdena 4, 02-109 Warsaw, Poland.,Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznan, Poland
| | - Romina Oliva
- Department of Sciences and Technologies, University Parthenope of Naples, Centro Direzionale Isola C4, I-80143 Naples, Italy.,King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering (CEMSE) Division, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Luigi Cavallo
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.,Kaust Catalysis Center, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
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29
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Ren X, Gelinas AD, von Carlowitz I, Janjic N, Pyle AM. Structural basis for IL-1α recognition by a modified DNA aptamer that specifically inhibits IL-1α signaling. Nat Commun 2017; 8:810. [PMID: 28993621 PMCID: PMC5634487 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00864-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2017] [Accepted: 08/01/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
IL-1α is an essential cytokine that contributes to inflammatory responses and is implicated in various forms of pathogenesis and cancer. Here we report a naphthyl modified DNA aptamer that specifically binds IL-1α and inhibits its signaling pathway. By solving the crystal structure of the IL-1α/aptamer, we provide a high-resolution structure of this critical cytokine and we reveal its functional interaction interface with high-affinity ligands. The non-helical aptamer, which represents a highly compact nucleic acid structure, contains a wealth of new conformational features, including an unknown form of G-quadruplex. The IL-1α/aptamer interface is composed of unusual polar and hydrophobic elements, along with an elaborate hydrogen bonding network that is mediated by sodium ion. IL-1α uses the same interface to interact with both the aptamer and its cognate receptor IL-1RI, thereby suggesting a novel route to immunomodulatory therapeutics. The cytokine interleukin 1α (IL-1α) plays an important role in inflammatory processes. Here the authors use SELEX to generate a modified DNA aptamer which specifically binds IL-1α, present the structure of the IL-1α/aptamer complex and show that this aptamer inhibits the IL-1α signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoming Ren
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, 219 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.,Department of Chemistry, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Amy D Gelinas
- SomaLogic, Inc., 2945 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO, 80301, USA
| | | | - Nebojsa Janjic
- SomaLogic, Inc., 2945 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO, 80301, USA
| | - Anna Marie Pyle
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, 219 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA. .,Department of Chemistry, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
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30
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Prostova MA, Deviatkin AA, Tcelykh IO, Lukashev AN, Gmyl AP. Independent evolution of tetraloop in enterovirus oriL replicative element and its putative binding partners in virus protein 3C. PeerJ 2017; 5:e3896. [PMID: 29018627 PMCID: PMC5633025 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2017] [Accepted: 09/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Enteroviruses are small non-enveloped viruses with a (+) ssRNA genome with one open reading frame. Enterovirus protein 3C (or 3CD for some species) binds the replicative element oriL to initiate replication. The replication of enteroviruses features a low-fidelity process, which allows the virus to adapt to the changing environment on the one hand, and requires additional mechanisms to maintain the genome stability on the other. Structural disturbances in the apical region of oriL domain d can be compensated by amino acid substitutions in positions 154 or 156 of 3C (amino acid numeration corresponds to poliovirus 3C), thus suggesting the co-evolution of these interacting sequences in nature. The aim of this work was to understand co-evolution patterns of two interacting replication machinery elements in enteroviruses, the apical region of oriL domain d and its putative binding partners in the 3C protein. Methods To evaluate the variability of the domain d loop sequence we retrieved all available full enterovirus sequences (>6, 400 nucleotides), which were present in the NCBI database on February 2017 and analysed the variety and abundance of sequences in domain d of the replicative element oriL and in the protein 3C. Results A total of 2,842 full genome sequences was analysed. The majority of domain d apical loops were tetraloops, which belonged to consensus YNHG (Y = U/C, N = any nucleotide, H = A/C/U). The putative RNA-binding tripeptide 154–156 (Enterovirus C 3C protein numeration) was less diverse than the apical domain d loop region and, in contrast to it, was species-specific. Discussion Despite the suggestion that the RNA-binding tripeptide interacts with the apical region of domain d, they evolve independently in nature. Together, our data indicate the plastic evolution of both interplayers of 3C-oriL recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria A Prostova
- Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitides, Moscow, Russia
| | - Andrei A Deviatkin
- Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitides, Moscow, Russia
| | - Irina O Tcelykh
- Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitides, Moscow, Russia.,Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexander N Lukashev
- Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitides, Moscow, Russia.,Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Anatoly P Gmyl
- Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitides, Moscow, Russia.,Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.,Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia
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31
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Abbas YM, Laudenbach BT, Martínez-Montero S, Cencic R, Habjan M, Pichlmair A, Damha MJ, Pelletier J, Nagar B. Structure of human IFIT1 with capped RNA reveals adaptable mRNA binding and mechanisms for sensing N1 and N2 ribose 2'-O methylations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:E2106-E2115. [PMID: 28251928 PMCID: PMC5358387 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1612444114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
IFIT1 (IFN-induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeats-1) is an effector of the host innate immune antiviral response that prevents propagation of virus infection by selectively inhibiting translation of viral mRNA. It relies on its ability to compete with the translation initiation factor eIF4F to specifically recognize foreign capped mRNAs, while remaining inactive against host mRNAs marked by ribose 2'-O methylation at the first cap-proximal nucleotide (N1). We report here several crystal structures of RNA-bound human IFIT1, including a 1.6-Å complex with capped RNA. IFIT1 forms a water-filled, positively charged RNA-binding tunnel with a separate hydrophobic extension that unexpectedly engages the cap in multiple conformations (syn and anti) giving rise to a relatively plastic and nonspecific mode of binding, in stark contrast to eIF4E. Cap-proximal nucleotides encircled by the tunnel provide affinity to compete with eIF4F while allowing IFIT1 to select against N1 methylated mRNA. Gel-shift binding assays confirm that N1 methylation interferes with IFIT1 binding, but in an RNA-dependent manner, whereas translation assays reveal that N1 methylation alone is not sufficient to prevent mRNA recognition at high IFIT1 concentrations. Structural and functional analysis show that 2'-O methylation at N2, another abundant mRNA modification, is also detrimental for RNA binding, thus revealing a potentially synergistic role for it in self- versus nonself-mRNA discernment. Finally, structure-guided mutational analysis confirms the importance of RNA binding for IFIT1 restriction of a human coronavirus mutant lacking viral N1 methylation. Our structural and biochemical analysis sheds new light on the molecular basis for IFIT1 translational inhibition of capped viral RNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yazan M Abbas
- Department of Biochemistry and Groupe de Recherche Axe sur la Structure des Proteines, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada H3G 0B1
| | | | | | - Regina Cencic
- Department of Biochemistry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada H3G 1Y6
| | - Matthias Habjan
- Innate Immunity Laboratory, Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry, 82152 Martinsried/Munich, Germany
| | - Andreas Pichlmair
- Innate Immunity Laboratory, Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry, 82152 Martinsried/Munich, Germany
| | - Masad J Damha
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 0B8
| | - Jerry Pelletier
- Department of Biochemistry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada H3G 1Y6
- The Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Center, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 1A3
- Department of Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada H3G 1Y6
| | - Bhushan Nagar
- Department of Biochemistry and Groupe de Recherche Axe sur la Structure des Proteines, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada H3G 0B1;
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32
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D'Ascenzo L, Leonarski F, Vicens Q, Auffinger P. Revisiting GNRA and UNCG folds: U-turns versus Z-turns in RNA hairpin loops. RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2017; 23:259-269. [PMID: 27999116 PMCID: PMC5311481 DOI: 10.1261/rna.059097.116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2016] [Accepted: 11/29/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
When thinking about RNA three-dimensional structures, coming across GNRA and UNCG tetraloops is perceived as a boon since their folds have been extensively described. Nevertheless, analyzing loop conformations within RNA and RNP structures led us to uncover several instances of GNRA and UNCG loops that do not fold as expected. We noticed that when a GNRA does not assume its "natural" fold, it adopts the one we typically associate with a UNCG sequence. The same folding interconversion may occur for loops with UNCG sequences, for instance within tRNA anticodon loops. Hence, we show that some structured tetranucleotide sequences starting with G or U can adopt either of these folds. The underlying structural basis that defines these two fold types is the mutually exclusive stacking of a backbone oxygen on either the first (in GNRA) or the last nucleobase (in UNCG), generating an oxygen-π contact. We thereby propose to refrain from using sequences to distinguish between loop conformations. Instead, we suggest using descriptors such as U-turn (for "GNRA-type" folds) and a newly described Z-turn (for "UNCG-type" folds). Because tetraloops adopt for the largest part only two (inter)convertible turns, we are better able to interpret from a structural perspective loop interchangeability occurring in ribosomes and viral RNA. In this respect, we propose a general view on the inclination for a given sequence to adopt (or not) a specific fold. We also suggest how long-noncoding RNAs may adopt discrete but transient structures, which are therefore hard to predict.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi D'Ascenzo
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, UPR 9002, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Filip Leonarski
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, UPR 9002, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Quentin Vicens
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, UPR 9002, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Pascal Auffinger
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, UPR 9002, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
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Pinamonti G, Zhao J, Condon DE, Paul F, Noè F, Turner DH, Bussi G. Predicting the Kinetics of RNA Oligonucleotides Using Markov State Models. J Chem Theory Comput 2017; 13:926-934. [PMID: 28001394 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.6b00982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Nowadays different experimental techniques, such as single molecule or relaxation experiments, can provide dynamic properties of biomolecular systems, but the amount of detail obtainable with these methods is often limited in terms of time or spatial resolution. Here we use state-of-the-art computational techniques, namely, atomistic molecular dynamics and Markov state models, to provide insight into the rapid dynamics of short RNA oligonucleotides, to elucidate the kinetics of stacking interactions. Analysis of multiple microsecond-long simulations indicates that the main relaxation modes of such molecules can consist of transitions between alternative folded states, rather than between random coils and native structures. After properly removing structures that are artificially stabilized by known inaccuracies of the current RNA AMBER force field, the kinetic properties predicted are consistent with the time scales of previously reported relaxation experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Pinamonti
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, International School for Advanced Studies , 265 Via Bonomea, I-34136 Trieste, Italy
| | - Jianbo Zhao
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester , Rochester, New York 14627, United States
| | - David E Condon
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester , Rochester, New York 14627, United States
| | - Fabian Paul
- Department for Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität , Arnimallee 6, Berlin 14195, Germany
| | - Frank Noè
- Department for Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität , Arnimallee 6, Berlin 14195, Germany
| | - Douglas H Turner
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester , Rochester, New York 14627, United States
| | - Giovanni Bussi
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, International School for Advanced Studies , 265 Via Bonomea, I-34136 Trieste, Italy
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