Discovery and development of the G-rich oligonucleotide AS1411 as a novel treatment for cancer

Certain guanine-rich (G-rich) DNA and RNA molecules can associate intermolecularly or intramolecularly to form four stranded or "quadruplex" structures, which have unusual biophysical and biological properties. Several synthetic G-rich quadruplex-forming oligodeoxynucleotides have recently been investigated as therapeutic agents for various human diseases. We refer to these biologically active G-rich oligonucleotides as aptamers because their activities arise from binding to protein targets via shape-specific recognition (analogous to antibody-antigen binding). As therapeutic agents, the G-rich aptamers may have some advantages over monoclonal antibodies and other oligonucleotide-based approaches. For example, quadruplex oligonucleotides are non-immunogenic, heat stable and they have increased resistance to serum nucleases and enhanced cellular uptake compared to unstructured sequences. In this review, we describe the characteristics and activities of G-rich oligonucleotides. We also give a personal perspective on the discovery and development of AS1411, an antiproliferative G-rich phosphodiester oligonucleotide that is currently being tested as an anticancer agent in Phase II clinical trials. This molecule functions as an aptamer to nucleolin, a multifunctional protein that is highly expressed by cancer cells, both intracellularly and on the cell surface. Thus, the serendipitous discovery of the G-rich oligonucleotides also led to the identification of nucleolin as a new molecular target for cancer therapy.

G4-associated human diseases

Recent research has established clear connections between G-quadruplexes and human disease. Features of quadruplex structures that promote genomic instability have been determined. Quadruplexes have been identified as transcriptional, translational and epigenetic regulatory targets of factors associated with human genetic disease. An expandable GGGGCC motif that can adopt a G4 structure, located in the previously obscure C9ORF72 locus, has been shown to contribute to two well-recognized neurodegenerative diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). This review focuses on these advances, which further dispel the view that genomic biology is limited to the confines of the canonical B-form DNA duplex, and show how quadruplexes contribute spatial and temporal dimensionalities to linear sequence information. This recent progress also has clear practical ramifications, as prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease depend on understanding the underlying mechanisms.

Permanganate/S1 Nuclease Footprinting Reveals Non-B DNA Structures with Regulatory Potential across a Mammalian Genome

DNA in cells is predominantly B-form double helix. Though certain DNA sequences in vitro may fold into other structures, such as triplex, left-handed Z form, or quadruplex DNA, the stability and prevalence of these structures in vivo are not known. Here, using computational analysis of sequence motifs, RNA polymerase II binding data, and genome-wide potassium permanganate-dependent nuclease footprinting data, we map thousands of putative non-B DNA sites at high resolution in mouse B cells. Computational analysis associates these non-B DNAs with particular structures and indicates that they form at locations compatible with an involvement in gene regulation. Further analyses support the notion that non-B DNA structure formation influences the occupancy and positioning of nucleosomes in chromatin. These results suggest that non-B DNAs contribute to the control of a variety of critical cellular and organismal processes.

Targeting human gastrointestinal stromal tumor cells with a quadruplex-binding small molecule

Most of human gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are driven by activating mutations in the proto-oncogene KIT, a tyrosine kinase receptor. Clinical treatment with imatinib targets the kinase domain of KIT, but tumor regrowth occurs as a result of the development of resistant mutations in the kinase active site. An alternative small-molecule approach to GIST therapy is described, in which the KIT gene is directly targeted, and thus, kinase resistance may be circumvented. A naphthalene diimide derivative has been used to demonstrate the concept of dual quadruplex targeting. This compound strongly stabilizes both telomeric quadruplex DNA and quadruplex sites in the KIT promoter in vitro. It is shown here that the compound is a potent inducer of growth arrest in a patient-derived GIST cell line at a concentration (approximately 1 microM) that also results in effective inhibition of telomerase activity and almost complete suppression of KIT mRNA and KIT protein expression. Molecular modeling studies with a telomeric quadruplex have been used to rationalize aspects of the experimental quadruplex melting data.

The diverse structural landscape of quadruplexes

G-quadruplexes are secondary structures formed in G-rich sequences in DNA and RNA. Considerable research over the past three decades has led to in-depth insight into these unusual structures in DNA. Since the more recent exploration into RNA G-quadruplexes, such structures have demonstrated their in cellulo existence, function and roles in pathology. In comparison to Watson-Crick-based secondary structures, most G-quadruplexes display highly redundant structural characteristics. However, numerous reports of G-quadruplex motifs/structures with unique features (e.g. bulges, long loops, vacancy) have recently surfaced, expanding the repertoire of G-quadruplex scaffolds. This review addresses G-quadruplex formation and structure, including recent reports of non-canonical G-quadruplex structures. Improved methods of detection will likely further expand this collection of novel structures and ultimately change the face of quadruplex-RNA targeting as a therapeutic strategy.

Metal-Modified Nucleic Acids: Metal-Mediated Base Pairs, Triples, and Tetrads

The incorporation of metal ions into nucleic acids by means of metal-mediated base pairs represents a promising and prominent strategy for the site-specific decoration of these self-assembling supramolecules with metal-based functionality. Over the past 20 years, numerous nucleoside surrogates have been introduced in this respect, broadening the metal scope by providing perfectly tailored metal-binding sites. More recently, artificial nucleosides derived from natural purine or pyrimidine bases have moved into the focus of Ag^I -mediated base pairing, due to their expected compatibility with regular Watson-Crick base pairs. This minireview summarizes these advances in metal-mediated base pairing but also includes further recent progress in the field. Moreover, it addresses other aspects of metal-modified nucleic acids, highlighting an expansion of the concept to metal-mediated base triples (in triple helices and three-way junctions) and metal-mediated base tetrads (in quadruplexes). For all types of metal-modified nucleic acids, proposed or accomplished applications are briefly mentioned, too.

Targeting the c-Kit Promoter G-quadruplexes with 6-Substituted Indenoisoquinolines

Herein, we demonstrate the design, synthesis, biophysical properties, and preliminary biological evaluation of 6-substituted indenoisoquinolines as a new class of G-quadruplex stabilizing small molecule ligands. We have synthesized 6-substituted indenoisoquinolines 1a-e in two steps from commercially available starting materials with excellent yields. The G-quadruplex stabilization potential of indenoisoquinolines 1a-e was evaluated by fluorescence resonance energy transfer-melting analysis, which showed that indenoisoquinolines show a high level of stabilization of various G-quadruplex DNA structures. Indenoisoquinolines demonstrated potent inhibition of cell growth in the GIST882 patient-derived gastrointestinal stromal tumor cell line, accompanied by inhibition of both c-Kit transcription and KIT oncoprotein levels.

Selection for the G4 DNA motif at the 5' end of human genes

Formation of G4 DNA may occur in the course of replication and transcription, and contribute to genomic instability. We have quantitated abundance of G4 motifs and potential for G4 DNA formation of the nontemplate strand of 5' exons and introns of transcripts of human genes. We find that, for all human genes, G4 motifs are enriched in 5' regions of transcripts relative to downstream regions; and in 5' regulatory regions relative to coding regions. Notably, although tumor suppressor genes are depleted and proto-oncogenes enriched in G4 motifs, abundance of G4 motifs in the 5' regions of transcripts of genes in these categories does not differ. These results support the hypothesis that G4 motifs are under selection in the human genome. They further show that for tumor suppressor genes and proto-oncogenes, independent selection determines potential for G4 DNA formation of 5' regulatory regions of transcripts and downstream coding regions.

3D-NuS: A Web Server for Automated Modeling and Visualization of Non-Canonical 3-Dimensional Nucleic Acid Structures

The inherent conformational flexibility of nucleic acids facilitates the formation of a range of conformations such as duplex, triplex, quadruplex, etc. that play crucial roles in biological processes. Elucidation of the influence of non-canonical base pair mismatches on DNA/RNA structures at different sequence contexts to understand the mismatch repair, misregulation of alternative splicing mechanisms and the sequence-dependent effect of RNA-DNA hybrid in relevance to antisense strategy demand their three-dimensional structural information. Furthermore, structural insights about nucleic acid triplexes, which are generally not tractable to structure determination by X-ray crystallography or NMR techniques, are essential to establish their biological function(s). A web server, namely 3D-NuS (http://iith.ac.in/3dnus/), has been developed to generate energy-minimized models of 80 different types of triplexes, 64 types of G-quadruplexes, left-handed Z-DNA/RNA duplexes, and RNA-DNA hybrid duplex along with inter- and intramolecular DNA or RNA duplexes comprising a variety of mismatches and their chimeric forms for any user-defined sequence and length. It also generates an ensemble of conformations corresponding to the modeled structure. These structures may serve as good starting models for docking proteins and small molecules with nucleic acids, NMR structure determination, cryo-electron microscope modeling, DNA/RNA nanotechnology applications and molecular dynamics simulation studies.

Structure-based drug design: from nucleic acid to membrane protein targets

The in silico methods for drug discovery are becoming increasingly powerful and useful. That, in combination with increasing computer processor power, in our case using a novel distributed computing grid, has enabled us to greatly enhance our virtual screening efforts. Herein we review some of these efforts using both receptor and ligand-based virtual screening, with the goal of finding new anti-cancer agents. In particular, nucleic acids are a neglected set of targets, especially the different morphologies of duplex, triplex, and quadruplex DNA, many of which have increasing biological relevance. We also review examples of molecular modeling to understand receptors and using virtual screening against G-protein coupled receptor membrane proteins.

Asymmetrically Substituted Quadruplex-Binding Naphthalene Diimide Showing Potent Activity in Pancreatic Cancer Models

Targeting of genomic quadruplexes is an approach to treating complex human cancers. We describe a series of tetra-substituted naphthalene diimide (ND) derivatives with a phenyl substituent directly attached to the ND core. The lead compound (SOP1812) has 10 times superior cellular and in vivo activity compared with previous ND compounds and nanomolar binding to human quadruplexes. The pharmacological properties of SOP1812 indicate good bioavailability, which is consistent with the in vivo activity in xenograft and genetic models for pancreatic cancer. Transcriptome analysis shows that it down-regulates several cancer gene pathways, including Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

The bi-loop, a new general four-stranded DNA motif

The crystal structure of the cyclic octanucleotide d<pATTCATTC> contains two independent molecules that form a novel quadruplex by means of intermolecular Watson-Crick A.T pairs and base stacking. A virtually identical quadruplex composed of G.C pairs was found by earlier x-ray analysis of the linear heptamer d(GCATGCT), when the DNA was looped in the crystal. The close correspondence between these two structures of markedly dissimilar oligonucleotides suggests that they are both examples of a previously unrecognized motif. Their nucleotide sequences have little in common except for two separated 5'-purine-pyrimidine dinucleotides forming the quadruplex, and by implication these so-called "bi-loops" could occur widely in natural DNA. Such structures provide a mechanism for noncovalent linking of polynucleotides in vivo. Their capacity to associate by base stacking, demonstrated in the crystal structure of d(GCATGCT), creates a compact molecular framework made up of four DNA chains within which strand exchange could take place.

RNA versus DNA G-Quadruplex: The Origin of Increased Stability

DNA quadruplexes have been the subject of investigation because of their biological relevance and because of their potential application in supramolecular chemistry. Similarly, RNA quadruplexes are now gaining increasing attention. Although DNA and RNA quadruplexes are structurally very similar, the latter show higher stability. In this study we report dispersion‐corrected density functional theory (DFT‐D) quantum chemical calculations that were undertaken to understand the difference in stabilities of RNA and DNA quadruplexes. The smallest meaningful model of a stack of quartets, interacting with alkali metal cations, was simulated in an aqueous environment. The energy decomposition analysis allows for in‐depth examination of the interaction energies, emphasising the role of noncovalent interactions and better electrostatics in determining RNA‐GQs higher stabilities, particularly pinpointing the role of the extra 2′‐OH groups. Furthermore, our computations present new insights on why the cation is required for self‐assembly: unexpectedly the cation is not necessary to relieve the repulsion between the oxygen atoms in the central cavity, but it is needed to overcome the entropic penalty.

ALU non-B-DNA conformations, flipons, binary codes and evolution

ALUs contribute to genetic diversity by altering DNA's linear sequence through retrotransposition, recombination and repair. ALUs also have the potential to form alternative non-B-DNA conformations such as Z-DNA, triplexes and quadruplexes that alter the read-out of information from the genome. I suggest here these structures enable the rapid reprogramming of cellular pathways to offset DNA damage and regulate inflammation. The experimental data supporting this form of genetic encoding is presented. ALU sequence motifs that form non-B-DNA conformations under physiological conditions are called flipons. Flipons are binary switches. They are dissipative structures that trade energy for information. By efficiently targeting cellular machines to active genes, flipons expand the repertoire of RNAs compiled from a gene. Their action greatly increases the informational capacity of linearly encoded genomes. Flipons are programmable by epigenetic modification, synchronizing cellular events by altering both chromatin state and nucleosome phasing. Different classes of flipon exist. Z-flipons are based on Z-DNA and modify the transcripts compiled from a gene. T-flipons are based on triplexes and localize non-coding RNAs that direct the assembly of cellular machines. G-flipons are based on G-quadruplexes and sense DNA damage, then trigger the appropriate protective responses. Flipon conformation is dynamic, changing with context. When frozen in one state, flipons often cause disease. The propagation of flipons throughout the genome by ALU elements represents a novel evolutionary innovation that allows for rapid change. Each ALU insertion creates variability by extracting a different set of information from the neighbourhood in which it lands. By elaborating on already successful adaptations, the newly compiled transcripts work with the old to enhance survival. Systems that optimize flipon settings through learning can adapt faster than with other forms of evolution. They avoid the risk of relying on random and irreversible codon rewrites.

Quantum mechanical calculations unveil the structure and properties of the absorbing and emitting excited electronic states of guanine quadruplex

Herein, a full quantum mechanical study, in solution, of several models of guanine-quadruplex helices, both parallel and antiparallel, containing up to eight guanine residues, in their electronic excited state is reported. By exploiting TD-DFT calculations and including solvent effects by the polarizable continuum model, we provide the first atomistic description of the processes triggered by the absorption of UV light, reproducing and assigning the experimental optical and electronic circular dichroism spectra. The absorbing excited states are delocalized over multiple bases, whereas emission involves a stacked guanine dimer or a monomer. Several states, with a varying degree of localization and charge-transfer character, rule the photoexcited dynamics, which are deeply affected by the quadruplex topology. The lowest excited-state minimum for parallel quadruplex is an asymmetric excimer involving two stacked guanines, with a small charge transfer character, whereas for the anti-parallel structure, with the same topology of the thrombin binding aptamer, it is a fully symmetric excimer, characterized by a strong decrease of the stacking distance. A monomer-like decay path is the most relevant nonradiative decay pathway. Insights on the effect of the ions (K(+) or Na(+)) on the excited state decay are also provided.

Tricky Topology: Persistence of Folded Human Telomeric i-Motif DNA at Ambient Temperature and Neutral pH

i-Motifs are four-stranded DNA structures formed from sequences rich in cytosine, held together by hemi-protonated cytosine-cytosine base pairs. These structures have been utilized extensively as pH-switches in DNA-based nanotechnology. Recently there has been an increasing interest in i-motif structures in biology, fuelled by examples of when these can form under neutral conditions. Herein we describe a cautionary tale regarding handling of i-motif samples. Using CD and UV spectroscopy we show that it is important to be consistent in annealing i-motif DNA samples as at neutral pH, i-motif unfolding kinetics is dependent on the time allowed for annealing and equilibration. We describe how the quadruplex structure formed by the human telomeric i-motif sequence can be shown to form and persist in the same conditions of neutral pH and ambient temperature in which, once at thermodynamic equilibrium, it exists predominantly as a random coil. This study has implications not only for work with i-motif DNA structures, but also in the uses and applications of these in nanotechnological devices.

Diffusion-ordered nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for analysis of DNA secondary structural elements

Structure determination of secondary DNA structural elements, such as G-quadruplexes, gains an increasing importance as fundamental physiological roles are being associated with the formation of such structures in vivo. A truncated native DNA sequence generally requires further optimization to obtain a candidate with desired nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) properties for structural analysis in solution. The optimum sequence is expected to form one dominant, stable molecular entity in solution with well-resolved NMR peaks. However, DNA sequences are prone to form structures composed of one, two, three, or four strands depending on sequence and solution conditions. The thorough characterization of the molecularity (stoichiometry and molecular weight) and appropriate solution conditions for sequences with different modifications traditionally applies analytical techniques that generally do not represent the solution conditions for NMR structure determination. Here we present the application of diffusion-ordered NMR spectroscopy as a useful analytical tool for the optimization and analysis of DNA secondary structural elements, specifically, the DNA G-quadruplex structures, including those formed in the human telomeric sequence and in the promoter regions of bcl-2 and c-myc genes.

Evaluation of binding selectivities and affinities of platinum-based quadruplex interactive complexes by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The quadruplex binding affinities and selectivities of two large pi-surface Pt(II) phenanthroimidazole complexes, as well as a smaller pi-surface platinum bipyridine complex and a larger Ru(II) complex, were evaluated by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy was used to determine the structures of various quadruplexes and to study the thermal denaturation of the quadruplexes in the absence and presence of the metal complexes. In addition, chemical probe reactions with glyoxal were used to monitor the changes in the quadruplex conformation because of association with the complexes. The platinum phenanthroimidazole complexes show increased affinity for several of the quadruplexes with elongated loops between guanine repeats. Quadruplexes with shorter loops exhibited insubstantial binding to the transition metal complexes. Similarly binding to duplex and single strand oligonucleotides was low overall. Although the ruthenium-based metal complex showed somewhat enhanced quadruplex binding, the Pt(II) complexes had higher quadruplex affinities and selectivities that are attributed to their square planar geometries. The chemical probe reactions using glyoxal indicated increased reactivity when the platinum phenanthroimidazole complexes were bound to the quadruplexes, thus suggesting a conformational change that alters guanine accessibility.

Beyond the double helix: DNA structural diversity and the PDB

The determination of the double helical structure of DNA in 1953 remains the landmark event in the development of modern biological and biomedical science. This structure has also been the starting point for the determination of some 2000 DNA crystal structures in the subsequent 68 years. Their structural diversity has extended to the demonstration of sequence-dependent local structure in duplex DNA, to DNA bending in short and long sequences and in the DNA wound round the nucleosome, and to left-handed duplex DNAs. Beyond the double helix itself, in circumstances where DNA sequences are or can be induced to unwind from being duplex, a wide variety of topologies and forms can exist. Quadruplex structures, based on four-stranded cores of stacked G-quartets, are prevalent though not randomly distributed in the human and other genomes and can play roles in transcription, translation, and replication. Yet more complex folds can result in DNAs with extended tertiary structures and enzymatic/catalytic activity. The Protein Data Bank is the depository of all these structures, and the resource where structures can be critically examined and validated, as well as compared one with another to facilitate analysis of conformational and base morphology features. This review will briefly survey the major structural classes of DNAs and illustrate their significance, together with some examples of how the use of the Protein Data Bank by for example, data mining, has illuminated DNA structural concepts.

Control of the polyamine biosynthesis pathway by G2-quadruplexes

G-quadruplexes are naturally-occurring structures found in RNAs and DNAs. Regular RNA G-quadruplexes are highly stable due to stacked planar arrangements connected by short loops. However, reports of irregular quadruplex structures are increasing and recent genome-wide studies suggest that they influence gene expression. We have investigated a grouping of G2-motifs in the UTRs of eight genes involved in polyamine biosynthesis, and concluded that several likely form novel metastable RNA G-quadruplexes. We performed a comprehensive biophysical characterization of their properties, comparing them to a reference G-quadruplex. Using cellular assays, together with polyamine-depleting and quadruplex-stabilizing ligands, we discovered how some of these motifs regulate and sense polyamine levels, creating feedback loops during polyamine biosynthesis. Using high-resolution 1H-NMR spectroscopy, we demonstrated that a long-looped quadruplex in the AZIN1 mRNA co-exists in salt-dependent equilibria with a hairpin structure. This study expands the repertoire of regulatory G-quadruplexes and demonstrates how they act in unison to control metabolite homeostasis.

Thermodynamic characterization of human telomere quadruplex unfolding

The 3'-terminal extensions of eukaryotic chromosomes are unique examples of functional single-stranded DNA. Human telomeres are constructed of the repeated DNA sequence 5'-d(TTAGGG). Four-repeats of human telomeric DNA have been characterized by high-resolution techniques to be capable of forming at least five distinct monomeric conformations. The predominant solution topology is influenced by solution conditions and the presence of 3'- or 5'-flanking residues. This study describes the unfolding mechanisms for human telomeric quadruplexes formed by eight sequence variants that form three unique antiparallel topologies in K(+) solution. Thermal unfolding monitored by circular dichroism is analyzed by singular value decomposition to enumerate the number of significant spectral species required to model the unfolding process. Thermal denaturation of all quadruplexes studied is found to be best modeled by a four-state sequential mechanism with two populated intermediates. The thermal unfolding was also investigated in 50% (v/v) acetonitrile in which a parallel topology is favored. Under these dehydrating conditions, quadruplex thermal denaturation is best modeled by a three-state sequential unfolding mechanism with one populated intermediate. Dehydrated parallel quadruplexes demonstrate increased thermal stability. The spectral properties of the unfolding intermediate suggest that it is most likely a triple-helical structure.

An RNA guanine quadruplex regulated pathway to TRAIL-sensitization by DDX21

DDX21 is a newly discovered RNA G-quadruplex (rG4) binding protein with no known biological rG4 targets. In this study we used label-free proteomic MS/MS to identify 26 proteins that are expressed at significantly different levels in cells expressing an rG4-binding deficient DDX21 (M4). MS data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD013501. From this list we validate MAGED2 as a protein that is regulated by DDX21 through rG4 in its 5'-UTR. MAGED2 protein levels, but not mRNA levels, are reduced by half in cells expressing DDX21 M4. MAGED2 has a repressive effect on TRAIL-R2 expression that is relieved under these conditions, resulting in elevated TRAIL-R2 mRNA and protein in MCF-7 cells, rendering them sensitive to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. Our work identifies the role of DDX21 in regulation at the translational level through biologically relevant rG4 and shows that MAGED2 protein levels are regulated, at least in part, by the potential to form rG4 in their 5'-UTRs.

Small-molecule G-quadruplex interactions: Systematic exploration of conformational space using multiple molecular dynamics

G-quadruplexes are higher-order four-stranded structures formed from repetitive guanine-containing tracts in nucleic acids. They comprise a core of stacked guanine-quartets linked by loops of length and sequence that vary with the context in which the quadruplex sequence occurs. Such sequences can be found in a number of genomic environments; at the telomeric ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, in promoter regions, in untranslated sequences and in open reading frames. Quadruplex formation can inhibit telomere maintenance, transcription and translation, especially when enhanced by quadruplex-binding small molecules, and quadruplex targeting is currently of considerable interest. The available experimental structural data shows that quadruplexes can have high conformational flexibility, especially in loop regions, which has hampered attempts to use high-throughput docking to find quadruplex-binding small-molecules with new scaffolds or to optimize existing ones with structure-based design methods. An approach to overcome the challenge of quadruplex conformational flexibility is presented here, which uses a combined multiple molecular dynamics and sampling approach. Two test small molecules have been used, RHPS4 and pyridostatin, which themselves have contrasting degrees of conformational flexibility.

Substituted Naphthalenediimide Compounds Bind Selectively to Two Human Quadruplex Structures with Parallel Topology

Interactions are reported of three representative naphthalenediimide derivatives with three quadruplex targets, from the promoter region of the telomerase (hTERT) gene, a human telomeric DNA quadruplex, and a telomeric RNA quadruplex (TERRA). Thermal melting studies showed that these compounds strongly stabilize the quadruplexes, with weak stabilization of a duplex DNA. Binding studies by surface plasmon resonance and fluorescence spectroscopy found that the compounds bind to the quadruplexes with nanomolar equilibrium dissociation constants. Plausible topologies for the quadruplex complexes were deduced from CD spectra, which together with the surface plasmon resonance data indicate that the quadruplexes with parallel quadruplex folds are preferred by two compounds, which was confirmed by qualitative molecular modeling.