Unusual thermal stability of RNA/[RP-PS]-DNA/RNA triplexes containing a homopurine DNA strand

Biophys J. 2007 Apr 1;92(7):2507-15. doi: 10.1529/biophysj.106.099283. Epub 2007 Jan 11.

Abstract

Homopurine deoxyribonucleoside phosphorothioates, as short as hexanucleotides and possessing all internucleotide linkages of RP configuration, form a triple helix with two RNA or 2'-OMe-RNA strands, with Watson-Crick and Hoogsteen complementarity. Melting temperature and fluorescence quenching experiments strongly suggest that the Hoogsteen RNA strand is parallel to the homopurine [RP-PS]-oligomer. Remarkably, these triplexes are thermally more stable than complexes formed by unmodified homopurine DNA molecules of the same sequence. The triplexes formed by phosphorothioate DNA dodecamers containing 4-6 dG residues are thermally stable at pH 7.4, although their stability increases significantly at pH 5.3. FTIR measurements suggest participation of the C2-carbonyl group of the pyrimidines in the stabilization of the triplex structure. Formation of triple-helix complexes with exogenously delivered PS-oligos may become useful for the reduction of RNA accessibility in vivo and, hence, selective suppression/inhibition of the translation process.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Binding Sites
  • Computer Simulation
  • DNA / chemistry*
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / chemistry
  • Drug Stability
  • Models, Chemical*
  • Netropsin / chemistry*
  • Nucleic Acid Denaturation
  • Protein Binding
  • Purines / chemistry*
  • RNA / chemistry*
  • Temperature

Substances

  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Purines
  • triplex DNA
  • RNA
  • Netropsin
  • DNA