Solution Structures of a G-Quadruplex Bound to Linear- and Cyclic-Dinucleotides

March 24, 2020

Title

Solution Structures of a G-Quadruplex Bound to Linear- and Cyclic-Dinucleotides

Author

Fernaldo Richtia Winnerdy, Poulomi Das, Brahim Heddi, Anh Tuân Phan

Year

2019

Journal

JACS

Abstract

Cyclic dinucleotides have emerged as important secondary messengers and cell signaling molecules that regulate several cell responses. A guanine-deficit G-quadruplex structure formation by a sequence containing (4n – 1) guanines, n denoting the number of G-tetrad layers, was previously reported. Here, a (4n – 1) G-quadruplex structure is shown to be capable of binding guanine-containing dinucleotides in micromolar affinity. The guanine base of the dinucleotides interacts with a vacant G-triad, forming four additional Hoogsteen hydrogen bonds to complete a G-tetrad. Solution structures of two complexes, both comprised of a (4n – 1) G-quadruplex structure, one bound to a linear dinucleotide (d(AG)) and the other to a cyclic dinucleotide (cGAMP), are solved using NMR spectroscopy. The latter suggests sufficiently strong interaction between the guanine base of the dinucleotide and the vacant G-triad, which acts as an anchor point of binding. The binding interfaces from the two solution structures provide useful information for specific ligand design. The results also infer that other guanine-containing metabolites of a similar size have the capability of binding G-quadruplexes, potentially affecting the expression of the metabolites and functionality of the bound G-quadruplexes.

Instrument

V-650, J-815

Keywords

Absorption, G-quadruplex structure, Thermal stability, Circular dichroism, Biochemistry