Comprehensive study of the interaction between Puerariae Radix flavonoids and DNA: From theoretical simulation to structural analysis to functional analysis

June 29, 2020

Title

Comprehensive study of the interaction between Puerariae Radix flavonoids and DNA: From theoretical simulation to structural analysis to functional analysis

Year

2020

Journal

Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy

Abstract

Puerariae Radix (PR) is a natural herb whose active ingredient is mainly flavonoids. To explore the interaction between PR flavonoids and DNA not only has important biological implications for understanding the mechanism of action, but also helps develop PR products for the design of appropriate dietary interventions to aid cancer treatment. In this work, we comprehensively studied the interaction between six kinds of PR flavonoids and DNA from four different and progressive levels, including molecular docking, multi-spectral analysis, and functional analysis in vitro and in cell. Results show that the DNA binding affinity of six flavonoids is in an order of quercetin N formononetin N daidzein N puerarin N 4′-methoxy puerarin N puerarin 6″-O-xyloside (POS), in which quercetin can significantly inhibit DNA amplification owing to its strongest binding affinity. The binding between quercetin and DNA is further revealed to be intercalated binding, which can cause conformational changes in DNA, thereby exhibiting an activity of cell cycle arrest and anti-proliferative. This property of quercetin can be utilized for the further development of flavonoids with anticancer activity. In addition to the potential application, this work also provides a platform for the comprehensive study of the interaction between micromolecules and DNA.

Instrument

J-815

Keywords

Circular dichroism, DNA structure, Ligand binding, Biochemistry