Claude Hélène

Abstract Nucleic acids can be selectively recognized by a large number of natural and synthetic ligands. Oligonucleotides provide the highest specificity of recognition. They can bind to a complementary single‐stranded sequence by forming Watson–Crick hydrogen bonds. They can also recognize the major groove of double‐helical DNA at specific sequences by forming Hoogsteen or reverse Hoogsteen hydrogen bonds with purine bases of the Watson‐Crick base pairs, resulting in a triple helix. Triple‐helix formation through oligonucleotide binding to DNA is a sequence–specific interaction involving primarily homopurine·homopyrimidine sequences in the double‐helical target. Extending the range of recognition sequences remains a challenge to chemists. Both thermodynamic and kinetic parameters for triplex formation have been determined. These parameters indicate, for example, that triple‐helix formation is a much slower process than duplex formation. Nuclease‐resistant oligonucleotides synthesized with the anomers of nucleosides (instead of the natural β‐anomers) also form triple helices with double–stranded DNA. Triple‐helix‐forming oligonucleotides can be modified, for example, by attaching DNA intercalating agents to enhance their binding affinity. They may also be modified with reagents that induce irreversible reactions in their target sequence upon chemical or photochemical activation. Thus, artificial nucleases can be developed with very high sequence specificity on megabase‐size DNA. Furthermore, triple‐helix‐forming oligonucleotides can be used to selectively control gene expression. When bound to the regulatory region(s) of specific genes they may prevent activation (or repression) of transcription. When binding occurs near or downstream from the transcription initiation site, elongation of the transcript may be inhibited. Therefore, the potential exists for developing new gene‐blocking agents with therapeutic applications in the treatment of gene disorders.

In the recently discovered i-motif, four stretches of cytosine form two parallel-stranded duplexes whose C.C+ base pairs are fully intercalated. The i-motif may be recognized by characteristic Overhauser cross-peaks of the proton NMR spectrum, reflecting short H1'-H1' distances across the minor groove, and short internucleotide amino-proton-H2'/H2" across the major groove. We report the observation of such cross-peaks in the spectra of a fragment of the C-rich telomeric strand of vertebrates, d[CCCTAA]3CCC. The spectra also demonstrate that the cytosines are base-paired and that proton exchange is very slow, as reported previously for the i-motif. From UV absorbance and gel chromatography measurements, we assign these properties to an i-motif which includes all or nearly all the cytosines, and which is formed by intramolecular folding at slightly acid or neutral pH. A fragment of telomeric DNA of Tetrahymena, d[CCCCAA]3CCCC, has the same properties. Hence four consecutive C stretches of a C-rich telomeric strand can fold into an i-motif. Hypothetically, this could occur in vivo.

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVArticleNEXTIntramolecular Folding of Pyrimidine Oligodeoxynucleotides into an i-DNA MotifJean-Louis Mergny, Laurent Lacroix, Xiaogang Han, Jean-Louis Leroy, and Claude HeleneCite this: J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1995, 117, 35, 8887–8898Publication Date (Print):September 1, 1995Publication History Published online1 May 2002Published inissue 1 September 1995https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ja00140a001https://doi.org/10.1021/ja00140a001research-articleACS PublicationsRequest reuse permissionsArticle Views1727Altmetric-Citations248LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail Other access optionsGet e-Alertsclose Get e-Alerts