Search results for "Quadruplex"

The Right Answer for the Right Electrostatics: Force Field Methods Are Able to Describe Relative Energies of DNA Guanine Quadruplexes

2014

Different force fields and approximate density functional theory were applied in order to study the rotamer space of the telomeric G-quadruplex DNA. While some force fields show an erratic behavior when it comes to the reproduction of the higher-order DNA conformer space, OPLS and MMFF implementations are able to reproduce the experimentally known energy order. The stabilizing effect of the AA (anti−anti) versus SA (syn−anti) conformer is analyzed applying mechanical bond strength descriptors (compliance constants). The fact that we observe the correct energy order using appropriate force fields is in contrast with results previously reported, which suggested the general inappropriateness o…

Does Ligand Symmetry Play a Role in the Stabilization of DNA G-Quadruplex Host-Guest Complexes?

2014

In efforts to find agents with improved biological activity against cancer cells, recent years have seen an increased interest in the study of small molecules able to bind the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) when it assumes secondary structures known as G-quadruplexes (G4s) preferring them over the B form. Currently, several compounds reported in literature have already shown to be good candidates as G4s DNA stabilizers. Even though some specific features for the G4s affinity are known, such as a π-delocalized system able to stack at the top/end of a G-tetrad and positively charged substituents able to interact with the grooves, it is not clear yet what kind of structural features affect more t…

Optimization of anti-proliferative activity using a screening approach with a series of bis-heterocyclic G-quadruplex ligands

2013

Abstract Using a phenotypic screening and SAR optimization approach, a phenyl-bis-oxazole derivative has been identified with anti-proliferative activity, optimized with the use of a panel of cancer cell lines. The lead compound was synthesized by means of a short and effective two-step synthesis using Pd-catalyzed direct arylation. The compound stabilizes several quadruplex DNA sequences including a human telomeric DNA and one from the promoter of the HSP90 gene, although the structure–activity relationships of the series are not obviously related to the quadruplex binding.

Més enllà de la doble hèlix: L’estructura G-quàdruplex de l’ADN

2021

L’ADN es la biomolecula fonamental per al correcte funcionament cel·lular i fins fa poc s’ha associat a l’estructura de doble helix descoberta fa mes de seixanta anys per Crick, Watson i Franklin. Tanmateix, s’han descrit altres estructures i conformacions diferents que l’ADN pot adoptar com els G-quadruplex. Aquests G-quadruplex es formen en regions del genoma riques en guanines amb una estructura tetramera i controlen processos biologics com l’expressio genetica, la proteccio contra l’envelliment o la transmissio de la informacio neuronal. En aquest article descrivim les seues caracteristiques quimiques i estructurals a mes d’introduir les seues principals funcions cel·lulars. Per finalit…

An Organometallic Gold(I) Bis‐N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Complex with Multimodal Activity in Ovarian Cancer Cells

2020

Abstract The organometallic AuI bis‐N‐heterocyclic carbene complex [Au(9‐methylcaffeine‐8‐ylidene)2]+ (AuTMX2) was previously shown to selectively and potently stabilise telomeric DNA G‐quadruplex (G4) structures. This study sheds light on the molecular reactivity and mode of action of AuTMX2 in the cellular context using mass spectrometry‐based methods, including shotgun proteomics in A2780 ovarian cancer cells. In contrast to other metal‐based anticancer agents, this organogold compound is less prone to form coordinative bonds with biological nucleophiles and is expected to exert its drug effects mainly by non‐covalent interactions. Global protein expression changes of treated cancer cell…

P2‐307: A stable G‐quadruplex within the ADAM10 5'‐UTR is involved in translational repression of ADAM10

2011

Harmonization of QSAR Best Practices and Molecular Docking Provides an Efficient Virtual Screening Tool for Discovering New G-Quadruplex Ligands

2015

Telomeres and telomerase are key players in tumorogenesis. Among the various strategies proposed for telomerase inhibition or telomere uncapping, the stabilization of telomeric G-quadruplex (G4) structures is a very promising one. Additionally, G4 stabilizing ligands also act over tumors mediated by the alternative elongation of telomeres. Accordingly, the discovery of novel compounds able to act on telomeres and/or inhibit the telomerase enzyme by stabilizing DNA telomeric G4 structures as well as the development of approaches efficiently prioritizing such compounds constitute active areas of research in computational medicinal chemistry and anticancer drug discovery. In this direction, we…

“ One Ring to Bind Them All ”—Part I: The Efficiency of the Macrocyclic Scaffold for G-Quadruplex DNA Recognition

2010

International audience; Macrocyclic scaffolds are particularly attractive for designing selective G-quadruplex ligands essentially because, on one hand, they show a poor affinity for the "standard" B-DNA conformation and, on the other hand, they fit nicely with the external G-quartets of quadruplexes. Stimulated by the pioneering studies on the cationic porphyrin TMPyP4 and the natural product telomestatin, follow-up studies have developed, rapidly leading to a large diversity of macrocyclic structures with remarkable-quadruplex binding properties and biological activities. In this review we summarize the current state of the art in detailing the three main categories of quadruplex-binding …

Selective G-quadruplex stabilizers: Schiff-base metal complexes with anticancer activity

2014

The affinity of three square-planar nickel(II) (1), copper(II) (2) and zinc(II) (3) Schiff-base complexes for wild-type human telomeric (h-Telo) and protooncogene c-myc G-quadruplex (G4) DNA was investigated by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy and circular dichroism. DNA-binding constants (Kb) were determined by spectrophotometric titrations for both G4-DNA and B-DNA. The results obtained point out that the three metal complexes selectively bind G4-DNA with higher affinity, up to two orders of magnitude, with respect to B-DNA. The nickel(II) complex 1 was found to be the most effective G4-DNA stabilizer and the Kb values decrease in the order 1 > 2 ≈ 3. Innovative computational investigat…

DNA-Binding and Anticancer Activity of Pyrene-Imidazolium Derivatives

2016

DNA-binding investigations showed that two different derivatives endowed with pyrene and imidazolium moieties, 1 and 2, strongly bind both double-stranded DNA and telomeric sequences in G-quadruplex (G4) conformation. The values of the DNA-binding constants indicate that 1 and 2 show preferential affinity for G4-DNA, of about one and two orders of magnitude, respectively. Moreover, 1 and 2 inhibit short and long-term proliferation of breast cancer cell lines in a time- and dose-dependent fashion. Remarkably, senescence assays indicate that telomeric G4-DNA is a possible biotarget for the cytotoxic activity of 2. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that the stronger binding of 2 with G4-D…