Kinetic and thermodynamic analysis of RNA binding by tethered oligonucleotide probes: alternative structures and conformational changes

Targeting a pre-mRNA structure with bipartite antisense molecules modulates tau alternative splicing

Approximately 15% of human genetic diseases are estimated to involve dysregulation of alternative pre-mRNA splicing. Antisense molecules designed to alter these and other splicing events typically target continuous linear sequences of the message. Here, we show that a structural feature in a pre-mRNA can be targeted by bipartite antisense molecules designed to hybridize with the discontinuous elements that flank the structure and thereby alter splicing. We targeted a hairpin structure at the boundary between exon 10 and intron 10 of the pre-mRNA of tau. Mutations in this region that are associated with certain forms of frontotemporal dementia, destabilize the hairpin to cause increased inclusion of exon 10. Via electrophoretic mobility shift and RNase protection assays, we demonstrate that bipartite antisense molecules designed to simultaneously interact with the available sequences that immediately flank the tau pre-mRNA hairpin do indeed bind to this structured region. Moreover, these agents inhibit exon 10 splicing and reverse the effect of destabilizing disease-causing mutations, in both in vitro splicing assays and cell culture. This general bipartite antisense strategy could be employed to modulate other splicing events that are regulated by RNA secondary structure.

Recognition of hairpin-containing single-stranded DNA by oligonucleotides containing internal acridine derivatives

Oligodeoxynucleotides with an internal intercalating agent have been targeted to single-stranded sequences containing hairpin structures. The oligonucleotide binds to nonadjacent single-stranded sequences on both sides of the hairpin structure in such a way as to form a three-way junction. The acridine derivative is inserted at a position that allows it to interact with the three-way junction. The melting temperature (Tm) of complexes formed between the hairpin-containing target and oligonucleotides containing one internal acridine derivative was higher than that obtained with the same target and an unmodified oligonucleotide (DeltaTm = +13 degrees C). The internal acridine provided the oligonucleotide with a higher affinity than covalent attachment to the 5' end. Oligonucleotides could also be designed to recognize a hairpin-containing single-stranded nucleic acid by formation of Watson-Crick hydrogen bonds with a single-stranded part and Hoogsteen hydrogen bonds with the stem of the hairpin. An internal acridine derivative was introduced at the junction between the two domains, the double helix domain with Watson-Crick base pairs and the triple helix domain involving Hoogsteen base triplets in the major groove of the hairpin stem. Oligonucleotides with an internal acridine or an acridine at their 5' end have similar binding affinities for the stem-loop-containing target. The bis-modified oligonucleotide containing two acridines, one at the 5' end and one at an internal site, did not exhibit a higher affinity than the oligonucleotides with only one intercalating agent. The design of oligonucleotides with an internal intercalating agent might be of interest to control gene expression through recognition of secondary structures in single-stranded targets.

Ternary conjugates of guanosine monophosphate as initiator nucleotides for the enzymatic synthesis of 5'-modified RNAs

We give a detailed account on the enzymatic synthesis of RNA conjugates by T7 RNA polymerase using modified initiator nucleotides during transcription. Following two different routes, ternary conjugates of guanosine-5'-monophosphate, poly(ethylene glycol), and anthracene were synthesized via phosphoramidite intermediates and characterized by a variety of spectroscopic techniques. Up to a degree of polymerization nPEG of about 17, these conjugates were efficiently incorporated into RNA by T7 RNA polymerase at the 5'-termini, thereby giving access to RNA conjugates required for biochemical studies as well as for the exploration of the catalytic potential of ribonucleic acids. The resulting conjugates are intact and functional.

Inhibition of Rev·RRE complexation by triplex tethered oligonucleotide probes

We have described a class of molecules, called tethered oligonucleotide probes (TOPs), that bind RNA on the basis of both sequence and structure. TOPs consist of two short oligonucleotides joined by a tether whose length and composition may be varied using chemical synthesis. In a triplex TOP, one oligonucleotide recognizes a short single-stranded region in a target RNA through the formation of Watson-Crick base pairs; the other oligonucleotide recognizes a short double-stranded region through the formation of Hoogsteen base pairs. Binding of triplex TOPs to an HIV-1 Rev Response Element RNA variant (RREAU) was measured by competition electrophoretic mobility shift analysis. Triplex TOP.RREAU stabilities ranged between -9.6 and -6.1 kcal mol-1 under physiological conditions of pH, salt, and temperature. Although the most stable triplex TOP.RREAU complex contained 12 contiguous U.AU triple helical base pairs, complexes containing only six or nine triple helical base pairs also formed. Triplex TOPs inhibited formation of the RRE.Rev complex with IC50 values that paralleled the dissociation constants of the analogous triplex TOP.RREAU complexes. In contrast to results obtained with TOPs that target two single-stranded RRE regions, inhibition of Rev.RREAU complexation by triplex TOPs did not require pre-incubation of RREAU and a TOP: triplex TOPs competed efficiently with Rev for RREAU and inhibited RREAU.Rev complexation at equilibrium.

Control of complexity constraints on combinatorial screening for preferred oligonucleotide hybridization sites on structured RNA

We have explored the use of short (10-mer), fully sequence-randomized oligonucleotide libraries for affinity-based screening in solution for energetically preferred sites of hybridization of a model 47-nucleotide (nt) mutant Ha-ras mRNA stem-loop fragment. In characterizing the model, binding studies using either a gel mobility-shift assay or an RNase ONE footprinting assay indicated the presence of a greatly preferred hybridization site for individual antisense RNA oligonucleotides on the 5'-most side of the ras RNA 19-nt loop. However, initial attempts to affinity-titrate combinatorial uniform 2'-O-methyl-substituted oligonucleotide libraries for selective binding to this 5'-loop site using an RNase ONE footprinting assay that can discriminate between binding to different sites on ras RNA were unsuccessful. By reducing the complexity of the library to a mix of seven RNA oligonucleotides complementary to a range of sites on ras RNA and with no self-complements, footprinting evidence for binding was obtained but was characterized by ras RNA site-specific binding constants differing dramatically from binding constants for individual oligonucleotides. The library complexity was reduced further to three different cases of two RNA oligonucleotides, one of which for all cases was the highest affinity 5'-loop complement. Detailed kinetic and thermodynamic binding analyses revealed a good fit of the data to independent (5'-loop and ascending stem sites), competitive (overlapping 5'-loop sites), or mutually allosteric (5'-loop and 3'-loop sites) formalisms and an energetics description showed that ras 5'-loop site-specific binding could be achieved by affinity titration only for the independent case. Reconstruction of events with the full complexity library suggested that there was the emergence of multiple, linked binding interactions and implied that successful hybridization affinity screening would be achieved only if all possible bimolecular binding interactions of individual library oligonucleotides with target RNA could be made mutually independent. Accordingly, by holding the calculated concentration of unique oligonucleotide sequences of a full complexity DNA library well below the value for the dissociation constant for binding of individual complement to the 5'-loop site and then titrating the concentration of ras RNA through this value, hybridization specific to the 5'-side of the ras loop was demonstrated as assayed either by sequential gel mobility-shift resolution of bimolecular complexes and RNase ONE footprinting in situ in gel slices or by RNase H cleavage of complexes in solution. Because this strategy uses an unbiased oligonucleotide library it should combinatorially identify energetically preferred hybridization sites on folded RNA targets of any sequence and of undetermined structure. This should enable a focused in vitro optimization of antisense oligonucleotide length, sequence, and chemical composition for preferred site binding affinity and specificity which, in turn, may be expected to provide for enhanced biological potency and specificity (Lima et al., 1996). Finally, the complexity constraints encountered and the fundamental requirement to control them presented here also should be applicable to interactions with any biomolecule target of any chemical class of combinatorial library when screened in solution in pooled mixes.

Structural analysis of DNA bending induced by tethered triple helix forming oligonucleotides

In order to monitor DNA flexibility, we have recently reported the design of an artificial DNA bending system consisting of two triple helix forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) connected by a flexible linker [Akiyama, T., & Hogan, M. E. (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 93, 12122-12127], which spans a single turn of DNA helix. Those data suggested that up to 60 degrees of bending deformation could be induced with an expenditure of energy which is much smaller than predicted from bulk flexibility parameters. In this report, the detailed structure of the bend has been investigated by three different methods: circular permutation analysis, phasing analysis, and ring closure. Circular permutation and phasing analysis suggest that the magnitude of the bend is dependent on linker length. The apparent location of the bend was estimated from circular permutation analysis to be at the duplex region intervening the two sites of triple helix formation. The electrophoretic mobility of the bent complex appears to vary with the sequence of the intervening duplex region of the binding site complex, in the order of AT-rich > random > or = GC-rich sequence. Detailed fitting of the phasing data has shown that bending is not accompanied by significant twisting deformation. Ring closure analysis with T4 DNA ligase has confirmed the general magnitude of the TFO-induced bend and has additionally suggested that formation of the simple linear antiparallel triple helix does not enhance DNA flexibility.

Microscopic DNA flexibility analysis. Probing the base composition and ion dependence of minor groove compression with an artificial dna bending agent

We have used an artificial DNA bending agent to monitor the local flexibility of the DNA helix as a function of Mg2+ cation concentration, sequence, and temperature. A DNA bending agent was constructed from a pair of triple helix-forming oligonucleotides connected by a flexible polymeric linker, which, when the linker is short enough, causes a bend in a minor groove region separating the two sites of triple helix formation. The unique aspect of this system is that, since the bent region is not in direct contact with the linker or the triple helix-forming oligonucleotides, the free energy reflecting the bendability of the minor helix groove can be estimated from a comparison of binding affinity between the bent and unbent triple helices. A binding competition experiment and association and dissociation kinetic assays executed at 37 degrees C in the presence of 10 mM Mg2+ have revealed an extremely small difference in binding affinity between bent (50 degrees ) and straight triple helices, suggesting that DNA flexibility with respect to minor groove compression is extremely high and virtually independent of the sequence of the distorted duplex. This unexpectedly small difference in binding affinity was detected over the temperature range from 25 to 65 degrees C, and over a Mg2+ concentration range from 0.3 to 10 mM. Thus, these findings provide evidence that DNA bendability for minor groove compression is inherently high and independent of DNA sequence, temperature, or a 30-fold variation of Mg2+ ion concentration.

Targeting RNA structures by antisense oligonucleotides

The presence of folded regions in RNA competes with the binding of a complementary oligonucleotide, resulting in a weak antisense effect. Due to the key role played by a number of RNA structures in the natural regulation of gene expression it might be of interest to design antisense sequences able to selectively interact with such motifs in order to interfere with the biological processes they mediate. Different possibilities have been explored. A high affinity oligomer will disrupt the structure; if the target structure is solved one can take advantage of unpaired bases (bulges, loops) to minimize the thermodynamic cost of the binding. Alternatively, the folded structure can be accommodated within the complex via the formation of a local triple helix. Oligomers able to adapt to the RNA structure (aptamers) can be extracted by in vitro selection from randomly synthesized libraries comprising several billions of sequences.

Kinetic intermediates in RNA folding

The folding pathways of large, highly structured RNA molecules are largely unexplored. Insight into both the kinetics of folding and the presence of intermediates was provided in a study of the Mg(2+)-induced folding of the Tetrahymena ribozyme by hybridization of complementary oligodeoxynucleotide probes. This RNA folds via a complex mechanism involving both Mg(2+)-dependent and Mg(2+)-independent steps. A hierarchical model for the folding pathway is proposed in which formation of one helical domain (P4-P6) precedes that of a second helical domain (P3-P7). The overall rate-limiting step is formation of P3-P7, and takes place with an observed rate constant of 0.72 +/- 0.14 minute-1. The folding mechanism of large RNAs appears similar to that of many multidomain proteins in that formation of independently stable substructures precedes their association into the final conformation.