Calorimetric unfolding of intramolecular triplexes: length dependence and incorporation of single AT --> TA substitutions in the duplex domain

Kinetic and thermodynamic analysis of triplex formation between peptide nucleic acid and double-stranded RNA

Kinetics and thermodynamics of triplex formation between 9-mer homopyrimidine PNA (H₂N-Lys-TCTCCTCCC-CONH₂) and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA, 5'-AGAGGAGGG-3'/3'-UCUCCUCCC-5') at acidic pH were studied by means of a stopped-flow technique and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). These results revealed the following main findings: (i) the stable PNA-dsRNA triplex formation mostly originated from the large association rate constant (k_on), which was dominated by both the charge neutral PNA backbone and the protonation level of the PNA cytosine. (ii) The temperature dependence of the enthalpy change (ΔH) and k_on suggested that the association phase of the PNA-dsRNA triplex formation comprised a non-directional nucleation-zipping mechanism that was coupled with the conformational transition of the unbound PNA. (iii) The destabilization by a mismatch in the dsRNA sequence mainly resulted from the decreased magnitude of both k_on and ΔH. (iv) There was sequence and position dependence of the mismatch on ΔH and the activation energy (E_on), which illustrated the importance of base pairing in the middle of the sequence. Our results for the first time revealed an association mechanism for the PNA-dsRNA triplex formation. A set of the kinetic and thermodynamic data we reported here will also expand the scope of understanding for nucleic acid recognition by PNA.

Effect of Loop Length and Sequence on the Stability of DNA Pyrimidine Triplexes with TAT Base Triplets

We report the thermodynamic contributions of loop length and loop sequence to the overall stability of DNA intramolecular pyrimidine triplexes. Two sets of triplexes were designed: in the first set, the C₅ loop closing the triplex stem was replaced with ^5'-CT_nC loops (n = 1-5), whereas in the second set, both the duplex and triplex loops were replaced with a ^5'-GCAA or ^5'-AACG tetraloop. For the triplexes with a ^5'-CT_nC loop, the triplex with five bases in the loop has the highest stability relative to the control. A loop length lower than five compromises the strength of the base-pair stacks without decreasing the thermal stability, leading to a decreased enthalpy, whereas an increase in the loop length leads to a decreased enthalpy and a higher entropic penalty. The incorporation of the GCAA loop yielded more stable triplexes, whereas the incorporation of AACG in the triplex loop yielded a less stable triplex due to an unfavorable enthalpy term. Thus, addition of the GCAA tetraloop can cause an increase in the thermodynamics of the triplex without affecting the sequence or melting behavior and may result in an additional layer of genetic regulation.

The Complementarity of the Loop to the Stem in DNA Pseudoknots Gives Rise to Local TAT Base-Triplets

Pseudoknots belong to an RNA structural motif that has significant roles in the biological function of RNA. An example is ribosomal frameshifting; in this mechanism, the formation of a local triplex changes the reading frame that allows for differences in the translation of mRNAs. In this work, we have used a combination of temperature-dependent UV spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to determine the unfolding thermodynamics of a set of DNA pseudoknots with the following sequence: d(TCTCTTnAAAAAAAAGAGAT5TTTTTTT), where "Tn" is a thymine loop with n=5 (PsK-5), 7 (PsK-7), 9 (PsK-9), or 11 (PsK-11). All four oligonucleotides form intramolecular pseudoknots, and the increase in the length of this loop yielded more stable pseudoknots due to higher transition temperatures and higher unfolding enthalpies. This indicates formation of one and three TAT/TAT stacks in PsK-9 and PsK-11, respectively. We have flipped one AT for a TA base pair in the core stem of these pseudoknots, preventing in this way the formation of these base-triplet stacks. The DSC curves of these pseudoknots yielded lower unfolding enthalpies, confirming the formation of a local triplex in PsK-9 and PsK-11. Furthermore, we have investigated the reaction of PsK-5 and PsK-9 with their partially complementary strands: directly by isothermal titration calorimetry and indirectly by creating a Hess cycle with the DSC data. Relative to the PsK-5 reaction, PsK-9 reacts with its complementary strand with less favorable free energy and enthalpy contributions; this indicates PsK-9 is more stable and more compact due to the formation of a local triplex.

The size of the internal loop in DNA hairpins influences their targeting with partially complementary strands

Targeting of noncanonical DNA structures, such as hairpin loops, may have significant diagnostic and therapeutic potential. Oligonucleotides can be used for binding to mRNA, forming a DNA/RNA hybrid duplex that inhibits translation. This kind of modulation of gene expression is called the antisense approach. In order to determine the best strategy to target a common structural motif in mRNA, we have designed a set of stem-loop DNA molecules with sequence: d(GCGCT_nGTAAT₅GTTACT_nGCGC), where n = 1, 3, or 5, “T₅” is an end loop of five thymines. We used a combination of calorimetric and spectroscopy techniques to determine the thermodynamics for the reaction of a set of hairpins containing internal loops with their respective partially complementary strands. Our aim was to determine if internal- and end-loops are promising regions for targeting with their corresponding complementary strands. Indeed, all targeting reactions were accompanied by negative changes in free energy, indicating that reactions proceed spontaneously. Further investigation showed that these negative free energy terms result from a net balance of unfavorable entropy and favorable enthalpy contributions. In particular, unfolding of hairpins and duplexes is accompanied by positive changes in heat capacity, which may be a result of exposure of hydrophobic groups to the solvent. This study provides a new method for the targeting of mRNA in order to control gene expression.

A thermodynamic approach for the targeting of nucleic acid structures using their complementary single strands

The main focus of our investigations is to further our understanding of the physicochemical properties of nucleic acid structures. We report on a thermodynamic approach to study the reaction of a variety of intramolecular nucleic acid structures with their respective complementary strands. Specifically, we have used a combination of isothermal titration (ITC) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and spectroscopy techniques to determine standard thermodynamic profiles for the reaction of a triplex, G-quadruplex, hairpin loops, pseudoknot, and three-arm junctions with their complementary strands. Reaction enthalpies are measured directly in ITC titrations, and compared with those obtained indirectly from Hess cycles using DSC unfolding data. All reactions investigated yielded favorable free energy contributions, indicating that each single strand is able to invade and disrupt the corresponding intramolecular DNA structure. These favorable free energy terms are enthalpy-driven, resulting from a favorable compensation of exothermic contributions due to the formation of additional base-pair stacks in the duplex product, and endothermic contributions, from the disruption of base stacking contributions of the reactant single strands. The overall results provide a thermodynamic approach that can be used in the targeting of nucleic acids, especially the secondary structures formed by mRNA, with oligonucleotides for the control of gene expression.

Unfolding thermodynamics of DNA pyrimidine triplexes with different molecularities

Nucleic acid oligonucleotides (ODNs), as drugs, present an exquisite selectivity and affinity that can be used in antigene and antisense strategies for the control of gene expression. In this work we try to answer the following question: How does the molecularity of a DNA triplex affect its overall stability and melting behavior? To this end, we used a combination of temperature-dependent UV spectroscopy and calorimetric (differential scanning calorimetry) techniques to investigate the melting behavior of DNA triplexes with a similar helical stem, TC+TC+TC+T/AGAGAGA/TCTCTCT, but formed with different strand molecularity. We determined standard thermodynamic profiles and the differential binding of protons and counterions accompanying their unfolding. The formation of a triplex is accompanied by a favorable free energy term, resulting from the typical compensation of favorable enthalpy-unfavorable entropy contributions, i.e., the folding of a particular triplex is enthalpy driven. The magnitude of the favorable enthalpy contributions corresponds to the number and strength of the base-triplet stacks formed, which are helped by stacking contributions due to the incorporation of dangling ends or loops. Triplex stability is in the following order: monomolecular > bimolecular > trimolecular; this is explained in terms of additional stacking contributions due to the inclusion of loops. As expected, acidic pH stabilized all triplexes by allowing protonation of the cytosines in the third strand; however, the percentage of protonation increases as the molecularity decreases. The results help to choose adequate solution conditions for the study of triplexes containing different ratios of CGC+ and TAT base triplets and to aid in the design of oligonucleotide sequences as targeting reagents that could effectively react with mRNA sequences involved in human diseases, thereby increasing the feasibility of using the antisense strategy for therapeutic purposes.

Thermodynamic contributions of the reactions of DNA intramolecular structures with their complementary strands

One focus of our research is to further our understanding of the physico-chemical properties of unusual DNA structures and their interaction with complementary oligonucleotides. We have investigated three types of reactions involving the interaction of intramolecular DNA complexes with their complementary single strands of varied length. Specifically, we have used a combination of isothermal titration (ITC) and differential scanning (DSC) calorimetry and spectroscopy techniques to determine standard thermodynamic profiles for the reaction of an i-motif, G-quadruplex, and triplex with their complementary strands. The enthalpies for each reaction are measured directly in ITC titrations and compared with those obtained indirectly from Hess cycles using DSC unfolding data. All reactions investigated yielded favorable free energy contributions, indicating that each single strand is able to invade and disrupt the corresponding intramolecular DNA complex. These favorable free energy terms are enthalpy driven, which result from a compensation of exothermic contributions, due to the formation of additional base-pair stacks (or base-triplet stacks) in the duplex product (or triplex product), immobilization of electrostricted water by the base-pair and base-triplet stacks, and the removal of structural water from the reactant single strands; and endothermic contributions from the disruption of base-base stacking interactions of the reactant single strands. This investigation of nucleic acid reactions has provided new methodology, based on physico-chemical principles, to determine the molecular forces involved in the interactions between DNA nucleic acid structures. This methodology may be used in targeting reactions for the control of gene expression.