Search

The low binding affinity of unmodified triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFO) is the main drawback to their promising utilization in gene therapy. In the present study, we have synthesized DNA intercalator 5-(pyren-1-ylethynyl)indole Y, known as twisted intercalating nucleic acid (TINA), by a Cu-mediated Sonogashira palladium-catalyzed coupling reaction of 1-ethynylpyrene with 5-iodoindole at a high temperature under anaerobic conditions. Coupling with indole C-5 was far more preferable in obtaining stable TINA-indole than enamine site C-3, as neither hydration of the triple bond to ketones nor competitive Glaser-type homocoupling of acetylenes was observed. The insertion of the new TINA monomer Y as a bulge in the middle or at the 5'-end of the oligodeoxynucleotide sequence

Indole was conjugated to deoxyuridine either directly or via ethynyl linkage to synthesize two new DNA monomers. Due to the high reactivity of indole toward electrophilic substitution reactions, unwanted iodination was observed during the oxidation step with iodine oxidizer in automated DNA synthesizer leading to an additional oligonucleotide having extra 126 mass unit beside the desired oligonucleotide. On the other hand, using CSO oxidizer ensured the formation of the wanted oligonucleotide. Oligonucleotide synthesis was confirmed by MALDI-TOF-MS analysis. Polypyrimidine strands containing non-iodinated indole nucleoside were able to form parallel triplexes, antiparallel RNA and DNA duplexes. The thermal denaturation experiments showed higher triplex stabilization for 5-(5-indolylethynyl)-2′-deoxyuridine over 5-(5-indolyl)-2′-deoxyuridine as the triple bond allows twisting to put the indole into a proper position within the triplex encouraging better π-π stacking.

In pancreatic Panc-1 cancer cells, an increase of oxidative stress enhances the level of 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanine (8OG) more in the KRAS promoter region containing G4 motifs than in non-G4 motif G-rich genomic regions. We found that H2O2 stimulates the recruitment to the KRAS promoter of poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP-1), which efficiently binds to local G4 structures. Upon binding to G4 DNA, PARP-1 undergoes auto PARylation and thus becomes negatively charged. In our view this should favor the recruitment to the KRAS promoter of MAZ and hnRNP A1, as these two nuclear factors, because of their isoelectric points &gt, 7, are cationic in nature under physiological conditions. This is indeed supported by pulldown assays which showed that PARP-1, MAZ, and hnRNP A1 form a multiprotein complex with an oligonucleotide mimicking the KRAS G4 structure. Our data suggest that an increase of oxidative stress in Panc-1 cells activates a ROS-G4-PARP-1 axis that stimulates the transcription of KRAS. This mechanism is confirmed by the finding that when PARP-1 is silenced by siRNA or auto PARylation is inhibited by Veliparib, the expression of KRAS is downregulated. When Panc-1 cells are treated with H2O2 instead, a strong up-regulation of KRAS transcription is observed.

Two new phosphoramidite building blocks for DNA synthesis were synthesized from 1,5- and 2,6-dihydroxyanthraquinones through alkylation with 3-bromo-1-propanol followed by DMT-protection. The novel synthesized 1,5- and 2,6-disubstituted anthraquinone monomers H15 and H26 are incorporated into a G-quadruplex by single and double replacements of TGT and TT loops. Monomers H15 and H26 were found to destabilize G-quadruplex structures for all single replacements of TGT or TT loops. The largest destabilization was observed when H26 linker replaced a TT loop. In contrast, the presence of anthraquinone monomers in two TT loops led to 1–18 °C increase in their thermal stabilities, depending on linker attachment geometry of the monomers. The presence of H15 and H26 linkers replacing two TT loops results in the highest stabilization of the G-quadruplex structure by 18.2 °C. Circular dichroism spectroscopy of all anthraquinone-modified quadruplexes revealed no change of the antiparallel structure when compared with the wild type under potassium buffer conditions. The significantly increased thermostabilities were interpreted by molecular modeling of anthraquinone-modified G-quadruplexes.

Twisted intercalating nucleic acid (TINA) has the ability to stabilize Hoogsteen triplex formation. New oligonucleotides containing 3-(pyren-1-ylethynyl)indole as a DNA linked intercalator backbone have been added to the TINA family and their synthetic route has been devised. The indole ring, under acidic conditions, polarizes the triple bond in the intercalator and this makes hydration of the triple bond possible during the DNA synthesis and an oligonucleotide with 1-(indol-3-yl)-2-(pyren-1-yl)ethanone as the intercalator is formed. Insertion of the unhydrated and hydrated linker systems gave characteristic UV spectra comparable to its monomeric diols due to π-conjugated and isolated pyrene systems, respectively. Thermal denaturation profile at pH 6–7.2 showed excellent stabilization of the triplex upon insertion of 3-(pyren-1-ylethynyl)indole when compared to wild-type triplexes. The investigation includes fluorescence spectroscopic and molecular modeling studies.

Some novel MC-1220 analogs were synthesized by condensation of 4,6-dichloro-N-methylpyrimidin-2-amine derivatives (1a,b and 15) and/or 4-chloro-6-methoxy-N,N,5-trimethylpyrimidin-2-amine (2a) with the sodium salt of 2,6-difluorophenylacetonitrile followed by treatment with aqueous sodium hydroxide in methanol, alkylation, reduction, halogenation, and/or acidic hydrolysis. All synthesized compounds were evaluated for their activity against HIV-1. The most active compound in this study was compound 7, which showed activity against HIV-1 comparable to that of MC-1220. The only difference in structure between compound 7 and MC-1220 is a fluoro atom instead of a CH3 group.

New compounds 5 and 9 using DNA bases e.g. Adenine 1 and Guanine 6 derivatives have been synthesized. The use of simple methods to synthesize compounds 5 and 9 were done using pyrimidine as an alternative DNA base ring. Another design to synthesize new simple pyrimidine rings utilizing thiourea and ethylcyano acetate to afford 6-amino-2-thiouracil was adopted. The reaction of thiouracil 10 with chloro cyano or chloro ester and ketone, resulted in the formation of adduct compounds 18-21 , rather than the formation of compound 17 . All the synthesized compounds were subjected to docking study, in order to gain insights into their binding modes against cyclin-dependent protein kinase 2 (CDK-2) that is involved heavily in cell cycle regulation and receptor protein B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) which is involved in cell apoptosis. These targets were selected based on their key roles in cancer progression via the regulation of the cell cycle and DNA replication. Molecular-docking analyses showed that compound 14e was the best docked ligand against both targets, as it displayed the lowest binding energy, critical hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions with the targets.

A facile and novel synthetic route to MC-1220 was achieved by condensation of 4,6-dichloro-N,N-5-trimethylpyrimidin-2-amine () with the sodium salt of 2,6-difluorophenylacetonitrile, followed by methylation and strong acidic hydrolysis. The prodrugs of MC-1220 were synthesized by reaction of chlorophosphoramidate derivatives () or α-acetobromoglucose with the sodium salt of MC-1220. The stability and anti-HIV-1 activity of phosphoramidate prodrugs turned out to be comparable to those of the parent drug MC-1220.

The phosphoramidites of DNA monomers of 7-(3-aminopropyn-1-yl)-8-aza-7-deazaadenine (Y) and 7-(3-aminopropyn-1-yl)-8-aza-7-deazaadenine LNA (Z) are synthesized, and the thermal stability at pH 7.2 and 8.2 of anti-parallel triplexes modified with these two monomers is determined. When, the anti-parallel TFO strand was modified with Y with one or two insertions at the end of the TFO strand, the thermal stability was increased 1.2 °C and 3 °C at pH 7.2, respectively, whereas one insertion in the middle of the TFO strand decreased the thermal stability 1.4 °C compared to the wild type oligonucleotide. In order to be sure that the 3-aminopropyn-1-yl chain was contributing to the stability of the triplex, the nucleobase X without the aminopropynyl group was inserted in the same positions. In all cases the thermal stability was lower than the corresponding oligonucleotides carrying the 3-aminopropyn-1-yl chain, especially at the end of the TFO strand. On the other hand, the thermal stability of the anti-parallel triplex was dramatically decreased when the TFO strand was modified with the LNA monomer analog Z in the middle of the TFO strand (ΔTm = -9.1 °C). Also the thermal stability decreased about 6.1 °C when the TFO strand was modified with Z and the Watson-Crick strand with adenine-LNA (AL). The molecular modeling results showed that, in case of nucleobases Y and Z a hydrogen bond (1.69 and 1.72 Å, respectively) was formed between the protonated 3-aminopropyn-1-yl chain and one of the phosphate groups in Watson-Crick strand. Also, it was shown that the nucleobase Y made a good stacking and binding with the other nucleobases in the TFO and Watson-Crick duplex, respectively. In contrast, the nucleobase Z with LNA moiety was forced to twist out of plane of Watson-Crick base pair which is weakening the stacking interactions with the TFO nucleobases and the binding with the duplex part.

KRAS is one of the most mutated genes in human cancer. It is controlled by a G4 motif located upstream of the transcription start site. In this paper, we demonstrate that 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG), being more abundant in G4 than in non-G4 regions, is a new player in the regulation of this oncogene. We designed oligonucleotides mimicking the KRAS G4-motif and found that 8-oxoG impacts folding and stability of the G-quadruplex. Dimethylsulphate-footprinting showed that the G-run carrying 8-oxoG is excluded from the G-tetrads and replaced by a redundant G-run in the KRAS G4-motif. Chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed that the base-excision repair protein OGG1 is recruited to the KRAS promoter when the level of 8-oxoG in the G4 region is raised by H2O2. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis evidenced that OGG1 removes 8-oxoG from the G4-motif in duplex, but when folded it binds to the G-quadruplex in a non-productive way. We also found that 8-oxoG enhances the recruitment to the KRAS promoter of MAZ and hnRNP A1, two nuclear factors essential for transcription. All this suggests that 8-oxoG in the promoter G4 region could have an epigenetic potential for the control of gene expression.

The anti-gene strategy is based on sequence-specific recognition of double-strand DNA by triplex forming (TFOs) or DNA strand invading oligonucleotides to modulate gene expression. To be efficient, the oligonucleotides (ONs) should target DNA selectively, with high affinity. Here we combined hybridization analysis and electrophoretic mobility shift assay with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to better understand the underlying structural features of modified ONs in stabilizing duplex- and triplex structures. Particularly, we investigated the role played by the position and number of locked nucleic acid (LNA) substitutions in the ON when targeting a c-MYC or FXN (Frataxin) sequence. We found that LNA-containing single strand TFOs are conformationally pre-organized for major groove binding. Reduced content of LNA at consecutive positions at the 3′-end of a TFO destabilizes the triplex structure, whereas the presence of Twisted Intercalating Nucleic Acid (TINA) at the 3′-end of the TFO increases the rate and extent of triplex formation. A triplex-specific intercalating benzoquinoquinoxaline (BQQ) compound highly stabilizes LNA-containing triplex structures. Moreover, LNA-substitution in the duplex pyrimidine strand alters the double helix structure, affecting x-displacement, slide and twist favoring triplex formation through enhanced TFO major groove accommodation. Collectively, these findings should facilitate the design of potent anti-gene ONs.

In order to gain insight into how to improve thermal stability of i-motifs when used in the context of biomedical and nanotechnological applications, novel anthraquinone-modified i-motifs were synthesized by insertion of 1,8-, 1,4-, 1,5- and 2,6-disubstituted anthraquinone monomers into the TAA loops of a 22mer cytosine-rich human telomeric DNA sequence. The influence of the four anthraquinone linkers on the i-motif thermal stability was investigated at 295 nm and pH 5.5. Anthraquinone monomers modulate the i-motif stability in a position-depending manner and the modulation also depends on the substitution pattern of the anthraquinone. The insertion of anthraquinone was found to stabilize the i-motif structure when replacing any one of the positions of the central TAA loop and the thermal stabilities were typically higher than those previously found for i-motifs containing pyrene-modified uracilyl unlocked nucleic acid monomers or twisted intercalating nucleic acid. The 2,6-disubstituted anthraquinone linker replacing T10 enabled a significant increase of i-motif thermal melting by 8.2 °C. A substantial increase of 5.0 °C in i-motif thermal melting was recorded when both A6 and T16 were modified with a double replacement by the 2,6-isomer into the TAA loops in the outer regions. The largest destabilization is observed for the 1,5-disubstituted anthraquinone linker upon the replacement of A18. CD curves of anthraquinone-modified variants imply no structural changes in all cases under potassium buffer conditions compared with those of the native i-motif. Molecular modeling studies explained the increased thermal stabilities of anthraquinone-modified i-motifs.

A series of thalidomide and phthalimide ester analogs were efficiently synthesized from N-chloromethylthalidomide, N-chloromethylphthalimide, and N-(2-bromoethyl)phthalimide derivatives with various biologically important carboxylic acids. The synthesized compounds were purified and characterized by various chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. The antitumor activity of all the synthesized compounds was screened against human liver and breast cancer cells, which showed that phthalimide ester 6a was the best cytotoxic compound against MCF7 cells, while all of the tested compounds showed a non-cytotoxic effect against HepG2 cells. Compounds 5a, 6a, and 7a possess immunosuppressant effect, while compounds 5c, 5d, 6c, 6d, 7c, and 7d showed an immunostimmulatory effect. Meanwhile, estimation of the binding affinity for all the synthesized compounds toward the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) showed that compounds 5a, 5b, and 7d were the most potent inhibitors.

Synthesis An allopurinol locked nucleic acid (LNA) monomer was prepared by a novel strategy through C6 deamination of the corresponding 8-aza-7-bromo-7- deazaadenine LNA monomer with aqueous sodium hydroxide. An 8-aza-7-deazaadenine LNA monomer was also synthesized by a modification of the new synthetic pathway. N-Glycosylation at the 8-position was prevented by steric hindrance from the 7-bromo atom in the starting material 8-aza-7-bromo-7-deazaadenine. In the final step of the synthesis, the bromine was removed together with a benzyl protecting group by catalytic reduction with ammonium formate to give the required LNA monomers.

In spite of the many developments in synthetic oligonucleotide (ON) chemistry and design, invasion into double-stranded DNA (DSI) under physiological salt and pH conditions remains a challenge. In this work, we provide a new ON tool based on locked nucleic acids (LNAs), designed for strand invasion into duplex DNA (DSI). We thus report on the development of a clamp type of LNA ON—bisLNA—with capacity to bind and invade into supercoiled double-stranded DNA. The bisLNA links a triplex-forming, Hoogsteen-binding, targeting arm with a strand-invading Watson–Crick binding arm. Optimization was carried out by varying the number and location of LNA nucleotides and the length of the triplex-forming versus strand-invading arms. Single-strand regions in target duplex DNA were mapped using chemical probing. By combining design and increase in LNA content, it was possible to achieve a 100-fold increase in potency with 30% DSI at 450 nM using a bisLNA to plasmid ratio of only 21:1. Although this first conceptual report does not address the utility of bisLNA for the targeting of DNA in a chromosomal context, it shows bisLNA as a promising candidate for interfering also with cellular genes.

Targeting and invading double-stranded DNA with synthetic oligonucleotides under physiological conditions remain a challenge. Bis-locked nucleic acids (bisLNAs) are clamp-forming oligonucleotides able to invade into supercoiled DNA via combined Hoogsteen and Watson-Crick binding. To improve the bisLNA design, we investigated its mechanism of binding. Our results suggest that bisLNAs bind via Hoogsteen-arm first, followed by Watson-Crick arm invasion, initiated at the tail. Based on this proposed hybridization mechanism, we designed next-generation bisLNAs with a novel linker able to stack to adjacent nucleobases, a new strategy previously not applied for any type of clamp-constructs. Although the Hoogsteen-arm limits the invasion, upon incorporation of the stacking linker, bisLNA invasion is significantly more efficient than for non-clamp, or nucleotide-linker containing LNA-constructs. Further improvements were obtained by substituting LNA with 2'-glycylamino-LNA, contributing a positive charge. For regular bisLNAs a 14-nt tail significantly enhances invasion. However, when two stacking linkers were incorporated, tail-less bisLNAs were able to efficiently invade. Finally, successful targeting of plasmids inside bacteria clearly demonstrates that strand invasion can take place in a biologically relevant context.

Three or four aromatic rings interconnected by acetylene bridges form a stiff conjugated system with sufficient conformational freedom to make it useful to link together the two strands of a DNA clamp. Upon targeting a ssDNA, the conformational flexibility allows better stacking of the linker to the underlying non-planar base triplet in the formed triplex. This type of triplexes has a substantially higher thermal melting temperature which can be further improved by inserting locked nucleic acids (LNAs) in the Hoogsteen part of the clamp. An extremely high sensitivity to mismatches is observed in an octamer triplex when placed in the middle of the sequence.

Two-pronged attack: We describe the maturation of a bivalent aptamer by a chemically driven two-step process. From an improved monovalent aptamer subdomain that had been modified by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at individual positions, a mature bivalent variant with superior activities to its progenitor molecule was obtained through domain reassembly.

Zorro-LNA (Zorro) is a newly developed, oligonucleotide (ON)-based, Z-shaped construct with the potential of specific binding to each strand of duplex DNA. The first-generation Zorros are formed by two hybridized LNA/DNA mixmers (2-ON Zorros) and was hypothesized to strand invade. We have now established a method, which conclusively demonstrates that an LNA ON can strand invade into duplex DNA. To make Zorros smaller in size and easier to design, we synthesized 3 0 –5 0 –5 0 –3 0 single-stranded Zorro-LNA (ssZorro) by using both 3 0 - and 5 0 -phosphoramidites. With ssZorro, a significantly greater extent and rate of double-strand invasion (DSI) was obtained than with conventional 2-ON Zorros. Introducing hydrophilic PEG-linkers connecting the two strands did not significantly change the rate or extent of DSI as compared to ssZorro with a nucleotide-based linker, while the longest alkyl-chain linker tested (36 carbons) resulted in a very slow DSI. The shortest alkyl-chain linker (3 carbons) did not reduce the extent of DSI of ssZorro, but significantly decreased the DSI rate. Collectively, ssZorro is smaller in size, easier to design and more efficient than conventional 2-ON Zorro in inducing DSI. Analysis of the chemical composition of the linker suggests that it could be of importance for future therapeutic considerations.

Free-radical reaction of different carbohydrate educts 2, 5, and 7 with acrylonitrile in the presence of tributyltin hydride and a radical initiator (AIBN) gave the methyl 3-(2-cyanoethyl)-2,3-dideoxypentofuranosides 3a and 6. Similar reaction of 2 with methyl acrylate gave 3-(2-methoxycarbonylethyl>-2,3-dideoxypentofuranose 3b. Nucleoside coupling of 3a with silylated uracil gave an anomeric mixture of β- and α-nucleoside 8 and 9 which were deprotected to give 10 and 11, respectively. Similar reaction of 3b with silylated N4-isobutyrylcytosine gave 12 and 13 which were deprotected to give the final nucleosides 16 and 17, respectively. None of the compounds 10a, 11, 14-17 showed significant activity against HIV. Radikalsynthese von 3-(2-Cyanethyl)- und 3-(2-Methoxycarbonylethyl)-2,3-didesoxy-α-D-erythro-pentofuranosid und ihre Anwendung zur Synthese potentiell antiviraler Nucleoside Die Radikalreaktion der Zuckerderivate 2, 5 und 7 mit Acrylnitril in Gegenwart von Tributylzinnhydrid und dem Radikalstaiter AIBN fuhrte zu den Methyl-3-(2-cyanethyl)-2,3-didesoxypentofuranosiden 3a und 6. Die analoge Reaktion von 2 mit Methylacrylat ergab die 3-(2-Methoxycarbonylethyl)-2,3-didesoxypentofuranose 3b. Die Nucleosidverknupfung von 3a mit silyliertem Urazil lieferte das Anomerengernisch der β- und α-Nucleoside 8 und 9, die zu 10 bzw. 11 entsilyliert wurden. Analog dazu wurden aus 3b und silyliertem N4-lsobutyrylcytosin 12 und 13 und durch Entfernen der Schutzgruppen 16 bzw. 17 erhalten. Keine der Verbindungen 10a, 11, 14-17 zeigte nennenswerte Aktivitat gegen HIV.

The first investigation of Linum grandiflorum resulted in the isolation of one new acylated flavone O-diglycoside known as luteolin 7-O-alpha-D-(6'''-E-feruloyl)glucopyranosyl (1 --2)-beta-D-glucopyranoside, and one new cyanogenic glycoside known as 2-[(3'-isopropoxy-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)oxy]-2-methylbutanenitrile, together with four known flavonoid glycosides, three known cyanogenic glycosides and one alkyl glycoside. The new compounds were structurally elucidated via the extensive 1D, 2D NMR and DIFNOE together with ESI-TOF-CID-MS/MS and HR-MALDI/MS.

Syntheses are described for two novel twisted intercalating nucleic acid (TINA) monomers where the intercalator comprises a benzene ring linked to a naphthalimide moiety via an ethynediyl bridge. The intercalators Y and Z have a 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl and a methyl residue on the naphthalimide moiety, respectively. When used as triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFOs), the novel naphthalimide TINAs show extraordinary high thermal stability in Hoogsteen-type triplexes and duplexes with high discrimination of mismatch strands. DNA Strands containing the intercalator Y show higher thermal triplex stability than DNA strands containing the intercalator Z. This observation can be explained by the ionic interaction of the protonated dimethylamino group under physiological conditions, targeting the negatively charged phosphate backbone of the duplex. This interaction leads to an extra binding mode between the TFO and the duplex, in agreement with molecular-modeling studies. We believe that this is the first example of an intercalator linking the TFO to the phosphate backbone of the duplex by an ionic interaction, which is a promising tool to achieve a higher triplex stability.

This paper describes the synthesis and the antiviral activities of dimeric compounds derived from homo and asymmetric combinations of N-1 propynyloxymethyl analogues 1a,b of MKC-442, an N-1 4-iodobenzyloxymethyl analogue of TNK-651 5, potent contraceptive norgestrel and AZT. They were obtained by Sonogashira reaction, ‘click' chemistry or Pd-catalyzed oxidative coupling. The iodo precursor 5 turned out as a potent compound against wild type and mutated HIV-1 virus. All dimeric compounds showed lower activity against HIV-1 than MKC-442, except the asymmetric dimer of AZT and 1a which showed an activity comparable to MKC-442.

Some novel MC-1220 analogs were synthesized by condensation of 4,6-dichloro-N-methylpyrimidin-2-amine derivatives (1a,b and 15) and/or 4-chloro-6-methoxy-N,N,5-trimethylpyrimidin-2-amine (2a) with the sodium salt of 2,6-difluorophenylacetonitrile followed by treatment with aqueous sodium hydroxide in methanol, alkylation, reduction, halogenation, and/or acidic hydrolysis. All synthesized compounds were evaluated for their activity against HIV-1. The most active compound in this study was compound 7, which showed activity against HIV-1 comparable to that of MC-1220. The only difference in structure between compound 7 and MC-1220 is a fluoro atom instead of a CH3 group.

In continuation of our investigation of characteristics and thermodynamic properties of the i-motif 5′-d[(CCCTAA)3CCCT)] upon insertion of intercalating nucleotides into the cytosine-rich oligonucleotide, this article evaluates the stabilities of i-motif oligonucleotides upon insertion of naphthalimide (1H-benzo[de]isoquinoline-1,3(2H)-dione) as the intercalating nucleic acid. The stabilities of i-motif structures with inserted naphthalimide intercalating nucleotides were studied using UV melting temperatures (Tm) and circular dichroism spectra at different pH values and conditions (crowding and non-crowding). This study indicated a positive effect of the naphthalimide intercalating nucleotides on the stabilities of the i-motif structures compared to the wild-type structure which is in contrast to a previous observation for a pyrene-intercalating nucleotide showing a decrease in Tm values.

1,4-Dihydroxyanthraquinone and 1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone were alkylated with 3-bromopropan-1-ol and subsequentlytransformed into the corresponding DMT protected phosphoramidite building blocks for insertion into loops of the Gquadruplexof the thrombin binding aptamer (TBA). The 1,4-disubstituted anthraquinone linker led to a significant stabilizationof the G-quadruplex structure upon replacing a T in each of two neighboring lateral TT loops and a 26.28 increase in thermalmelting temperature was found. CD Spectra of the modified quadruplexes confirmed anti-parallel conformations in all casesunder potassium buffer conditions as previously observed for TBA. Although the majority of the anthraquinone modified TBAanalogues showed a decrease in clotting times in a fibrinogen clotting assay when compared to TBA, modified aptamerscontaining a 1,8-disubstituted anthraquinone linker replacing G8 or T9 in the TGT loop showed improved anticoagulant activities.Molecular modeling studies explained the increased thermal melting temperatures of anthraquinone-modified G-quadruplexes.

KRAS is mutated in >90% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas. As its inactivation leads to tumour regression, mutant KRAS is considered an attractive target for anticancer drugs. In this study we report a new delivery strategy for a G4-decoy oligonucleotide that sequesters MAZ, a transcription factor essential for KRAS transcription. It is based on the use of palmitoyl-oleyl-phosphatidylcholine (POPC) liposomes functionalized with lipid-modified G4-decoy oligonucleotides and a lipid-modified cell penetrating TAT peptide. The potency of the strategy in pancreatic cancer cells is demonstrated by cell cytometry, confocal microscopy, clonogenic and qRT-PCR assays.

Different analogues of TMC120 derived from pyridazin-3(2H)-one rings were synthesized by coupling of 3,6-dichloropyridazine with arylacetonitriles, phenols and/or aniline derivative followed by hydrolysis and alkylation with different benzyl bromide derivatives.

G-rich anti-parallel DNA triplexes were modified with LNA or α-l-LNA in their Watson-Crick and TFO strands. The triplexes were formed by targeting a pyrimidine strand to a putative hairpin formed by Hoogsteen base pairing in order to use the UV melting method to evaluate the stability of the triplexes. Their thermal stability was reduced when the TFO strand was modified with LNA or α-l-LNA. The same trend was observed when the TFO strand and the purine Watson-Crick strand both were modified with LNA. When all triad components were modified with α-l-LNA and LNA in the middle of the triplex, the thermal melting was increased. When the pyrimidine sequence was modified with a single insertion of LNA or α-l-LNA the ΔTm increased. Moreover, increasing the number of α-l-LNA in the pyrimidine target sequence to six insertions, leads to a high increase in the thermal stability. The conformational S-type structure of α-l-LNA in anti-parallel triplexes is preferable for triplex stability.

A novel series of uracil derivatives with a 3,5-dimethylbenzyl group at the C-6 position were synthesized and evaluated as non-nucleoside HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Purity of the compounds has been confirmed by TLC. Structures of these compounds were established on the basis of elemental analyses and spectral studies. Some of the tested compounds showed moderate to potent activities against wild-type HIV-1, and N-1 alkylated derivatives were highly active.

6H-Indolo[2,3-b]quinoxaline was studied as a covalently bound heteroaromatic intercalator. Six monomers were synthesized and incorporated into DNA oligonucleotides. Through a study of linker length dependence it was concluded that the linker between the oligo and the intercalator must consist of at least five C atoms in order to stabilize a DNA duplex. An intercalator with a 2′-deoxy- d -riboside linker to the oligo could also stabilize a DNA/RNA duplex, while (S)-4-(6-methylindolo[2,3-b]quinoxalin-3-ylmethoxy)-butane-1,2-diol was able to stabilize both DNA/DNA, DNA/RNA and a DNA/LNA duplex. Mismatch studies revealed a huge sensitivity to the C–C mismatch at the 5′-site of the intercalator.

Phosphoramidites of several new twisted intercalating nucleic acid (TINA) monomers and the previously discovered (R)-1-O-[4-(1-pyrenylethynyl)phenylmethyl]glycerol (1) were synthesized and used in DNA synthesis. Stabilization of Hoogsteen-type triplexes was observed in cases of insertion of the novel (R)-1-O-[3-(naphthalen-1-ylethynyl)phenylmethyl]glycerol (2) as a bulge into homopyrimidine oligodeoxynucleotides (ONs), whereas phenylethynyl and 4-(biphenylylethynyl) derivatives of TINAs resulted in destabilization of parallel triplexes relative to the wild-type triplex. It was concluded that TINA monomers should possess at least two fused phenyl rings attached through the triple bond at the 4-position of bulged (R)-1-O-(phenylmethyl)glycerol in homopyrimidine ONs in order to stabilize parallel triplexes. Slight destabilization of DNA/DNA Watson–Crick type duplexes (ΔTm = 1.0–4.5 °C) was detected for 2 inserted as a bulge, while RNA/DNA duplexes and duplexes with other TINA analogues were considerably destabilized (ΔTm > 6.0 °C). In cases of double insertion of 1 opposite to base inversions in dsDNA, the thermal stabilities of the triplexes were higher than that of the wild-type triplex, which is a new solution to overcome the problem of targeting homopurine stretches with single base pair inversions. A DNA three-way junction was considerably stabilized (ΔTm in a range of 10.0–15.5 °C) upon insertion of TINA monomers in the junction point as a bulge. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2006)

Twisted intercalating nucleic acids (TINA) possessing acridine derivatives have been synthesized via the postsynthetic modifications of oligonucleotides possessing insertions of (R)-1-O-(4-iodobenzyl)glycerol (8) or (R)-1-O-(4-ethynylbenzyl)glycerol (9) at the 5'-end or in the middle as a bulge. In the first postsynthetic step, oligonucleotides 8 and 9 on the CPG support were treated with a Sonogashira coupling reaction mixture containing 9-chloro-2-ethynylacridine or 9-chloro-2-iodoacridine, respectively. After the postsynthetic step, treatment of the oligonucleotides with 32% aq ammonia or 50% ethanolic solution of tris(2-aminoethyl)amine led to the substitution of chloride on acridine concurrent with deprotection of the bases and cleavage of the oligonucleotides from CPG. Molecular modeling of the parallel triplex with a bulged insertion of the monomer (R)-3-O-[4-(9-aminoacridin-2-ylethynyl)benzyl]glycerol in the triplex-forming oligonucleotide (TFO) showed that the acridine moiety was stacking between the bases of the duplex, while phenyl was placed between the bases of the TFO. Thermal denaturation studies and fluorescence properties of TINA-acridine oligonucleotide duplexes and triplexes are discussed.

Inhibition assay. Pentaribonucleotides can bind to a DNA template strand near the transcription start site of an open complex (−4 to +1). 2′‐OMe‐Pentamers encompassing locked nucleic acids (TL, GL and AL) and intercalating nucleic acids (INA monomer P) exhibited enhanced inhibition compared to the unmodified pentamer.

This is the first report describing the design, synthesis, and incorporation of an intercalating linker leading to an efficiently 5′,5′-linked alternate strand Hoogsteen triplex. Using molecular modeling, the 5′,5′ problem was solved in a rather simple way. The two relatively distant 5′-ends have been connected with a molecule that provides rigidity to the structure, while being flexible enough to allow stacking upon all four strands. The synthesis of the core of the designed molecule was conducted by Sonogashira coupling of an appropriately substituted iodobenzene with 1,3-diethynylbenzene to give a conjugated system with three benzene rings interconnected with triple bonds. For the alternate-strand triplex obtained with the intercalating linker, the stability obtained is higher than that of the corresponding homotriplex of equivalent total length and with the same nucleotides. This is deduced from a 5° higher melting temperature of the alternating triplex. The sensitivity towards mismatches in the alternate-strand triplex is in the same range (ΔTm=−13° to −19°) as those observed for homotriplexes.

Hexofuranosyl nucleosides are considered as conformationally restricted acyclic nucleosides using a furanose ring to link the diol backbone to the nucleobase. The phosphoramidite of 1-(2,3-dideoxy-beta-D-erythro-hexofuranosyl)thymine was synthesized from thymidine with formation of a new stereocentre at C-5' and the nucleoside was used in oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) synthesis. Binding of mixed sequence ODNs towards complementary DNA and RNA showed decreased affinity compared to the wild-type oligos. Insertion in the middle of poly alphaT sequence led to stabilization of ODN/dA(14) duplexes at low ionic strength, but a decrease was observed in medium and high salt buffers compared to d(alphaT)(14)/dA(14). Both beta and alpha hexofuranosyl thymidines allowed cleavage of complementary mixed-sequence RNA by RNase H to the 3'-site of the modification in ODNs whereas a limited inhibition was detected from the 5'-site.

The synthesis and insertions of ( S )-1- O -(pyren-1-ylmethyl)glycerol into intercalating nucleic acids is described. Insertions of this S -isomer as a bulge lead to reduced binding affinity towards complementary ssDNA compared to intercalating nucleic acids possessing ( R )-1- O -(pyren-1-ylmethyl)glycerol in the same positions. Insertions of both ( R ) or ( S ) 1- O -(pyren-1-ylmethyl)glycerols as bulges into two complementary strands decreased the stability of the complex compared to dsDNA possessing the pyrene pseudo-nucleotide in one of the strands.

Furoannelated analogues 1-alkoxymethyl-7-phenyl-5, 7-dihydro-1H-furo[3, 4-d]-pyrimidine-2, 4-diones of Emivirine (3a, b) were synthesized from the primary alcohols 1-alkoxymethyl-6-benzyl-5-hydroxymethyl-1H-pyrimidine-2, 4-dione (5a, b) using a radical ring closure reaction with Pb(OAc)(4). These analogues are conformationally restricted in order to fix the aromatic substituent of Emivirine in nearly the same position as it is in the case when the complex of Emivirine is bound to HIV-1 RT. However, the anti HIV-1 activities of 3a, b were considerably lower than those of the lead Emivirine.

The intercalating nucleic acid (INA) presented in this paper is a novel 1-O-(1-pyrenylmethyl)glycerol DNA intercalator that induces high thermal affinity for complementary DNA. The duplex examined contained two INA intercalators, denoted X, inserted directly opposite each other: d(C(1)T(2)C(3)A(4)A(5)C(6)X(7)C(8)A(9)A(10)G(11)C(12)T(13)):d(A(14)G(15)C(16)T(17)-T(18)G(19)X(20)G(21)T(22)T(23)G(24)A(25)G(26)). Unlike most other nucleotide analogues, DNA with INA inserted has a lower affinity for hybridizing to complementary DNA with an INA inserted directly opposite than to complementary unmodified DNA. In this study we used two-dimensional (1)H NMR spectroscopy to determine a high-resolution solution structure of the weak INA-INA duplex. A modified ISPA approach was used to obtain interproton distance bounds from NOESY cross-peak intensities. These distance bounds were used as restraints in molecular dynamics (rMD) calculations. Twenty final structures were generated for the duplex from a B-type DNA starting structure. The root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) of the coordinates for the 20 structures of the complex was 1.95 A. This rather large value, together with broad lines in the area of insertion, reflect the high degree of internal motion in the complex. The determination of the structure revealed that both intercalators were situated in the center of the helix, stacking with each other and the neighboring nucleobases. The intercalation of the INAs caused an unwinding of the helix in the insertion area, creating a ladderlike structure. The structural changes observed upon intercalation were mainly of local character; however, a broadening of the minor groove was found throughout the helix.

1-(2,3-Dideoxy-3-amino-alpha-D-arabino-hexofuranosyl)thymine is considered as a conformationally restricted acyclic nucleoside using the furanose ring to link the diol backbone to the nucleobase. The appropriately substituted phosphoramidites were synthesised via 1-(5,6-di-O-acetyl-2,3-dideoxy-3-phthalimido-alpha-D-arabino-hexofuranosyl)thymine and used in oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) synthesis. However, the binding affinity of the mixed ODNs towards complementary DNA and RNA was decreased compared to the wild-type oligos. The decrease was smaller when the monomer was inserted near the end of the sequence. The insertions into an alpha T sequence or in a beta T sequence gave nearly the same dropping in melting temperature per modification which indicates that the new nucleotide modifications behave both as alpha and beta nucleotides.

Six new examples of intercalating nucleic acids were synthesized in order to evaluate the dependence of the length of the linker between oligo and intercalator on the thermal stability of their corresponding duplexes and triplexes.