Effect of loop orientation on quadruplex−TMPyP4 interaction

Abstract

G-quadruplexes are believed to be potential targets for therapeutic intervention and this has resulted in designing of various quadruplex interacting ligands. Moreover, reports about existence of quadruplex forming sequences across the genome have propelled greater interest in understanding their interaction with small molecules. An intramolecular quadruplex sequence can adopt different conformations, owing to different orientation of loops in the structure. The differences in the loop orientation can affect their molecular recognition. Herein, we have studied the interaction of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(1-methyl-4-pyridyl)-21H, 23H-porphine (TMPyP4), a well-known G quadruplex binding ligand with three DNA quadruplexes differing in loop orientations. Results obtained from UV, ITC, and SPR studies have coherently revealed that the TMPyP4 molecule shows preferential binding to parallel G-quadruplex (c-myc and c-kit) over its antiparallel counterpart (human telomeric). The binding affinity for parallel quadruplex was (10⁷) 1 order of magnitude higher than that for antiparallel DNA quadruplex (10(6)). The study shows two binding modes, stronger binding (10⁷) of TMPyP4 involving end stacking and a weaker external binding (10(6)), while TMPyP4 shows only one binding mode with duplex with a binding affinity of the order of 10⁶. Overall, the study emphasizes that differences in the loop orientation give rise to different conformations of quadruplex, which in turn govern its binding to small molecules, and thereby play a pivotal role in molecular recognition.