Spatial organization of topoisomerase I-mediated DNA cleavage induced by camptothecin-oligonucleotide conjugates

Triple helix-forming oligonucleotides covalently linked to topoisomerase I inhibitors, in particular the antitumor agent camptothecin, trigger topoisomerase I-mediated DNA cleavage selectively in the proximity of the binding site of the oligonucleotide vector. In the present study, we have performed a systematic analysis of the DNA cleavage efficiency as a function of the positioning of the camptothecin derivative, either on the 3′ or the 5′ side of the triplex, and the location of the cleavage site. A previously identified cleavage site was inserted at different positions within two triplex site-containing 59 bp duplexes. Sequence-specific DNA cleavage by topoisomerase I occurs only with triplex conjugates bearing the inhibitor at the 3′-end of the oligonucleotide and on the oligopyrimidine strand of the duplex. The lack of targeted cleavage on the 5′ side is attributed to the structural differences of the 3′ and 5′ duplex–triplex DNA junctions. The changes induced in the double helix by the triple-helical structure interfere with the action of the enzyme according to a preferred spatial organization. Camptothecin conjugates of oligonucleotides provide efficient tools to probe the organization of the topoisomerase I–DNA complex and will be useful to understand the functioning of topoisomerase I in living cells.     

Tandem oligonucleotide synthesis using linker phosphoramidites

Multiple oligonucleotides of the same or different sequence, linked end-to-end in tandem can be synthesized in a single automated synthesis. A linker phosphoramidite [R. T. Pon and S. Yu (2004) Nucleic Acids Res., 32, 623–631] is added to the 5′-terminal OH end of a support-bound oligonucleotide to introduce a cleavable linkage (succinic acid plus sulfonyldiethanol) and the 3′-terminal base of the new sequence. Conventional phosphoramidites are then used for the rest of the sequence. After synthesis, treatment with ammonium hydroxide releases the oligonucleotides from the support and cleaves the linkages between each sequence. Mixtures of one oligonucleotide with both 5′- and 3′-terminal OH ends and other oligonucleotides with 5′-phosphorylated and 3′-OH ends are produced, which are deprotected and worked up as a single product. Tandem synthesis can be used to make pairs of PCR primers, sets of cooperative oligonucleotides or multiple copies of the same sequence. When tandem synthesis is used to make two self-complementary sequences, double-stranded structures spontaneously form after deprotection. Tandem synthesis of oligonucleotide chains containing up to six consecutive 20mer (120 bases total), various trinucleotide codons and primer pairs for PCR, or self-complementary strands for in situ formation of double-stranded DNA fragments has been demonstrated.     

Vaccinia topoisomerase and Cre recombinase catalyze direct ligation of activated DNA substrates containing a 3'-para-nitrophenyl phosphate ester

DNA topoisomerases and DNA site-specific recombinases are involved in a diverse set of cellular processes but both function by making transient breaks in DNA. Type IB topoisomerases and tyrosine recombinases cleave DNA by transesterification of an active site tyrosine to generate a DNA–3′-phosphotyrosyl–enzyme adduct and a free 5′-hydroxyl (5′-OH). Strand ligation results when the 5′-OH attacks the covalent complex and displaces the enzyme. We describe the synthesis of 3′-phospho-(para-nitrophenyl) oligonucleotides (3′-pNP DNAs), which mimic the natural 3′-phosphotyrosyl intermediate, and demonstrate that such pre-activated strands are substrates for DNA ligation by vaccinia topoisomerase and Cre recombinase. Ligation occurs by direct attack of a 5′-OH strand on the 3′-pNP DNA (i.e., without a covalent protein–DNA intermediate) and generates free para-nitrophenol as a product. The chromogenic DNA substrate allows ligation to be studied in real-time and in the absence of competing cleavage reactions and can be exploited for high-throughput screening of topoisomerase/recombinase inhibitors.     

New chemically reactive dsDNAs containing single internucleotide monophosphoryldithio links: reactivity of 5'-mercapto-oligodeoxyribonucleotides

Novel modified DNA duplexes with single bridging 5′-SS-monophosphoryldithio links [-OP(=O)-O^–-SS-CH₂-] were synthesized by autoligation of an oligonucleotide 3′-phosphorothioate and a 5′-mercapto-oligonucleotide previously converted to a 2-pyridyldisulfide adduct. Monophosphoryldisulfide link formation is not a stringent template-dependent process under the conditions used and does not require strong binding of the reactive oligomers to the complementary strand. The modified internucleotide linkage, resembling the natural phosphodiester bond in size and charge density, is stable in water, easily undergoes thiol–disulfide exchange and can be specifically cleaved by the action of reducing reagents. DNA molecules containing an internal -OP(=O)-O^–-SS-CH₂- bridge are stable to spontaneous exchange of disulfide-linked fragments (recombination) even in the single-stranded state and are promising reagents for autocrosslinking with cysteine-containing proteins. The chemical and supramolecular properties of oligonucleotides with 5′-sulfhydryl groups were further characterized. We have shown that under the conditions of chemical ligation the 5′-SH group of the oligonucleotide has a higher reactivity towards N-hydroxybenzotriazole-activated phosphate in an adjacent oligonucleotide than does the OH group. This autoligation, unlike disulfide bond formation, proceeds only in the presence of template oligonucleotide, necessary to provide the activated phosphate in close proximity to the SH-, OH- or phosphate function.     

Optimized synthesis of phosphorothioate oligodeoxyribonucleotides substituted with a 5'-protected thiol function and a 3'-amino group

A new deprotection procedure enables a medium scale preparation of phosphodiester and phosphorothioate oligonucleotides substituted with a protected thiol function at their 5′-ends and an amino group at their 3′-ends in good yield (up to 72 OD units/µmol for a 19mer phosphorothioate). Syntheses of 3′-amino-substituted oligonucleotides were carried out on a modified support. A linker containing the thioacetyl moiety was manually coupled in two steps by first adding its phosphoramidite derivative in the presence of tetrazole followed by either oxidation or sulfurization to afford the bis-derivatized oligonucleotide bound to the support. Deprotection was achieved by treating the fully protected oligonucleotide with a mixture of 2,2′-dithiodipyridine and concentrated aqueous ammonia in the presence of phenol and methanol. This procedure enables (i) cleavage of the oligonucleotide from the support, releasing the oligonucleotide with a free amino group at its 3′-end, (ii) deprotection of the phosphate groups and the amino functions of the nucleic bases, as well as (iii) transformation of the 5′-terminal S-acetyl function into a dithiopyridyl group. The bis-derivatized phosphorothioate oligomer was further substituted through a two-step procedure: first, the 3′-amino group was reacted with fluorescein isothiocyanate to yield a fluoresceinylated oligonucleotide; the 5′-dithiopyridyl group was then quantitatively reduced to give a free thiol group which was then substituted by reaction with an Nα-bromoacetyl derivative of a signal peptide containing a KDEL sequence to afford a fluoresceinylated peptide–oligonucleotide conjugate.     

Selenium derivatization and crystallization of DNA and RNA oligonucleotides for X-ray crystallography using multiple anomalous dispersion

We report here the solid phase synthesis of RNA and DNA oligonucleotides containing the 2′-selenium functionality for X-ray crystallography using multiwavelength anomalous dispersion. We have synthesized the novel 2′-methylseleno cytidine phosphoramidite and improved the accessibility of the 2′-methylseleno uridine phosphoramidite for the synthesis of many selenium-derivatized DNAs and RNAs in large scales. The yields of coupling these Se-nucleoside phosphoramidites into DNA or RNA oligonucleotides were over 99% when 5-(benzylmercapto)-1H-tetrazole was used as the coupling reagent. The UV melting study of A-form dsDNAs indicated that the 2′-selenium derivatization had no effect on the stability of the duplexes with the 3′-endo sugar pucker. Thus, the stems of functional RNA molecules with the same 3′-endo sugar pucker appear to be the ideal sites for the selenium derivatization with 2′-Se-C and 2′-Se-U. Crystallization of the selenium-derivatized oligonucleotides is also reported here. The results demonstrate that this 2′-selenium functionality is suitable for RNA and A-form DNA derivatization in X-ray crystallography.     

Characterization of oligodeoxyribonucleotide synthesis on glass plates

Achieving high fidelity chemical synthesis on glass plates has become increasingly important, since glass plates are substrates widely used for miniaturized chemical and biochemical reactions and analyses. DNA chips can be directly prepared by synthesizing oligonucleotides on glass plates, but the characterization of these micro-syntheses has been limited by the sub-picomolar amount of material available. Most DNA chip syntheses have been assayed using in situ coupling of fluorescent molecules to the 5′-OH of the synthesized oligonucleotides. We herein report a systematic investigation of oligonucleotide synthesis on glass plates with the reactions carried out in an automated DNA synthesizer using standard phosphoramidite chemistry. The analyses were performed using ³²P gel electrophoresis of the oligonucleotides cleaved from glass plates to provide product distribution profiles according to chain length of oligonucleotides. 5′-Methoxythymidine was used as the chain terminator, which permits assay of coupling reaction yields as a function of chain length growth. The results of this work reveal that a major cause of lower fidelity synthesis on glass plates is particularly inefficient reactions of the various reagents with functional groups close to glass plate surfaces. These problems cannot be detected by previous in situ fluorescence assays. The identification of this origin of low fidelity synthesis on glass plates should help to achieve improved synthesis for high quality oligonucleotide microarrays.     

Effect of local DNA sequence on topoisomerase I cleavage in the presence or absence of camptothecin.

In order to investigate the mechanism of topoisomerase I inhibition by camptothecin, we studied the induction of DNA cleavage by purified mammalian DNA topoisomerase I in a series of oligonucleotides and analyzed the DNA sequence locations of preferred cleavage sites in the SV40 genome. The oligonucleotides were derived from the sequence of the major camptothecin-induced cleavage site in SV40 DNA (Jaxel, C., Kohn, K. W., and Pommier, Y. (1988) Nucleic Acids Res. 16, 11157 to 11170) with the cleaved bond in their center. DNA length was critical since cleavage was detectable only in 30 and 20 base pair-(bp) oligonucleotides, but not in a 12-bp oligonucleotide. Cleavage was at the same position in the oligonucleotides as in SV40 DNA. Its intensity was greater in the 30- than in the 20-bp oligonucleotide, indicating that sequences more than 10 bp away from the cleavage site may influence intensity. Camptothecin-induced DNA cleavage required duplex DNA since none of the single-stranded oligonucleotides were cleaved. Analysis of base preferences around topoisomerase I cleavage sites in SV40 DNA indicated that camptothecin stabilized topoisomerase I preferentially at sites having a G immediately 3' to the cleaved bond. Experiments with 30-bp oligonucleotides showed that camptothecin produced most intense cleavage in a complementary duplex having a G immediately 3' to the cleavage site. Weaker cleavage was observed in a complementary duplex in which the 3'G was replaced with a T. The identity of the 3' base, however, did not affect topoisomerase I-induced DNA cleavage in the absence of drug. These results indicate that camptothecin traps preferentially a subset of the enzyme cleavage sites, those having a G immediately 3' to the cleaved bond. This strong preference suggests that camptothecin binds reversibly to the DNA at topoisomerase I cleavage sites, in analogy to a model previously proposed for inhibitors of topoisomerase II (Capranico, G., Kohn, K.W., and Pommier, Y. (1990) Nucleic Acids Res. 18, 6611-6619).     

Design of antisense oligonucleotides stabilized by locked nucleic acids

The design of antisense oligonucleotides containing locked nucleic acids (LNA) was optimized and compared to intensively studied DNA oligonucleotides, phosphorothioates and 2′-O-methyl gapmers. In contradiction to the literature, a stretch of seven or eight DNA monomers in the center of a chimeric DNA/LNA oligonucleotide is necessary for full activation of RNase H to cleave the target RNA. For 2′-O-methyl gapmers a stretch of six DNA monomers is sufficient to recruit RNase H. Compared to the 18mer DNA the oligonucleotides containing LNA have an increased melting temperature of 1.5–4°C per LNA depending on the positions of the modified residues. 2′-O-methyl nucleotides increase the T_m by only <1°C per modification and the T_m of the phosphorothioate is reduced. The efficiency of an oligonucleotide in supporting RNase H cleavage correlates with its affinity for the target RNA, i.e. LNA > 2′-O-methyl > DNA > phosphorothioate. Three LNAs at each end of the oligonucleotide are sufficient to stabilize the oligonucleotide in human serum 10-fold compared to an unmodified oligodeoxynucleotide (from t_1/2 = ~1.5 h to t_1/2 = ~15 h). These chimeric LNA/DNA oligonucleotides are more stable than isosequential phosphorothioates and 2′-O-methyl gapmers, which have half-lives of 10 and 12 h, respectively.     

The precursor strategy: terminus methoxyoxalamido modifiers for single and multiple functionalization of oligodeoxyribonucleotides

Synthesis of new terminus modifiers, bearing, along with a phosphoramidite moiety, one, two or four methoxyoxalamido (MOX) precursor groups, is described. These modifiers are introduced onto the 5′-end of a synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotide as the last step of an automated synthesis to form the MOX precursor oligonucleotide. The MOX groups are then post-synthetically derivatized with an appropriate primary amine to construct a 5′-modified oligonucleotide. The efficiency and simplicity of the novel modifying strategy were demonstrated in the synthesis of a number of 5′-functionalized oligonucleotides.     

Polarity of human replication protein A binding to DNA

Replication protein A (RPA), the nuclear single-stranded DNA binding protein is involved in DNA replication, nucleotide excision repair (NER) and homologous recombination. It is a stable heterotrimer consisting of subunits with molecular masses of 70, 32 and 14 kDa (p70, p32 and p14, respectively). Gapped DNA structures are common intermediates during DNA replication and NER. To analyze the interaction of RPA and its subunits with gapped DNA we designed structures containing 9 and 30 nucleotide gaps with a photoreactive arylazido group at the 3′-end of the upstream oligonucleotide or at the 5′-end of the downstream oligonucleotide. UV crosslinking and subsequent analysis showed that the p70 subunit mainly interacts with the 5′-end of DNA irrespective of DNA structure, while the subunit orientation towards the 3′-end of DNA in the gap structures strongly depends on the gap size. The results are compared with the data obtained previously with the primer–template systems containing 5′- or 3′-protruding DNA strands. Our results suggest a model of polar RPA binding to the gapped DNA.     

7′,5′-alpha-bicyclo-DNA: new chemistry for oligonucleotide exon splicing modulation therapy

Antisense oligonucleotides are small pieces of modified DNA or RNA, which offer therapeutic potential for many diseases. We report on the synthesis of 7′,5′-α-bc-DNA phosphoramidite building blocks, bearing the A, G, T and ^MeC nucleobases. Solid-phase synthesis was performed to construct five oligodeoxyribonucleotides containing modified thymidine residues, as well as five fully modified oligonucleotides. Incorporations of the modification inside natural duplexes resulted in strong destabilizing effects. However, fully modified strands formed very stable duplexes with parallel RNA complements. In its own series, 7′,5′-α-bc-DNA formed duplexes with a surprising high thermal stability. CD spectroscopy and extensive molecular modeling indicated the adoption by the homo-duplex of a ladder-like structure, while hetero-duplexes with DNA or RNA still form helical structure. The biological properties of this new modification were investigated in animal models for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy, where exon splicing modulation can restore production of functional proteins. It was found that the 7′,5′-α-bc-DNA scaffold confers a high biostability and a good exon splicing modulation activity in vitro and in vivo.     

Methanococcus jannaschii Flap Endonuclease: Expression, Purification, and Substrate Requirements

The flap endonuclease (FEN) of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Methanococcus jannaschii was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. FEN retained activity after preincubation at 95°C for 15 min. A pseudo-Y-shaped substrate was formed by hybridization of two partially complementary oligonucleotides. FEN cleaved the strand with the free 5′ end adjacent to the single-strand–duplex junction. Deletion of the free 3′ end prevented cleavage. Hybridization of a complementary oligonucleotide to the free 3′ end moved the cleavage site by 1 to 2 nucleotides. Hybridization of excess complementary oligonucleotide to the free 5′ end failed to block cleavage, although this substrate was refractory to cleavage by the 5′-3′ exonuclease activity of Taq DNA polymerase. For verification, the free 5′ end was replaced by an internally labeled hairpin structure. This structure was a substrate for FEN but became a substrate for Taq DNA polymerase only after exonucleolytic cleavage had destabilized the hairpin. A circular duplex substrate with a 5′ single-stranded branch was formed by primer extension of a partially complementary oligonucleotide on virion X174. This denaturation-resistant substrate was used to examine the effects of temperature and solution properties, such as pH, salt, and divalent ion concentration on the turnover number of the enzyme.     

Re-examination of the intrinsic, dynamic and hydration properties of phosphoramidate DNA

Intrinsic energetic and solvation factors contributing to the unusual structural and biochemical properties of N3′-phosphoramidate DNA analogs have been re-examined using a combination of quantum mechanical and molecular dynamics methods. Evaluation of the impact of the N3′-H substitution was performed via comparison of N3′-phosphoramidate DNA starting from both A- and B-form structures, B-form DNA and A-form RNA. The N3′-H group is shown to be flexible, undergoing reversible inversion transitions associated with motion of the hydrogen atom attached to the N3′ atom. The inversion process is correlated with both sugar pucker characteristics as well as other local backbone torsional dynamics, yielding increased dihedral flexibility over DNA. Solvation of N3′-phosphoramidate DNA is shown to be similar to RNA, consistent with thermodynamic data on the two species. A previously unobserved intrinsic conformational perturbation caused by the N5′-phosphoramidate substitution is identified and suggested to be linked to the differences in the properties of N3′- and N5′-phosphoramidate oligonucleotide analogs.     

Molluscum Contagiosum Virus Topoisomerase: Purification, Activities, and Response to Inhibitors

Molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV), the only member of the Molluscipoxvirus genus, causes benign papules in healthy people but disfiguring lesions in immunocompromised patients. The sequence of MCV has been completed, revealing that MCV encodes a probable type I topoisomerase enzyme. All poxviruses sequenced to date also encode type I topoisomerases, and in the case of vaccinia virus the topoisomerase has been shown to be essential for replication. Thus, inhibitors of the MCV topoisomerase might be useful as antiviral agents. We have cloned the gene for MCV topoisomerase, overexpressed and purified the protein, and begun to characterize its activities in vitro. Like other eukaryotic type I topoisomerases, MCV topoisomerase can relax both positive and negative supercoils. An analysis of the cleavage of plasmid and oligonucleotide substrates indicates that cleavage by MCV topoisomerase is favored just 3′ of the sequence 5′ (T/C)CCTT 3′, resulting in formation of a covalent bond to the 3′ T residue, as with other poxvirus topoisomerases. We identified solution conditions favorable for activity and measured the rate of formation and decay of the covalent intermediate. MCV topoisomerase is sensitive to inhibition by coumermycin A1 (50% inhibitory concentration, 32 μM) but insensitive to five other previously reported topoisomerase inhibitors. This work provides the point of departure for studies of the mechanism of function of MCV topoisomerase and the development of medically useful inhibitors.     

Adenylylation of small RNA sequencing adapters using the TS2126 RNA ligase I

Many high-throughput small RNA next-generation sequencing protocols use 5′ preadenylylated DNA oligonucleotide adapters during cDNA library preparation. Preadenylylation of the DNA adapter''s 5′ end frees from ATP-dependence the ligation of the adapter to RNA collections, thereby avoiding ATP-dependent side reactions. However, preadenylylation of the DNA adapters can be costly and difficult. The currently available method for chemical adenylylation of DNA adapters is inefficient and uses techniques not typically practiced in laboratories profiling cellular RNA expression. An alternative enzymatic method using a commercial RNA ligase was recently introduced, but this enzyme works best as a stoichiometric adenylylating reagent rather than a catalyst and can therefore prove costly when several variant adapters are needed or during scale-up or high-throughput adenylylation procedures. Here, we describe a simple, scalable, and highly efficient method for the 5′ adenylylation of DNA oligonucleotides using the thermostable RNA ligase 1 from bacteriophage TS2126. Adapters with 3′ blocking groups are adenylylated at >95% yield at catalytic enzyme-to-adapter ratios and need not be gel purified before ligation to RNA acceptors. Experimental conditions are also reported that enable DNA adapters with free 3′ ends to be 5′ adenylylated at >90% efficiency.     

2'-fluoro-4'-thioarabino-modified oligonucleotides: conformational switches linked to siRNA activity

The synthesis of oligonucleotides containing 2′-deoxy-2′-fluoro-4′-thioarabinonucleotides is described. 2′-Deoxy-2′-fluoro-5-methyl-4′-thioarabinouridine (4′S-FMAU) was incorporated into 18-mer antisense oligonucleotides (AONs). 4′S-FMAU adopts a predominantly northern sugar conformation. Oligonucleotides containing 4′S-FMAU, unlike those containing FMAU, were unable to elicit E. coli or human RNase H activity, thus corroborating the hypothesis that RNase H prefers duplexes containing oligonucleotides that can adopt eastern conformations in the antisense strand. The duplex structure and stability of these oligonucleotides was also investigated via circular dichroism (CD)- and UV- binding studies. Replacement of the 4′-oxygen by a sulfur atom resulted in a marked decrease in melting temperature of AON:RNA as well as AON:DNA duplexes. 2′-Deoxy-2′-fluoro-4′-thioarabinouridine (4′S-FAU) was incorporated into 21-mer small interfering RNA (siRNA) and the resulting siRNA molecules were able to trigger RNA interference with good efficiency. Positional effects were explored, and synergy with 2′F-ANA, which has been previously established as a functional siRNA modification, was demonstrated.     

Linker phosphoramidite reagents for the attachment of the first nucleoside to underivatized solid-phase supports

New linker phosphoramidite reagents containing a cleavable 3′-ester linkage are used for attaching the first nucleoside to the surface of a solid- phase support. Inexpensive, underivatized amino supports, such as long chain alkylamine controlled-pore glass, can serve as universal supports. No modifications to phosphoramidite coupling conditions are required and, after synthesis, treatment with NH₄OH releases the products with 3′-OH ends. No 3′-dephosphorylation is required. Phosphoramidite reagents containing a succinate and sulfonyl diethanol linkage between the nucleoside and phosphoramidite group are particularly advantageous and can be used to create both 3′-OH and 5′-phosphate ends on oligonucleotides. Reproducibility and quality of oligonucleotide synthesis is demonstrated for either column and 96-well plate formats on low-, medium- or high-loading CPG supports.     

Syntheses and structural studies of calix[4]arene-nucleoside and calix[4]arene-oligonucleotide hybrids

We have synthesized three types of calix[4]arene– nucleoside hybrid efficiently by amide bond formation between the amine functional groups of 1,3-diaminocalix[4]arene and the carboxyl groups of thymidine nucleoside derivatives. X-ray crystallography of a homocoupled calix[4]arene–nucleoside hybrid revealed an interesting hydrogen bonding pattern between thymine bases and the amide linkages. We designed the calix[4]arene–oligonucleotide hybrids (5′-AAAAGATATCAAXTTGATATCTTTT-3′, 5′-T₁₂-X-T₁₂-3′, and 5′-A₁₂-X-T₁₂-3′) to be V-shaped oligodeoxyribonucleotides and synthesized them by using a calix[4]arene–nucleoside hybrid (X) as a key building block. Thermal denaturation experiments, monitored by UV spectroscopy at 260 and 284 nm, and circular dichroism spectra of the calix[4]arene–oligonucleotide hybrids suggest that the modified oligonucleotides indeed adopt V-shaped conformations, making them suitable for use as building blocks in the construction of programmed oligonucleotide nanostructures.     

A novel concept for ligand attachment to oligonucleotides via a 2'-succinyl linker

Conjugation of ligands to antisense oligonucleotides is a promising approach for enhancing their effects. In this report, a new method for synthesizing oligonucleotide conjugates is described. 2′-Amino-2′-deoxy-5′-dimethoxytrityl-uridine was select ively acylated with a succinic acid linker at the 2′ position. This compound was incorporated at the 3′ end of an oligonucleotide corresponding to the sequence of Oblimersen. The carboxyl group was protected for oligonucleotide synthesis as a benzyl ester, which could be selectively cleaved at the solid phase by a catalytic phase transfer reaction using palladium nanoparticles as catalyst. An oligonucleotide–fluorescein conjugate was prepared by condensation of aminofluorescein. Circular dichroism spectroscopic experiments showed a B-DNA type structure. The melting temperature of the duplex was only slightly lower than that of Oblimersen. Biological activity measured by western blotting resulted in a Bcl-2 target downregulation nearly identical to that of control Oblimersen on human melanoma cells, proving that this method is attractive for the binding of ligands located in the minor groove.