DNA-copper (II) complex and the DNA conformation

Spectrophotometric, sedimentation, infrared, optical rotatory dispersion (ORD), and circular dichroism (CD) methods have been used to demonstrate the structural changes in DNA induced by the interaction of copper(II) with bases and to elucidate the complex binding sites. As shown by the electrolyte-induced reversion (addition of salts) of temperature-denatured copper DNA the effectiveness of re-formation of the double-stranded structure depends on the temperature, copper(II) ion concentration, and on the base composition of the DNA. Exposure of heat-denatured copper DNA to higher temperatures decreases the reversion effect on addition of electrolyte. The results indicate that a greater fraction with a cooperative transition appears on heating DNA to 80 or 100°C at a Cu²⁺/DNA-P ratio of 2 : 1 than at a Cu²⁺/DNA-P ratio of 1 : 1. With AT-rich copper DNA, reversion to the native DNA structure was not observed. Selective methylation of guanine residues in DNA also affects the electrolyte-induced reversion, indicating the importance of GC pairs for copper(II) binding and the reversion to the native structure. Temperature-denatured copper DNA shows an increased sedimentation coefficient Which decreases again after electrolyte-induced reversion. This change in s is reduced by selective methylation of DNA. Complex formation between copper(II) and the bases is accompanied by a conformational change of the DNA double-helical structure as demonstrated by ORD and CD experiments. The ORD profile of GC-rich DNA is much more affected by copper(II) than that of AT-rich ones. Even at very low copper(II) concentrations, e.g., at 0.02 and 0.2 Cu²⁺/DNA-P, the ORD and CD measurements exhibit conformational changes of the DNA secondary structure at room temperature. By comparing the infrared spectra of deoxynucleosides with that of DNA of different GC content it has been shown that both guanine and cytosine are involved in the formation of the complex of copper(II) with DNA. N-7 and O at C-6 in guanine and N-3 as well as O of C-2 in cytosine are discussed as the most probable binding sites in DNA. A binding model for the coordination of the copper(II) ion between guanine and cytosine of the opposite strands is suggested. The results are in good agreement with the assumptions and predictions made by Eichhorn and Clark about the complexing of copper(II) with DNA. The recent proposal made by Schreiber and Daune about an interaction of the type guanine–Cu²⁺–guanine cannot be excluded as an additional kind of coordination of copper(II) in DNA.