Phosphorothioate oligonucleotides are inhibitors of human DNA polymerases and RNase H: implications for antisense technology.

Phosphorothioate oligodeoxycytidine (S-dCn) was used as a model compound to examine the impact of the number of phosphorothioate linkages and their position on the inhibition of human DNA polymerases and RNase H in vitro. S-dCn with a chain length longer than 15 could inhibit human DNA polymerases and RNase H activities, in a linkage number-dependent manner. Longer oligomers were more potent inhibitors than shorter ones. Kinetic studies indicated that S-dC28 was a competitive inhibitor of DNA polymerase alpha and beta with respect to the DNA template, whereas it was a noncompetitive inhibitor of polymerases gamma and delta. S-dC28 was also a competitive inhibitor of RNase H1 and H2 with respect to RNA-DNA duplex. Susceptibility of these enzymes to inhibition by S-dC28 was in the order of delta approximately gamma greater than alpha greater than beta and RNase H1 greater than RNase H2. Structural-activity relationships were explored with a group of S-dC28 analogs that have phosphorothioate internucleotide linkages at various positions. The inhibitory effect depended on the total number of thioate linkages, rather than the position of the linkages within the oligomer or the chain length itself. No sequence specificity was found. In the presence of the complementary RNA, antisense phosphorothioates (S-oligos) exerted a biphasic effect on RNase H activity. At low concentrations S-oligos could enhance the cleavage of the RNA portion of S-oligo-RNA duplex, whereas at high concentrations (in excess of the complementary RNA) S-oligos could inhibit RNase H and protect the complementary RNA from degradation. Together, these results suggest that the non-sequence-specific inhibitory effect of S-oligos should be taken into consideration in designing antisense inhibitors. This inhibitory activity could be avoided by decreasing the number of phosphorothioate linkages at the backbone, and S-oligos of 15-20 residues are preferable in antisense molecule design.