College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Biomedical Polymers of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University, Hubei, Wuhan 430072, PR China.
Org Biomol Chem. 2011 Oct 7;9(19):6639-45. doi: 10.1039/c1ob05939d. Epub 2011 Aug 18.
Human telomeric G-quadruplexes have raised broad interest not just due to their involvement in the regulation of gene expressions and telomerase activities but also because of their application in nanoarchitectures. Herein, three azobenzene derivatives 1-3 were synthesized with different substituent groups and their photo-isomerization properties were investigated by UV/Vis spectroscopy. Then circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD), fluorescence experiments and native-gel electrophoresis were performed to evaluate their capabilities of conformational photo-regulation both in the absence and presence of metal ions. The results suggested that the compounds synthesized can successfully regulate the conformation of human telomeric G-quadruplex DNA in K(+) conditions to some extent. This work will initiate the possibility for the design and intriguing application of light-induced switching to photoregulate the conformation of G-quadruplex DNA under physiological conditions, providing a possible pathway to control G-quadruplex conformation in biological applications and also expanding the potential use of G-quadruplexes in nanomachines.
人类端粒 G-四链体不仅因其参与基因表达调控和端粒酶活性而引起广泛关注，还因其在纳米结构中的应用而受到关注。在此，合成了三种具有不同取代基的吖啶衍生物 1-3，并通过紫外/可见光谱研究了它们的光致异构化性质。然后通过圆二色性光谱（CD）、荧光实验和天然凝胶电泳来评估它们在不存在和存在金属离子的情况下构象光调控的能力。结果表明，所合成的化合物可以成功地调节人类端粒 G-四链体 DNA 在 K+条件下的构象，在一定程度上。这项工作将为设计和探索用光诱导开关来调节生理条件下 G-四链体 DNA 构象的可能性奠定基础，为控制生物应用中 G-四链体构象提供了一种可能的途径，也扩展了 G-四链体在纳米机器中的潜在用途。
