Institute for Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi, India.
Curr Pharm Des. 2012;18(14):2102-11. doi: 10.2174/138161212799958468.
G-quadruplexes are non canonical secondary structures held together by Hoogsteen bonded planar guanine quartets formed in G-rich sequences in DNA and RNA. Considerable research over the past three decades has contributed to a great deal of understanding of these unusual structures in DNA. Various factors governing the stability of DNA quadruplexes coupled with their in vivo existence have been well documented. RNA has emerged as a key regulatory player in the functioning of the cell shifting the focus to RNA G-quadruplexes which were discovered recently. RNA G-quadruplexes demonstrate immense potential for in vivo existence and function due to their inherent chemistry. We have highlighted the major findings of the field and compared them to structural aspects of DNA quadruplexes. Further, the plausible functions of RNA G-quadruplexes such as translational suppression, splicing etc. are discussed in brief, suggesting scope for an extensive role of these structures in biological systems. As the field is growing, we endeavor to review the current knowledge and evaluate the various attributes of RNA G- quadruplex structure, stability, function and applications. We have also attempted to evaluate the physical and physiological role and relevance of these motifs.
四链体是由富含鸟嘌呤的 DNA 和 RNA 序列中形成的 Hoogsteen 键合的平面鸟嘌呤四联体组成的非经典二级结构。在过去的三十年中，大量的研究对这些在 DNA 中的不寻常结构有了更深入的了解。各种影响 DNA 四链体稳定性的因素及其在体内的存在已经得到了很好的记录。RNA 作为细胞功能的关键调节因子出现，这将研究重点转移到了最近发现的 RNA 四链体上。由于其内在的化学性质，RNA 四链体具有巨大的体内存在和功能的潜力。我们强调了该领域的主要发现，并将其与 DNA 四链体的结构方面进行了比较。此外，还简要讨论了 RNA 四链体的可能功能，如翻译抑制、剪接等，这表明这些结构在生物系统中可能有广泛的作用。随着该领域的不断发展，我们努力回顾当前的知识，并评估 RNA 四链体结构、稳定性、功能和应用的各种属性。我们还试图评估这些基序的物理和生理作用和相关性。
