探索AS1411衍生物的G-四链体形成
Exploring the G-Quadruplex Formation of AS1411 Derivatives.
作者信息
Lourenço Pedro, Moreira David, Miranda André, Lopes-Nunes Jéssica, Maocha Izamara, Santos Tiago, Ferreira Pedro L, Sousa Fani, Paiva Artur, Cruz Carla
机构信息
RISE-Health, Department of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506 Covilhã, Portugal.
RISE-Health, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Rua Marquês d'Ávila e Bolama, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal.
出版信息
Molecules. 2025 Apr 8;30(8):1673. doi: 10.3390/molecules30081673.
AS1411 is a G-quadruplex (G4) aptamer that binds tightly to nucleolin (NCL) on the cell surface and has shown strong anticancer effects. However, this aptamer is highly polymorphic, presenting different types of G4s, which may hinder its preclinical application. Several modifications have been made to decrease the polymorphism of this aptamer. In this work, we designed six AS1411 derivatives by substituting guanine with thymine in the central linker and modifying the number of thymines either in the linker itself and/or at both ends of the sequence. The G4 formation, stability, and NCL binding were evaluated by several biophysical techniques and computational and cell studies. Overall, a decrease in polymorphism of G4-forming sequences compared to AS1411 is observed by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy in the presence of potassium salt. The melting experiments reveal a higher ability of the derivatives without thymine at both sequence ends to form a G4, consistent with the G4H score predictions. Additionally, it is possible to conclude that deletions of T in the central core increase the ability to form G4. Moreover, the AS1411 derivatives bind NCL with high affinity ( values in the 10 M range), particularly the sequences with only thymine modifications in the central linker. In silico studies reveal structural insights and demonstrate that AS1411 derivatives interact with NCL, establishing multiple interactions with the different domains, thereby further supporting the experimental findings. By using a lung cancer cell line with high cell surface NCL expression, we evaluate the internalization and uptake of AS1411 derivatives, identifying the derivative-lacking thymines in the central core as the ones with the highest internalization and cellular uptake.
AS1411是一种G-四链体(G4)适配体,它与细胞表面的核仁素(NCL)紧密结合,并已显示出强大的抗癌效果。然而,这种适配体具有高度多态性,呈现出不同类型的G4,这可能会阻碍其临床前应用。已经进行了几种修饰以降低这种适配体的多态性。在这项工作中,我们通过在中央连接子中用胸腺嘧啶取代鸟嘌呤,并修饰连接子本身和/或序列两端的胸腺嘧啶数量,设计了六种AS1411衍生物。通过几种生物物理技术以及计算和细胞研究对G4的形成、稳定性和NCL结合进行了评估。总体而言,在钾盐存在下,通过尺寸排阻色谱(SEC)和圆二色性(CD)光谱观察到,与AS1411相比,形成G4序列的多态性有所降低。熔解实验表明,序列两端没有胸腺嘧啶的衍生物形成G4的能力更高,这与G4H分数预测一致。此外,可以得出结论,中央核心中T的缺失增加了形成G4的能力。此外,AS1411衍生物以高亲和力(值在10⁻⁹ M范围内)结合NCL,特别是在中央连接子中仅具有胸腺嘧啶修饰的序列。计算机模拟研究揭示了结构见解,并证明AS1411衍生物与NCL相互作用,与不同结构域建立了多种相互作用,从而进一步支持了实验结果。通过使用具有高细胞表面NCL表达的肺癌细胞系,我们评估了AS1411衍生物的内化和摄取,确定中央核心中缺乏胸腺嘧啶的衍生物是内化和细胞摄取最高的衍生物。