Secondary DNA structures as molecular targets for cancer therapeutics

2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 692-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. H. Hurley
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequence ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Topoisomerase I ◽  
Biological Effects ◽  
Cancer Therapeutics ◽  
Ion Concentration ◽  
Sequence Information ◽  
Dna Structures ◽  
Design And Synthesis ◽  
Secondary Dna Structures

DNA sequence information is pivotal to transcription, replication and recombination. DNA structure is dependent upon intracellular conditions such as ion concentration and the presence of proteins that may bind to DNA to facilitate the interconversion between different forms and to stabilize specific secondary structures. Dependent upon the primary DNA sequence, purine- and pyrimidine-rich strands of DNA can adopt four-stranded structures known as G-quadruplexes and i-motifs, respectively. These structures have been proposed to exist in biologically important regions of DNA, e.g. at the end of chromosomes and in the regulatory regions of oncogenes such as c-myc. Proteins such as topoisomerase I and Rap1 can facilitate the formation of G-quadruplex structures, and for transcriptional activation of c-myc, proteins such as NM23–H2 and hnRNP K are required. These proteins bind to the non-duplex forms of the nuclease hypersensitivity element III, of c-myc. The design and synthesis of small molecules that target these secondary DNA structures and the biochemical and biological effects of these compounds are of potential importance in cancer chemotherapy.

The emerging role of COX-2, 15-LOX, and PPARγ in metabolic diseases and cancer: An introduction to novel multi-target directed ligands (MTDLs)

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rana A. Alaaeddine ◽  
Perihan A. Elzahhar ◽  
Ibrahim AlZaim ◽  
Wassim Abou-Kheir ◽  
Ahmed S.F. Belal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Diseases ◽  
Biological Effects ◽  
Arachidonic Acid Metabolism ◽  
Peroxisome Proliferator ◽  
Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor ◽  
Cellular Targets ◽  
Design And Synthesis ◽  
Early Results ◽  
Cox 2

: Emerging evidence supports an intertwining framework for the involvement of different inflammatory pathways in a common pathological background for a number of disorders. Of importance are pathways involving arachidonic acid metabolism by cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and 15-lipoxygenase (15-LOX). Both enzyme activities and their products are implicated in a range of pathophysiological processes encompassing metabolic impairment leading to adipose inflammation and the subsequent vascular and neurological disorders, in addition to various pro-and anti-tumorigenic effects. A further layer of complexity is encountered by the disparate, and often reciprocal, modulatory effect COX-2 and 15-LOX activities and metabolites exert on each other or on other cellular targets, the most prominent of which is peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ). Thus, effective therapeutic intervention with such multifaceted disorders requires the simultaneous modulation of more than one target. Here, we describe the role of COX-2, 15-LOX, and PPARγ in cancer and complications of metabolic disorders, highlight the value of designing multi-target directed ligands (MTDLs) modifying their activity, and summarize the available literature regarding the rationale and feasibility of design and synthesis of these ligands together with their known biological effects. We speculate on the potential impact of MTDLs in these disorders as well as emphasize the need for structured future effort to translate these early results facilitating the adoption of these, and similar, molecules in clinical research.

scholarly journals CDK13 upregulation-induced formation of the positive feedback loop among circCDK13, miR-212-5p/miR-449a and E2F5 contributes to prostate carcinogenesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin-Chun Qi ◽  
Zhan Yang ◽  
Tao Lin ◽  
Long Ma ◽  
Ya-Xuan Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Positive Feedback ◽  
Feedback Loop ◽  
Biological Effects ◽  
Therapeutic Benefit ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Positive Feedback Loop

Abstract Background Both E2F transcription factor and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), which increase or decrease E2F activity by phosphorylating E2F or its partner, are involved in the control of cell proliferation, and some circRNAs and miRNAs regulate the expression of E2F and CDKs. However, little is known about whether dysregulation among E2Fs, CDKs, circRNAs and miRNAs occurs in human PCa. Methods The expression levels of CDK13 in PCa tissues and different cell lines were determined by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot analysis. In vitro and in vivo assays were preformed to explore the biological effects of CDK13 in PCa cells. Co-immunoprecipitation anlysis coupled with mass spectrometry was used to identify E2F5 interaction with CDK13. A CRISPR-Cas9 complex was used to activate endogenous CDK13 and circCDK13 expression. Furthermore, the mechanism of circCDK13 was investigated by using loss-of-function and gain-of-function assays in vitro and in vivo. Results Here we show that CDK13 is significantly upregulated in human PCa tissues. CDK13 depletion and overexpression in PCa cells decrease and increase, respectively, cell proliferation, and the pro-proliferation effect of CDK13 is strengthened by its interaction with E2F5. Mechanistically, transcriptional activation of endogenous CDK13, but not the forced expression of CDK13 by its expression vector, remarkably promotes E2F5 protein expression by facilitating circCDK13 formation. Further, the upregulation of E2F5 enhances CDK13 transcription and promotes circCDK13 biogenesis, which in turn sponges miR-212-5p/449a and thus relieves their repression of the E2F5 expression, subsequently leading to the upregulation of E2F5 expression and PCa cell proliferation. Conclusions These findings suggest that CDK13 upregulation-induced formation of the positive feedback loop among circCDK13, miR-212-5p/miR-449a and E2F5 is responsible for PCa development. Targeting this newly identified regulatory axis may provide therapeutic benefit against PCa progression and drug resistance.

scholarly journals Aptardi predicts polyadenylation sites in sample-specific transcriptomes using high-throughput RNA sequencing and DNA sequence

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Lusk ◽  
Evan Stene ◽  
Farnoush Banaei-Kashani ◽  
Boris Tabakoff ◽  
Katerina Kechris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Sequencing ◽  
Dna Sequence ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Alternative Polyadenylation ◽  
Sequence Information ◽  
Rna Seq ◽  
Average Precision ◽  
Polyadenylation Sites ◽  
Dna Nucleotide Sequence

AbstractAnnotation of polyadenylation sites from short-read RNA sequencing alone is a challenging computational task. Other algorithms rooted in DNA sequence predict potential polyadenylation sites; however, in vivo expression of a particular site varies based on a myriad of conditions. Here, we introduce aptardi (alternative polyadenylation transcriptome analysis from RNA-Seq data and DNA sequence information), which leverages both DNA sequence and RNA sequencing in a machine learning paradigm to predict expressed polyadenylation sites. Specifically, as input aptardi takes DNA nucleotide sequence, genome-aligned RNA-Seq data, and an initial transcriptome. The program evaluates these initial transcripts to identify expressed polyadenylation sites in the biological sample and refines transcript 3′-ends accordingly. The average precision of the aptardi model is twice that of a standard transcriptome assembler. In particular, the recall of the aptardi model (the proportion of true polyadenylation sites detected by the algorithm) is improved by over three-fold. Also, the model—trained using the Human Brain Reference RNA commercial standard—performs well when applied to RNA-sequencing samples from different tissues and different mammalian species. Finally, aptardi’s input is simple to compile and its output is easily amenable to downstream analyses such as quantitation and differential expression.

scholarly journals DNA sonification for public engagement in bioinformatics

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heleen Plaisier ◽  
Thomas R. Meagher ◽  
Daniel Barker
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequence ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Sensory Perception ◽  
Data Representation ◽  
Sequence Information ◽  
Dna Sequence Data ◽  
Public Events ◽  
Dna Base ◽  
Alternative Means

Abstract Objective Visualisation methods, primarily color-coded representation of sequence data, have been a predominant means of representation of DNA data. Algorithmic conversion of DNA sequence data to sound—sonification—represents an alternative means of representation that uses a different range of human sensory perception. We propose that sonification has value for public engagement with DNA sequence information because it has potential to be entertaining as well as informative. We conduct preliminary work to explore the potential of DNA sequence sonification in public engagement with bioinformatics. We apply a simple sonification technique for DNA, in which each DNA base is represented by a specific note. Additionally, a beat may be added to indicate codon boundaries or for musical effect. We report a brief analysis from public engagement events we conducted that featured this method of sonification. Results We report on use of DNA sequence sonification at two public events. Sonification has potential in public engagement with bioinformatics, both as a means of data representation and as a means to attract audience to a drop-in stand. We also discuss further directions for research on integration of sonification into bioinformatics public engagement and education.

The prediction of human DNase I hypersensitive sites based on DNA sequence information

2021 ◽  
Vol 209 ◽  
pp. 104223
Author(s):  
Wei Su ◽  
Fang Wang ◽  
Jiu-Xin Tan ◽  
Fu-Ying Dao ◽  
Hui Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequence ◽  
Dnase I ◽  
Sequence Information ◽  
Dnase I Hypersensitive Sites ◽  
Hypersensitive Sites

scholarly journals DNA sequence selectivity of human topoisomerase I-mediated DNA cleavage induced by camptothecin

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 1326-1331
Author(s):  
Chandanamali Punchihewa ◽  
Megan Carver ◽  
Danzhou Yang
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequence ◽  
Dna Cleavage ◽  
Topoisomerase I ◽  
Sequence Selectivity

scholarly journals Non-B DNA Secondary Structures and Their Resolution by RecQ Helicases

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudha Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Transcriptional Control ◽  
Molecular Targets ◽  
Secondary Structures ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Dna Helicases ◽  
Dna Structures ◽  
Recq Helicases ◽  
Alternative Structures ◽  
Dna Secondary Structures ◽  
Secondary Dna Structures

In addition to the canonical B-form structure first described by Watson and Crick, DNA can adopt a number of alternative structures. These non-B-form DNA secondary structures form spontaneously on tracts of repeat sequences that are abundant in genomes. In addition, structured forms of DNA with intrastrand pairing may arise on single-stranded DNA produced transiently during various cellular processes. Such secondary structures have a range of biological functions but also induce genetic instability. Increasing evidence suggests that genomic instabilities induced by non-B DNA secondary structures result in predisposition to diseases. Secondary DNA structures also represent a new class of molecular targets for DNA-interactive compounds that might be useful for targeting telomeres and transcriptional control. The equilibrium between the duplex DNA and formation of multistranded non-B-form structures is partly dependent upon the helicases that unwind (resolve) these alternate DNA structures. With special focus on tetraplex, triplex, and cruciform, this paper summarizes the incidence of non-B DNA structures and their association with genomic instability and emphasizes the roles of RecQ-like DNA helicases in genome maintenance by resolution of DNA secondary structures. In future, RecQ helicases are anticipated to be additional molecular targets for cancer chemotherapeutics.

scholarly journals Taxonomic notes on Scutellaria taipeiensis (Lamiaceae) from morphological and molecular data

PhytoKeys ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 140 ◽  
pp. 33-45
Author(s):  
Chien-Ti Chao ◽  
Bing-Hong Huang ◽  
Jui-Tse Chang ◽  
Pei-Chun Liao
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequence ◽  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
Taxonomic Status ◽  
Plastid Dna ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Sequence Information ◽  
Related Literature ◽  
Morphological And Molecular Data ◽  
Comprehensive Study

The genus Scutellaria comprises eight species distributed from 50 to 2000 m in Taiwan. Amongst them, S. barbata and S. taipeiensis are very similar on the basis of morphological and plastid DNA sequence information. Therefore, a comprehensive study of the taxonomic status of S. taipeiensis is necessary. We reviewed the herbarium sheets, related literature and protologues and compared morphologies of these two species, as well as their phylogenetic relationships. All evidence, including the diagnostic characters between S. taipeiensis and S. barbata, suggest that they belonged to a single species rather than two. As a result, S. taipeiensis is treated as a synonym of S. barbata.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document