S. L. Grokhovsky

Ultrasonic Cleavage of DNA: Quantitative Analysis of Sequence Specificity

Looking for new means of assessing local conformational and dynamic heterogeneities in DNA structure, we have estimated the rates of phosphodiester bond cleavage in DNA fragments of known sequence caused by ultrasonic treatment. Among the 16 dinucleotide steps possible, those with 5′-ward cytosine [5′-d(CpN)-3′] are distinguished by significantly higher cleavage rates: CG > CA = CT > CC. The possible causes of this intriguing phenomenon are considered.

Ultrasonic cleavage of DNA in complexes with Ag(I), Cu(II), Hg(II)

We investigated a phenomenon of ultrasonic cleavage of DNA complexed with transition metal cations Ag(I), Cu(II) and Hg(II). We found the statistically significant dependence of relative intensity of cleavage on cation type and concentration. Each cation may cause two different types of distortion in the DNA double-helix depending on whether it binds to major or minor DNA groove. The intensity of ultrasonic cleavage decreases where the cation binds to the major DNA groove; the intensity of cleavage increases where the cation binds to the minor DNA groove and disturbs the hydrogen bonds of complementary base pairs or where it intercalates between bases. Both types of DNA distortion can affect the intensity of N↔S intercon-version of deoxyribose.

Antiviral and cytotoxic activity of netropsin derivatives in vero cells infected with vaccinia virus and herpes simplex virus type I

296 Currently, the population has not been vaccinated against variola virus; as a result, children and the majority of adult population younger than 27–30 years old are not immune to smallpox. In view of this, designing and synthesis of new compound that can effectively inhibit reproduction of orthopox viruses is a relevant problem of both theoretical and practical significance. The relevance of these studies increases with regard for the fact that variola virus may be used as a biological terrorism agent.

Modeling of mechanochemical DNA cleavage by the action of ultrasound

In this study, we performed a simulation of stretching dynamics in double-stranded DNA fragments in a high-gradient liquid flow in the neighborhood of collapsing cavitation bubbles. We used calculated profiles of elastic tension along the polymer fragment model to determine the rates of mechanochemical cleavage at different positions in DNA restriction fragments. The obtained cleavage rate curves are qualitatively consistent with experimentally observed profiles of ultrasonic cleavage rates of DNA restriction fragments, which we showed earlier to be position-dependent. Based on the sum of our data, we propose a model that links the sequence specificity of ultrasonic DNA cleavage that has been proven experimentally to the sequence-specific conformational dynamics of β-D-deoxyribose in a B-form of the double helix. Furthermore, quantitative assessments of ultrasonic DNA cleavage rates for different conformational states of β-D-deoxyribose calculated based on the proposed model qualitatively agree with the experimental data.

Inhibition of herpes simplex virus helicase UL9 by netropsin derivatives and antiviral activities of bis-netropsins

Data obtained show that antiviral activities of bis-linked netropsin derivatives are targeted by specific complexes formed by helicase UL9 of herpes simplex virus type 1 with viral DNA replication origins, represented by two OriS sites and one OriL site. According to the results of footprinting studies, bis-netropsins get bound selectively to an A + T cluster which separates interaction sites I and II for helicase UL9 in OriS. Upon binding to DNA, bis-netropsins stabilize a structure of the A + T cluster and inhibit thermal fluctuation-induced opening of AT base pairs which is needed for local unwinding of DNA by helicase UL9. Kinetics of ATP-dependent DNA unwinding in the presence and absence of Pt-bis-netropsin are studied by measuring the efficiency of Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the fluorescent probes attached covalently to 3′- and 5′-ends of the oligonucleotides in the minimal OriS duplex. Pt-bis-netropsin and related molecules inhibit unwinding of OriS duplex by helicase UL9. Pt-bis-netropsin is also able to reduce the rate of unwinding of the AT-rich hairpin formed by the upper strand in the minimal OriS duplex. The antiviral activities and toxicity of bis-linked netropsin derivatives are studied in cell cultured experiments and experiments with animals infected by herpes virus.

Complex of the herpes simplex virus initiator protein UL9 with DNA as a platform for the design of a new type of antiviral drugs

The protein binding to the origin of replication of the herpes simplex virus type 1 is DNA helicase encoded by the UL9 gene of the herpes virus. The protein specifically binds to two binding sites in the viral DNA replication origins OriS or OriL. In order to determine the role of the UL9 protein in the initiation of replication and find efficient inhibitors of the UL9 activity, we have synthesized a recombinant UL9 protein expressed in E. coli cells. It was found that the recombinant UL9 protein binds to Boxes I and II in OriS and possesses DNA helicase and ATPase activities. In the complex with a fluorescent analog of ATP, two molecules of the ATP analog bind to one protein dimer molecule. It was also found that the UL9 protein in the dimer form can bind simultaneously to two DNA fragments, each containing specific binding sites for the protein. The interaction of the recombinant UL9 protein with the 63-mer double- and single-stranded oligonucleotides OriS and OriS*, which correspond to the origin of replication of herpes simplex virus, has been investigated. From the titrations of OriS and OriS* with ethidium bromide in the presence and absence of the UL9 protein, the equilibrium affinity constants of the protein binding to OriS and OriS* have been determined. A DNase I footprinting study showed that bis-netropsins exhibit preference for binding to the AT cluster in the origin of replication OriS and inhibit the fluctuation opening of AT base pairs in the AT cluster. The drugs also prevent formation of an intermediate conformation of OriS* that involves a disordered tail at the 3′ end and stable Box I-Box III hairpin to which the UL9 helicase selectively binds. The stabilization by bis-netropsins of the AT-rich hairpin at its 3′ end can inhibit the helicase activity. It was concluded that the antiviral activity of bis-netropsins may be associated with the inhibitory effects of bis-netropsins on these two stages of the reaction catalyzed by helicase UL9.

DNA-Based Nanostructures: Changes of Mechanical Properties of DNA upon Ligand Binding

The formation of DNA-based nanostructures involves the binding of different kinds of ligands to DNA as well as the interaction of DNA molecules with each other. Complex formation between ligand and DNA can alter physicochemical properties of the DNA molecule. In the present work, the accessibility of DNA-ligand complexes to cleavage by DNase I are considered, and the exact algorithms for analysis of diagrams of DNase I footprinting for ligand-DNA complexes are obtained. Changes of mechanical properties of the DNA upon ligand binding are also demonstrated by the cleavage patterns generated upon ultrasound irradiation of cis-platin-DNA complexes. Propagation of the mechanical perturbations along DNA in the presence of bound ligands is considered in terms of a string model with a heterogeneity corresponding to the position of a bound ligand on DNA. This model can reproduce qualitatively the cleavage patterns obtained upon ultrasound irradiation of cis-platin-DNA complexes.

Isohelical DNA-Binding Oligomers: Antiviral Activity and Application for the Design of Nanostructured Devices

We performed a systematic search for new structural motifs isohelical to double-stranded DNA and found five motifs that can be used for the design and synthesis of new DNA-binding oligomers. Some of the DNA-binding oligomers can be equipped with fluorescence chromophores and metal-chelating groups and may serve as conductive wires in nano-scaled electric circuits. A series of new DNA-binding ligands were synthesized by a modular assembly of pyrrole carboxamides and novel pseudopeptides of the form (XY)n. Here, Y is a glycine residue; n is the degree of polymerization. X is an unusual amino acid residue containing a five-membered aromatic ring. Antiviral activity of bis-linked netropsin derivatives is studied. Bis-netropsins containing 15 and 31 lysine residues at the N-termini inhibit most effectively reproduction of the herpes virus type 1 in the Vero cell culture, including virus variants resistant to acyclovir and its analogues. Antiviral activity of bis-linked netropsin derivatives is correlated with their ability to interact with long clusters of AT-base pairs in the origin of replication of the viral DNA.

Interaction of a dimeric distamycin analog with poly(dA)poly(dT), poly[d(A–T)]poly[d(A–T)], and duplex O23 at the origin of replication of the herpes simplex virus

The binding of a dimeric distamycin analog (Pt–bis–Dst) to poly[d(A–T)]poly[d(A–T)], poly(dA)poly(dT), and duplex O23 with the sequence 5’-GCCAATATATATATATTATTAGG-3’, which occurs at the origin of replication (OriS) of the herpes simplex virus, was studied via UV and CD spectroscopy. The synthetic polyamide differs from the natural antibiotic in having two distamycin moieties that are linked via a glycine cis-diamino platinum group. The Pt–bis–Dst binding to poly[d(A–T)]poly[d(A–T)] and poly(dA)poly(dT) reached saturation at approximately one ligand molecule per eight bp. As the ligand–base pair ratio further increased, the maximum wavelength band tended to shift toward longer wavelengths in the CD spectra of complexes with poly[d(A–T)]poly[d(A–T)] and a shoulder appeared in the 290–310 nm spectral region that was absent from the CD spectra of complexes with lower ligand coverages. At higher ligand–oligonucleotide molar ratios, Pt–bis–Dst could bind to poly[d(A–T)]poly[d(A–T)] in the form of hairpins or associations that result from interactions between the distamycin moieties of two neighbor Pt–bis–Dst molecules. The structures of the complexes were stabilized by interactions between the pirrolcarboxamide moieties of two Pt–bis–Dst molecules absorbed on adjacent overlapping binding sites. The interactions could also be responsible for the concentration-dependent spectral changes that were observed during the formation of a complex between Pt–bis–Dst and poly[d(A–T)]poly[d(A–T)]. Spectral changes were almost absent in the case of Pt–bis–Dst binding to poly(dA)poly(dT). The binding of Pt–bis–Dst to duplex O23 reached saturation at two ligand molecules per duplex, which contained a cluster of 18 AT pairs. At higher molar-concentration ratios, duplex CD spectra underwent changes similar to those that were observed for Pt–bis–Dst binding to poly[d(A–T)]poly[d(A–T)]. Testing Pt–bis–Dst for antiviral activity identified 1.5 μg/mL as a concentration that halved the cytopathic effect of the herpes simplex virus on Vero E6 cells; the selectivity index of antiviral action was 65; cytotoxicity was relatively low. The Pt–bis–Dst concentration that caused the death of approximately half of the cells was estimated at 100 μg/mL.

Effect of dimeric netropsin analogue 15Lys-bis-Nt and acyclovir on the reproduction of herpes simplex virus type 1. The search for variants of herpes virus with drug resistance to 15Lys-bis-Nt and acyclovir.

One of the problems encountered in the chemo� therapy of viral infections is the formation of mutant virus variants that are resistant to drugs. The probabil� ity of drug resistance development directly depends on the efficiency of viral replication suppression in the course of chemotherapy. If viral replication in the infection focus is inhibited partly, the conditions for selection of resistant variants of the virus existing in the virus population are created [1–3]. The use of binary and ternary combinations of drugs with different mechanism of antiviral action can significantly improve their antiviral activity, thereby ensuring the maximum therapeutic effect even when drugs are used at concentrations lower than the concentration required for monotherapy. This reduces the risk of