Premium
PNA binding to the non‐template DNA strand interferes with transcription, suggesting a blockage mechanism mediated by R‐loop formation
Author(s) -
Belotserkovskii Boris P.,
Hanawalt Philip C.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
molecular carcinogenesis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.254
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1098-2744
pISSN - 0899-1987
DOI - 10.1002/mc.22209
Subject(s) - biology , dna , transcription (linguistics) , nucleic acid , transcription bubble , microbiology and biotechnology , rna , polymerase , carcinogenesis , coding strand , biochemistry , gene , rna dependent rna polymerase , philosophy , linguistics
Peptide Nucleic Acids (PNAs) are artificial DNA mimics with superior nucleic acid binding capabilities. T7 RNA polymerase (T7 RNAP) transcription upon encountering PNA bound to the non‐template DNA strand was studied in vitro. A characteristic pattern of blockage signals was observed, extending downstream from the PNA binding site, similar to that produced by G‐rich homopurine‐homopyrimidine (hPu‐hPy) sequences and likely caused by R‐loop formation. Since blocked transcription complexes in association with stable R‐loops may interfere with replication and in some cases trigger apoptosis, targeted R‐loop formation might be employed to inactivate selected cells, such as those in tumors, based upon their unique complement of expressed genes. © 2014 The Authors. Molecular Carcinogenesis published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.