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Structure of HIV ‐1 reverse transcriptase bound to a novel 38‐mer hairpin template‐primer DNA aptamer
Author(s) -
Miller Matthew T.,
Tuske Steve,
Das Kalyan,
DeStefano Jeffrey J.,
Arnold Eddy
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
protein science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.353
H-Index - 175
eISSN - 1469-896X
pISSN - 0961-8368
DOI - 10.1002/pro.2776
Subject(s) - aptamer , reverse transcriptase , dna , primer (cosmetics) , nucleic acid , duplex (building) , base pair , chemistry , nucleotide , polymerase , dna polymerase , a dna , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , rna , biochemistry , gene , organic chemistry
The development of a modified DNA aptamer that binds HIV‐1 reverse transcriptase (RT) with ultra‐high affinity has enabled the X‐ray structure determination of an HIV‐1 RT‐DNA complex to 2.3 Å resolution without the need for an antibody Fab fragment or RT‐DNA cross‐linking. The 38‐mer hairpin‐DNA aptamer has a 15 base‐pair duplex, a three‐deoxythymidine hairpin loop, and a five‐nucleotide 5′‐overhang. The aptamer binds RT in a template‐primer configuration with the 3′‐end positioned at the polymerase active site and has 2′‐O‐methyl modifications at the second and fourth duplex template nucleotides that interact with the p66 fingers and palm subdomains. This structure represents the highest resolution RT‐nucleic acid structure to date. The RT‐aptamer complex is catalytically active and can serve as a platform for studying fundamental RT mechanisms and for development of anti‐HIV inhibitors through fragment screening and other approaches. Additionally, the structure allows for a detailed look at a unique aptamer design and provides the molecular basis for its remarkably high affinity for RT.