Controlling the specificity of modularly assembled small molecules for RNA via ligand module spacing: targeting the RNAs that cause myotonic muscular dystrophy.

ABSTRACT: Myotonic muscular dystrophy types 1 and 2 (DM1 and DM2, respectively) are caused by expansions of repeating nucleotides in noncoding regions of RNA. In DM1, the expansion is an rCUG triplet repeat, whereas the DM2 expansion is an rCCUG quadruplet repeat. Both RNAs fold into hairpin structures with periodically repeating internal loops separated by two 5'GC/3'CG base pairs. The sizes of the loops, however, are different: the DM1 repeat forms 1 x 1 nucleotide UU loops while the DM2 repeat forms 2 x 2 nucleotide 5'CU/3'UC loops. DM is caused when the expanded repeats bind the RNA splicing regulator Muscleblind-like 1 protein (MBNL1), thus compromising its function. Therefore, one potential therapeutic strategy for these diseases is to prevent MBNL1 from binding the toxic RNA repeats. Previous

SUBMITTER: Lee MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2801143 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature