Linkage of cation binding and folding in human telomeric quadruplex DNA.

ABSTRACT: Formation of DNA quadruplexes requires monovalent cation binding. To characterize the cation binding stoichiometry and linkage between binding and folding, we carried out KCl titrations of Tel22 (d[A(GGGTTA)(3)]), a model of the human telomere sequence, using a fluorescent indicator to determine [K(+)](free) and circular dichroism to assess the extent of folding. At [K(+)](free)=5 mM (sufficient for >95% folding), the apparent binding stoichiometry is 3K(+)/Tel22; at [K(+)](free)=20 mM, it increased to 8-10K(+)/Tel22. Thermodynamic analysis shows that at [K(+)](free)=5 mM, K(+) binding contributes approximately -4.9 kcal/mol for folding Tel22. The overall folding free energy is -2.4 kcal/mol, indicating that there are energetically unfavorable contributions to folding. Thus, quadruplex fol

SUBMITTER: Gray RD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3166971 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature