Sequence-selective recognition of double-stranded RNA and enhanced cellular uptake of cationic nucleobase and backbone-modified peptide nucleic acids.

ABSTRACT: Sequence-selective recognition of complex RNAs in live cells could find broad applications in biology, biomedical research, and biotechnology. However, specific recognition of structured RNA is challenging, and generally applicable and effective methods are lacking. Recently, we found that peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) were unusually well-suited ligands for recognition of double-stranded RNAs. Herein, we report that 2-aminopyridine (M) modified PNAs and their conjugates with lysine and arginine tripeptides form strong (K_a = 9.4 to 17 × 10⁷ M^-1) and sequence-selective triple helices with RNA hairpins at physiological pH and salt concentration. The affinity of PNA-peptide conjugates for the matched RNA hairpins was unusually high compared to the much lower aff

SUBMITTER: Hnedzko D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5159649 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature