Interplay of Guanine Oxidation and G-Quadruplex Folding in Gene Promoters.

ABSTRACT: Living in an oxygen atmosphere demands an ability to thrive in the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Aerobic organisms have successfully found solutions to the oxidative threats imposed by ROS by evolving an elaborate detoxification system, upregulating ROS during inflammation, and utilizing ROS as messenger molecules. In this Perspective, recent studies are discussed that demonstrate ROS as signaling molecules for gene regulation by combining two emergent properties of the guanine (G) heterocycle in DNA, namely, oxidation sensitivity and a propensity for G-quadruplex (G4) folding, both of which depend upon sequence context. In human gene promoters, this results from an elevated 5'-GG-3' dinucleotide frequency and GC enrichment near transcription start sites. Oxidation of DNA by R

SUBMITTER: Fleming AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6988379 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature