The abnormal over-expression of the BCL2 gene is associated with many human tumors. We found a new 28-mer G-quadruplex-forming sequence, P1G4, immediately upstream of the human BCL2 gene P1 promoter. The P1G4 is shown to be a transcription repressor using a promoter-driven luciferase assay; its inhibitory effect can be markedly enhanced by the G-quadruplex-interactive compound TMPyP4. G-quadruplex can readily form in the P1G4 sequence under physiological salt condition as shown by DMS footprinting. P1G4 and previously identified Pu39 G-quadruplexes appear to form independently in adjacent regions in the BCL2 P1 promoter. In the extended BCL2 P1 promoter region containing both Pu39 and P1G4, P1G4 appears to play a more dominant role in repressing the transcriptional activity. Using NMR spectroscopy, the P1G4 G-quadruplex appears to be a novel dynamic equilibrium of two parallel structures, one regular with two 1-nt loops and a 12-nt middle loop and another broken-strand with three 1-nt loops and a 11-nt middle loop; both structures adopt a novel hairpin (stem-loop duplex) conformation in the long loop. The dynamic equilibrium of two closely related structures and the unique hairpin loop conformation are specific to the P1G4 sequence and distinguish the P1G4 quadruplex from other parallel structures. The presence of P1G4 and Pu39 in adjacent regions of the BCL2 P1 promoter suggests a mechanism for precise regulation of BCL2 gene transcription. The unique P1G4 G-quadruplex may provide a specific target for small molecules to modulate BCL2 gene transcription.

The platelet-derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFR-β) signaling pathway is a validated and important target for the treatment of certain malignant and nonmalignant pathologies. We previously identified a G-quadruplex-forming nuclease hypersensitive element (NHE) in the human PDGFR-β promoter that putatively forms four overlapping G-quadruplexes. Therefore, we further investigated the structures and biological roles of the G-quadruplexes and i-motifs in the PDGFR-β NHE with the ultimate goal of demonstrating an alternate and effective strategy for molecularly targeting the PDGFR-β pathway. Significantly, we show that the primary G-quadruplex receptor for repression of PDGFR-β is the 3′-end G-quadruplex, which has a GGA sequence at the 3′-end. Mutation studies using luciferase reporter plasmids highlight a novel set of G-quadruplex point mutations, some of which seem to provide conflicting results on effects on gene expression, prompting further investigation into the effect of these mutations on the i-motif-forming strand. Herein we characterize the formation of an equilibrium between at least two different i-motifs from the cytosine-rich (C-rich) sequence of the PDGFR-β NHE. The apparently conflicting mutation results can be rationalized if we take into account the single base point mutation made in a critical cytosine run in the PDGFR-β NHE that dramatically affects the equilibrium of i-motifs formed from this sequence. We identified a group of ellipticines that targets the G-quadruplexes in the PDGFR-β promoter, and from this series of compounds, we selected the ellipticine analog GSA1129, which selectively targets the 3′-end G-quadruplex, to shift the dynamic equilibrium in the full-length sequence to favor this structure. We also identified a benzothiophene-2-carboxamide (NSC309874) as a PDGFR-β i-motif-interactive compound. In vitro, GSA1129 and NSC309874 downregulate PDGFR-β promoter activity and transcript in the neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-SH at subcytotoxic cell concentrations. GSA1129 also inhibits PDGFR-β-driven cell proliferation and migration. With an established preclinical murine model of acute lung injury, we demonstrate that GSA1129 attenuates endotoxin-mediated acute lung inflammation. Our studies underscore the importance of considering the effects of point mutations on structure formation from the G- and C-rich sequences and provide further evidence for the involvement of both strands and associated structures in the control of gene expression.

Human telomeres can form DNA G-quadruplex (G4), an attractive target for anticancer drugs. Human telomeric G4s bear inherent structure polymorphism, challenging for understanding specific recognition by ligands or proteins. Protoberberines are medicinal natural-products known to stabilize telomeric G4s and inhibit telomerase. Here we report epiberberine (EPI) specifically recognizes the hybrid-2 telomeric G4 predominant in physiologically relevant K solution and converts other telomeric G4 forms to hybrid-2, the first such example reported. Our NMR structure in K solution shows EPI binding induces extensive rearrangement of the previously disordered 5'-flanking and loop segments to form an unprecedented four-layer binding pocket specific to the hybrid-2 telomeric G4; EPI recruits the (-1) adenine to form a "quasi-triad" intercalated between the external tetrad and a T:T:A triad, capped by a T:T base pair. Our study provides structural basis for small-molecule drug design targeting the human telomeric G4.

The important MYC oncogene is deregulated in many cancer cells and comprises one of the most prominent G-quadruplex (G4) forming sequences in its promoter regions, the NHE III 1 motif. Formation of G4s suppresses MYC transcription and can be modulated by drug binding, establishing these DNA structures as promising targets in cancer therapy. The NHE III 1 motif can fold into more than one parallel G4s, including 1:2:1 and 1:6:1 loop length conformers, with the 1:2:1 conformer shown as the major species under physiological conditions in solution. However, additional factors such as protein interactions may affect the cellular folding equilibrium. Nucleolin, a protein shown to bind MYC G4 and repress MYC transcription, is reported herein to preferably bind to the 1:6:1 loop length conformer suggesting a physiological significance of this species. The high-resolution NMR solution structure of the 1:6:1 conformer is determined, which reveals a 5′-capping structure distinctive from the 1:2:1 form, with the 6 nt central loop playing an essential role for this specific capping structure. This suggests that each parallel G-quadruplex likely adopts unique capping and loop structures determined by the specific central loop and flanking sequences. The resulting structural information at the molecular level will help to understand protein recognition of different G4s, contribution of G4 polymorphism to gene regulation, and to rationally design small molecules selectively targeting the 1:6:1 MYC G4.