The (+)-trans-anti-benzo[a]pyrene adduct formed at the N2 amino group of guanine is the major adduct found after metabolic activation of the ubiquitous carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene. The carcinogenic and mutagenic properties of the (+)-trans-anti-BP adduct, as well as related adducts, have been extensively studied. A DNA duplex containing a (+)-trans-anti-benzo[a]pyrene adduct covalently attached to the G8 nucleotide in the sequence d(CCTATGT[BP-G]CAC).d(GTGCACATAGG) was synthesized and the structure characterized by one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy, in conjunction with energy minimization and molecular dynamics. This BP-11-mer duplex exhibits NOESY cross-peaks between benzo[a]pyrene protons and BP-G8, C9, A16, and C17 nucleotide protons that clearly delineate the location of the BP moiety in the minor groove of a B-type duplex with the pyrene ring oriented toward the 5' end of the modified strand. Large upfield shifts of A16 and C17 sugar resonances in the partner strand show that the pyrene moiety is situated near these sugars. Analysis of the spectra was complicated by the presence of chemical exchange line broadening of protons located near the (...T[BP-G]C...).(...GCA...) adduct site which shows the presence of a minor conformation for this BP-modified duplex in which TA is the 5' neighboring base pair. Distance restraints determined from NOESY spectra recorded at 20 degrees C were used in restrained and unrestrained energy minimization and molecular dynamics simulations to obtain a structure characteristic of the predominant conformation of the BP-11-mer duplex. The important structural features of the BP-11-mer are similar to those reported by Cosman et al. [(1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89, 1914-1918] for a (+)-trans-anti-BP adduct at a (...C[BP-G]C...).(...GCG...) sequence in which CG is the 5' neighboring base pair. No evidence of a conformational equilibrium was reported in this duplex, from which we conclude that the presence of a 5' TA base pair plays a role in the conformational equilibrium. Watson-Crick base pairing is retained in the predominant conformer of the (+)-trans-anti-BP modified duplex, which provides a visualization of a structure that could allow faithful replication. The exchange rate could not be slowed sufficiently to allow individual distance parameters to be obtained for the minor conformer.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

The zinc(II) complex of 1-(4-quinoylyl)methyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (cy4q) binds selectively to thymine bulges in DNA and to a uracil bulge in RNA. Binding constants are in the low-micromolar range for thymine bulges in the stems of hairpins, for a thymine bulge in a DNA duplex, and for a uracil bulge in an RNA hairpin. Binding studies of Zn(cy4q) to a series of hairpins containing thymine bulges with different flanking bases showed that the complex had a moderate selectivity for thymine bulges with neighboring purines. The dissociation constants of the most strongly bound Zn(cy4q)-DNA thymine bulge adducts were 100-fold tighter than similar sequences with fully complementary stems or than bulges containing cytosine, guanine, or adenine. In order to probe the role of the pendent group, three additional zinc(II) complexes containing 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (cyclen) with aromatic pendent groups were studied for binding to DNA including 1-(2-quinolyl)methyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (cy2q), 1-(4-biphenyl)methyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (cybp), and 5-(1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecan-1-ylsulfonyl)-N,N-dimethylnaphthalen-1-amine (dsc). The Zn(cybp) complex binds with moderate affinity but little selectivity to DNA hairpins with thymine bulges and to DNA lacking bulges. Similarly, Zn(dsc) binds weakly both to thymine bulges and hairpins with fully complementary stems. The zinc(II) complex of cy2q has the 2-quinolyl moiety bound to the Zn(II) center, as shown by (1)H NMR spectroscopy and pH-potentiometric titrations. As a consequence, only weak (500 μM) binding is observed to DNA with no appreciable selectivity. An NMR structure of a thymine-bulge-containing hairpin shows that the thymine is extrahelical but rotated toward the major groove. NMR data for Zn(cy4q) bound to DNA containing a thymine bulge is consistent with binding of the zinc(II) complex to the thymine N3(-) and stacking of the quinoline on top of the thymine. The thymine-bulge bound zinc(II) complex is pointed into the major groove, and there are interactions with the guanine positioned 5' to the thymine bulge.

The hairpin loop GUAAUA occurs frequently in ribosomal RNA. Optical melting studies show that r(GGCGUAAUAGCC) folds into a hairpin containing this loop. The structural features of the r(GGCGUAAUAGCC) hairpin have been determined by NMR and molecular modeling. NOEs from G4-H1' to A9-H2 and from A9-H2 to G10-H1' show that G4 and A9 form a sheared base pair with two hydrogen bonds: A-N7 to G-NH2 and A-NH6 to G-N3. One-dimensional NOE data show no NOEs between the imino protons of U5 and U8, but NOEs are observed between the U5-H1' and the U8-H6 and U8-H5, thus orienting the U8 imino proton away from U5. Thus U5 and U8 do not form an imino hydrogen-bonded U.U pair. The U5-H2' exhibits NOEs to both the A6-H8 and A7-H8, and the 3' phosphorus resonances of U5 and A6 are shifted downfield. This suggests that the helix turn is between the U5 and A6 nucleotides. The JH1'-H2 and JH3'-H4' coupling constants indicate that the loop is dynamic, particularly at 35 degrees C, well below the melting temperature of 63 degrees C. Structures were generated using 75 distance and 46 dihedral angle restraints. In these structures, the U5 base is stacked on the sheared base pair formed by G4 and A9 and can initiate a uridine turn similar to that observed in the anticodon loop of tRNA. The A6, A7, and U8 bases can stack on one another with their hydrogen-bonding surfaces exposed to the solvent, suggesting that they are available for tertiary interactions or protein recognition in rRNA. A range of loop structures are consistent with the data, however. The lack of formation of a U.U mismatch is consistent with a recent model that predicts the stability of hairpin loops of six nucleotides on the basis of the closing base pair and first mismatch in the loop [Serra, M. J., Axenson, T. J., & Turner, D. H. (1994) Biochemistry 33, 14289-14296].