Abstract 5230: Targeting two unique end-insertion G-quadruplexes formed in the 3′-end of the PDGFR-β core promoter nuclease hypersensitive element with ellipticine analog

Abstract

Abstract Aberrant expression of PDGFR-β promotes multiple hallmarks of cancer, and its transcriptional regulation provides an attractive means to inhibit the PDGFR-β signaling pathway. The nuclease hypersensitive element (NHE) region of the human PDGFR-β core promoter has been shown to be responsible in regulating approximately 60% of the PDGFR-β basal promoter activity. Multiple overlapping G-quadruplexes (G4s) have been shown to form in this NHE region. We previously determined the most stable G4 structure formed in the 5’-mid of PDGFR-β NHE region. Significantly, an ellipticine analog, GSA1129, has been shown to selectively bind to the G4 formed in the 3’-end NHE region, thereby shifting the dynamic equilibrium toward the 3’-end G4. This selective interaction was shown to result in suppression of PDGFR-β activity in both cancer cell lines and a preclinical animal model. Thus, characterization of 3’-end G4 provides an important basis for understanding the molecular recognition of this G4 and for rational drug design. In this study, we used NMR spectroscopy to show that the PDGFR-β NHE 3′-end sequence forms two novel end-insertion intramolecular G4s which exist in a dynamic equilibrium under physiological salt condition. One is the 3′-insertion-G4 with a 3′ non-adjacent flanking guanine inserted into the 3′-external tetrad. The other is a 5′-insertion-G4 with a 5′ non-adjacent flanking guanine inserted into the 5′-external tetrad. We further confirmed that these novel end-insertion G4s can readily form in the 3’-end NHE sequence under physiologically relevant ionic conditions using dimethyl sulfate (DMS) footprinting experiments. To elucidate the molecular interactions of ellipticine analog with the 3’-end G4s, we studied the binding of GSA1129 to both of the end-insertion G4s. Significantly, our CD melting studies showed that GSA1129 markedly increased the stability of both end-insertion G4s by about 25°C. Furthermore, 1H NMR titration experiments have shown that GSA1129 selectively binds to the G4 formed in the 3’-end NHE region. The novel end-insertion structures and the dynamic nature of the PDGFR-β NHE 3′-end G4 may make it an effective target for GSA1129 binding and regulation. Our result highlights the dynamic nature of the PDGFR-β NHE 3′-end sequence and the importance of identifying the exact sequence for the formation of the naturally occurring G4 structure. Citation Format: Buket Onel, Prashansa Agrawal, Megan Carver, Laurence H. Hurley, Danzhou Yang. Targeting two unique end-insertion G-quadruplexes formed in the 3′-end of the PDGFR-β core promoter nuclease hypersensitive element with ellipticine analog [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5230. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5230