Abstract
The promoter of the KRAS proto-oncogene contains a critical nuclease hypersensitive element (NHE) forming G-quadruplex structures that are recognized by nuclear proteins: PARP-1, Ku70 and hnRNPA1. Here we have studied the interaction between hnRNPA1 (and its derivative UP1) and the G-quadruplexes of KRAS by EMSA, FRET and CD experiments. FRET and CD showed that hnRNPA1/UP1 is able to unfold the G-quadruplexes of KRAS and facilitate the quadruplex to duplex transformation. This finding strengthens our previous hypothesis that the transcription regulation of KRAS is mediated by G-quadruplex structures. Against this background we designed G4-decoy oligonucleotides specific for KRAS that exhibit a strong antiproliferative effect in pancreatic cancer cells.
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