IBR   13079
INSTITUTO DE BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR Y CELULAR DE ROSARIO
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
The nucleic acid chaperone CNBP may regulate the stability of g-quadruplex DNA structures.
Autor/es:
BORGOGNONE, M.; ARMAS, P.; CALCATERRA, N. B.
Lugar:
Carlos Paz, Córdoba, Argentina.
Reunión:
Congreso; XLIV Reunion Annual – 44th Annual Meeting SAIB; 2008
Institución organizadora:
Argentine Society for Biochemestry and Molecular Biology Research.
Resumen:
The nucleic acid chaperone Cellular Nucleic acid-Binding Protein (CNBP) plays an essential role in vertebrate head organogenesis by controlling neural crest cell (NCC) development. CNBP binds to single-stranded G-rich nucleic acids able to adopt stable Gquadruplex structures. G-quadruplexes are characterized by the stacking of planar nucleic acid tetrads. They were described as regulative structures within the genome of several animal species. In the present study, the effect of CNBP on G-quadruplex structures was explored using Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay, Circular Dichroism and Polymerase Chain Reaction Stop Assay. The probes used included a sequence previously reported as CNBP target, the Nuclear Hypersensitivity Element III1 from the c-myc gene. Results suggest that at low protein:nucleic acid ratios CNBP stabilizes the G-quadruplex structure whereas at higher ratios it induces the G-quadruplex unwinding. The effect of N-terminal CNBP mutants, which lose the biochemical activities and biological function, on G-quadruplex stability was analyzed. In silico analysis of several NCC marker gene sequences found putative G-quadruplex structures in foxD3, crestin, c-myc and cnbp genes. The obtained data suggest that CNBP may regulate the stability of G-quadruplexes and, consequently, the expression of specific NCC genes during vertebrate head development.