Cargando…
Crystal structure of an RNA-cleaving DNAzyme
In addition to storage of genetic information, DNA can also catalyze various reactions. RNA-cleaving DNAzymes are the catalytic DNAs discovered the earliest, and they can cleave RNAs in a sequence-specific manner. Owing to their great potential in medical therapeutics, virus control, and gene silenc...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Nature Publishing Group UK
2017
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5722873/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29222499 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02203-x |
Sumario: | In addition to storage of genetic information, DNA can also catalyze various reactions. RNA-cleaving DNAzymes are the catalytic DNAs discovered the earliest, and they can cleave RNAs in a sequence-specific manner. Owing to their great potential in medical therapeutics, virus control, and gene silencing for disease treatments, RNA-cleaving DNAzymes have been extensively studied; however, the mechanistic understandings of their substrate recognition and catalysis remain elusive. Here, we report three catalytic form 8–17 DNAzyme crystal structures. 8–17 DNAzyme adopts a V-shape fold, and the Pb(2+) cofactor is bound at the pre-organized pocket. The structures with Pb(2+) and the modification at the cleavage site captured the pre-catalytic state of the RNA cleavage reaction, illustrating the unexpected Pb(2+)-accelerated catalysis, intrinsic tertiary interactions, and molecular kink at the active site. Our studies reveal that DNA is capable of forming a compacted structure and that the functionality-limited bio-polymer can have a novel solution for a functional need in catalysis. |
---|