Biomedical subjects

M Mrksich

Publications and source records attributed to M Mrksich.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1994

Design of a G.C-specific DNA minor groove-binding peptide.

A four-ring tripeptide containing alternating imidazole and pyrrole carboxamides specifically binds six-base pair 5'-(A,T)GCGC(A,T)-3' sites in the minor groove of DNA. The designed peptide has a specificity completely reversed from that of the tripyrrole distamycin, which binds A,T sequences. Structural studies with nuclear magnetic resonance revealed that two peptides bound side-by-side and in an antiparallel orientation in the minor groove. Each of the four imidazoles in the 2:1 ligand-DNA complex recognized a specific guanine amino group in the GCGC core through a hydrogen bond. Targeting a designated four-base pair G.C tract by this synthetic ligand supports the generality of the 2:1 peptide-DNA motif for sequence-specific minor groove recognition of DNA.

Base Composition↗

PubMed1994

Structural and dynamic characterization of the heterodimeric and homodimeric complexes of distamycin and 1-methylimidazole-2-carboxamide-netropsin bound to the minor groove of DNA.

NMR spectroscopy combined with molecular modeling was used to characterize a heterodimeric complex with Dst and 2-ImN bound in the minor groove of d(GCCTAACAAGG).d(CCTTGTTAGGC) (1:1:1 2-ImN.Dst.DNA complex). The imidazole-pyrrole-pyrrole ligand 2-ImN spans 5'-GTTA-3' of the TAACA.TGTTA binding site with the imidazole nitrogen specifically recognizing the guanine amino group. The Dst ligand lies along the 5'-AACA-3' sequence and complements the 2-ImN ligand in the formation of the antiparallel side-by-side heterodimeric complex. Titrations of the same site with Dst or 2-ImN alone yield homodimeric complexes (2:1 ligand.DNA) of lower stability than the 1:1:1 2-ImN.Dst.DNA complex. Dst and 2-ImN binding to d(CGCAAACTGGC).d(GCCAGTTTGCG) was also investigated. The 1:1:1 2-ImN.Dst.DNA complex is again the most stable complex with the AAACT.AGTTT site and is similar to the TAACA.TGTTA complex. No monomeric binding of either 2-ImN or Dst was observed to either site.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1993

Binding affinities of synthetic peptides, pyridine-2-carboxamidonetropsin and 1-methylimidazole-2-carboxamidonetropsin, that form 2:1 complexes in the minor groove of double-helical DNA.

The designed peptides pyridine-2-carboxamidonetropsin (2-PyN) and 1-methylimidazole-2-carboxamidonetropsin (2-ImN) are crescent-shaped analogs of the natural products netropsin and distamycin A. 2-PyN and 2-ImN bind the 5'-TGTCA-3' sequence as antiparallel side-by-side dimers in the minor groove of DNA. The binding affinities of 2-PyN and 2-ImN to four different 5-bp sites on DNA were determined by quantitative MPE-Fe(II) footprint titration and compared with the tripeptide D from distamycin. The binding affinities of D to the sites 5'-TTTTT-3' and 5'-TGTCA-3' are 2.6 x 10(7) and < 1 x 10(5) M-1, respectively (pH 7.0, 100 mM NaCl). 2-PyN binds these sites with similar affinities, 2.3 x 10(5) and 2.7 x 10(5) M-1, respectively. The affinities of 2-ImN to the same two sites are < 5 x 10(4) and 1.4 x 10(5) M-1, respectively. Substitution of an N-methylpyrrole-2-carboxamide of the distamycin tripeptide by 1-methylimidazole-2-carboxamide has changed the specificities for the two binding sites by a factor of 10(3). The data for 2-PyN and 2-ImN binding the 5'-TGTCA-3' site are best fit by a cooperative binding curve consistent with 2:1 peptide-DNA complexes.

Base Composition↗

PubMed1992

Evidence that a minor groove-binding peptide and a major groove-binding protein can simultaneously occupy a common site on DNA.

Affinity cleaving proteins have been synthesized based on the DNA-binding domain of the yeast transcriptional activator GCN4 with the DNA cleaving moiety Fe.EDTA attached at the NH2 terminus [Oakley, M. G., & Dervan, P. B. (1990) Science 248, 847]. Cleavage patterns generated by Fe-EDTA-GCN4(226-281) bound to the DNA sites 5'-CTGACTAAT-3' and 5'-ATGACTCTT-3' reveal that the NH2 termini of the GCN4 DNA-binding domain are located in the major groove of DNA, 9-10 base pairs apart, consistent with a Y-shaped dimeric structure. 1-Methylimidazole-2-carboxamide netropsin (2-ImN) is a designed synthetic peptide which binds in the minor groove of DNA at 5'-TGACT-3' sites as an antiparallel, side-by-side dimer [Mrksich, M., Wade, W. S., Dwyer, T. J., Geierstanger, B. H., Wemmer, D.E., & Dervan, P. B. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89, 7586]. Through the use of Fe.EDTA-GCN4(226-281) as a sequence-specific footprinting agent, it is shown that the dimeric protein GCN4-(226-281) and the dimeric peptide 2-ImN can simultaneously occupy their common binding site in the major and minor grooves of DNA, respectively. The association constants for 2-ImN in the presence and in the absence of Fe.EDTA-GCN4(226-281) are found to be similar, suggesting that the binding of the two dimers is not cooperative.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1992

Antiparallel side-by-side dimeric motif for sequence-specific recognition in the minor groove of DNA by the designed peptide 1-methylimidazole-2-carboxamide netropsin.

The designed peptide 1-methylimidazole-2-carboxamide netropsin (2-ImN) binds specifically to the sequence 5'-TGACT-3'. Direct evidence from NMR spectroscopy is presented that this synthetic ligand binds DNA as a 2:1 complex, which reveals that the structure is an antiparallel dimer in the minor groove of DNA. This is in contrast to the 1:1 complexes usually seen with most crescent-shaped minor groove binding molecules targeted toward A+T-rich tracts but reminiscent of a dimeric motif found for distamycin at high concentrations. These results suggest that sequence-dependent groove width may play an important role in allowing an expanded set of DNA binding motifs for synthetic peptides.

Base Sequence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Micropatterned surfaces for control of cell shape, position, and function.

The control of cell position and function is a fundamental focus in the development of applications ranging from cellular biosensors to tissue engineering. Using microcontact printing of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiolates on gold, we manufactured substrates that contained micrometer-scale islands of extracellular matrix (ECM) separated by nonadhesive regions such that the pattern of islands determined the distribution and position of bovine and human endothelial cells. In addition, the size and geometry of the islands were shown to control cell shape. Traditional approaches to modulate cell shape, either by attaching suspended cells to microbeads of different sizes or by plating cells on substrates coated with different densities of ECM, suggested that cell shape may play an important role in control of apoptosis as well as growth. Data are presented which show how micropatterned substrates were used to definitively test this hypothesis. Progressively restricting bovine and human endothelial cell extension by culturing cells on smaller and smaller micropatterned adhesive islands regulated a transition from growth to apoptosis on a single continuum of cell spreading, thus confirming the central role of cell shape in cell function. The micropatterning technology is therefore essential not only for construction of biosurface devices but also for the investigation of the fundamental biology of cell-ECM interactions.

Animals↗