Interaction of water soluble phthalocyanine compounds with parallel and hybrid G-quadruplex DNA molecules

Abstract

G-quadruplex DNAs are secondary DNA structures formed in guanine-rich genome sequences, such as telomeres. Due to the increased metabolic activities of cancer cells, the formation probability of G-quadruplex structures increases. Since the formation of G-quadruplex structures and their stabilization with various ligands prevents DNA's turning into straight strands, which are necessary for some processes such as transcription and translation, it may cause disruptions in cell proliferation. Therefore, these DNA constructs are important for anticancer drug targets. In the present study, the interactions of water-soluble MnPc and ZnPc compounds with G-quadruplex DNAs with parallel and hybrid conformation were investigated. KD constants were calculated with spectroscopic titration data. Stoichiometric ratios of DNA-phthalocyanine interactions were determined by Job's method and found between 1:1 to 1:2 for MnPc and 1:1 for ZnPc. The effect of phthalocyanine on the G-quadruplex conformation was investigated by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Capillary gel electrophoresis studies supported the existence of interactions. DNA polymerase stop assay further supported stabilizing AS1411 and Tel21 G-quadruplex structures with Pc compounds. This work is on a molecular level study. The in vitro and in vivo images can be different because MPcs are localized in the cytoplasmic organelles but rare in the nucleus.