Structural and dynamic aspects of binding of prototype lexitropsin to the decadeoxyribonucleotide d(CGCAATTGCC)2 deduced from high-resolution 1H NMR studies

Structural and dynamic properties of the self-complementary decadeoxyribonucleotide d-(CGCAATTGCC)2 and the interaction between a prototype lexitropsin, or information-reading oligopeptide, and the decadeoxyribonucleotide and are deduced by using high-resolution 1H NMR techniques. The nonexchangeable and imino proton resonances of d(CGCAATTGCG)2 have been completely assigned by two-dimensional NMR studies. The decadeoxyribonucleotide exists as a right-handed B-DNA. In the 1H NMR spectrum of the l:1 complex, the selective chemical shifts and removal of degeneracy of AH2(4), AH2(5), T-CH3(6), and T-CH3(7) due to the anisotropy effects of the heterocyclic moieties of the ligand, and with lesser effects at the flanking base sites C(3) and G(8), locate the drug centrally in the decadeoxyribonucleotide. This conclusion is supported by plots of individual chemical shift changes across the decadeoxyribonucleotide. Strong nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs) between pyrrol H5 and AH2(5), and weaker NOEs to AH1'(5), TH3'(6), and AH2'(5), firmly locate the ligand in the minor groove. Intraligand NOEs between the adjacent heterocyclic moieties indicate that the lexitropsin is subject to propeller twisting about the N6-C9 bond in both the bound and free forms. Nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) and correlated spectroscopy (COSY) experiments also indicate that the removal of degeneracy of the C16 methylene protons upon complexation may arise from restricted rotation about the C15-N9, C15-C16, and C16-C17 bonds. NOE measurements on the decadeoxyribonucleotide in the 1:1 complex confirm it exists as a right-handed helix and belongs to the B family. Alternative mechanisms for this exchange process are considered