Telomeres play important roles in chromosome protection, cell death, aging, and disease.  The tandem (TTAGGG)n repeats found at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes fold into complex 3-dimensional structures known as G-quadruplexes and provide a novel target for the development of cancer therapeutics. Recently, our laboratory has probed the effects of the addition of bases to the 5' and/or 3' ends of the core h-Tel sequence, 5'-GGG(TTAGGG)3-3'. The addition of additional bases to the 5' or 3' ends of the G-quadruplex exerts significant changes to the thermodynamic properties of the G-quadruplex. We have investigated a number of sequences by various biophysical methods including differential scanning and pressure perturbation calorimetry, CD and NMR spectroscopy, and molecular dynamics to gain insights into the structural and thermodynamic effects from base additions to either the 5' or 3' ends of the G-quadruplex.

Addition of bases to the ends of the human telomeric DNA influences thermal stability and energetics of unfolding

245th National Meeting (2013)

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