G-quadruplexes are of great interests because of their widespread existence in the genome and important functions in transcriptional regulation. In this study, we are the first to explore the G-quadruplex formation of hsa-miR-1587 (human mature microRNA) using ESI-MS, NMR and CD spectroscopy and found that it is able to fold into stable parallel G-quadruplex. We first discovered the formation of G-quadruplex in human mature microRNAs. The formation of microRNA G-quadruplexes may block the microRNA:mRNA interactions and therefore provide a new strategy to regulate microRNA functions. In addition, high concentration of monovalent cations and molecular crowding environment were discovered to be capable of inducing the formation of dimeric miR-1587 G-quadruplex. Furthermore, the binding study of natural alkaloids with microRNA G-quadruplex showed that nitidine is an excellent G-quadruplex binder with remarkable binding affinity and thermodynamic stabilization effect. The remarkable result of high binding affinity of this natural alkaloid with microRNA G-quadruplex provides new ideas to regulate the microRNA: mRNA interactions through induction of microRNA G-quadruplex formation and small molecule binding. Our findings open a door for exploration of the structure and function of G-quadruplex formed from human mature G-rich microRNA.<br/><br/>Acknowledgement<br/>This project was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (21572016, 21372021).

Exploring the formation and high affinity recognition of miR-1587 G-quadruplex by spectroscopy

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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