Cationic Porphyrin-Mediated G-Quadruplex DNA Oxidative Damage: Regulated by the Initial Interplay between DNA and TMPyP4

G-quadruplex (G4) ligand-induced DNA damage has been involved in many physiological functions of cells. Herein, cationic porphyrin (TMPyP4)-mediated DNA oxidation damage was investigated aiming at mitochondrial G4 DNA (mt9438) and its structural analogue of the thrombin-binding aptamer (TBA). TMPyP4 is found to stabilize TBA G4 but destabilize mt9438. For two resulting DNA-TMPyP4 assemblies, the distinct light-induced singlet oxygen (1O2) generation and the subsequent DNA damage were found. For mt9438-TMPyP4, a slower 1O2-induced DNA damage takes place and results in the formation of DNA aggregation. In contrast, 1O2 tends to promote DNA unfolding in a relatively faster rate for TBA-TMPyP4. Despite of such distinct DNA damage behavior, UV resonance Raman spectra reveal that for both mt9438-TMPyP4 and TBA-TMPyP4 the DNA damage commonly stems from the guanine-specific oxidation. Our results clearly indicate that the ligand-mediated DNA damage is strongly dependent on the initial interplay between DNA and the ligand.