Insight into the molecular recognition of spermine by DNA quadruplexes from an NMR study of the association of spermine with the thrombin-binding aptamer

The preferred residence sites and the conformation of DNA-bound polyamines are central to understanding the regulatory roles of polyamines. To this end, we have used a series of selective 13C-edited and selective total correlation spectroscopy-edited one-dimensional (1D) nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy NMR experiments to determine a number of intramolecular 1H nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) connectivities in 13C-labelled spermine bound to the thrombin-binding aptamer. The results provide evidence that the aptamer-bound spermine adopts a conformation that optimizes electrostatic and hydrogen bond contacts with the aptamer backbone. The distance between the nitrogen atoms of the central aminobutyl is reduced by an increase in the population of gauche conformers at the C6–C7 bonds, which results in either a curved or S-shaped spermine conformation. Molecular modelling contributes insight toward the mode of spermine binding of these spermine structures within the narrow grooves of DNA quadruplexes. In each case, the N5 ammonium group makes hydrogen bonds with two nearby phosphates across the narrow groove. Our results have implications for the understanding of chromatin structure and the rational design of quadruplex-binding drugs. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.