In Vitro Chemical Mapping of G-Quadruplex DNA Structures by Bis-3-Chloropiperidines

G-quadruplexes (G4s) are biologically relevant, non-canonical DNA structures that play an important role in gene expression and diseases, representing significant therapeutic targets. Accessible methods are required for the in vitro characterization of DNA within potential G-quadruplex-forming sequences (PQSs). B-CePs are a class of alkylating agents that have proven to be useful chemical probes for investigation of the higher-order structure of nucleic acids. This paper describes a new chemical mapping assay exploiting the specific reactivity of B-CePs with the N7 of guanines, followed by direct strand cleavage at the alkylated Gs.

Namely, to distinguish G4 folds from unfolded DNA forms, we use B-CeP 1 to probe the thrombin-binding aptamer (TBA), a 15-mer DNA able to assume the G4 arrangement. Reaction of B-CeP-responding guanines with B-CeP 1 yields products that can be resolved by high-resolution polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) at a single-nucleotide level by locating individual alkylation adducts and DNA strand cleavage at the alkylated guanines. Mapping using B-CePs is a simple and powerful tool for the in vitro characterization of G-quadruplex-forming DNA sequences, enabling the precise location of guanines involved in the formation of G-tetrads.