Triplex DNA structures

MD Frank-Kamenetskii, SM Mirkin - Annual review of …, 1995 - annualreviews.org
Annual review of biochemistry, 1995annualreviews.org
A DNA triplex is formed when pyrimidine or purine bases occupy the major groove of the
DNA double Helix forming Hoogsteen pairs with purines of the Watson-Crick basepairs.
Intermolecular triplexes are formed between triplex forming oligonucleotides (TFO) and
target sequences on duplex DNA. Intramolecular triplexes are the major elements of H-
DNAs, unusual DNA structures, which are formed in homopurine-homopyrimidine regions of
supercoiled DNAs. TFOs are promising gene-drugs, which can be used in an anti-gene …
A DNA triplex is formed when pyrimidine or purine bases occupy the major groove of the DNA double Helix forming Hoogsteen pairs with purines of the Watson-Crick basepairs. Intermolecular triplexes are formed between triplex forming oligonucleotides (TFO) and target sequences on duplex DNA. Intramolecular triplexes are the major elements of H-DNAs, unusual DNA structures, which are formed in homopurine-homopyrimidine regions of supercoiled DNAs. TFOs are promising gene-drugs, which can be used in an anti-gene strategy, that attempt to modulate gene activity in vivo. Numerous chemical modifications of TFO are known. In peptide nucleic acid (PNA), the sugarphosphate backbone is replaced with a protein-like backbone. PNAs form P-loops while interacting with duplex DNA fonning triplex with one of DNA strands leaving the other strand displaced. Very unusual recombination or parallel triplexes, or R-DNA, have been assumed to form under RecA protein in the course of homologous recombination.
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