DNA STUDY OPENS THE WAY FOR NEW THERAPEUTIC TARGETS
A team of researchers discovers the presence of i-Motifs structures in human cells capable of controlling the expression of cellular genes
The genetic information of each cell is contained in the DNA. Watson and Crick demonstrated in 1953 that it assumes a double helix structure.
Numerous studies that have followed over the years have proved that the structure of DNA is much more dynamic than initially thought. In fact, it can assume alternative conformations to the double helix, defined as “non-canonical” structures. Among these, i-Motifs (iMs) and G-quadruplexes (G4s) are four-stranded structures that can form in particular regions of DNA based on its composition.
To date, G4s have been characterized much more than iMs: for the latter it was believed for a long time that they could not be present in cells as their formation has always occurred only in acidic conditions and in test tubes.
In the work Genome-wide mapping of i-motifs reveals their association with transcription regulation in live human cells published as a breakthrough article in «Nucleic Acids Research», an all-female team of researchers led by Prof. Sara Richter of the University of Padua demonstrates for the first time that iMs, as well as G4s, are not only present in live human cells, and therefore in non-acidic conditions, but also that they perform a control function in the expression of cellular genes.
“In our work we have highlighted how the presence of iMs and G4s is an intrinsic characteristic of each cell line and therefore how these structures control important cellular functions – explain Irene Zanin and Emanuela Ruggiero, from the Department of Molecular Medicine of the University of Padua and first study authors -. Given their involvement in key roles in cell biology, iMs and G4s represent novel therapeutic targets for several relevant human pathologies, such as cancer, infectious and neurodegenerative diseases.”
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