Interaction between Berberine alkaloid and some synthetic oligonucleotides

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death among the communities. The use of cancer drugs that could specifically interact with particular forms of DNA has been more popular due to its lower toxicity. Among them, DNA quadruplex structures that found in telomere of eukaryotic chromosomes and promoter of some oncogenes have been more inspiring. Aiming these structures in promoter of oncogenes can be described as a potential treatment strategy for cancer control by transcription prevention. The theory of presenting G-quadruplex structures in regulatory regions of some key genes, led to use synthetic oligonucleotides for Kit and Ceb. The formation and stabilization of four-strand structure with berberine in sodium cacodylate buffer was investigated by FRET method. Comparing main factors such as melting point showed that berberine binds and stabilizes Kit G-quadruplex structures concentration dependently. In comparison, the effect on Ceb oligonucleotide is even stronger. In conclusion targeting such structures in promoters of key oncogenes can be considered as a novel therapeutic strategy against cancer

Keywords:

G-quadruplex DNA , FRET and method , promoter , cancer