Binding specificities of actinomycin D to non-self-complementary -XGCY-tetranucleotide sequences.

Studies on the binding specificity of actinomycin D (ACTD) to tetranucleotide sequences of the form -XGCY- have been extended to include the non-self-complementary sequences. ACTD binding characteristics are investigated by equilibrium, kinetic, and thermal denaturation for decameric duplexes d(ATA-XGCY-ATA)-d(TAT-Y'GCX'-TAT), where X and Y are complementary to X' and Y', respectively, but not to each other. The results indicate that when X = G or Y = C, the oligomers exhibit significantly weaker ACTD binding affinities, smaller melting temperature increases upon drug binding, and faster SDS-induced ACTD dissociation rates than the other sequences. Estimated binding constants at 18.5 degrees C for decameric duplexes containing -AGCA-/-TGCT-, -AGCG-/-CGCT-, or -CGCA-/-TGCG- are in the range of 4-9 microM-1, whereas for the ones containing -GGCT-/-AGCC-, -GGCA-/-TGCC-, or -GGCG-/-CGCC- they range from 0.6 to 2 microM-1. In contrast to the characteristic SDS-induced ACTD dissociation times of 600-1000 s for the stronger binding sites, the sequences containing X = G or Y = C exhibit at least an order of magnitude faster dissociation kinetics. These observations are further supported by the induced CD results and fluorescence measurements with 7-amino-ACTD. The findings from these non-self-complementary -XGCY- tetranucleotide sequences are consistent with those found earlier for the self-complementary counterparts, and they together clearly demonstrate that a base sequence alteration adjacent to the GC site can have a profound effect on the ACTD binding as well as dissociation characteristics, likely a consequence of subtle conformational alterations near the binding site.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)