Structural destabilization of DNA duplexes containing single-base lesions investigated by nanopore measurements.

The influence of DNA duplex structural destabilization introduced by a single base-pair modification was investigated by nanopore measurements. A series of 11 modified base pairs were introduced into the context of an otherwise complementary DNA duplex formed by a 17-mer and a 65-mer such that the overhanging ends comprised poly(dT)23 tails, generating a representative set of duplexes that display a range of unzipping mechanistic behaviors and kinetic stabilities. The guanine oxidation products 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (OG), guanidinohydantoin (Gh), and spiroiminodihydantoin (Sp) were paired with either cytosine (C), adenine (A), or 2,6-diaminopurine (D) to form modified base pairs. The mechanism and kinetic rate constants of duplex dissociation were determined by threading either the 3' or 5' overhangs into an α-hemolysin (α-HL) channel under an electrical field and measuring the distributions of unzipping times at constant force. In order of decreasing thermodynamic stability (as measured by duplex melting points), the rate of duplex dissociation increases, and the mechanism evolves from a first-order reaction to two sequential first-order reactions. These measurements allow us to rank the kinetic stability of lesion-containing duplexes relative to the canonical G:C base pair in which the OG:C, Gh:C, and Sp:C base pairs are, respectively, 3-200 times less stable. The rate constants also depend on whether unzipping was initiated from the 3' versus 5' side of the duplex. The kinetic stability of these duplexes was interpreted in terms of the structural destabilization introduced by the single base-pair modification. Specifically, a large distortion of the duplex backbone introduced by the presence of the highly oxidized guanine products Sp and Gh leads to a rapid two-step unzipping. The number of hydrogen bonds in the modified base pair plays a lesser role in determining the kinetics of duplex dissociation.