Chemical regulation of gene expression based on the topology ofDNA structures

摘要

Nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) are linear macromolecules having genetic information.Furthermore,nucleic acids also form various structures such as a quadruplex depending ontheir sequence and the surrounding chemical environment.Recently,it has become clear thatgene expression (replication,transcription,and translation) is controlled by such a change inthe structure of a nucleic acid.In addition,it has been pointed out that irregular changes ofstructure may cause cancer,neurodegenerative diseases,and lifestyle-related diseases.On theother hand,a change in the structure of a nucleic acid is accompanied by a change in thegeometry (topology) unique to a polymer (Fig.1).Since the reaction related to gene expressionis a one-dimensional reaction,it is consideredthat the reaction is greatly affected by thenucleic acid topology formed in DNA andRNA.However,there is no example that linksthe characteristic of nucleic acid topology withthe mechanism of gene expression.Therefore,we have studied the physicochemical andbiochemical nature of nucleic acid topology toelucidate chemical regulation of geneexpressions by the topology