Polymerization of a monomeric guanosine derivative in a hydrogen- bonded aggregate.

The adduct IIa, in which glycine is linked to the 3'-amino group of 3'-deoxyguanosine-5'-phosphate, condenses very efficiently in aqueous solution when treated with a water-soluble carbodiimide to give long oligomeric products. The corresponding cytidine derivative IIb yields a complex mixture of very short oligomers. We believe that the efficient condensation reaction occurs in a hydrogen-bonded tetrahelical aggregate of a type that is known to form with many guanosine derivatives.

Autocatalytic synthesis of a tetranucleotide analogue.

As an approach to the study of the kind of chemical process that might have contributed to the origin of life, attempts have been made to develop purely chemical systems in which oligonucleotides self-replicate. Although performed oligonucleotides have been shown to facilitate the formation of their complements from activated mononucleotides, only a restricted range of oligomers are efficient templates and it will clearly be difficult to find a pair of complementary oligomers each of which will facilitate the formation of the other. Many of the difficulties facing the development of a self-replicating system could be overcome by using a pair of complementary substrate molecules that condense together more easily than ribonucleotides. It would also be helpful if each substrate molecule contained equal numbers of purine and pyrimidine bases as, otherwise, there is a tendency for purines to be overrepresented in the products. We have therefore explored the chemistry of 3'-amino-3'-deoxynucleotides and their dimers. We report here that the tetranucleoside triphosphoramidate GNHpCNHpGNHpCN3 acts as a template to catalyse the condensation of GNHpCNH2 and pGNHpCN3, forming further molecules of the template. The system is therefore autocatalytic, and in accordance with elementary theory the amount of product made increases with the square root of the template concentration.

Oligoaminonucleoside phosphoramidates. Oligomerization of dimers of 3'-amino-3'-deoxy-nucleotides (GC and CG) in aqueous solution.

The self-complementary 5'-phosphorylated dinucleoside 3' (N)----5' (P)-linked phosphoramidates with sequence GC (8a), CG (8b) and the tetranucleoside triphosphoramidate with sequence GCGC (10a) and CGCG (10b) have been synthesized and characterized by physicochemical and enzymatic methods. The dinucleosides 8a or 8b oligomerize in aqueous solution in the presence of a water-soluble carbodiimide. This process is efficient and regiospecific. In the case of GC it produces alternating 3' (N)----5' (P)-linked phosphoramidates up to 15 dimeric units in length with a yield in excess of 70%. The oligomerization of the CG isomer is much less efficient. The mechanism of oligomerization is discussed.

Oligomerization of 3'-amino-3'deoxyguanosine-5'phosphorimidazolidate on a d(CpCpCpCpC) template.

3'-Amino-3'-deoxyguanosine-5'-phosphorimidazolidate (ImpGNH2) oligomerizes more rapidly and regiospecifically than related nucleotide derivatives on a d(CpCpCpCpC) template. The greater nucleophilicity of the amino group leads to efficient oligomerization even when the structure of the double-helical complex formed by the template and the substrate is not optimal for reaction. The use of amine-containing analogues should permit us to develop models of potentially prebiotic polymerization reactions that cannot be studied easily using natural nucleotides.

Synthesis and characterization of poly[d(G-z5C)]. B-Z transition and inhibition of DNA methylase.

Deoxy-5-azacytidine 5'-triphosphate was synthesized and used as a substrate for the enzymatic synthesis of the polynucleotide poly[d(G-z5C)]. Whereas the triphosphate decomposes in solution, the azacytosine analogue incorporated into DNA is stable under conditions preserving the double-helical structure. Poly[d(G-z5C)] undergoes the transition to the left-handed Z conformation at salt (NaCl and MgCl2) concentrations approximately 30% higher than those required for unsubstituted poly[d(G-C)]. However, the incorporation of azacytidine potentiates the formation at room temperature of the Z helix stabilized by the transition metal Mn2+; in the case of poly[d(G-C)], a heating step is required. The spectral properties of the two polymers in the B and Z forms are similar. Both left-handed forms are recognized by anti-Z DNA immunoglobulins, indicating that the DNAs bear common antigenic features. Poly[d(G-z5C)] is not a substrate for the DNA cytosine 5-methyltransferase from human placenta. It is a potent inhibitor of the enzyme when tested in a competitive binding assay. These results are compatible with a very strong, possibly covalent, mode of interaction between methyltransferases and DNA containing 5-azacytosine.

Oligomerization of activated derivatives of 3'-amino-3'-deoxyguanosine on poly(C) and poly(dC) templates.

3'-amino-3'-deoxyuridine reacts with the nucleoside 5'-phosphorimidazolides in aqueous solution to give dinucleoside phosphoramidates. The reactions are one to two orders of magnitude faster than the corresponding reactions of uridine. In the presence of poly(C) or poly(dC) it is known that guanosine-5'-phosphorimidazolide does not condense efficiently or regiospecifically. However, the introduction of a methyl group at the 2-position of the imidazole ring leads to efficient synthesis of long 3'-5'-linked oligomers. The corresponding imidazole derivatives of 3'-amino-3'-deoxyguanosine-5'-phosphate both condense on these templates to give virtually identical families of products. Our results suggest that the intrinsically greater nucleophilicity of the amine groups will permit a much wider range of efficient template-directed syntheses with 3'-amino-3'-deoxynucleoside derivatives than with the corresponding derivatives of the parent nucleosides.

Chemical synthesis of 5-azacytidine nucleotides and preparation of tRNAs containing 5-azacytidine in its 3'-terminus.

5-azacytidine-5'-triphosphate prepared from 5-azacytidine by chemical phosphorylation is a substrate for AMP (CMP) tRNA nucleotidyl transferase from yeast. tRNAsPhe from yeast containing 5-azacytidine in their 3'-termini were prepared enzymatically. tRNAPhe-Cpn5CpA and tRNAPhe-n5Cpn5CpA can be aminoacylated by phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase from yeast and they are active in the poly(U)-dependent synthesis of poly(Phe) on E. coli ribosomes. The decomposition of 5-azacytidine via hydrolysis of the triazine ring is significantly accelerated by a phosphate group on the 5'-position of the nucleotide. After the incorporation of 5-azacytidine-5'-phosphate into a polynucleotide chain the rate of hydrolysis of the triazine ring decreases considerably.

Further studies on the substrate specificity of calf spleen phosphodiesterase [EC 3.1.4.18].

The synthesis of 5'-deoxy-5'-chlorothymidine-3'-(4-nitrophenyl)phosphate (5) and 5'-deoxy-5'-chlorothymidine-3'-(4-nitrophenyl)phosphorothioate (6) via corresponding phosphoranilidodiester intermediate is described. The affinity of 5 and 6 towards SPDE in comparison with thymidine-3'-(4-nitrophenyl)phosphate is tested. These findings reveal that the presence of 5'-hydroxyl function in the substrate is not necessary for hydrolytic action of this enzyme.

An improved synthetic route to the beta-hydroxyethyl esters of 5'-nucleotides.

A simple method is described for the preparation of the beta-hydroxyethyl esters of nucleoside 5'-phosphates by treatment of the appropriate 2',3'-isopropylidene nucleoside with 2-chloro-2-oxo-1,3-dioxaphospholane. Unambigous structural assignments were based on 13C nmr spectroscopy. Chemical shifts and 13C-31P spin-spin coupling constants are discussed.