Nucleic Acids Research, 2002, Vol. 30, No. 23 5222-5228
© 2002 Oxford University Press
Rearrangement of a 1,3-trans-{Pt(NH3)2[(GXG)-N7G,N7G]} intrastrand cross-link into interstrand cross-links within RNA duplexes
Laboratoire de Chimie et Biochimie Pharmacologiques et Toxicologiques, UMR 8601, Université René Descartes, 45 rue des Saints-Pères, 75270 Paris cedex 06, France
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +33 142862256; Fax: +33 142868387; Email: bombard@biomedicale.univ-paris5.fr
The cross-linking reaction described previously in the DNA and 2'-O-methyl RNA series is extended to RNA duplexes. A 17mer single-stranded RNA containing the 1,3-trans-{Pt(NH3)2[(GAG)-N7G,N7G]} intrastrand chelate, named G*AG* (* indicating a platinated base) gives, upon pairing with the complementary RNA strand, the G*AG/CUC* interstrand cross-link. The rate of the reaction in 200 mM NaClO4 is similar to that observed for DNA–RNA duplexes. It depends on the added Na+ or Mg2+ cation and on its concentration. RNA duplexes containing GA/GA or AG/AG tandem mismatches in the rearrangement triplet core were also studied. The major interstrand cross-links, G*AG/CGA* and G*AG/AGC*, are accompanied by a minor one involving the central G of the CGA or AGC complementary sequence G*AG/CG*A and G*AG/AG*C. In 200 mM NaClO4, the G*A/GA tandem mismatch does not modify the rate of the cross-linking rearrangement whereas the AG*/AG mismatch slows it down by a factor of four. Our results reflect the predominance of the local structure of the rearrangement core over the nucleophility of the cross-linking base. They also show that the reaction could be used to trap tertiary structures of naturally occurring RNAs, including those with the commonly encountered GA/GA mismatch.