Tianyu Liu, Teng Cai, Junfeng Huo, Hongwei Liu, Aiying Li, Meng Yin, Yan Mei, Yueyue Zhou, Sijun Fan, Yao Lu, Luosheng Wan, Huijuan You, Xiaofeng Cai
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Microorganisms can produce a vast array of bioactive secondary metabolites, including DNA-intercalating agents like actinomycin D, doxorubicin, which hold great potential for cancer chemotherapy. However, discovering novel DNA-intercalating compounds remains challenging due to the limited sensitivity and specificity of conventional activity assays, which require large-scale fermentation and purification. Here, we introduced the single-molecule stretching assay (SMSA) directly to microbial cultures or extracts for discovering DNA-intercalating agents, even in trace amounts of microbial cultures (5 μl). We showed that the unique changes of dsDNA in contour length and overstretching transition enable the specific detection of intercalators from complex samples without the need for extensive purification. Applying force to dsDNA also enhanced the sensitivity by increasing both the binding affinity Ka and the quantity of ligands intercalation, thus allowing the detection of weak intercalators, which are often overlooked using traditional methods. We demonstrated the effectiveness of SMSA, identified two DNA intercalator-producing strains: Streptomyces tanashiensis and Talaromyces funiculosus, and isolated three DNA intercalators: medermycin, kalafungin and ligustrone B. Interestingly, both medermycin and kalafungin, classified as weak DNA intercalators (Ka ∼103 M-1), exhibited potent anti-cancer activity against HCT-116 cancer cells, with IC50 values of 52 ± 6 and 70 ± 7 nM, respectively.
期刊介绍:
Nucleic Acids Research (NAR) is a scientific journal that publishes research on various aspects of nucleic acids and proteins involved in nucleic acid metabolism and interactions. It covers areas such as chemistry and synthetic biology, computational biology, gene regulation, chromatin and epigenetics, genome integrity, repair and replication, genomics, molecular biology, nucleic acid enzymes, RNA, and structural biology. The journal also includes a Survey and Summary section for brief reviews. Additionally, each year, the first issue is dedicated to biological databases, and an issue in July focuses on web-based software resources for the biological community. Nucleic Acids Research is indexed by several services including Abstracts on Hygiene and Communicable Diseases, Animal Breeding Abstracts, Agricultural Engineering Abstracts, Agbiotech News and Information, BIOSIS Previews, CAB Abstracts, and EMBASE.