Structural basis of G-quadruplex unfolding by the DEAH/RHA helicase DHX36
- National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (United States). National Heart, Lung and Blood Inst.; Univ. of Cambridge (United Kingdom)
- Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States)
- National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (United States). National Heart, Lung and Blood Inst.
- Univ. of Cambridge (United Kingdom)
Guanine-rich nucleic acid sequences challenge the replication, transcription, and translation machinery by spontaneously folding into G-quadruplexes, the unfolding of which requires forces greater than most polymerases can exert. Eukaryotic cells contain numerous helicases that can unfold G-quadruplexes. The molecular basis of the recognition and unfolding of G-quadruplexes by helicases remains poorly understood. DHX36 (also known as RHAU and G4R1), a member of the DEAH/RHA family of helicases, binds both DNA and RNA G-quadruplexes with extremely high affinity, is consistently found bound to G-quadruplexes in cells, and is a major source of G-quadruplex unfolding activity in HeLa cell lysates. DHX36 is a multi-functional helicase that has been implicated in G-quadruplex-mediated transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation, and is essential for heart development, haematopoiesis, and embryogenesis in mice. Here we report the co-crystal structure of bovine DHX36 bound to a DNA with a G-quadruplex and a 3' single-stranded DNA segment. Furthermore, we show that the N-terminal DHX36-specific motif folds into a DNA-binding-induced α-helix that, together with the OB-fold-like subdomain, selectively binds parallel G-quadruplexes. Comparison with unliganded and ATP-analogue-bound DHX36 structures, together with single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) analysis, suggests that G-quadruplex binding alone induces rearrangements of the helicase core; by pulling on the single-stranded DNA tail, these rearrangements drive G-quadruplex unfolding one residue at a time.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- American Chemical Society; Cancer Research UK; European Research Council (ERC); NIH-Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program; National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI); National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Science Foundation (NSF) Physics Frontiers Center Program; USDOE; Wellcome Trust
- OSTI ID:
- 1544820
- Journal Information:
- Nature (London), Journal Name: Nature (London) Journal Issue: 7710 Vol. 558; ISSN 0028-0836
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
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