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Updated: Apr 25, 2026
CD Spectroscopy to Study DNA-Protein Interactions
Published on: February 10, 2022
X-ray scattering from immunostimulatory tetrapod-shaped DNA in aqueous solution to explore its biological
Yusuke Sanada1, Shunsuke Sakamoto, Tomoki Shiomi
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Kitakyushu , 1-1 Hibikino, Wakamatsu-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 808-0135, Japan.
Abstract:
We carried out synchrotron X-ray scattering experiments from four DNA supermolecules designed to form tetrapod shapes; these supermolecules had different sequences but identical numbers of total base pairs, and each contained an immunostimulatory CpG motif. We confirmed that the supermolecules did indeed form the expected tetrapod shape. The sample that had the largest radius of gyration (Rg) induced the most cytokine secretion from cultured immune cells. Structural analysis in combination with a rigid tetrapod model and an atomic scale DNA model revealed that the larger Rg can be ascribed to dissociation of the DNA double strands in the central connecting portion of the DNA tetrapod. This finding suggests that the biological activity is related to the ease with which single DNA strands can be formed.
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