The Avoidance of Purine Stretches by Cancer Mutations

Purine stretches, sequences of adenine (A) and guanine (G) in DNA, play critical roles in binding regulatory protein factors and influence gene expression by affecting DNA folding. This study investigates the relationship between purine stretches and cancer development, considering the aromaticity of purines, quantified by methods like Hückel’s rule and NICS calculations, and the importance of the flanking sequence context. A pronounced avoidance of long purine stretches by typical cancer mutations was observed in public data on the intergenic regions of cancer patients, suggesting a role of intergenic sequences in chromatin reorganization and gene regulation. A statistically significant shortening of purine stretches in cancerous tumors (p value < 0.0001) was found. The insights into the aromatic nature of purines and their stacking energies explain the role of purine stretches in DNA structure, contributing to their role in cancer progression. This research lays the groundwork for understanding the nature of purine stretches, emphasizing their importance in gene regulation and chromatin restructuring, and offers potential avenues for novel cancer therapies and insights into cancer etiology.

Authors
Vikhorev Aleksandr V.1 , Savelev Ivan V.1 , Polesskaya Oksana O.1 , Rempel Michael M.1 , Miller Richard A.2 , Vetcher Alexandre A. 3, 4 , Myakishev-Rempel Max1
Publisher
MDPI AG
Number of issue
20
Language
English
Pages
11050
Status
Published
Volume
25
Year
2024
Organizations
  • 1 DNA Resonance Research Foundation, San Diego, CA 92111, USA
  • 2 OAK, Inc., Grants Pass, OR 97526, USA
  • 3 Institute of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (IPhB) of Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia n.a. P. Lumumba (RUDN), 6 Miklukho-Maklaya St, 117198 Moscow, Russia
  • 4 Institute for Bionic Technologies and Engineering, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, 2-4 Bolshaya Pirogovskaya Str., 119991 Moscow, Russia
Date of creation
07.11.2024
Date of change
07.11.2024
Short link
https://repository.rudn.ru/en/records/article/record/157711/
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