The polyamines putrescine, spermidine, and spermine are a group of naturally occurring compounds exerting a great number of biological functions. We demonstrated the ability of single polyamines to self-assembly with phosphate ions both in vitro and in vivo: the intercalation of a phosphate anion between the N-terminal ends of two polyamines determines, by electrostatic interaction, the formation of basic cyclical structures that further aggregate into supramolecular complexes by means of hydrogen bonds, thus producing three different structural classes of molecular aggregates that posses the ability to interact with genomic DNA. Self-structuring of polyamines and phosphate ions occurs within well defined ratios, indicating that this kind of aggregation is a finely self-regulated chemical/physical event. The self-assembly happens under conditions of thermodynamic equilibrium and independently of the presence of the DNA template. Natural and in vitro nuclear aggregates of polyamines (ivNAPs) share a series of structural characteristics. We demonstrated that in vitro self-assembly of polyamines is a spontaneous, reproducible and inexpensive event and provided the indications for the production of the ivNAPs as a new tool for manipulating the genomic DNA machinery. 1.D'Agostino L, di Pietro, M & Di Luccia A (2006) Nuclear Aggregates of Polyamines. IUBMB Life 58, 75. 2.Di Luccia A, Picariello G, Iacomino G, Formisano A, Paduano L, D'Agostino L. (2009) The in vitro nuclear aggregates of polyamines. FEBS J. 276 (8), 2324.
The in vitro Nuclear Aggregates of Polyamines
2009
Abstract
The polyamines putrescine, spermidine, and spermine are a group of naturally occurring compounds exerting a great number of biological functions. We demonstrated the ability of single polyamines to self-assembly with phosphate ions both in vitro and in vivo: the intercalation of a phosphate anion between the N-terminal ends of two polyamines determines, by electrostatic interaction, the formation of basic cyclical structures that further aggregate into supramolecular complexes by means of hydrogen bonds, thus producing three different structural classes of molecular aggregates that posses the ability to interact with genomic DNA. Self-structuring of polyamines and phosphate ions occurs within well defined ratios, indicating that this kind of aggregation is a finely self-regulated chemical/physical event. The self-assembly happens under conditions of thermodynamic equilibrium and independently of the presence of the DNA template. Natural and in vitro nuclear aggregates of polyamines (ivNAPs) share a series of structural characteristics. We demonstrated that in vitro self-assembly of polyamines is a spontaneous, reproducible and inexpensive event and provided the indications for the production of the ivNAPs as a new tool for manipulating the genomic DNA machinery. 1.D'Agostino L, di Pietro, M & Di Luccia A (2006) Nuclear Aggregates of Polyamines. IUBMB Life 58, 75. 2.Di Luccia A, Picariello G, Iacomino G, Formisano A, Paduano L, D'Agostino L. (2009) The in vitro nuclear aggregates of polyamines. FEBS J. 276 (8), 2324.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
