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Recent Advancements in Natural and Synthetic DNA/RNA G-Quadruplex Binders

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Biochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2025 | Viewed by 1431

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute of Chemistry and Technical Electrochemistry, Poznań University of Technology, Berdychowo 4, 60-965 Poznań, Poland
Interests: drug; mass spectrometry; nucleosides; analytical chemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nucleic acid fragments rich in guanosine form characteristic spatial structures called G-quadruplexes. These structures are formed as a result of the interaction of four guanosines, stabilized by metal ions, e.g., Na+ or K+, and are involved in a number of key genome functions, e.g., transcription and replication. The compounds, both of synthetic or natural origins, that are able to effectively bind G-quadruplex may be of potential use in the fields of cancer therapy, antiviral therapy, and neuropharmacology, or to design the G-quadruplex probes. As the G-quadruplex ligands are considered to be of potential use in targeting various diseases, the interest in the area of research focused on these structures has been substantially increasing. This Special Issue welcomes papers covering all aspects of G-quadruplex ligands: their synthesis, search for effective natural ligands, stabilities of the G-quadruplex-ligand species, and mechanism of the interaction between the ligands and G-quadruplexes, as well as those focused on the pharmaceutic potential of the ligands. Interested authors are invited to submit manuscripts reporting the investigation of physicochemical and/or biochemical properties of G-quadruplex-ligand species with computational and/or physicochemical methods, as well as reviews in this area of research.

Dr. Magdalena Frańska
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • guanine
  • guanosine
  • G-tetrad
  • G-quadruplex-interactive agent
  • binding agent
  • nucleic acids

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

11 pages, 4353 KiB  
Review
G-Quadruplex Structures Formed by Human Telomere and C9orf72 GGGGCC Repeats
by Bing Yan, Monica Ching Suen, Naining Xu, Chao Lu, Changdong Liu and Guang Zhu
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(4), 1591; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26041591 - 13 Feb 2025
Viewed by 922
Abstract
G-quadruplexes (G4s) are unique nucleic acid structures composed of guanine-rich (G-rich) sequences that can form diverse topologies based on the arrangement of their four strands. G4s have attracted attention for their potential roles in various biological processes and human diseases. In this review, [...] Read more.
G-quadruplexes (G4s) are unique nucleic acid structures composed of guanine-rich (G-rich) sequences that can form diverse topologies based on the arrangement of their four strands. G4s have attracted attention for their potential roles in various biological processes and human diseases. In this review, we focus on the G4 structures formed by human telomeric sequences, (GGGTTA)n, and the hexanucleotide repeat expansion, (GGGGCC)n, in the first intron region of the chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72) gene, highlighting their structural diversity and biological significance. Human telomeric G4s play crucial roles in telomere retention and gene regulation. In particular, we provide an in-depth summary of known telomeric G4s and focus on our recently discovered chair-type conformation, which exhibits distinct folding patterns. The chair-type G4s represent a novel folding pattern with unique characteristics, expanding our knowledge of telomeric G4 structural diversity and potential biological functions. Specifically, we emphasize the G4s formed by the (GGGGCC)n sequence of the C9orf72 gene, which represents the most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The thorough structural analysis in this review advances our comprehension of the disease mechanism and provides valuable insights into developing targeted therapeutic strategies in ALS/FTD. Full article
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