A simple ligation assay to detect effects of drugs on the curvature/flexibility of DNA

FEBS Letters

Waring, Michael J.²  Bailly, Christian¹  Minnock, Andrew² 

[1] Institut de Recherches sur le Cancer, INSERM U124, Place de Verdun, 59045 Lille, France;Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QJ, UK

关键词: Anticancer drug;    DNA binding;    DNA structure;    bp;    base pairs;    exo III;    exonuclease III;    SDS;    sodium dodecyl sulphate;   

DOI  :  10.1016/0014-5793(96)01079-4

学科分类：生物化学/生物物理

来源: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

【 摘 要 】

Circular DNA molecules can readily be formed from the 169 bp tyrT fragment in the presence of T4 DNA ligase. We have analyzed the formation of DNA circles in the presence of the clinically important antitumour drugs amsacrine, mitoxantrone and daunomycin. All three are intercalating agents but they affect the closure reaction differently: daunomycin and mitoxantrone progressively inhibit the formation of circles whereas at low concentrations amsacrine strongly enhances the yield of circles suggesting that this drug can increase the flexibility and/ or curvature of DNA. The ligation assay described here may prove useful and widely applicable for investigating the effects of small molecules on the secondary structure of DNA.

【 授权许可】

Unknown