Spectroscopy evidence of interaction of 1,5 disubstituted piperidino-amido anthraquinone derivative with human telomeric G-quadruplex DNA: Basis of anticancer action

The binding of ligands to G-quadruplex (G4) structures at the ends of human telomeric DNA induces thermal stabilization, which interferes with telomere maintenance by disrupting the association of telomeres with the telomerase enzyme—an important marker for cancer. Understanding the binding mode of the ligand-G quadruplex DNA complex is imperative for evaluating the relative efficacy and specificity of their interaction. We focused on the interaction of 1,5-Bis(3-piperidino propionamido) anthracene-9,10-dione with human telomeric DNA sequences using surface plasmon resonance, absorbance, fluorescence (steady-state and lifetime), and circular dichroism spectroscopy techniques. The ligand binding with HTel22 (Kb = 8.4 × 105 M−1) induced cell toxicity with an IC50 value of ∼ 8.64 µM in MCF-7 cancer cell lines. Significant hypochromism (59 %), fluorescence quenching (97 %), no change in fluorescence lifetime and absence of induced Circular Dichroism (CD) band upon addition of G4 DNA to ligand, suggest a groove/external binding mode. CD spectral changes reflect rearrangement in parallel and antiparallel strands to accommodate the ligand. Docking results reveal specific short contacts of the ligand's side chain, including 9CO, 13N, 14NH, and 11CO, with the grooves of the G4 DNA, without making any contact with the loops, favoring an energetically more favorable conformation. Thermal denaturation profiles, obtained by Differential Scanning Calorimetry and CD, show the stabilization of wHTel26 and HTel22 G4 DNA in K+ and Na+ rich solutions by 21.2 and 17.6 °C, respectively, which may restrict the access of telomerase to telomeres. The findings indicate the potential of modifying anthraquinone substituent groups for therapeutic applications.