作者:Peter J. L. M. Quaedflieg、Arthur P. Van der Heiden、Leo H. Koole、Annie J. J. M. Coenen、Sjoerd Van der Wal、Emmo M. Meijer
DOI:10.1021/jo00020a028
日期:1991.9
Synthesis of RNA dimers having a methyl phosphotriester group as the internucleoside linkage is reported; six pairs of diasteroisomerically pure systems were prepared, i.e, r(CpU) (15), r(ApU) (16), r(CpC) (17), r(ApC) (18), r(CpG) (19), and r(ApG) (20). Compounds 15-20 are stabilized by a 2'-O-methyl group in the 5'-terminal residue. The present systems represent the third class of backbone-modified RNA oligomers, following the 2'-O-methylribonucleotide phosphorothioates and the 2'-O-methylribonucleotide methyl phosphonates. Our synthetic approach comprises the use of 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) groups for transient protection of the exocyclic NH2 groups of the bases A, C, and G, levulinoyl (Lev) groups for the transient protection of the 2'-and 3'-OH groups of the 3'-terminal residues, methanolic K2CO3 for the simultaneous removal of Fmoc and Lev groups with full preservation of the methyl phosphotriester function, and finally reversed-phase HPLC separation of the S(P) and R(P) diastereoisomers. The availability of the six dimers in diastereoisomerically pure form enabled us to examine the molecular conformations using high-field NMR and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. These studies led to the following conclusions: (i) NMR J-coupling analysis: the central C4'-C5' (gamma) and C5'-O5' (beta) bonds in 15-20 show less preference for the gamma+ and beta-t rotamers, in comparison with their natural analogues, i.e., base stacking is diminished upon introduction of the two methyl groups on O2' and on the phosphate methyl groups on O2' and on the phosphate group; (ii) CD analysis: 15-20 show substantially reduced molecular ellipticities when compared to the natural counterparts, which also reveals that base stacking is reduced; (iii) UV and variable-temperature H-1 NMR measurements: (S(P)- and (R(P))-19 show self-association, via the formation of a right-handed miniduplex with two C-G base pairs ((S(P)-19, T(m) = 9.3-degrees-C, concn = 36.6-mu-M; (R(P))-19, T(m) = 8.7-degrees-C, concn = 48.1-mu-M). The present conformational data on (R(P))- and (S(P))-15-20 are in agreement with literature data on other phosphate-triesterified oligonucleotides, e.g., the trimer d(T(POEt)G(POEt)G) and the tetramer d(T(POEt)T(POEt)C(POEt)A). While the latter systems also showed little base-base stacking, it was established that they readily form a local duplex with a complementary natural RNA sequence. Hence we anticipate that phosphate-methylated 2'-O-methyl-RNA oligomers, longer than the dimer systems described in the present work, will also hybridize easily with complementary natural RNA.