Double-stranded DNA-templated cleavage of oligonucleotides containing a P3′→N5′ linkage triggered by triplex formation: the effects of chemical modifications and remarkable enhancement in reactivity

We recently reported double-stranded DNA-templated cleavage of oligonucleotides as a sequence-specific DNA-detecting method. In this method, triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) modified with 5'-amino-2',4'-BNA were used as a DNA-detecting probe. This modification introduced a P3'→N5' linkage (P-N linkage) in the backbone of the TFO, which was quickly cleaved under acidic conditions when it formed a triplex. The prompt fission of the P-N linkage was assumed to be driven by a conformational strain placed on the linkage upon triplex formation. Therefore, chemical modifications around the P-N linkage should change the reactivity by altering the microenvironment. We synthesized 5'-aminomethyl type nucleic acids, and incorporated them into TFOs instead of 5'-amino-2',4'-BNA to investigate the effect of 5'-elongation. In addition, 2',4'-BNA/LNA or 2',5'-linked DNA were introduced at the 3'- and/or 5'-neighboring residues of 5'-amino-2',4'-BNA to reveal neighboring residual effects. We evaluated the triplex stability and reaction properties of these TFOs, and found out that chemical modifications around the P-N linkage greatly affected their reaction properties. Notably, 2',5'-linked DNA at the 3' position flanking 5'-amino-2',4'-BNA brought significantly higher reactivity, and we succeeded in indicating that a TFO with this modification is promising as a DNA analysis tool.