title: Structural basis for recognition of the RNA major groove in the tau exon 10 splicing regulatory element by aminoglycoside antibiotics.
abstract: Drug-like molecules that bind RNA with sequence selectivity would provide valuable tools to elucidate gene expression pathways and new avenues to the treatment of degenerative and chronic conditions. Efforts at discovering such agents have been hampered, until recently, by the limited knowledge of RNA recognition principles. Several recent structures of aminoglycoside-RNA complexes have begun to reveal the structural basis for RNA-drug recognition. However, the absence of suitable chemical scaffolds known to bind the RNA major groove, where specificity could be provided by the diversity of functional groups exposed on the RNA bases, has represented a major obstacle. Here we report an investigation of the structural basis for recognition of an RNA stem-loop by neomycin, a naturally occurring aminoglycoside antibiotic. We found that neomycin binds the RNA stem-loop that regulates alternative splicing of exon 10 within the gene coding for human tau protein. Mutations within this splicing regulatory element destabilise the RNA structure and cause frontotemporal dementia and Parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17), an autosomal dominant condition leading to neurodegeneration and death. The three-dimensional structure of the RNA-neomycin complex shows interaction of the drug in the major groove of the short RNA duplex, where familial mutations cluster. Analysis of the structure shows how aminoglycosides and related drugs bind to the RNA major groove, adding to our understanding of the principles of drug-RNA recognition.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QH, UK.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Varani
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Spillantini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goedert
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Varani
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D002886:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 17 / Q000235:genetics; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics*; D005601:Framycetin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation / Q000187:drug effects; D009691:Nucleic Acid Denaturation / Q000187:drug effects; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000235:genetics; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012326:RNA Splicing / Q000235:genetics*; D020871:RNA Stability / Q000187:drug effects; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics; D055672:Static Electricity; D013816:Thermodynamics; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D016875:tau Proteins; D005601:Framycetin; D012313:RNA