title: Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) binding-mediated gene regulation.
abstract: Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) are synthetic oligonucleotides with chemically modified backbones. PNAs can bind to both DNA and RNA targets in a sequence-specific manner to form PNA/DNA and PNA/RNA duplex structures. When bound to double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) targets, the PNA molecule replaces one DNA strand in the duplex by strand invasion to form a PNA/DNA/PNA [or (PNA)2/DNA] triplex structure and the displaced DNA strand exists as a single-stranded D-loop. PNA has been used in many studies as research tools for gene regulation and gene targeting. The D-loops generated from the PNA binding have also been demonstrated for its potential in initiating transcription and inducing gene expression. PNA provides a powerful tool to study the mechanism of transcription and an innovative strategy to regulate target gene expression. An understanding of the PNA-mediated gene regulation will have important clinical implications in treatment of many human diseases including genetic, cancerous, and age-related diseases.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Wayne State University, 2727 Second Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201, USA. g.wang@wayne.edu
authors.forename: Gan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaoxin S
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000737:chemistry; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D018390:Gene Targeting; D006801:Humans; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009691:Nucleic Acid Denaturation; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization / Q000235:genetics; D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D013698:Templates, Genetic; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids; D004247:DNA; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases