title: Influence of threose nucleoside units on the catalytic activity of a hammerhead ribozyme.
abstract: TNA (alpha-L-threose nucleic acids) is potentially a natural nucleic acid, that might have acted as an evolutionary alternative of RNA. We determined the catalytic activity of hammerhead ribozymes containing a threofuranosyl-modified nucleoside at position U4 and U7, and compared these results with those obtained from HNA (hexitol nucleic acids) insertion into the same ribozyme. Our experiments showed that, although the threofuranosyl-modified ribozymes still cleave the substrate strand, cleavage activity is highly decreased. It, therefore, seems that TNA can play a functional role in the RNA world, but only to a limited extent.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Medicinal Chemistry, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Minderbroedersstraat 10, B-3000 Leuven.
authors.forename: Veerle
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kempeneers
authors.forename: Mattheus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Froeyen
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vastmans
authors.forename: Piet
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Herdewijn
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D009705:Nucleosides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology; D016337:RNA, Catalytic / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D013780:Tetroses / Q000737:chemistry*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D009705:Nucleosides; D016337:RNA, Catalytic; D013780:Tetroses; C427204:hammerhead ribozyme; C073321:erythrose