Bent Oligonucleotide Duplexes as HMGB1 Inhibitors: a Comparative Study

Abstract

In this work we explore the ability of a chimeric LNA/DNA bent duplex, in which the kink is induced by 2 unpaired adenines in the middle of one strand, to bind HMGB1, a protein involved in many inflammatory processes. The LNA/DNA duplex was compared with the corresponding full DNA and PNA/DNA chimera duplexes from a thermodynamic and spectroscopic point of view.

Keywords:

• LNA
• bent duplexes
• HMGB1 inhibition

The authors acknowledge the Italian MIUR (contract PRIN/2005037289) and Regione Campania (L.R. n. 5-2003) for their financial support.